Faculty Profile of the Month: May 2009

Faculty member makes her mark in and out of the SoN

By Ashley Wiggin

Marcia Killien, prof., FCN, never intended to stay in Seattle when she came to obtain her Master’s in Nursing at the SoN in 1973. A native of Iowa, she thought she would finish her degree and head back to the Midwest. More than 30 years and three deans later, she has made her mark on both the SoN and UW at large, serving in a variety of roles, including former department chair of FCN; Co-director of the Center for Women’s Health and Gender Research; and most recently, as the UW’s Secretary of the Faculty.

“I have always found great opportunities at this University

 to try on different roles,” she said.                                           Photo by Kathy Sauber

Marcia holds one of two of the offices of the University’s faculty, the other being the President of the University. She works closely in this role with faculty members from all over campus, aiding them in everything from conflict resolution to concerns about reorganization and job stability. “My experience has been very stimulating,” she said. “Now I know a lot more about other departments and schools on the three campuses and have used my nursing background to help me listen well to concerns.”

Joining the UW administration was a natural fit for Marcia, who recently finished her term as chair of the President’s Advisory Committee on Women (PACW). A well-known researcher on women’s roles in balancing work and family obligations, she has also explored the role of women in academia. “In nursing, we tend to forget that women are usually underrepresented in leadership roles on campuses, especially in department chair roles,” she said.

Although nursing wasn’t her original career aspiration (she had wanted to be an English major), Marcia’s desire to join academia led her to become the first student to graduate with a PhD in nursing science in 1982. “It was an exciting time to be a part of something new,” she said. “It was a really great experience.”

After completing her PhD, Marcia took a position at UW Medical Center as the director of research and quality assurance while simultaneously teaching in the Perinatal Nurse Practitioner program. Marcia joined the FCN faculty as an associate professor in 1985.

Despite her new roles in upper administration, Marcia remains committed to her work in the School of Nursing, including mentoring students. “I’ve had lots of opportunities to do lots of things in nursing,” she said. “It is a very diverse profession, and I’ve found ways to pursue my own interests within it. I want to pass that onto the students I work with.”

Marcia lives with her husband, a retired district court judge, and their black lab, Shadow, in View Ridge. They have two daughters; the eldest is in medical school at Dartmouth and the youngest in the UW’s College of Architecture. In her free time, Marcia likes to knit and play piano, taking lessons as an adult. “Being an adult learner is good for your brain,” she said. “It helps me to realize what it must be like to be a student learning an entirely new skill, like we ask of our nursing students. It’s rewarding but challenging.”

To learn more about Marcia’s role on the faculty senate, please visit: http://uwnews.org/uweek/article.aspx?Search=Marcia+Killien&id=44499