Jerry Cleland, interim Dean of the College of Science and Health effective July 1, said the college is a “new opportunity to bring in different sets of students and to create new programs. It’s an exciting time for a dean and the university.” Cleland is currently the Chair of the Department of Psychology.
The College of Science and Health (CSH) was officially announced May 20 and will absorb the programs of biology, chemistry, environmental science, nursing, physics, psychology, mathematics and STEM from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LA&S), which will become the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (LAS).
Cleland said, “What we’re trying to do is provide a new focus on science and health.” He said CSH will be able to establish this focus faster because of a smaller group of people working in the college.
The new CSH dean hopes the close proximity of faculty will foster new programs, like the cognitive neuroscience program that was created last year between two faculty members from the biology and psychology departments.
Jesus Pando, Chair of the Department of Physics, says CSH will build new collaborations among faculty research opportunities and in turn offer more research opportunities to students, something Pando says could have happened in the structure of LA&S, but will be made easier in CSH.
“The new college allows us to think about new curriculum, offer perhaps faster and quicker responses to student needs and develop potential new and more visible pathways for students through their education,” Pando said.
Pando said, “I think DePaul has a rich tradition of being a strong liberal arts university, which will still be true, but the sciences have been a little bit in the shadows.” Pando said the new college would bring prominence to the sciences at DePaul.
“There’s a national focus on science and health. Putting these two together was a logical place for the institution to go,” Cleland said.
Kenneth Fidel, Associate Professor of Sociology said, “It seems strange to make the distinction between social sciences and issues of health.”
Fidel said there are many areas of contact between health, psychology, and sociology, including the study of the treatment of mental health illnesses.
Fidel described disciplines with close connections to both psychology and sociology, including social psychology, community psychology, sociology of housing, and industrial organizational psychology.
“I don’t terribly like the idea of losing the program of psychology, which has close connections to sociology,” Fidel said. “These are the connections we will miss.”
In addition to disciplinary connections, Fidel said he would also miss connections by way of students and faculty between departments.
Charles Suchar, Dean of LA&S, said, “The hope is that the new college will make DePaul more appealing to attract students to the health and science areas. We hope that that is the case.” Suchar will serve as the new Dean of LAS.
“We are a leaner, meaner, and more compact, and hopefully a more efficient college to administer,” Suchar said of LAS. “My only concern now is we move forward and do the best we can for the students.”
