MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN
Wow, what a year! This year, we have had a record enrollment of 743 degree seeking students, of which roughly 60% are at the Master’s and doctoral levels. The number of new faculty and staff positions has also increased in the past few years to help accommodate this growth that has also been supported by the high tech teaching and laboratory space in our new building. This growth has resulted in the UNC Board of Governors granting a change in status from the School of Allied Health Sciences to the College of Allied Health Sciences—a fitting tribute to the college at the 40th anniversary of our establishment. To celebrate our 40th anniversary, we honored 40 distinguished alumni at our October 27 Homecoming event held in our new building before a receptive crowd of 151 alumni, family, friends, faculty, and retired faculty. What a great event—one we plan to repeat during Homecoming next year.
Growth has occurred in other areas of the College as well including our new Office of Research headed by our new Associate Dean for Research, David Cistola, MD, Ph.D. Dave came to us with 14 years as a NIH researcher at Washington University in St. Louis. He has hired a grants and contracts administrator and since his arrival July 1, Dave has effectively worked with faculty to significantly increase grant proposal submissions. This increased level of research excellence is also noted in The Chronicle of Higher Education where Academic Analytics ranked the research productivity of faculty in the Ph.D. program in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders as 9th in the nation.
The growth doesn’t stop there. Our new full-time Director of Development, Pat Frede, who joined the College in the spring of 2007, facilitated record giving to Allied Health Sciences to support its nine departments, the College, student scholarships, and student leadership development.
Other significant events such as the 3rd Annual Research Day between the College of Allied Health Sciences and the PCMH Regional Rehabilitation Center, the 4th Annual Mills Health Symposium on rural health issues scheduled for February 15-16, 2008.
Thanks to all of you who have helped create a historical foundation of excellence; we’re not just getting bigger, we’re getting better. Our outstanding faculty, staff, students, and alumni have made us what we are today…a college we can all be proud of…a future we can all share…a legacy on which we will build a better tomorrow, and tomorrow starts here, together.
Stephen W. Thomas, Ed.D
Dean
