Message From The Dean

Welcome to the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ). UMDNJ is a dynamic institution of higher education; it is a state-wide resource for education, research and community service and is developing a national presence in advanced education. UMDNJ has always been committed to achieving the highest level of performance in its mission. Adherence and commitment to mission are the cardinal elements of all successful institutions. The academic and administrative leadership of the University is committed to continuous quality improvement in all of the University's core functions. The UMDNJ-School of Health Related Professions, as an integral part of the University, enthusiastically embraces the University's values and vision of excellence.

The School offers a wide variety of educational programs ranging from collaborative programs with secondary schools to graduate programs in the health sciences. Each program is tailored to meet emerging health care workforce needs as well as those of practicing health professionals. The hallmark of health care today is change. Not only is the UMDNJ-School of Health Related Professions equal to the challenges inherent in these changes, but we serve as agents of change in the ways in which we educate our students. It is our goal to offer the very best programming possible to help our students compete in such a health care environment. We view our students as the centerpiece of the School and we are extremely proud of their achievements. In response to newer learning styles and to students with enhanced computer skills, we have consistently changed our programs, added new and deleted unnecessary information from our courses and offered some of our courses in both traditional and technology-based formats. For example, we have a dynamic Center for Advanced and Continuing Education to help students to ease into advanced graduate or undergraduate courses. In addition, we have many distance learning courses on the Internet and have seven fully web-based degree programs available particularly for working professionals. At the center of all this activity are you, the students.

The School's faculty members are among the finest allied health faculty in the nation. The University takes great pride in their teaching as well it might, given the outstanding success of our graduates on national and regional licensure, registry or certifying examinations or judged by the high degree of satisfaction our graduates and their employers express. When you come to the UMDNJ-School of Health Related Professions, you will find a professional and competent faculty who will pay personal attention to your academic needs. Our faculty members are also engaged in research and scholarship and many of them are often invited to present papers at national, international and regional symposia or conferences.

At UMDNJ, we also place a high value on community service. The School shares in this sense of purpose and vision. As students in the UMDNJ-School of Health Related Professions you, too, will participate in these services as an integral part of your learning experiences.

As you read about the School's many programs in this catalog, you will discover a vibrant, exciting School well poised to prepare you as a health professional for the twenty-first century. Through these pages are written the words: opportunity, growth, advancement and satisfaction. I am pleased to welcome you to the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Health Related Professions! For additional information on the school and our programs please visit our website at http://shrp.umdnj.edu.

David M. Gibson, Ed.D.,Dean