The dean team
Two HSC colleges welcome new deans
James Lloyd, D.V.M.
Growing up in northern Lower Michigan, James Lloyd, D.V.M., Ph.D., was part of a community that depended on livestock to make a living. Friends, family and neighbors ran small farms, and although his own family didn’t raise farm animals as a primary source of income, they owned horses and cattle in addition to pets of various shapes and sizes. So when it was time for college, he says it made perfect sense to combine a fondness for those animals with a strong interest in science and medicine.
Lloyd earned his doctorate in veterinary medicine from Michigan State University in 1981 and a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from MSU in 1989 — a “highly unusual” combined degree born from the realization that veterinary medicine is almost always practiced in a business environment.
“Veterinary practices are often small, family-run businesses very similar to the farms that also house our livestock,” Lloyd said. “There’s a nice complement there. Studying agribusiness management helped me understand the small business environment where our veterinarians live and practice.”
In July, Lloyd begins his role as dean of the UF College of Veterinary Medicine, replacing Glen Hoffsis.
Lloyd most recently served as the associate dean for budget, planning and institutional research at MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
Lloyd says he’s looking forward to collaborating with the Health Science Center and UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, engaging with practitioners in the Florida Veterinary Medical Association and working closely with Florida’s diverse animal-owning public — including pet owners, horse owners and the livestock industries.
“The UF College of Veterinary Medicine has a very strong reputation across veterinary medicine,” Lloyd says. “I’m really looking forward to working with its outstanding faculty, staff and students and building on the college’s core strengths in teaching, research and service.” — Marilee Griffin
Anna McDaniel, Ph.D., R.N.
After Anna McDaniel, Ph.D., R.N., was named the fifth dean of the UF College of Nursing, she was welcomed by more than 1,500 faculty, students, families and staff at the college’s spring commencement ceremony and given a dozen “Gator” orange roses amidst applause and well wishes. She called it “one of the proudest moments” of her academic career.
Hailing from Indiana University where she served as associate dean for research at the School of Nursing, McDaniel’s long journey to this moment started as an uneasy nursing student at Ball State University in Indiana. At first a social work major, she switched to nursing because it paired her love of science with her desire to help people. But she found her first clinical courses to be an uncomfortable experience.
Thankfully, she stuck with it and found that nursing was an intellectual challenge she found fascinating and personally rewarding.
“Once I understood the richness of the profession, I realized I was right where I should be.”
Her perseverance is something that has benefited McDaniel throughout her career.
At Indiana University, McDaniel led the school’s Center for Research and Scholarship to support faculty in the development and implementation of research and scholarly activities through expansion of external funding. Her own research focuses on using technology for cancer prevention and control, and she is currently the principal investigator on a $3.2 million study funded by the National Cancer Institute studying how technology can enhance telephone-based smoking cessation services.
“I am so honored to be joining the outstanding faculty, staff and students at the University of Florida College of Nursing,” McDaniel said. “The college has many areas of strength, but I also see amazing opportunities to attract more expert faculty and talented students and to forge new collaborations with other colleges and units in and outside of UF.” — Tracy Brown Wright