WSU names new dean of nursing college

Washington State University named a dean Tuesday to its Intercollegiate College of Nursing: Patricia G. Butterfield, a University of Washington nursing professor.

Butterfield, 51, is chairwoman of the UW Department of Psychosocial and Community Health Nursing. She will take her new position at WSU on July 1.

“I’m eager to become part of WSU and its health science leadership team,” Butterfield said in a written statement provided by the university. “By educating highly qualified bachelor’s and graduate level nurses at several sites, WSU ICN plays a central role in addressing Washington’s nursing workforce needs.”

Butterfield is best known for her work on environmental health and rural health care.

WSU had been seeking a replacement for former Dean Dorothy Detlor, who announced her retirement mid-2006 and stepped down in September.

Administrators thought they had found a replacement in August, but Robert L. Anders backed out of the job less than two weeks after signing a contract when he was offered a raise and promotion by his existing employer, the School of Nursing at the University of Texas at El Paso.

WSU is building a new nursing school building at its Riverpoint campus in downtown Spokane. It’s scheduled to be completed by fall 2008.

Brian Pitcher, chancellor of WSU Spokane and vice provost for health sciences at WSU, said in a written statement that both the new building and Butterfield’s hiring will help the nursing school as it seeks to add to its health education offerings.

“She joins us at an exciting time when we are leveraging the strengths of our pharmacy, nursing and health administration programs by seeking to expand nursing education at the baccalaureate, master’s and Ph.D. levels and to add medical and dental education at Riverpoint,” Pitcher said.