Ada Lindsey, Ph.D., professor and dean of the College of Nursing at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, has announced her plans for retirement, effective July 31, 2003. She has served as dean of the College of Nursing since March 1, 1995.
“The timing is right,” said Dr. Lindsey. “I’ve been working in nursing education for more than 40 years and will have served as dean at UNMC for more than eight years. I’ve always felt that it’s good for institutions to have a change in leadership at least every decade.
“By announcing my retirement now, it should allow enough time for a thorough search to be conducted and for a new dean to be selected, and hopefully this will result in a smooth transition of leadership.
“The college has never been stronger. Even though there’s been a major nursing shortage, our recruitment of nursing students has been excellent. Our research programs have been doing well, and our outreach programs are providing outstanding service to the entire state.
“It has been an honor for me to serve as dean, and I have every confidence that the College of Nursing will continue to move forward and be the major contributor of nurses for Nebraska.”
UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., praised Dr. Lindsey on her pending retirement.
“Dean Lindsey has been an outstanding dean of the College of Nursing,” he said. “She has advanced the college in many areas, particularly in its research enterprise. She has been a strong advocate of graduate and international education and exceeded expectations in promoting distance education and outreach in the college’s four divisions.”
Under Dr. Lindsey’s leadership, the College of Nursing has pioneered new distance learning technology methods such as teleconferencing, desktop video conferencing, asynchronous and synchronous Internet courses; received major research funding from federal and private foundations; and attained national recognition for its nursing education programs.
The UNMC College of Nursing is the largest nursing school in the state with a total of more than 800 students at its Omaha, Lincoln, Kearney and Scottsbluff campus sites. It is the only nursing school in the state to offer undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees.
A native of Ohio, Dr. Lindsey came to UNMC after serving eight years as dean of the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Nursing (1986-1995). Prior to that, she served as a faculty member and in administrative positions at Mt. Carmel School of Nursing in Columbus, Ohio, (1960-1967); University of Maryland School of Nursing in Baltimore (1967-1978); and the University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing (1979-1986).
Dr. Lindsey earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees from the Ohio State University School of Nursing and her doctoral degree in physiology from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.
Dr. Maurer said he will begin the process immediately to form a search committee and conduct a national search.