Cox nursing school hires new president

Anne Liners Brett, executive dean of health sciences and public services at Moraine Park Technical College in West Bend, Wis., will take over as president of the Springfield school July 30.

Karen Hazen has served as interim president since September, when former president DeLois Weekes was forced to resign from the position.

Brett was one of 22 initial candidates from across the country. Dona Elkins, chairwoman of the school’s Board of Trustees, said Brett stood out because of her extensive experience in both education and health. Brett has been in administration at Moraine Park for 25 years and has degrees in educational psychology, nursing and nursing administration.

“We thought she was a very well-rounded candidate,” Elkins said. “She had credentials, experience with a variety of programs that would be important to our health sciences team, and she has a passion.”

Brett joins the college in the midst of a $55 million plan to renovate CoxHealth’s north campus, which includes the nursing college.

Chris Whitley, director of corporate communications for CoxHealth, said planning for the college’s new facilities was temporarily put on hold during the presidential search and selection.

“It only made sense that the person who’d be making the decisions would be in place to shape that building,” Whitley said. “Once she is here, she’ll need time to acclimate herself to the landscape and figure out how to run the college.”

Part of the acclimation process will be assessing the needs of both the college and the community. Brett said she hopes to look at collaborations with other colleges in the area, especially those with health programs.

“(Ozarks Technical Community College) is just beginning an associate degree in nursing (program), so I’d like to look at how we can collaborate and maybe institute some career-laddering,” Brett said. “I want to see how Cox can inter-relate with those programs.”

Former President DeLois Weekes and Academic Dean Veronica Conners were both forced to resign by the college’s board following questions that arose in both external and internal program audits.

School officials declined to discuss details of the audits in September, saying only that they found fault with the college’s “general financial picture.”

Elkins said the board and the 12-member search committee she chaired had a specific list of needs in mind for the new president.

“(We) felt that we needed new leadership at the college that could manage at three levels: the day-to-day, the short-term goals of the college, meaning an annual plan and budget, and the future of the school,” Elkins said.

Elkins said the transition team, along with the leadership of interim President Hazen, has helped to smooth the process for the new president; she added that Hazen will stay on the with the college, though her responsibilities after Brett begins are unclear.

Brett, Elkins said, has already made it clear that she is ready to jump in headfirst.

“What she’ll be doing next is to get input; she has said she’s not afraid to ask about things,” Elkins said. “That will be the first step. That will be the first 30 to 60 days, giving her the opportunity to bring her perspective and gather input from the various groups.”

Those various groups include an estimated 600 students for the fall semester and about 85 faculty members – slightly larger than the groups Brett oversees in Wisconsin.

Brett said she’s eager to get started. She said one of her goals is to grow the school – and she’s extremely pleased to have been chosen for the job.

“I was looking for a new challenge … and Cox offered that opportunity,” Brett said. “It was an opportunity that was too good to turn down.”

Learn more about new Cox College of Nursing and Health Sciences President Anne Liners Brett in a Q&A here.[[In-content Ad]]