Comings and Goings update: Bess Austin named director

After 31 years as a nurse practitioner on campus, Bess Austin was recently named director of the health center. She still sees patients on a regular basis and also runs the operations side of the health center.

“The Student Health Service at Lewis & Clark has been a perfect fit for me,” Austin said. “I enjoy all aspects of practicing medicine with this age group, from treating illness and injury to teaching health promotion by helping students make healthy choices while living on campus, when traveling abroad, and hopefully into their futures. It is a joy to be part of our health care team and the greater Student Life team that supports students so that they may be successful academically at Lewis & Clark.”

Austin joined the Lewis & Clark health care team in 1981 as a registered nurse before becoming a family nurse practitioner. She served as medical coordinator from 2007 to 2009, and as the associate director for medical services from 2009 until now.

In her spare time she likes to garden, hike, bike, ski, travel, and spend time with her four children and three grandchildren.

Several people have joined the community recently, and some continuing employees have taken on new roles and responsibilities at Lewis & Clark:

Bess Austin, director of the health center; Kerry Barnes, account specialist, Student and Departmental Account Services; Melinda Brooks, mental health counselor, Counseling Service; Maria Capitelli, case manager, Office of the Associate Dean of Students; Ronna Craig, legal assistant I, Office of the Associate Dean of Faculty (Law); Nicholas Elliott, application developer and analyst, Information Technology; Darlene Koumentis, accounts payable specialist, Office of Business and Finance; Janet Mallen, assistant director, Institutional Research; Maria Marshall, mental health counselor, Counseling Service, Angie McGinnis, interim associate registrar, CAS Registrar; Rebecca Martinez-Griffin, assistant director, Business Law Programs; Becky Monteith, accounts payable specialist, Office of Business and Finance; Kathryn Schmidt, accounts payable specialist, Office of Business and Finance; Terry Moore, administrative coordinator, Rhetoric and Media Studies; Shelley Pearson, account specialist, Student and Departmental Account Services; Michelle Van Orsow, public relations and communications specialist, Public Affairs and Communications; and Alyssa Warren, administrative coordinator, Law Career Services.

The following people have left Lewis & Clark. Here’s wishing them good luck in their new adventures:

David Dean, lab manager and field technician, Information Technology; Shari Lachin, development coordinator, Law External Relations; Linda Meacham, account specialist, Student and Departmental Account Services; and Angela Pernisco, administrative coordinator, Teacher Education.