On July 1, 2018 the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo will officially have a new college—the College of Natural and Health Sciences. The college will consist of the current Division of Natural Sciences, School of Nursing and Department of Kinesiology and Exercise Sciences.
Jim Beets, professor of marine science and current chair of the Division of Natural Sciences, will serve as interim dean while the new college finds a permanent dean.
The focus of the College of Natural and Health Sciences during its first year will be on integration and operations, as well as collaboration between all involved departments.
“I’m really excited about having a natural and health sciences integration that is better serving the faculty and students,” said Beets. “Every unit operates differently than others. In natural and health sciences we have many laboratory and recitation classes, so it’s really important to recognize that those courses have different needs than many of the units on campus.”
With a stronger focus placed on natural and health sciences, it allows the university greater opportunities to stay up to date with the latest technology to provide state-of-the-art training for each of its students.
Added Beets, “There’s new technology coming out every year and if we’re going to be training students in natural and health sciences we really need to be able to train in these new technologies to make students competitive.”
For more on the new college including how the college came about and what comes next, read the full article at UH Hilo Stories.
—Excerpted from a UH Hilo Stories article written by Mikayla Toninato, a junior completing a semester at UH Hilo through the National Student Exchange program.
