Welcome to Fall 2022! I am excited by the start of a new academic year and the opportunity to welcome new and returning students, faculty, and staff to the College of Health and Human Sciences, as well as our friends and colleagues across the CSU community.

The air is ripe with expectation and hope, and the feeling that possibilities are endless. We look forward to new ideas, connections, experiences, and relationships, and we come prepared and energized to work together to co-create new knowledge, ideas, and discoveries. For me, this optimistic sense of “beginning” has been the most salient description of the start of every school year that I can remember, and this sense of excitement is what I wish for you.

A wise person once said that the only constant is change. Every academic year begins differently because the world around us is constantly moving. As we begin this academic year, COVID-19, inflation, climate change, challenges to human rights, and political polarization are in the news and in our lives. These challenges have laid bare some of the fundamental inequities, health disparities, and wicked problems in our society, yet these are some of the very challenges that we in the College of Health and Human Sciences seek to combat. Our faculty and students tackle complex issues like poverty, racism, obesity, sustainability, resiliency, and numerous physical and mental health challenges. You can learn about some of our novel approaches through our research podcast, Health and Human Science Matters.

With a commitment to equity and inclusion, our mission is to promote the health and well-being of people, their communities, and the environments in which they live. We do this across disciplines including construction management, design and merchandising, food science and human nutrition, human development and family studies, health and exercise science, occupational therapy, education, and social work. We are a unique college that fulfills our land-grant mission with a specific and proud commitment to improving the human condition. We are a college of problem-solvers, change-makers, and inspirational leaders whose passion is to transform lives.

To our students, please know we are so happy you are here, and we are here to support you. We are committed to helping you find your voice, your passion, and your unique set of skills that will empower you to make a difference. Our world needs you, now more than ever.

Best wishes for inspiration and meaning, and new and renewed connections as we start this new academic year.

Go Rams!

Lise Youngblade

Dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences