Zach Gilbert
NEWS EDITOR
Prior to the 2020-2021 academic year, the UNO College of Education (COE) officially changed its name to the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences (CEHHS).
The adjustment in nomenclature was spurred by a desire to properly represent both the array of academic degree programs offered by CEHHS and the college’s improvements in research capabilities. CEHHS has been seen as a leader in the fields of biomechanics, kinesiology and STEM education for decades, but the college has seen additional growth in recent years in the number of innovative courses provided to students in these subjects.
“The growth and diversification of the programs offered within the college over the last decade represent outstanding faculty who are leaders in world-class research, responding to the dynamic needs of students and our community,” Nancy Edick, Dean of CEHHS said. “We’re excited about the new name, which is inclusive of the opportunities provided within our college.”
Edick believes that adding “health” and “human sciences” to the college’s name speaks to the college’s “interdisciplinary, research-engaged approach to education” while still honoring the well-established degree programs in teacher education, early childhood education, speech-language pathology and more.
In addition, the new name calls attention to the impressive growth of external funding for CEHHS, as the college has received more than $23 million over the past six years. This includes two of the three largest research grants in the health sciences area in UNO’s history.
UNO Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., was also quite pleased with the college’s new name, and he offered his congratulations.
“The College of Education’s name change to the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences encapsulates so well what we as an institution strive to foster: a learning and research environment that adds a richness and depth to the human experience,” Gold said. “I am particularly grateful to Dean Edick for all of the planning and to President Carter and the Board of Regents for embracing this vision of future growth.”
Though the college has evolved over its 110-year history at UNO – beginning as a simple teacher training program in 1908 – it has always remained an essential institution at the university.
The true College of Education was formed in 1950 after being approved by the Omaha University Regents. By 2011, the college moved from Kayser Hall to Roskens Hall, taking advantage of the building’s new state-of-the-art learning spaces and its expanded community counseling and speech-language clinics. A “play lab” was added on in 2017.
The Department of Biomechanics was created in early 2016. Last year we saw the establishment of a Biomechanics Research Building, privately funded by an $11.6 million donation. Prior to being represented in the college’s title, the School of Health and Kinesiology underwent its own name change in 2017 to include programs in kinesiology, athletic training, public health/health behavior, physical education teaching and physical activity/health promotion.
Across six academic units (biomechanics, counseling, educational leadership, health and kinesiology, teacher education and special education/communication disorders) and three buildings, CEHHS offers ten undergraduate degrees and 13 master’s and doctoral programs. Faculty from across the globe teach more than 2,300 students each semester.
