President John Garvey announced in a letter to the community that Dean Patricia McMullen of the Conway School of Nursing asked to step down as dean. She agreed to stay until an interim dean was in place.
Susan LaRocco will begin serving the University as interim dean of nursing Nov. 1. LaRocco served most recently as dean of the school of nursing at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, NY.
A search for a new dean has begun, and the goal is to have a new dean in place by July 1, 2022.
McMullen will continue to serve as Dean Emerita for the remainder of the academic year to assist the interim dean, at which time she will take a one-year sabbatical before returning to the nursing school faculty.
“I would like to thank Pat for her dedicated service to this University since 2003, when she joined us as a professor and associate dean,” said President Garvey. “We've benefited from Pat’s expertise as both a lawyer and a nurse. She has contributed to our University community as a scholar, a practitioner, and a powerful advocate for her students.”
Read the President’s letter here.