Oakland University's schools of nursing and health sciences are set to embark on a new era of strategic partnership and collaboration, as they make the move to the new state-of-the-art Human Health Building this fall.
The two schools plan to kick off their new partnership with a retreat set for Tuesday, Aug. 28, at the Community House in Rochester. The goal is to unite faculty members and administrators to determine new initiatives emblematic of the new facility, according to Kenneth Hightower, Ph. D., dean of the School of Health Sciences.
“This collaboration is a small symbol reflecting a varied and extensive menu of items we plan on executing in the coming years,” Dean Hightower said. “The current emphasis is the new Human Health Building, but what makes it special are the people - the nursing and health science faculty members and their bright, high-achieving students from so many disciplines.”
One pivotal new idea is to develop a 'healthy clinic' where the combined expertise of SHS and SON would unite in areas of intervention, prevention and translational research, while also attempting to expand current health services to students on campus. The proposed clinic has the potential to unite other academic disciplines and campus services to promote health education and initiatives.
“This is indeed a very exciting time for the SHS and SON,” said Dr. Kerri Schuiling, dean of the School of Nursing. “Our faculty are particularly engaged and excited about the prospects of collaborating on teaching, research and practice.”
“And of course, with the Institute of Medicine's report and emphasis on the importance of Interprofessional Education, which is now embraced by nursing, medicine and other clinical organizations, our new building puts us in the perfect venue to make this happen,” Dean Schuiling continued. “In the end, it is about the faculty and the students and about all of the benefits of working and learning together. We all are very excited.”
Faculty from both schools will attend the retreat. The new Human Health Building will open its doors for a grand opening from 2-3 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 21.
The 160,000-square-foot Human Health Building is located on the northwest corner of Oakland’s nearly 1,500 acre campus. Designed to be energy efficient and sustainable, the state-of-the-art facility utilizes advanced green technology and is the first higher education building in Michigan to be certified as Leed Platinum.
For more information about programs and events in Oakland's SHS or SON, view the websites.
OU's schools of nursing and health sciences will join forces at a retreat where they will plan a new era of strategic partnership and collaboration.
Created by Katherine Land - Deleted (land@oakland.edu) on Tuesday, August 21, 2012 Modified by Katherine Land - Deleted (land@oakland.edu) on Tuesday, August 21, 2012 Article Start Date: Tuesday, August 21, 2012
