New Dean Chosen for School of Health and Environment

2/27/09

Office of Public Affairs

New Dean Chosen for School of Health and Environment

Chancellor Marty Meehan has named Shortie McKinney to become Dean of the School of Health and Environment, beginning June 1.

Dr. McKinney will join the administration from her current position as dean of the College of Health Professions at Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va. She has served as associate dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at Drexel University in Philadelphia, where she also chaired the Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology. Dr. McKinney is a professor of nutrition.

“I am delighted that we were successful in recruiting such an accomplished and collaborative academic leader from such a highly qualified group of applicants,” Chancellor Meehan said. “I am impressed with her record in developing entrepreneurial and innovative academic programs and am confident she will be a major asset to our efforts in further development of the School of Health and Environment.”

On behalf of the administration, Provost Ahmed Abdelal praised the work of the Search Committee for the Dean of the School of Health and Environment, chaired by Profs. Mary Elizabeth Hooker and Kenneth Geiser, for the year of work that resulted in four strong finalists being recommended to him and Chancellor Meehan.

“Dr. McKinney has an outstanding record in scholarship in nutrition and in academic leadership in nutrition and in biotechnology at Drexel University and in the Health Professions at Marshall University,” Provost Abdelal said. “These experiences position her well to contribute to further strengthening of collaborative and interdisciplinary efforts at UMass Lowell. I believe that, as dean, she will build on and expand the unique mission of our School of Health and Environment.”

McKinney holds a Ph.D. and M.S. from The Ohio State University and a B.S. from Marshall University. She interned at the Indiana University Medical Center. Among honors and awards, she has been named a Fellow of the American Dietetic Association in 1995, received the Lindback Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching at Drexel in 1994, and the Pennsylvania Dietetic Association Outstanding Dietetics Educator Award in 1999.

At Marshall, the College of Health Professions has a School of Nursing and departments of Clinical Lab Science, Communication Disorders, Dietetics and Social Work, and a Respiratory Care program. Under McKinney’s leadership, new programs have been developed in medical imaging, nurse midwifery and physical therapy and are planned in public health and health informatics. The nursing bachelor’s degree program has the potential to increase by 200 students over the next few years, while adding seven faculty and two staff.

Through her research interests in health disparities and health behaviors, McKinney led a team at Drexel that obtained more than $4.5 million in federal funding for nutrition education.  At Marshall, she has initiated a similar program, bringing $500,000 into the university.

McKinney has worked to foster diversity and a global experience for all students. At Marshall, she developed a global health course and study abroad program in collaboration with educators in China.