Linfield hired a new dean of nursing, and she is expected to begin work sometime this spring.

Susan Agre-Kippenhan, dean of faculty, and a search committee headed by Shaik Ismail hired Dr. Mallie Kozy. The interview process included faculty and students from the Portland and McMinnville campuses.

“She has an impressive background but also understands what she wants for the future of Linfield College. I believe she will succeed in being the dean of our nursing school,” senior Jordan Reed said.

The previous dean of nursing, Dr. Bonnie Sousiey, left Linfield in fall 2011. Since then, Dr. Beverly Epeneter acted as the interim dean.

The committee and Agre-Kippenhan brought three candidates to the school for interviews and had them address the challenges that nursing education faces.

Agre-Kippenhan reported that Dr. Kozy was able to connect national reports about education with real-life events. This impressed both the committee and Agre-Kippenhan.

Kozy easily connected with staff and students.

She is currently the department chair of the nursing undergraduate program at Lourdes University in Ohio.

“The university’s nursing program has many similarities to our own,” Agre-Kippenhan said. This will aid Kozy in the transition between the schools.

Both Kozy and Agre-Kippenhan talked about increasing the visibility of nursing on both the Portland and McMinnville campuses.

Julian Adoff/Multimedia editor

Julian Adoff can be reached at [email protected].