The University creates two new colleges and gives another one a new name
Catherine Brooks, interim dean and professor, School of Information
Kevin C. Lohenry, interim dean, College of Health Sciences, and assistant vice president for interprofessional education, University of Arizona Health Sciences
The name change is only the second in the college's history, which dates back to the University's founding in 1885.
Shane Burgess, vice president, Division of Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension, and Charles-Sander Dean, College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences
The new academic year brings changes to the University's college org chart. One school has been elevated to college status, one new college has been officially launched and a third has a new name. All three changes were approved by the Arizona Board of Regents during its June meeting in Flagstaff.
The iSchool is now a college
The School of Information, commonly known as the iSchool, has separated from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences to become a stand-alone college. The name will remain the same to reflect the collective vision of the international iSchools consortium, which represents more than 120 iSchools around the world.
The School of Information was launched in 2015 as the result of a merger of the School of Information Resources and Library Science and the School of Information Science, Technology and the Arts.
"We were never meant to be in a college forever," said Catherine Brooks, professor and interim dean of the School of Information. "That was simply to help hatch and grow this enterprise for the University and for the state of Arizona. This isn't just an effort for the University of Arizona. It's a really exciting opportunity for the state's employers and workforce."
The college offers nine degree programs in disciplines including library and information science, data science and game design. Students are trained to become specialists in data analysis, information management, artificial intelligence, librarianship and more.
The college has roughly 1,000 undergraduate and 400 graduate students and employs about 30 full-time faculty members, 45 part-time lecturers and other instructors, and 16 staff members. The college will not have departments, which is a common model for iSchools around the country, Brooks said.
More information on the iSchool structure and programming is available in an FAQ on the college's website.
College of Health Sciences approved
The Arizona Board of Regents approved a new College of Health Sciences. The college, the sixth under the University of Arizona Health Sciences umbrella, initially will offer five graduate-level degree programs: midwifery, physician assistant, Doctor of Physical Therapy, genetic counseling, and clinical translational sciences, a research-based degree that examines the connections between basic laboratory science and the treatments, diagnostics and drugs used in clinical practice.
"The College of Health Sciences will help fill much-needed positions in many crucial health care professions, while at the same time keeping education costs down for students," said Kevin C. Lohenry, interim dean of the College of Health Sciences and assistant vice president for interprofessional education at University of Arizona Health Sciences. "By creating a culture of health and wellness coupled with student success, the College of Health Sciences will play a strong role in training students to serve the needs of Arizona's diverse and rural communities with compassionate and culturally sensitive care as health professionals and through inclusive and innovative translational research as scientists."
The College of Health Sciences and some of its degree programs are being developed in part with New Economy Initiative funding from the Arizona Board of Regents.
Read more about the new college on the University of Arizona News website.
CALS is now CALES
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is now the College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences. The change "better recognizes what we do," said Shane Burgess, the Charles-Sander Dean of the College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences. Burgess also is vice president for the Division of Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension.
"Environment is and always has been inseparably a part of all our agriculture extension, teaching and research," Burgess said. "I know our new name will serve us well for many years to come. It reflects what we have done in the past, do now and will be even more important to society in the future."
The college offers 21 majors across five departments and five schools in areas including microbiology, nutrition, natural resources and the fashion industry.
The name change was suggested during a recent college retreat and was met with strong support in a faculty survey. The name change is only the second in the college's history, which dates back to the University's founding in 1885. It had been called the College of Agriculture until it was renamed the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in 2000.
Find more information on the change in a story posted on the CALES website and hear from faculty in the video below.