Choice for dean backed out for raise, promotion at old job

The Texas man who abruptly backed out of the dean’s job at the Washington State University Intercollegiate College of Nursing was offered a hefty pay raise and a promotion to stay in El Paso, officials said.

Robert L. Anders, 59, will receive a nearly $27,000 annual raise and a position as dean of a standalone School of Nursing at the University of Texas at El Paso.

Officials there reorganized the university’s College of Health Science, which previously housed the nursing school, Provost Richard Jarvis said Wednesday. Anders, who was an associate dean within the college, will now head his own school.

“We rate Bob very highly,” said Jarvis. “We would want him to stay here to do what he’s doing.”

Much of Anders’ research, which has garnered millions of dollars in national and international grants, has focused on disparities in Hispanic health, Jarvis said. El Paso’s population and its proximity to Juarez, Mexico, are crucial to that research.

Anders’ salary in El Paso this year is $142,353, records show. Next year, he’ll earn $169,000.

That’s still less than the $198,500 he was offered through a signed contract to become dean of the cooperative nursing school in Spokane.

Anders’ selection was announced in July; he withdrew suddenly from the post last week.

WSU officials were surprised and disappointed at the news, but they said they’ll resume a search for a new dean, Chancellor Brian Pitcher said Wednesday.

“It’s a loss, but now that it’s settled, it’s not worth our energy to belabor that and fuss over it,” Pitcher said.

Anne Hirsch, 54, a senior associate dean at the nursing school, will serve as interim dean for one year.

Dorothy Detlor, who has held the dean’s post for nearly nine years, will retire Sept. 18.

Anders did not return a call seeking comment about his decision.