Dorothy Detlor, dean of the Washington State Intercollegiate College of Nursing, got it right when she suspected a counteroffer by Robert Anders’ current employer was behind his decision to renege after accepting the post Detlor is about to leave. Anders backed out for a raise and a promotion, acting more like a head coach than an academic dean.

Whatever led to his change of heart, Anders’ withdrawal turns exhilaration into disappointment for Washington State University Spokane and the Spokane community.

This is no time to despair, however.

Detlor will retire on Sept. 18, and the news announced last week was that Anders, now the nursing school director at the University of Texas at El Paso, would take her place, bringing with him a stellar reputation for attracting big grants and exceptional faculty.

That’s just what the nursing school consortium in Spokane needs as it prepares to break ground on a $34.6 million building that will be a key element of the university district at the east end of downtown and as it moves toward a Ph.D. program in nursing.

Anders’ résumé seemed like an ideal fit in large part because of his track record for facilitating research activity. As Spokane’s university district unfolds, forging important partnerships with the nearby medical centers, the Spokane campus will increase its growing stature for top-notch research. That is important to the entire community, because it undergirds a critical economic development strategy.

To sign up a dean who’s nailed down $6 million in national research grants in the past few years was a coup of the first magnitude and cause for celebration.

But the party balloon popped Tuesday when Anders backed out, citing personal reasons that since have been verified by UTEP officials to mean a $27,000 raise and a loftier title there.

Tempting as it must be to pursue legal action, WSU Spokane Chancellor Brian Pitcher says it probably wouldn’t be worth the effort.

The pragmatic approach is for WSU’s search committee simply to start over. The committee hopes to have a new dean selected at least by next spring when the academic year will be wrapping up. In the meantime, Anne Hersch, senior associate dean for academic affairs, will take over, and Pitcher considers her eminently qualified.

That’s reassuring. Still, given the direction in which the nursing school is moving, it’s imperative that the next dean have national credentials commensurate with the prestige the Spokane school is aiming for. It will be especially important for the faculty’s comfort and for the sake of administrative constancy to have leadership identified as the Ph.D. program is being designed.

Selling attractive applicants on the job is clearly a reasonable task. First-rate programs in shock physics and sleep research are evidence that Spokane’s role in WSU’s co-located campus concept is worthy of a place on the map. That, and the community’s recognized quality of life, should make WSU’s recruiting challenge easier than it might have been a few years ago.