For the past eight years, DEAN LORIE WILD has been leading the School of Health Sciences with dedication and innovative oversight. Under her leadership, SHS introduced the Doctor of Nursing Practice program. Wild led the transition to a rolling admissions process for the undergraduate pre-licensure program, which allowed the school to admit smaller cohorts each quarter while increasing program capacity and enrollment by 50%. She retired as dean in June 2020.
Wild led the campaign to fully renovate the building at 6 Nickerson for the SHS’s nursing program. This new nursing facility features an expanded Clinical Learning Lab with a large skills-training area, an additional flex classroom that allows students to move seamlessly between didactic and hands-on learning, and a simulation suite with two patient rooms and a clinic exam room along with four additional classrooms, seminar rooms, and faculty offices.
Julie Ann Harrington, Wild’s assistant from the beginning, described her as “gifted and beloved.” “She led with a mantra of robust academics and relationship-centered
learning grounded in Christian faith,” Harrington said.
“Lorie brought spiritual, clinical, and educational leadership to SHS,” said Ruby Englund, SPU professor emerita of nursing. “Her vision and wisdom in collaboration
with faculty and the health care community further developed and expanded the programs. In her first meeting with alumni, she began by sharing her favorite Bible verse. She has been highly regarded by students, faculty, and professional colleagues.”
