Letter from the Dean

Dear Friends:

It's time to welcome another spring semester. With the spring semester comes many exciting endeavors for the College of Health and Human Services and for San Diego State University (SDSU) as a whole.

One thing that I would like to highlight is the sixth annual SDSU Month. As usual, it was held in March and celebrated "The Minds That Move the World" and SDSU's outstanding students, faculty, staff and alumni. This year, we focused on SDSU researchers whose work is making an impact on the local, national and international levels - and earned SDSU the distinction of the number one small research university in the nation for the second consecutive year!

SDSU Month showcases the university and its contribution to the community through dozens of arts, academic and athletic events throughout March. Besides these events, it included special offers, a scholarship drive and a media campaign supported by numerous community partners. The month-long celebration kicked off with the men's basketball team hosting the Rams of Colorado State University for their final home game of the year on March 1.

A signature event of the month is Explore SDSU-Open House, which was held on Saturday, March 15. Explore SDSU was a great opportunity to learn all about what SDSU has to offer. This year's open house featured information booths, free exhibits, tours, live entertainment and a Family Zone with fun activities for kids and families, including KPBS character readings from some of public television's most popular characters.

The event was a particularly meaningful one for the College of Health and Human Services we sponsored our annual health fair, "Just for the Health of It". It was our way of showcasing how interdisciplinary our college truly is. More than 15,000 people visited campus to see all the fascinating things we are doing to create a strong workforce and all that we do as community partners.

One of the featured exhibits was the School of Nursing's Human Patient Simulation Center. This demonstration featured the cutting-edge technologies used by the School of Nursing, making it one of the best nursing programs in the country. The simulators mimic more than 90 different health conditions and are designed to prepare nursing students for real-life situations in a clinical setting.

The college collaborated with numerous hospitals and health-related organizations from within San Diego County to bring the health fair to Explore SDSU; it was open to prospective students, current students, alumni, and community members. Free health screenings and demonstrations were offered, as well as information on various health services and overall health and wellness. It was a great way to showcase our college and was quite an event for us!

Warmest wishes, Marilyn Newhoff Dean