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The university will begin interviewing candidates to fill the position of nurse manager at the Brandeis Health Center, filling a vacancy created by the departure of former director Kathleen Maloney.

Maloney retired in May after having worked at the health center for 11 years. She initially came to Brandeis in 1998 intending to set-up the health center, but she chose to stay well past her original six-month assignment.

Despite the vacancy, things are proceeding as normal at the health center, even as the university has set in place measures to combat the spread of H1N1 on-campus.

“Everyone at the Health Center has pitched in to extend themselves so that students are well cared for,” Director of the Health Center Dr. Debra Poaster wrote in an e-mail with The Hoot.

“We did a lot of advance planning over the summer to respond to the surge that H1N1 might present,” Poaster said. “Many departments of the University have worked to coordinate a flexible plan to deal with this new flu, and it has been working smoothly to help students who are ill and keep the campus healthy and functioning.”

Candidates for the position have yet to be selected.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which runs the university health center, will present Brandeis with a list of candidates for consideration at a later time.

For the foreseeable future, however, the university will keep its focus on battling the flu.

“The flu has been occupying everyone’s time,” Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer said.

When the search commences, student representatives will be invited to be present at candidate interviews. Representatives will include members of the Student Health Advisory Committee, as well as BEMCO Operations Director Dan Litwok ’10 and Student Union Treasurer Daniel Acheampong ’11.

The move is part of a recent effort by the university and the Student Union to involve students in university administrative appointments.