Published: 10/04/2019
Morosky Academic Center
Gannon University’s Morosky College of Health Professions and Sciences is a collaborative community of faculty, staff, clinical educators, and students in Erie and in Ruskin, Florida.
It is the largest college at the university, accounting for more than 2,000 students and 160 faculty and staff across two campuses.
And now it is being restructured into five separate schools to help Gannon improve the student experience, develop strategic new programming, and promote even greater collaboration between programs.
The new schools reflect Gannon’s ongoing commitment to creating the region’s best health care professionals and scientists to meet the challenges of tomorrow.
“Society faces numerous challenges in the years to come in the areas of healthcare, management of our natural resources, and higher education,” said Sarah Ewing, Ph.D., dean of Gannon’s Morosky College of Health Professions and Sciences. “Gannon is known for its ability to prepare innovative, knowledgeable, and socially responsible professionals prepared to excel within their profession. The future requires even stronger collaboration, interprofessional approaches to healthcare, and leadership as well as flexible and innovative educational paths toward meaningful careers needed in the workforce.”
The restructuring of the Morosky College of Health Professions and Sciences aligns programs to facilitate collaboration, innovative academic programming, and enhanced support for our faculty, staff and students.
Walter Iwanenko, Ph.D., vice president for academic affairs at Gannon University, said change is necessary for programs to remain at the cutting edge of innovation and relevance.
“As Gannon’s reputation for quality health care has grown nationally, we must constantly adapt to market needs,” he said. “This restructure is a response to not where we are now but to where we will be in three to five years -- continuing to provide top talent to the health care industry.
“Growth requires resources and we are fully prepared to invest in current and future academic programs, faculty, and students to offer the highest quality educational experience possible,” he said.
The five new schools, each of which will be led by an associate dean, are:
- School of Medical Sciences, which includes physician assistant science, radiologic sciences and respiratory care.
- School of Rehabilitative Sciences, which includes occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech language pathology, and athletic training.
- Villa Maria School of Nursing, which includes the RN-BSN program, school health certificate, bachelor’s of science in nursing, master’s of science in nursing, and doctor of nursing practice.
- School of Public Health and Health Sciences, which includes public health, health science, sport and exercise science, medical laboratory science and nutrition and human performance.
- School of Sciences, which includes biology, freshwater and marine biology, chemistry and biochemistry, math, physics, science, and pre-health advising.
Although the academic leaders, faculty and staff for each academic program in Ruskin will report to the associate dean within their school, there will also be an associate dean for the Ruskin campus. This position will oversee on-campus operations and the expansion of new academic programs.
These six associate deans will comprise the leadership council to support the dean and the operations across the college.
The restructuring, which is underway, will take about three years to fully implement. In addition, a new associate dean will need to be hired for the School of Public Health and Health Sciences.
The intent of all of this is to provide administrative support to all academic programs within the college and allow for the development of competitive advanced training and dual degree options for students.
“With this new structure, we can fully capitalize on the energy of our faculty and students who are engaged in meaningful work inside and outside of the classroom that seeks to tackle the challenges faced within our community and society-at-large,” Ewing said. “Through strategic academic programming, innovative educational experiences and paths, and collaboration we are committed to caring for tomorrow together.”