- The College of Health Sciences will be integrated into the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health as a new School of Health Professions and Global Medicine.
- The College of Applied Science and Technology will be integrated into the College of Information Science.
“These integrations reflect our commitment to adapting our organizational model to better serve our students and enhance opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration that drives innovation and addresses real-world challenges,” said Ron Marx, interim senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. “These strategic changes are part of continued efforts to work together to enrich the educational experience of our students, position our university for future success and strengthen our ability to fulfill our land-grant mission.”
College of Health Sciences to join the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health
The College of Health Sciences will be integrated into the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, forming a new School of Health Professions and Global Medicine. All current academic programs in the College of Health Sciences will continue as part of the new school, with no changes to student classes or course offerings.
The integration is designed to align two vital aspects of the university’s land-grant mission, clinical education and public health, while strengthening academic, clinical, and community-engaged efforts across the new structure.
“This integration builds on the colleges’ complementary missions and their many synergies, most notably greater incorporation of population health into clinical training, helping to develop professionals who are even stronger advocates for public health in Arizona,” stated Dr. Michael D. Dake, senior vice president for health sciences, Dr. Iman Hakim, dean and Mel and Enid Zuckerman Endowed Chair in Public Health, and Dr. Kevin Lohenry, interim dean of the College of Health Sciences, in a joint message. “We believe these structural changes will also enrich the educational experience of our students by fostering innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration between clinical and public health disciplines as we work to grow the health care workforce in Arizona.”
College of Applied Science and Technology to join the College of Information Science
The College of Applied Science and Technology will be incorporated into the College of Information Science, combining the strengths of both colleges to create a unified academic unit. All academic programs, faculty and staff from CAST will fully transition into the College of Information Science. Programs such as Cyber, Intelligence and Information Operations, Applied Computing, and Applied Sciences will continue without interruption.
This alignment merges CAST’s leadership in undergraduate and transfer student education with the College of Information Science’s strength in graduate programs and research, creating new opportunities for academic and industry collaboration while advancing the university’s strategic imperatives.
“This change brings opportunities to strengthen partnerships across academic, government, industry and community-engaged efforts, connecting vital aspects of our student success goals and land-grant mission to serve the university’s strategic imperatives,” wrote Gary Packard, Ph.D., interim senior vice provost for online initiatives; Catherine Brooks, Ph.D., interim dean of the College of Information Science; and Nicol Rae, Ph.D., acting dean of CAST in a joint message. “Together, we will build an even stronger, more interdisciplinary College of Information Science, one that serves students across a broad spectrum of disciplines including cybersecurity, data science, library science, game design and development, justice and global security, and much more.”
Mission-driven alignment and a unified path forward
University leadership will work closely with faculty, staff and students to support smooth and thoughtful transitions. Students’ academic progress will not be affected.
“These transitions represent an exciting and forward-looking moment for the university,” Marx said. “By combining the strengths of these academic units, we will enhance innovation, foster collaboration, and expand our collective impact, not only within the university, but across the state and the nation.”
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