The School of Public Health is without a permanent dean. Connie Evashwick, Ph.D., left the position at the end of the workday on Monday, Nov. 26. In an e-mail message to the faculty, staff and students of the school, Provost Joe Weixlmann, Ph.D., said that he and Evashwick “[came] jointly to the conclusion” that she should step down.

In the message, Weixlmann said that the School of Public Health required “strong leadership that enjoys the support of both the faculty and central administration” and that he and Evashwick agreed that the school’s needs “could better be met by someone other than her.”

Both Weixlmann and Evashwick declined to comment further for this story.

Homer Schmitz, Ph.D., a professor in the School of Public Health, will serve as interim dean until the University selects a permanent replacement. A 30-year member of Saint Louis University’s faculty, Schmitz also served as interim dean from 2004-06 before Evashwick assumed the position.

Evashwick became dean of SLU’s School of Public Health in the summer of 2006. She had previously served as a professor and as a health-care administrator and consultant.

Evashwick’s departure from the dean’s office comes approximately two months after the St. Louis Post-Dispatch first reported that SLU was considering a sale of the School of Public Health to Washington University. Weixlmann later confirmed that the two universities had discussed how “to improve collaboration” in public health research, but said that talk of transferring of the school were “very preliminary.” In late October, Weixlmann announced that the possibility of a sale was off the table.

In an interview conducted on Wednesday, Nov. 28, Weixlmann said that he planned to soon begin meeting with faculty members of the School of Public Health to discuss “next steps” for the school’s leadership. He also said that Evashwick remains a tenured faculty member and has not left the University.

“Students in general are surprised that the dean is not finishing up the semester,” said Student Government Association Senator Chris Wintrode, a student in the School of Public Health and the School of Law. “It’s also very odd timing. There were rumors that they were selling the school, and, right after they decide not [to sell it], she’s gone.”