Letter from the Dean

Dear CPASS Alumni and Friends,

It is my honor to be writing this letter for the fall 2019 issue of the CPASS magazine. Dana Brooks has retired as the dean of CPASS after 41 years of service to the College. We are eternally thankful to him for his enduring service and leadership. The CPASS Visiting Committee has initiated a drive to endow a CPASS scholarship in Dana Brooks’ name. If you have interest in contributing to this scholarship, please visit advancing.wvu.edu/project/15841 to make a gift.

I am serving as interim dean of the College. As an introduction, I am a 1994 CPASS graduate with a master’s degree in sport studies and have worked in CPASS for 18 years. My goal for this year is to help guide our College in a direction to allow us to be successful into the future.

CPASS will face many challenges over the coming years and will need to be proactive moving forward. The College must overcome a mandatory transition of the Athletic Training program to the School of Medicine due to accreditation changes and WVU’s discontinuation of the academic common market program agreement, which previously attracted many students to our programs.

As a solution, we have developed a new major titled Health and Well-being and strengthened our online master’s degree programs. The College is considering possible changes to programming to help us attract more and higher quality students, including a fully online undergraduate major in multidisciplinary studies and a fully online EdD in coaching and teaching studies.

The new major in Health and Well-being will have tracks for students to receive either a Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Arts. The BS option will serve students who are currently admitted into WVU within a pre-health profession major and will help them meet the criteria necessary for admission into health-related programs in areas such as nursing and athletic training. We foresee the future development of a 3+2 program for early admission into the new master’s degree program in athletic training.

The BA is a less science-intensive option for students who want to work in non-school based well-being settings. These students may complete the necessary requirements for several certifications to help with career development.

Over the past year, we have invested heavily in our online programming at the master’s degree level. Led by Sean Bulger, associate dean for graduate and online education, these programmatic changes and additional resources have resulted in a more than 100 percent increase in online enrollment during the past year.

In summary, we have been working aggressively to ensure that our college remains at the forefront of kinesiology programs and has the resources necessary to be successful. I am excited to help guide CPASS into the immediate future and believe that we have the opportunity and means to continue and enhance the legacy of the College. Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate in reaching out to my office.

Jack C. Watson II, PhD
Professor, Interim Dean Associate Dean