It is my pleasure to welcome you to the College of Health and Human Services (CHHS). As you explore the CHHS web-pages, you will find the richness of our degree programs at both undergraduate and graduate levels. The College is the newest college at WKU, established by our Board of Regents in August 2002, to bring together all health and human services programs under one administrative unit. Student enrollment has grown in CHHS by over 56% in the last five years. This growth is attributed to the implementation of new programs such as the Masters in Social Work, expansion of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing, development of the Nurse Educator track in the Masters in Nursing Program, continuation of excellence in our Masters in Communication Disorders, the New York City class, and an increase in Kentucky’s first accredited Masters in Public Health.

The College consists of seven departments that represent an array of disciplines and offers degrees at the associate, baccalaureate and masters degree levels. The College also offers a collaborative doctorate in Rehabilitation Science with the University of Kentucky. Departments in the CHHS are Allied Health (dental hygiene), Communication Disorders, Consumer and Family Sciences, Nursing, Physical Education and Recreation, Public Health, and Social Work. The College also oversees the South-Central Kentucky Area Health Education Center, the Kentucky Emergency Medical Services Academy, and the Institute for Rural Health Development and Research. Most recently, the CHHS created a new Center for Gerontology. Dr. Dana Bradley was selected as the Director of the Center and the Cliff Todd Professor in Gerontology.

Our focus is to provide the highest possible quality of education to prepare our students to become leaders in careers related to health and human services. First year students have the opportunity to enroll directly in a specific career or to enroll in our Exploratory program for undecided students to explore the many career options available to them. The faculty is highly qualified in their respective disciplines and utilizes innovative teaching strategies along with state of the art instructional technology. The Academic Center for Excellence (ACE) provides tutoring and career advising for majors in the College. In the past year we have worked with Residential Life to start WKU’s first college initiated Living and Learning Community (LLC). Students in CHHS’ Living and Learning Community live on the same floor in Minton Hall and enroll in three general education courses together. Greenview Hospital has partnered with our LLC to offer guest speakers and shadowing experiences for students in health-related careers. The focus of these new initiatives is on student success.

The disciplines in the College have their roots in outreach to the community. Dental hygiene, communication disorders, consumer and family science, nursing, physical education, public health, recreation, and social work prepare students to be “stewards of place” – that is, our programs provide opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to be engaged in communities in which we reside. Students are required to complete clinical experiences, field work, or internships through one of the many affiliation agreements with a myriad of health and human services facilities, agencies and organizations. A nationally recognized mobile health and wellness unit provides opportunities for students to apply skills learned in the classroom in the provision of preventive services to residents in our region

I invite you to explore our Web site and read about our distinguished faculty and programs of study. If you have any specific questions or would like to request more information, please do not hesitate to contact us.