A new era of healthcare requires new ways of looking at and teaching health. The University of La Verne is rising to meet the challenge.
The university is proud to announce the opening of its College of Health and Community Well-Being—the university’s fifth college—which will be a hub for high-quality education, research, and innovation in health and the social determinants of health. It will also provide a pipeline of qualified graduates to support the Southern California region’s growing need for healthcare professionals.
The college, which officially opened on July 1, 2022, offers 10 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in nursing, health administration, physician assistant practice, child life, psychology, marriage and family therapy, clinical psychology, kinesiology, and athletic training. Additional programs will be added beginning in fall 2023.
“Southern California is facing a critical shortage of essential healthcare workers,” University of La Verne president Devorah Lieberman said. “The College of Health and Community Well-Being will prepare the next generation of nurses, psychologists, physician assistants, health administrators, and others working in a variety of fields to help meet these needs and improve the quality of life for our communities.”
The college holds a holistic vision for health that goes beyond today’s traditional model and is informed by data and the impact social determinants, health inequities, and cultural agility have on community and individual health.
Through deep partnerships with community health providers, nonprofits and others, it will provide students with meaningful clinical, internship, research, and other hands-on experiences critical to a quality education and student licensure requirements.
“This college will help students find not only a career path, but a sense of belonging and purpose as well,” Lieberman said.
Though the college is new, the University of La Verne has a long history of excellence in health education. Health-related degrees have been an important part of the university’s offerings for 50 years. Today, one in six current undergraduate and graduate students at the university is enrolled in a health-related degree.
Additionally, as a federally-designated Hispanic-Serving Institution, the university understands not only the changing dynamics of health care, but the need for increasingly diverse graduates who mirror the population of the greater Southern California region.
The vision for the college was developed over the past 10 years, led by Lieberman, with guidance from college faculty, trustees, donors, alumni, and an advisory council of health care sector leaders from across Southern California.
That community support includes a $2.3 million gift from alumna Frances Ware ’64 and her late husband, John A. “Andy” Ware to establish the college’s programs in nursing, and a gift of more than $720,000 from Adventist Health White Memorial, Los Angeles, to support a scholarship fund for students in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing: RN to BSN program.
The bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in health administration are among several programs within the college that are now accepting applications for the spring.
The 10 academic programs within the college are currently offered across the university’s central campus in La Verne, online, and at several regional campus locations. Plans are underway to build a new home for the college in Ontario, California, near to the university’s College of Law and a new civic center complex, contributing a revitalized education and innovation corridor of the city’s downtown area.
To learn more about the College of Health and Community Well-Being, visit health.laverne.edu.
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