Interim Dean Kate Mamiseishvili and her team of college leaders at the College of Education and Health Professionals recently revolved around concrete ways faculty can work together within the college and across the state to address the complex challenges of education and health. announced a new initiative.

WE CARE is an acronym for Wellness and Education Commitment to Arkansas Excellence and drives three priorities for 2022-23. Mamiseiishvili developed a goal with her university’s leadership team of education and health professionals over the summer. She shared their vision with faculty and staff at a welcome back event on Friday, encouraging them to develop proposals and apply for funding related to WE CARE.

“We are perfectly positioned to leverage and bring together our expertise in both education and health to expand the national excellence of our university,” said Mamiseiishvili, noting that health and wellness are top priorities. He said he is focused on tackling contemporary challenges in the field of education. Strategies based on this priority include developing interdisciplinary teams to produce research that will help inform and address disparities in health and education; planning new research trajectories in collaboration with leading academics; or developing new, unique and impactful programs and learning experiences for students.

This priority will also support ‘Dean’s Seminars’ for students across the fields of health and education. The first seminar will start in his spring of 2023. “We believe that providing students with meaningful, unique and transformative educational experiences will enhance the preparation of educators and health professionals, ultimately improving the care provided to future patients and communities. ” said Matthew. Ganio, Associate Dean of Academic and Student Affairs.

WE CARE’s second priority is to advance the university’s land grant mission by taking care of the people of Arkansas. Strategies include developing and funding opportunities for students to complete internships, practicums, or clinical experiences statewide. “By encouraging field experiences throughout Arkansas, students will better understand the needs of their communities and think about careers statewide,” said Michael Hebel, Interim Vice President for Research, Strategy, and Outreach. more opportunities.

The university will also fund educators and medical professionals throughout Arkansas to spend up to one semester at the university working with students, faculty, and staff. We also support travel to learn about community needs and priorities from state educators and health professionals. “Hearing voices from voters representing diverse communities improves our ability to serve Arkansas. We support faculty travel to learn about challenges and opportunities.”

A third priority focuses on university culture. “Our ability to achieve our priorities is highly dependent on our ability to reflect critically on our own practices, processes and decisions, and to consider new and creative ways,” Mamiseishvili said. said. But she and her team want to invest in people at the university through WE CARE Together events for faculty and staff. “I strongly believe that in order to be able to care for our students and the communities we serve, we need to care for each other and create communities where people feel valued,” she said. “These events help us learn about and celebrate our diverse identities, promote inclusion, highlight the diverse talents and expertise of our university, and enhance our overall capacity for compassion.” help. ”

Mamiseiishvili is excited about the possibilities for Fall 2022. “The pandemic has caused disruption, but in many ways it has also been an accelerator of change and transformation,” she told university faculty at an event Friday. “This is an opportunity to take advantage of the transformation that is happening in health and education and on all higher education campuses today. We hope the WE CARE initiative will be an accelerator for our transformation.”