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HATTIESBURG
- The
University of Southern Mississippi has named a veteran educator
and administrator from within it own ranks to serve as interim dean
for the College of Health.
At the same
time, Southern Miss officials have announced that the search for
a permanent dean will resume in the fall, with an eye toward filling
the position by the beginning of the 2004-2005 academic year.
Until then,
Dr. Joan Exline, who has served as director and graduate coordinator
for the Center for Community Health at Southern Miss since 1999,
will lead the recently restructured College of Health.
Exline, 46,
has an undergraduate degree in business from Indiana University,
a master's in health administration from the University of Michigan,
and a doctorate in political science from Wayne State University.
Exline has
been an instructor and administrator at Southern Miss for seven
years. She said that her past experience working in the College
of Health and Human Sciences should serve her well in her new role.
She has significant knowledge of the task at hand.
"I am
certainly familiar with Southern Miss, and many of the directors
and chairs who will be overseeing the units (within the College
of Health)," Exline said. "I know what our strengths and
weakness are, and what other opportunities await us, so we can hit
the ground running."
Dr. Tim Hudson,
provost of Southern Miss' Hattiesburg campus, said that Exline was
a perfect choice to serve as interim dean.
"We are
confident that Dr. Exline will handle this leadership opportunity
superbly," Hudson said.
Dr. Jay Grimes,
provost of Southern Miss' Gulf Coast campus, said that he has enjoyed
working with Exline this past year.
"She is
a highly successful researcher with considerable health care experience,"
Grimes said.
Exline will
take over a College of Health that has been expanded as a result
of the recent realignment of the university's colleges.
Programs in
the College of Health will include the departments of Nursing, Social
Work, Community Health Sciences, Nutrition and Dietetics, Institutional
Management, Human Nutrition, Medical Technology, Human Performance
and Recreation, and Speech and Hearing Sciences.
Exline already
has an early agenda set, which includes four areas of emphasis for
the newly restructured college. One priority will be to establish
an effective infrastructure for the college so that it can function
as efficiently as possible. Another will be looking at different
ways the departments within the college can work together for the
betterment of the college as a whole.
There will
also be an emphasis on exploring different strategies to further
increase external funding for the college, as well as an emphasis
on projects that benefit not only the college's traditional stakeholders,
but also the community at large.
Before coming
to Southern Miss, Exline participated in research at Duke University
and taught at the University of Michigan at Dearborn and Wayne State
University. Her research interests include Medicare policy and long-term
care. Exline has had a diverse career in health care, having served
as vice president of several hospitals before going back to school
and earning her Ph.D.
Exline, an
Evansville, Ind., native, is married to Jeff Williams.
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