Dean Williams Message

Welcome to
THE COLLEGE of CLINICAL &
REHABILITATIVE HEALTH SCIENCES

Welcome to East Tennessee State University College of Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences! As a rapidly growing college in health and rehabilitative sciences, CCRHS combines outstanding faculty, challenging academic curricula, and state-of-the-art academic and clinical spaces to provide rigorous education and exemplary clinical experiences. The College is home to 13 (and soon to be 14) clinical and rehabilitation programs which, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, are among the fastest growing and highest demand health-related programs. As one of five health colleges that make up the ETSU Academic Health Sciences Center, interprofessional education and collaborative practice is emphasized to create an integrated, collaborative learning environment across the health and rehabilitation professions in the college that connects disciplines, promotes teamwork, fosters mutual understanding, and strengthens research to the end that it enhances leadership capabilities of our graduates and improves health for individuals and populations. Our students have opportunities to participate in the ETSU IPE Program and learn about, from, and with students from the colleges of medicine, pharmacy, nursing, and public health. This learning environment reflects the future of health care and promotes a deep appreciation for work across the professions. Our new First Year Experience course: Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse: An Interprofessional Approach will introduce our incoming freshman students right from the start to the core competencies of interprofessional education while also facilitating their transition to college in a fun and engaging way. Home to over 600 undergraduate and more than 400 graduate students, CCRHS offers a close-knit, small-college environment within the larger university. Professors are supportive and accessible and have a genuine connection to their students. Our faculty include some of the nation’s most respected leaders in health and rehabilitation, including the immediate past-president of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, as well as leaders in voice research, tinnitus research, nutritional biochemistry research, models of assessment and treatment of speech sound disorders in children, intervention outcomes research, community-based interdisciplinary wellness interventions in older adults, and community-based addiction recovery.
Adjacent to ETSU lies the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of the southern Appalachian Mountain range, lakes, and rivers that offer first class hiking, kayaking/canoeing, white-water rafting, and camping, as well as home to the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, the oldest town in Tennessee.  East Tennessee State University is at the center of a thriving medical corridor that includes ETSU Health, Ballad Health system of 26 hospitals in northeast TN and southwest VA, and Mountain Home Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where the ETSU medical and pharmacy colleges are housed, along with our physical therapy, occupational therapy, and soon to begin orthotics and prosthetics programs. 
CCRHS is a vibrant community. Below are some of our unique strengths:

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  Our programs are among the best: Each of our programs rank in the top in their respective fields as tracked by U.S. News & World Report, including Respiratory Therapy, which is ranked in the top 5% of 524 programs in the nation. High academic standards and outcomes are achieved in each of the academic programs offered by the college. All of our graduates continue to exceed the national average on their respective professional licensure examinations.
• Clinical excellence: We have a number of specialty clinics in speech and language (including autism, pediatric feeding, auditory/verbal, cochlear implant, voice, concussion management), hearing (tinnitus, auditory processing, hearing aid assessment and fitting), social work, physical therapy (in conjunction with family medicine), and dental hygiene. We also have over 300 contracts with external clinical sites. Our students develop clinical reasoning and evidence-based skills in a diverse range of interdisciplinary clinical settings. 
• Interprofessional, team-based approach: Our team-based approach to treatment provides opportunities for our students, researchers, and clinicians to collaborate across disciplines in the college, as well as with faculty and students across the ETSU Academic Health Sciences Center.
• Research transforms practice / practice drives research: Several faculty are engaged in federally funded research programs which provide opportunities for our students to gain clinical research experience in faculty labs, in area medical practices, and in schools.
   
  I’m proud to be part of the important work of the College of Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences. Across the College, we have a shared commitment to remove barriers of disability, improve quality of life and health, and thereby enhance the participation of all people in our society. The College provides an excellent education that is accessible to students of all walks, including low- and moderate-income students, first generation students, and students from underrepresented populations. By recruiting underrepresented groups into our programs, we ensure that care is culturally relevant. 
  Our faculty and students are making a difference every day through their dedication and commitment to helping others. This core value motivates everything our CCRHS community does. I invite you to explore our site and learn more about the breadth and depth of opportunities that CCRHS has to offer. We would love to have you join our family!
   
  A. Lynn Williams, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
  Interim Dean, College of Clinical & Rehabilitative Health Sciences