Nursing School seeks new undergrad dean

A search committee is currently looking for a new undergraduate dean for the Nursing School following the December 31 resignation of longtime dean Mary Naylor. Naylor had served as the school's undergraduate dean since 1986. She is being replaced on an interim basis by Nursing Professor Kathy McCauley, who essentially took the reigns last year when Naylor went on sabbatical to "reflect" on her years as dean and on her future. But Naylor is not leaving the University altogether. Effective July 1, she will be the first holder of the Ralston House Endowed Term Chair in Gerontologic Nursing. The search committee, chaired by Nursing Professor Joyce Thompson, is only looking at internal candidates to fill the administrative vacancy. Nursing School Dean Norma Lang said the undergraduate position is usually filled by an internal candidate because people affiliated with the University already understand how the school works. The search committee consists of a faculty member from each of the school's six divisions, as well as two Nursing students. Committee member Stacy Cooper, a Nursing junior submatriculating in the school's master's program, said the committee was set up to decide the characteristics and agenda that an undergraduate dean should have. The committee has already held a large meeting for faculty and staff to assess what their needs are and sent out an e-mail to all Nursing students asking for their input. The main quality the committee is looking for is "knowledge about undergraduate education and a vested interest in the concerns of undergraduates," Cooper said. Their most important goal though, is to "get the characteristics and agenda down and then find a person to fit them," she added. Naylor said she thoroughly enjoyed her 12 years as dean. "It was a fabulous ride," Naylor said. "But it was clearly time for me to think about what the next step was." She is credited with integrating nursing courses with a strong liberal arts curriculum; expanding Penn's program to focus on community-based nursing, health promotion and disease prevention; and leading an initiative to make research a significant part of undergraduate education during her tenure as dean. Naylor also helped create Nursing's various joint degree programs to further expand students' opportunities. Naylor said that the endowed chair is more of an honorary title than an actual job. Still, it will enable her to perform research and coordinate projects in the area of nursing of elders. And while she won't be an administrator, she said she is still committed to reaching undergraduates and will remain a faculty member in the Nursing School. "I'll never forget undergraduate students," she said. "They'll continue to be a major focal point of my energies as well." Lang said Naylor was "a superb associate dean." "We are all very thankful that she gave us so many years of outstanding leadership," she said. Naylor currently serves as one of the faculty directors of the School of Nursing's new community-based nursing practice, Living Independently for Elders, a managed care system for frail elders that allows them to live at home instead of in nursing homes.

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