The appointment of Dr. Mechelle Best as Dean of the College of Health and Human Development was announced today by Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Meera Komarraju. Dean Best is in her fifteenth year of service to CSUN and has been Interim Dean since November, 2021. "I’m so very thrilled to be appointed as the Dean for HHD," Dean Best said in an an announcement to the Chairs, Faculty and Staff of HHD. "Thank you for the trust and tremendous support you have shown me since I assumed the role of interim in 2021. I am excited and looking forward to the great work we will continue to do together."
In her announcement to the campus community, Provost Komarraju wrote:
"Prior to assuming the interim role, Dr. Best was in her second term as Chair of CSUN’s Department of Recreation and Tourism Management. As a professor, Dr. Best developed and taught a range of graduate and undergraduate tourism courses, as well as core courses for the Minor in Sustainability. She has enjoyed a range of leadership and management positions at CSUN as well as in the state and international tourism industry. Dr. Best joined CSUN’s department of Recreation and Tourism Management in 2008, attaining the rank of Professor in 2018.
"Dr. Best is the author of various publications on cultural-heritage tourism, sustainable tourism, and sustainability. She graduated from the University of West Indies with a B.S. in Hotel Management (First Class Honors) and an M.S. in Natural Resource Management, and holds a Ph.D. in Tourism (Fulbright and Organization of American States Scholar) from the University of Florida. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Best on her appointment."
About the College
The College of Health and Human Development is comprised of the departments of Child and Adolescent Development, Communication Disorders and Sciences, Family and Consumer Sciences, Environmental and Occupational Health, Health Sciences, Kinesiology, Nursing, Physical Therapy, and Recreation and Tourism Management. The college has 127 faculty and an enrollment of over 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students.
The departments offer Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate degree programs in a wide variety of health related and other professional fields. Departments within the college offer on-line courses and a fully on-line graduate degree program is offered in Communicate Disorders. The college hosts the following centers and institutes: the Aquatic Centers at Castaic Lake; the Child and Family Studies Center; the Consumer Resource Center; the Language, Speech, and Hearing Center; the Center for Recreation and Tourism; the Physical Therapy Center for Advanced Clinical Practice; the Institute for Community Health and Wellbeing; the Center of Achievement through Adapted Physical Activity; and the Marilyn Magaram Center for Food Science, Nutrition, and Dietetics.
Sp 2023
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