NMSU has undertaken to merge the Colleges of Education, Health, and the Department of Sociology into one College. The new college is called “The College of Health, Education, and Social Transformation.”
The politics of this college merger are unclear; we don’t really know why it’s being done. We hope it isn’t going to be used to reduce funding for these new merger members. But there is an idea here that merits being taking seriously for what it might imply and lead to.
It’s stated in the article that Education and Healthcare “belong” together. PSA has also envisioned that the components of successful LFH/online, include many components of successful healthcare online. And the reverse as well.
Quality healthcare is strongly advanced by Preventive Medicine, and that is primarily accomplished through education about various health conditions and circumstances, and how to avoid illness. We need to know a lot to choose appropriate behaviors for health. We also need to know a lot to take appropriate care of ourselves after being diagnosed with disease, including best lifestyle practices, and the knowledge of medications.
It is also well known that the quality of students’ health has a large impact on their ability to learn. Healthcare supports education. In addition, currently, much healthcare for poverty-based students has become a service provided by educational institutions.
The third part in this merger, “The Department of Sociology” (from College of Arts and Sciences), now called Social Transformation, when added together with the other two, forms a unity echoed in the concepts and models of “Community Schools”. Perhaps a best-case scenario might be the newly merged entity being used to implement prototypes of community schools in southern New Mexico, and throughout the state.
NMSU is a land-grant University, with special responsibilities to serve their community in ways that go beyond just offering degree credentials. With visionary leadership, that mandate could be re-envisioned to support and develop community schools.
NMSU regents approve merger of education and health colleges