Dear Students, Colleagues and Friends,

This spring, social actions on campus emphasized our commitment to foster a diverse, equitable and inclusive community in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. As a College we focus on understanding issues of culture and social justice and uphold the University’s Framework for Inclusive Excellence. Our Committee on Inclusive Excellence serves as a catalyst for change where needed and provides regular opportunities for respectful communication among faculty, staff and students; and several of our students were honored by the Mosaic Center for Students of Color for their efforts to foster inclusivity on campus.

Our College has recently discussed opportunities for potential interdisciplinary collaboration to enhance research connections and funding with the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, in areas that include Complex Systems related to health care, equipment and prostheses development, augmentative and alternative communication for improved patient bedside care and robotic technology to facilitate social engagement in children with ASD. Working together, our teacher-scholar researchers and clinicians can pave the way for innovation while continuing to distinguish the University of Vermont as a public research institution that contributes to the solution to the need for improved health care practice and delivery nationwide.

Our ninth annual Zeigler Research Forum and Zeigler-X Event, held May 9 in the Davis Center, offered an opportunity for faculty and students to network and share their research with each other and the wider UVM community.

Results of Professor Sambit Mohapatra’s study focusing on the long-term effects of concussions or mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) in veterans and athletes offers new insight into the reasons many may struggle academically in college. Dr. Eyal Amiel received additional funding for his studies to understand the metabolic regulation of immune responses to infection. And Nursing Professor Jason Garbarino’s gerontology course, open to students in multiple CNHS majors, received UVM Community-University Partnerships’ outstanding service-learning award.

We welcomed new staff members Francesca Warenko, business/support generalist for the College, Heather Sliwoski, administrative/office support generalist for the Department of Rehabilitation and Movement Science and Victoria Fewell, administrative/office support generalist for the Department of Biomedical and Health Sciences (formerly known as the Department of Medical Laboratory and Radiation Sciences), and bid a fond farewell to Professors Barry Guitar, Ge Wu and Sarah Abrams who recently retired with a combined 78 years of service to the University of Vermont.

Our Master of Science in Physical Activity and Wellness Science, a one-year program designed to enhance the incorporation of physical activity into health care services, is now accepting applications for fall 2019. Our new Master of Science in Athletic Training program will undergo the Board of Trustees’ review this month. A new minor in Emergency Services minor and a Certificate in Integrative Healthcare are now available to students.

This summer the Department of Nursing will host a celebration of 75 years of Nursing at UVM.

We’ve surpassed our annual fundraising campaign goal by over three million dollars, which translates to additional faculty, student and program support. And finally, we honored our students’ academic achievements at our annual Honors Tea and Honors Day events and celebrated the CNHS Class of 2018 with a commencement ceremony for 208 students and their families in Patrick Gymnasium, followed by a reception in the Davis Center, on May 20. (You can listen to what our graduating seniors have to say about our College in this video >>)

All members of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences – faculty, staff, students, donors and friends - play vital roles in a unique academic community where new knowledge is created to improve peoples’ lives. Thank you for your support and many contributions.

Best wishes for a healthy, happy summer!

Patricia A. Prelock, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-CL

The College of Nursing and Health Sciences prepares the next generation of health care professionals through a purposeful continuum of patient care that includes health and wellness promotion, illness and injury prevention and the management of disability and disease. The College is part of an academic health sciences center that includes the UVM Medical Center, a highly-specialized quaternary care and level-1 trauma center, the Larner College of Medicine and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences.