Wright State’s College of Health, Education and Human Services will open next fall

The College of Health, Education and Human Services brings together the outstanding faculty, staff and students from Wright State’s health-related and education programs.

After years of planning, Wright State University will officially launch a new college dedicated to preparing students for in-demand careers in health care, education and human services.

Scheduled to open in the Fall Semester, the new College of Health, Education and Human Services includes existing undergraduate and graduate programs in:

• Nursing
• Kinesiology and Health
• Professional Psychology
• Social Work
• Human Services
• Teacher Education
• Leadership Studies in Education and Organizations

The university will reorganize programs from three different colleges and seven departments into one new college.

The college is organized into four new schools:

• Miami Valley School of Nursing, Kinesiology and Health Sciences: includes nursing and kinesiology and health departments
• School of Social Work and Human Services: includes social work and human services departments
• School of Education and Leadership: includes teacher education and leadership studies in education and organizations departments
• School of Professional Psychology

The Wright State Board of Trustees unanimously approved the formation of the college during its meeting on Feb. 19. It is the first new college at Wright State in over three decades.

“The creation of the college was strategic,” said President Sue Edwards. “It will allow the university to better respond to region’s workforce and educational needs.”

“The College of Health, Education and Human Services brings together the outstanding faculty, staff and students from Wright State’s health-related and education programs to offer more educational paths to in-demand careers as well as providing increased interprofessional experiential learning and research opportunities,” Edwards said

Reorganizing multiple related programs into the new college helps the university create clear pathways designed to enhance student success, including integrated advising and retention strategies, Edwards said.

The College of Health, Education and Human Services will offer students more educational paths to in-demand careers and provide increased interprofessional experiential learning and research opportunities. (File photo from 2019)

Faculty, staff and administrators will be encouraged to identify novel approaches to operate efficiently and effectively, she said.

Long-term, the university hopes the new college will give Wright State the flexibility to identify new academic programs to meet the future needs of students and the region.

Over the spring and summer, faculty, staff and administrators will continue the necessary work to open the college.

A search committee will oversee a national search this spring for the college’s founding dean. The goal is to have the new dean in place by July 1.

Other upcoming milestones needed to organize the college include approval by the faculty of the college bylaws and changes to data governance by CaTS and the Registrar’s Office.

Work on creating a new college started about four years ago. The process has involved hundreds of people from the Wright State community, including the Academic Organization Review Steering Committee, as well as regional stakeholders.

Working Groups were responsible for numerous areas including accreditation, affiliation agreements, community advocacy/relations, curriculum, data governance, governance, steering, student success and services, wellness culture/relationship building, and workforce development, community engagement and partnerships.