Dr. Fred Witt, Founding Dean and Professor of the College of Health Sciences (CHS) at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC spoke to Hickory Rotary today. Dr. Whitt was named Dean and Professor of the College of Health Sciences in 2010. In only three years of existence, the CHS has experienced unprecedented growth in numbers and quality, and is now the second largest among Appalachian’s eight academic colleges and schools. Dean Whitt’s visionary leadership, passion of excellence, commitment for creating a collaborative culture, and development of new public and private partnerships have facilitated the College’s reputation as one of the most productive and innovative units on campus.
Under Dean Whitt’s leadership at Appalachian, new public and private partnerships have been developed with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, Wake Forest Baptist Health, Appalachian Regional Healthcare System, Blue Ridge Electric
, Novant Health, Mission Hospital, Caldwell 20/20, WakeMed, and the North Carolina Research Campus. More recently, a unique partnership has been established with Wake Forest School of Medicine which will result in expanding Physician Assistant (PA) training to the rural mountain areas on NC. Dean Whitt is responsible for nationally accredited undergraduate and graduate programs which include Nursing, Nutrition and Dietetics, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Social Work, Exercise Science, Health Promotion, Athletic Training, Recreation Management, and Physical Education. In addition, his oversees the Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC Institute for Health and Human Services
According to the ASU website, “students who graduate with one of our degrees should find many career opportunities available to them. Potential career paths our graduates might pursue vary depending upon degree earned but include Strength & Conditioning Specialists, Rehabilitation Counselors, Hospital Wellness Coordinators, Pediatric Dieticians, Hospice Managers, Epidemiologists, Triage Nurses, Cardiovascular Fitness Instructors, Park Rangers, and Developmental Disabilities Specialists.”
Employment opportunities for CHS majors include:
- Athletic Training (Bachelor of Science)
- Communication Disorders (Bachelor of Science)
- Exercise Science (Bachelor of Science, Multiple Concentrations)
- Foods and Nutrition (Bachelor of Science, Multiple Concentrations)
- Health Care Management (Bachelor of Science)
- Health Promotion (Bachelor of Science)
- Nursing (Bachelor of Science in Nursing)
- Physical Education, Teacher Education (Bachelor of Science)
- Recreation Management (Bachelor of Science, Multiple Concentrations)
- Social Work (Bachelor of Social Work)
For more information visit: http://healthsciences.appstate.edu/
