Dr. Shirley D. Johnston, founding dean of the Western University College of Veterinary Medicine, has accepted the position of vice president for university advancement. She will assume her new role with the university July 1.

The university will begin a search for a new dean at a later date and time, according to a university spokesperson.

As vice president, Dr. Johnston will spearhead fundraising efforts for an upcoming capital campaign, which will be instrumental in supporting the university's strategic plan and the launching of three proposed new colleges in 2009.

Dr. Johnston joined WesternU in 1998 as the founding dean for the veterinary college. She has served as a professor and the chair of the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at Washington State University, which is also where she earned her DVM degree in 1974. Dr. Johnston spent 22 years as a professor at the University of Minnesota. She is a diplomate of the American College of Theriogenologists.