Angie Hines, MBA, director of academic administration, Office of the Academic Deans, University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON), is known for her meticulousness, innovative ideas, and knowledge of the school’s operations and curriculum, which led to a “movement” called #AskAngie.

“Angie is probably one of the most efficient and attention-to-detail people I’ve ever met in my life, and she really has her finger on the pulse of just about everything we do here,” said Shannon Idzik, DNP, CRNP, ANP-BC, FAANP, FAAN, professor, Department of Organizational Systems and Adult Health, and associate dean for the DNP Program. “I think so much so that about a year ago someone coined the term #AskAngie.”

Hines said the phrase was used during an all-school meeting that had been well attended. Afterward, she fielded questions for several months not only about the school but also on other subjects like the weather and veterinarian recommendations.

“It was a movement for a while that the School of Nursing really embraced,” said Hines, who has one of the longest tenures of her office.

Hines, who serves as a subject matter expert on new academic program development, review, and approval; graduate licensure and certification; accreditation; and evaluation,  was surprised by University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, on Oct. 29 during a videoconference with the news that she was the University’s October Employee of the Month. This is the second time that Hines has been recognized with the honor, having also won in January 2018.

“Many of your colleagues have complimented you on your style, work ethic, organizational skills, and team-building efforts,” Jarrell said in offering his congratulations. “You’re a great asset to this University and to the School of Nursing.”

Jarrell was joined by Yolanda Ogbolu, PhD, NNP, FNAP, FAAN, the Bill and Joanne Conway Dean of the University of Maryland School of Nursing, who thanked Hines for everything she does for the school.

“You’re such an instrumental and important part of our leadership team in terms of our accreditation survey and Board of Nursing,” she said. “The tremendous work you do in that area has been so helpful to us as a school, and you’re so well deserving of this award.”

Hines has spent much of this year guiding UMSON through its reaccreditation process. The school goes through the process every five to 10 years with its accrediting body, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

“I collected, relabeled, saved, and organized over 7,000 documents,” Hines said. “I did that over a six-month period. That’s what 2024 has been dedicated to — organizing, compiling, and cross-walking documents to regulatory and accreditation standards to demonstrate compliance.”

The school hosted CCNE and the Maryland Board of Nursing in October and will receive its reports in spring 2025.  

Creating Efficient Programs

Hines, who has worked in the same office since she arrived at UMB in 2013, has been praised for creating efficient programs such as cross-training to ensure staff members are proficient in various roles.

“This initiative has proved invaluable in maintaining operational continuity, even during staff absences or vacancies,” Ronnie Quattrini, DNP, MS, FNP-BC, associate professor, Department of Family and Community Health, and senior director, DNP Program, said in nominating Hines for the award.

Hines said that when she arrived at UMSON, she noticed that if someone was out of the office, no one else was able to support that program and help with students’ questions.

“It was very helpful, because this office has a history of high turnover. Cross-training enabled us to keep the office afloat and sustain operations,” she said. “It just kind of evolved, and as we identified opportunities for process improvements and efficiency, we focused on those tasks and capitalized on them.”

Hines also spearheaded an automation project aimed at making the office nearly paperless. She said that when she arrived at the school, there was a room full of file cabinets that the office used, which was inefficient. The University had the system ImageNow, which allows document scanning, and she worked with the Center for Information Technology Services to digitize files.

“We created an electronic file system that now has a couple hundred thousand documents in it,” she said.

“I’m very project-oriented. That’s my strong suit, being able to see things operationally. I was able to visualize how we could get there, and I had a great support system. So I was given the tools and the time.”

Quattrini said Hines’ leadership was instrumental in organizing, scanning, and digitizing decades of files as well as collaborating with programmers to develop efficient digital filing protocols.

“Angie’s forward-thinking mindset and innovative approach have positioned her as a key resource for automation initiatives within the school, cementing her reputation as a trailblazer in operational efficiency,” Quattrini said.

Feeling Valued

In addition to the two Employee of the Month awards, Hines has received recognition from UMSON, being honored with a Staff Excellence Award in 2023 and 2015 as well as the Dean Jane M. Kirschling Excellence in Leadership Award in 2016.

She called being honored with the two Universitywide awards “bittersweet.”

“I know that sounds odd, but I say bittersweet because we work very hard,” she said. “Working in academia can be grueling. We are vulnerable to the outside world — politics, local government, regulations, environment — we don’t always get the time to stop and acknowledge one another for our efforts.”

Hines, who also is working toward a Doctor of Business Administration degree at the University of Maryland Global Campus, praised UMB for recognizing staff members.

“It’s a wonderful benefit because it allows you to take that 15 minutes and see how much your work impacts others, how appreciated you are,” she said. “It’s a great way to inspire others to continue to put forth effort, because we are valued. We do matter. And it’s great that UMB stays true to that.”

Hines, who will receive a certificate, a letter of commendation, and an extra $250 in her next paycheck, thanked her UMSON family.

“They’re very supportive, always standing by my crazy ideas. We are a team,” she said. “The combined efforts of faculty and staff is the reason the School of Nursing has remained a top-ranked school year after year after year.”

Quattrini pointed out that Hines plays a huge role in that success.

“Under Angie’s leadership, the Office of the Academic Deans has wholeheartedly embraced the school’s mission to build a better tomorrow and the dean’s vision to cultivate a more conducive environment for work and learning,” she said.

— Jen Badie