The College of Health and Human Services will restructure five programs for the upcoming semester.

According to Provost Dr. Susan Turell, the following organizational changes will go into effect on July 1:

• The Respiratory Therapy program and the Master of Science in Health Services Administration (MHSA) program will join the Nursing department
• The Athletic Training and Exercise Science programs will form a department
• The Nutrition and Dietetics programs will form a department

Interim Dean of the College of Health and Human Services Dr. Lori Swanchak said the decision to reorganize these programs better aligns with the departmental resources needed for the programs and students involved.

“The move of Respiratory Therapy to the Nursing department is a better fit due to the applied nature and hands on training of all students,” said Swanchak. “This is also true for the MHSA program. It’s a natural progression for some of the nursing students who want to continue their studies at Marywood.”

Swanchak said the decision to separate the Athletic Training and Exercise Science programs and the Nutrition and Dietetics programs into two separate departments supports planned growth in these areas.

Turell said the decision to reorganize these programs was made as a result of a continued discussion on the Strategic Resource Allocation (SRA) report which was released three years ago.

“When we did the reorganization three years ago we knew we wanted to try some new organizational structures but we also were open to learning if it was working well or if we needed to revisit it,” said Turell. “We’re always looking for good synergies so that we can help the faculty work together to provide good education for the students.

According to Turell, no physical changes will have to be made on campus to support the reorganization.

“The majority of the work has to do with organizing the internal structures of the departments,” said Turell. “So really it’s just organizing internal communications and supporting the departments in electing new department chairs if they need to.”

Swanchak said she does not see the current remote working situation on campus causing any issues in this reorganization.

“The faculty and students of the programs have responded remarkably well to the current circumstances of working and learning remotely,” said Swanchak. “I anticipate continued effective transitions and implementation regardless of our physical separation.”

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