DBJ: Wright State University to launch its first new college in more than 30 years this fall

Excerpt

Wright State University’s Dayton Campus

Wright State University has established a timeline to open its first new college in more than three decades.

The Fairborn-based university will launch its College of Health, Education and Human Services in fall 2021. Formation of the college was unanimously approved by Wright State University’s board of trustees on Feb. 19.

Programs from three existing colleges and seven departments will be consolidated into the new college, which consists of four schools:

• Miami Valley School of Nursing, Kinesiology and Health Sciences
• School of Social Work and Human Services
• School of Education and Leadership
• School of Professional Psychology

First announced in February 2020, the new college will house undergraduate and graduate programs within the fields of nursing, professional psychology, teacher education, kinesiology and health, social work, human services and leadership studies in education and organizations.

According to WSU President Susan Edwards, the college should help the university create pathways designed to enhance student success, including integrated advising and retention strategies; as well as provide more experiential learning and research opportunities.

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

It should also mirror health-related colleges at other institutions across the state, including Ohio State University, Miami University and the University of Cincinnati.

This spring, a committee will oversee a national search for the college’s founding dean. WSU aims to have the new dean in place by July 1.

The college has been in the planning stages for nearly four years. An initial framework was presented in February 2018 by the Academic Organization Review Steering Committee — a WSU faculty group that created the draft proposal.

According to the committee’s report, the intent of the college is to enhance pathways and improve outcomes for students, and to support the development of “new educational programs, research areas and partnerships.”

A full copy of that report can be found here.

In the spring and summer, necessary milestones required to open the college include faculty approval of the college bylaws and changes to data governance, Wright State said.

Founded in 1967, Wright State University is the No. 3 largest postsecondary institution in the Dayton region, according to DBJ research. The university operates its main campus in Fairborn near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, as well as a regional campus in Celina.