The College of Nursing and Health Sciences is a community of scholars and practitioners committed to a holistic, lifespan approach to health and health care. Our mission to integrate the diverse factors involved in this model of care occurs through education, critical inquiry, leadership, and service.

This spring, the College hosted the sixth annual Zeigler Research Forum, a fundamental means to provide students with opportunities for collaborative research mentorship and for the sharing of new knowledge among the CNHS community; developed a platform for the introduction of an integrative health component into college practice; honored faculty, staff, and students for their achievements; and marked the retirement of faculty and staff members Lee Nelson, professor emerita of rehabilitation and movement science, Judy Cohen, professor emerita of nursing, and Cis Dumas, clinical education assistant for rehabilitation and movement science. We also celebrated the CNHS Class of 2015 - 197 students well-prepared to enter the healthcare workforce - with a commencement ceremony in Ira Allen Chapel on May 17, during which philanthropists Holly and Bob Miller were awarded honorary degrees for their contributions to the health care field.

Our continued striving to improve health and health care delivery for citizens of local, state, national and global communities through leadership roles that include research, advocacy, education and guidance in public policy and service delivery has not gone unnoticed. Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders Barry Guitar - who has received 25 years of funding from foundations and federal agencies including the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, published more than 60 papers and a fifth edition of his widely used college textbook, Stuttering: An Integrated Approach to Its Nature and Treatment - received the 2015 George V. Kidder Outstanding Faculty Award for excellence in teaching and advising. In March, the College of Nursing and Health Sciences was ranked among the "10 Best Colleges to Study Health Professions" for its number of quality majors within the field, small class sizes and collaborative learning with professors, and high salaries following graduation and at the mid-career level. Our three graduate programs were also highly ranked by U.S. News & World Report, with Communication Sciences and Disorders and Physical Therapy in the first quartile, and Nursing ranked in the second quartile.


Patricia A. Prelock, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Dean, College of Nursing & Health Sciences
Professor, Communication Sciences