The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has named Ann B. Bain as the founding dean of its College of Education and Health Professions.
Bain, currently the interim dean of the College of Science and chair of the Department of Nursing at UALR, will assume the duties July 1. Her salary will be $160,000.
More: View Bain’s résumé and cover letter (PDF).
“[Bain] is nationally recognized for her involvement in the accreditation of nursing programs, a proven leader and a facilitator of faculty and student success,” Zulma Toro, executive vice chancellor and provost, said in a news release. “We are fortunate to have her in this position.”
Bain first joined UALR as an assistant professor of nursing in 1987, and has previously worked as a nurse at several Little Rock hospitals and was assistant manager of Controlmed Medical Auditing.
She has been involved with national accreditation initiatives of nursing programs since 1997, and has served as a site team leader and accreditation visitor at the state and national levels. Bain is currently secretary of the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing Board of Commissioners, and also serves a board member for Career and Technical Education.
At UALR, Bain has worked with several departments on campus to boost online options for expanding the availability and improving the quality of the university’s online services. She has also worked with the university’s development staff to secure external support and grant funding to provide technology and resources for the Department of Nursing.
The UALR nursing program has established partnerships with St. Vincent Health System and Baptist Health System, and grown its enrollment to more than 600 students under Bain’s leadership.
Bain earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in nursing from the University of Central Arkansas. In 1998, she earned a doctorate in higher education administration from UALR.
The Search for the Founding Dean
In her new position, Bain will oversee UALR programs like Educational Leadership, Teacher Education, Audiology and Speech Pathology, Health and Human Performance and Sports Management, Nursing, Counseling, Adult and Rehabilitation Education (CARE) and the School of Social Work.
“The restructured departments and programs within CEHP will provide new opportunities for interdisciplinary and collaborative initiatives that will open doors to high-demand careers for graduates of all ages,” Bain said in the release. “The opportunity to work with faculty in developing a model of teaching governance, research and service offers unique challenges that made this position so attractive.”
Bain was one of two finalists for the position. S. Rex Morrow, dean and professor at the College of Liberal Arts at Purdue University North Central, was the other finalist named last month by UALR.
More: View Morrow’s résumé and cover letter (PDF).
Both — Bain in late April and Morrow in early May — took part in on-campus interviews and presentations. A third finalist, who was not named, dropped out the same week Bain and Morrow were identified after accepting another position.
Deborah Baldwin, associate provost and dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at UALR, lead the 13-person search committee, which was assisted by Academic Search, a subsidiary of The American Academic Leadership Institute.
The search committee’s first meeting was Jan. 28 with Toro, and the search officially began Feb. 12.
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