August 9, 2023 – Millikin has appointed an interim Dean of the College of Professional Studies, effective July 1.
After Pamela Lindsey retired from the position in 2022, the position was vacant for the following school year and was split among three faculty members: Chris Cunnings, the Director of the School of Education; Barbara Broadbear, the Director of the School of Exercise Science and Sport; and Elizabeth Gephart, the University’s Director of Nursing. While Cunnings and Broadbear will continue in their current positions for the upcoming school year, the university announced yesterday Gephart will lead the College as Dean.
“I am very excited to start this new position as the Interim Dean for the College of Professional Studies,” Gephart said in a press release. “Now I will be able to focus solely on the needs of CPS, and I have started meeting with each School and determining the needs of each and where those needs overlap.”
Millikin Provost Mary Black said she appreciates the accomplishments the tri-deans made during their tenure but looks forward to collaborating with Gephart in her new role. In the upcoming school year, the university plans to start construction on the School of Nursing’s new Cambell Family Nursing Simulation Lab, and Gephart said she is excited to have a front-row seat to the program’s success.
“The Dean’s position will allow me to focus internally on each school and build strong relationships in our communities here in Central Illinois,” Gephart said. We will increase our working relationships with community colleges, build partnerships with school districts for both recruitment of students and student teaching opportunities and create partnerships for athletic training opportunities.”
