COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech University’s College of Education is now the College of Education & Human Sciences. Leaders in the college explain that the change, which took effect Jan. 1, reflects its broader array of course offerings and career paths.
“Our college encompasses a number of different units and has for a long time,” explained Lisa Zagumny, dean of the College of Education & Human Sciences. “We have this really big footprint, and our programs were not fully represented by the College of Education name.”
Among the college’s academic units are the Department of Curriculum & Instruction, which focuses on teacher education, the Department of Counseling and Psychology, which includes a large undergraduate psychology program and counseling-driven graduate programs, and the Department of Exercise Science, which offers 10 undergraduate concentrations ranging from pre-occupational and physical therapies and pre-physician assistant to exercise physiology and sports administration.
The College of Education & Human Sciences is also home to the university’s Millard Oakley STEM Center, which offers interactive science, technology, engineering and math programming to educators and students from pre-kindergarten to college.
The college additionally oversees Tech’s Child Development Lab, which offers childcare services to faculty, staff and community members while providing hands-on learning to Tech students in early childhood education and similar majors.
As the second-largest college by enrollment on Tech’s campus, the College of Education & Human Sciences is further augmented by its own student success center and testing center, as well as its dedicated Office of Teacher Education and its Jeffers Learning Resource Center – a newly-remodeled space where students can do everything from use laser engravers, sewing machines and 3D printers to create materials for their classes, to even immersing themselves in classroom settings through virtual reality technology.
Zagumny said that the need for a name change first became apparent earlier this year when she was planning remarks to the June 20, 2024 meeting of Tech’s Board of Trustees.
“Preparing for that presentation and rolling out all that we are – it made it even more obvious that ‘College of Ed’ just isn’t capturing who we are and who we’ve been for a while,” said Zagumny. “In looking at our programs and our areas of expertise, it makes sense for us to shift from College of Education to College of Education & Human Sciences.”
“It helps to provide a better understanding of the academic composition of the college,” Zagumny added.
Zagumny is quick to note that the name change does not diminish the college’s commitment to training classroom teachers – something that has become central to Tech’s identity and reputation over the years.
“We’re very proud that we graduate the most teachers in the state and that more districts hire our graduates than any others,” said Zagumny. “There’s also this very dynamic human sciences piece that can better reflect counseling and psychology and exercise science. It’s just a more inclusive name.”
Zagumny adds that counseling and psychology, along with exercise science, are now the college’s fastest-growing programs at the undergraduate level – something she calls a reflection of “current contexts.”
“People are really interested in those pre-professional programs so that they can go on and become an occupational therapist or physical therapist or physician assistant,” said Zagumny. “But we're also seeing these huge demands in the mental health care space. We’ve had those programs, but they were sort of overshadowed by our name.”
Zagumny hopes that, with the new name, students can see themselves at home in the College of Education & Human Sciences, no matter where they may fall in the college’s vast suite of majors and concentrations.
“This better demonstrates who we already are,” concluded Zagumny. “We should have done it sooner!”
Learn more about Tech’s College of Education & Human Sciences at https://www.tntech.edu/education/.
