Dean’s Message – Spring 2026 Newsletter
Thank you for reading our Spring 2026 newsletter! Within the last several months, our college has celebrated significant faculty achievements; growth in community and clinical partnerships; and private and federal funding to support faculty research initiatives and invest in the pipeline of our region’s clinical workforce.
As a newly hired dean, I value opportunities to meet our community partners to discuss their workforce needs and potential research and learning collaborations. To that end, I’ve begun a monthly lunch meeting series called “At the Table with Dean Kruse.” What I’ve learned thus far in these discussions will undoubtedly help us evolve as a college and continue to meet the need for trained professionals who can address emerging healthcare priorities.
In late January, I had the honor of attending a recognition ceremony for one of our longstanding partners, University Medical Center (UMC) of El Paso, along with Dean Leslie Robbins of the College of Nursing. We celebrated the dedication of our second-floor lobby in the Health Sciences and Nursing Building to UMC in recognition of their 35-year partnership with UTEP and a major $1.5 million gift. Along with the expansion of UTEP’s Bachelor of Nursing program, UMC’s investment will allow our college to move into the next phase of expansion of our Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program, hiring the additional faculty necessary to admit more OT students. This follows a prior major matching gift from the Paso del Norte Health Foundation to renovate and outfit the Rehabilitation Sciences Complex (RSC), a clinical training facility for our rehabilitation professions students. This April, the RSC will be among our fundraising priorities for UTEP’s fourth annual Raise Your Pick fundraising campaign. I hope you will consider making a gift to support our efforts in creating a strong pipeline of rehabilitation professionals!
This year, several CHS faculty have been recognized for both research and teaching excellence. In late October, our Department of Social Work faculty were named first at UTEP in grant funding for 2025. Each of the department’s five tenured/tenure-track faculty had active grants, totaling $3,056,730. The department has a wide breadth of projects targeting multiple stakeholders, all with an aim to advance well-being. That same month, Dr. Carolina Valencia became the second CHS faculty member in two years to receive the Regents Outstanding Teaching Award, the highest teaching award within the UT System. Dr. Valencia is a former UTEP EDGE fellow who is widely known for her innovative and impactful teaching practices.
As we look forward to the rest of this spring semester, we anticipate finalizing discussions with several new pending clinical partnership sites and graduating a robust class of nearly 200 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students. I encourage you to follow us on our social media channels where you can learn more about the exciting work we’re doing on a daily basis to improve quality of life and eliminate health disparities in our Paso del Norte region and beyond!
Go Miners!
Clemens Scott Kruse, Ph.D.
Dean and Professor, College of Health Sciences
