A New Home for Health

The key reason for launching the school was to bring health-oriented programs together and elevate awareness about them, especially with prospective students who might not have been aware of the extensive offerings we have at UNI related to health,” said Dean Brenda Bass. “We have also broadly defined health in the school to include programs focused on physical, mental and emotional health, to help demonstrate how they all intersect with one another.

This comprehensive reorganization of health programs will make the University of Northern Iowa an even more desirable destination for students seeking a career in some of the nation’s most in-demand fields.

The school serves as home to a new Department of Nursing and Public Health, which oversees the university’s new Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree and public health program, previously offered through the College of Education.

Combining these two areas into one helps align the department and educate students to both promote and protect health.

The School of Health and Human Sciences additionally houses longstanding UNI programs such as athletic training, kinesiology (now aligned within a new Department of Kinesiology and Athletic Training), gerontology, family services, counseling (within a new Department of Family, Aging and Counseling) and social work.

The school also serves as a central hub for health programs across the university, working closely with the Office of Academic Advising and departments that house other pre-professional pathways such as pre-medicine, pre-dentistry, pre-optometry and more.

One of the biggest assets of the school is its ability to be a bridge to collaboration amongst these health-oriented programs.

“For both students and faculty, the school provides opportunities to find connections and synergy across the programs, which helps curriculum and research to be more multidimensional,” said Bass. “This better prepares students for their post-graduation careers and provides them with pathways for unique skill sets that help them stand out in an applicant pool. For faculty, it brings people together who share similar research and teaching interests, so they can find opportunities to share information and collaborate.”

“The connections across programs have been exciting to see, and sometimes in areas one wouldn’t automatically expect,” said Bass. “Some examples include kinesiology faculty connecting with gerontology faculty on research possibilities, nursing and public health faculty exploring curricular collaborations, and athletic training and nursing faculty finding possibilities to share processes that track students’ required clinical hours.”

The collaborative reimagination of UNI’s health programming was led by a working group of faculty from each department in the school, who met every couple of weeks through the spring 2023 semester leading up to the school’s launch. The team collectively put together the school’s mission and vision and helped keep their departments up to speed as the school came together.

The team also received input from a variety of campus entities — from Academic Advising to the University Faculty Senate and the Office of Business Operations — so the creation of the school was a true campus-wide initiative.

“The faculty group did fantastic work,” said Bass. “They did their homework on what health-related schools looked like at other institutions, while also recognizing the unique strengths of our UNI programs and seeking ways to build on those strengths. They were also very cognizant of what our community partners are saying in regard to workforce needs in the region and what academic foundation is needed for success in various careers.”

Each of the programs within the School of Health and Human Sciences includes faculty who have a real passion for providing students with curriculum that prepare them for a wide range of health-related careers.

“The faculty also are dedicated to connecting with community organizations and businesses to provide students with real-world learning opportunities, to keep the curriculum up to date with what occurs out in the field, and to create meaningful partnerships with community partners,” Bass said.

“Students in the programs are excited about the new energy of the school. They are already benefiting from the ongoing conversations faculty are having about potential interdisciplinary minors and certificates, which will provide students with additional relevant knowledge and skills.”

The School of Health and Human Sciences comes at an especially important time, as over the next 10 years, the health care sector is projected to add two million new jobs with an additional two million openings each year due to retirements, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Alongside the growing health care sector, there is an increased need for mental health services across the country. The job outlook for careers focused on substance abuse, behavioral disorders and mental health counselors are projected to grow 22% over the next 10 years.

By housing programs focused on both physical and mental health, the School of Health and Human Sciences will help ensure students receive a well-rounded education in integrated care. This ultimately helps ensure the school lives out its vision of empowering students to make a positive impact on the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities in Iowa and beyond.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SCHOOL OF HEALTH & HUMAN SCIENCES