This fall, the College of Nursing and Health Sciences launched the Master of Science in Medical Laboratory Science program and has begun to enroll students in the new Health Sciences Online Degree Completion program. We introduced service-learning travel study options in Nicaragua and Cuba, and a new integrative health course. Our proposal for an interdisciplinary Ph.D. program focusing on human functioning and rehabilitation science related to posture, balance, mobility, hearing, speech, language, physical activity and exercise has also been approved.

Faculty researchers Seth Frietze, Ph.D. and Eyal Amiel, Ph.D., were awarded grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH); Carol Buck-Rolland, Ed.D., APRN secured a Health Resources and Services Administration training grant for the graduate nursing program; Nancy Gell, PT, Ph.D., M.P.H., received funding through the Center on Aging; and Tim Tourville, Ph.D., ATC increased his funding from the NIH. Reuben Escorpizo, PT, M.Sc., D.P.T., was selected to present a keynote at the Nordic Work and Rehabilitation Conference; and Justine Dee, PT, M.S., OCS, clinical associate professor, was selected as a keynote speaker for the World Confederation for Physical Therapy Conference.

The College held its annual open house for alumni and current students and their families in conjunction with UVM Alumni and Family Weekend in September. Guests attended faculty presentations and toured our clinical simulation and human performance laboratories and the on-campus center for speech, language, and hearing. Jeanine Carr, Ph.D., RN, Barry Guitar, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Jeremy Sibold, Ed.D., ATC, and Seth Frietze, Ph.D., presented research in the areas of nursing, stuttering, exercise psychology, and cancer treatment, respectively. An information session for prospective graduate students was also incorporated into this year’s event.

The College is pleased to welcome our new faculty members this fall: Yang Bai, Ph.D., assistant professor of exercise and movement science; Mathew Failla, PT, Ph.D., assistant professor of physical therapy, Elizabeth Lee, PT, Sc.D., visiting clinical assistant professor of physical therapy, and Nancy Gauvin, Ed.D., CCC-SLP, clinical assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders. New nursing faculty include: Assistant Professor Laura Lewis, Clinical Instructor Julie Mazza, Visiting Instructor Genell Mikkalson, Clinical Instructor Kerry Prendergast and Clinical Assistant Professor Lori Vick. Christina Adamczak and Stephanie Boyd joined the administrative staff of the Department of Nursing and Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, respectively.

Our fall new student enrollment brings an outstanding class of 241 first-year and 88 graduate students. In total, the College of Nursing and Health Sciences is 1178 students strong.

We wish you a joyful holiday season and a new year filled with good health, and opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others.