Cheryl Easley, Dean of former CHSW, departs UAA; search for new College of Health dean begins this fall

TO: UAA Campus Community
FROM: Provost Mike Driscoll

As most of you know, UAA has a new College of Health, effective July 1, 2011. The College of Health houses all of the programs of the former College of Health and Social Welfare, in addition to the WWAMI School of Medical Education and the School of Allied Health. This reorganization supports UAA's role as the University of Alaska's health university, and we are excited about the College's new direction.

Cheryl Easley, dean of the former College of Health and Social Welfare, has decided not to participate in the search for the position of dean of the new college and will be leaving the university. During her eight years here, Dean Easley has had a tremendous positive impact at UAA.

Dean Easley served as president of the American Public Health Association from 2008-09, bringing national attention to UAA and the College of Health and Social Welfare. Under her leadership, the School of Nursing has grown to become the leader in nursing education in Alaska, and recently its accreditation was reaffirmed by the National League for Nursing Accreditation. Over the past three years the programs in Social Work and Human Services also had their accreditations reaffirmed, the Master of Public Health program achieved initial accreditation, and the ABA reaffirmed its approval of the Paralegal Studies program. She also oversaw the revitalization of the Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies and played a major role in instituting a new graduate certificate in Advanced Human Service Systems within the Department of Human Services.

During her tenure at UAA, Dean Easley proclaimed gerontology as the strategic focus of the College of Health and Social Welfare in an effort to meet the needs of our state's and nation's aging population. She appointed national public health leader Richard Windsor as the visiting Presidential Professor of Public Health within the Master of Public Health program, and she was key in establishing a partnership with Creighton University to offer a hybrid occupational therapy doctorate program at UAA. She also helped bring the MEDEX Northwest Physician Assistant Training Program to Alaska, a program offered through the University of Washington School of Medicine.

We greatly value Dean Easley's many accomplishments at UAA and we will build on her successes moving forward. Susan Kaplan, associate dean of the former College of Health and Social Welfare, has been named acting dean of the new College of Health. I will appoint an interim dean shortly, and a national search for a permanent dean will begin this fall.

Please join me in thanking Dean Easley for her years of dedicated service to UAA, and in wishing her well in her future endeavors.