Dr. Victoria McGillin, vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty, announced her formal
resignation for a one-year leave in a March 12 e-mail to Linfield faculty and staff. The resignation will be effective July 1.
McGillin said in the e-mail that she believes her resignation will help promote greater trust in “shared governance” at Linfield.
The Academic Advising Director Search Committee will conduct a nationwide search for a permanent dean of faculty in the coming months, President Thomas Hellie said.
McGillin has worked at Linfield since 2008. She built strong relationships with the faculty and staff in her time here, Hellie said.
“I have relished every day of work at Linfield because of the quality of my colleagues in each and every academic and administrative department,” McGillin said in her e-mail to the faculty and staff.
While her decision was both sudden and shocking, it shows she demonstrated her willingness to put the institution first, Hellie said.
The dean of faculty oversees all of the college’s academic programs, determines which courses will be taught and provides academic leadership for the curriculum. The dean also plays an integral role in hiring, promoting and providing tenure to faculty.
“Teaching will continue as usual — we have a great faculty here,” Mardi Mileham, director of public relations, said.
In her two years at Linfield, McGillin has represented the college at national conferences and has been instrumental in creating opportunities and goals for the college.
“She’s a very good colleague, and we’ll miss her,” Hellie said.
The college’s first priority is finding an interim dean, a decision which should be finalized by the middle of the summer, Hellie said. By the fall, the college will organize a committee of faculty, staff and students to hire a permanent dean, he said.

Chelsea Langevin
Senior reporter Chelsea Langevin can be reached at [email protected]