Since the formation of the College of Health, Education and Social Transformation at New Mexico State University in 2021, and after a year of collaborative leadership by inaugural College of HEST Dean Yoshi Iwasaki, the college has made tremendous progress building a strong foundation for the future.


 
One of Iwasaki’s first initiatives was to involve faculty, staff, students and alumni in helping create the College of HEST slogan, which would serve as the foundation of the continuing strategic planning process. Through stakeholder nominations and voting, “Learn. Engage. Transform.” was selected.


 
“This slogan nicely captures the centerpiece of who we are, what we do and why we matter to highlight the signature strength of our college,” Iwasaki said. “Overall, HEST itself is a community of learning and engagement, as a catalyst for social change and transformation to uplift our people and communities we serve.”


 
The slogan helped construct the foundation for a thriving future for the college and set up the first steps in the strategic planning process.
 


“Our strategic planning is being completed through an inclusive interaction process,” Iwasaki said. “We have hosted a series of intentional engaged events with diverse HEST stakeholder groups, most specifically our successful inaugural HEST spring retreat with more than 200 participants.”


 
The group represented all nine academic schools and departments, as well as faculty, staff, students and alumni. The mission and vision statements and guiding core values were also collaboratively created.


 
The structure of these processes is another example of the interdisciplinary structure Iwasaki’s leadership followed in his first year.


 
“We are fully committed to elevating our collaborative profile and visibility,” Iwasaki explained. “For example, our holistic student success initiatives, interprofessional curriculum development and collaborative transformational research, to name a few.”


 
Beyond HEST community focused actionable steps forward, Iwasaki is committed to campus-wide, cross-collaborative initiatives, especially with an equity, inclusion and diversity emphasis.


 
“The lived experiences, wisdom and voices of our constituents guide our solution-oriented transformative strategies to improve the quality of lives of our citizens in our diverse inclusive communities.”


 
Beyond articulating goals and outcomes, Iwasaki is focused on making sure to continue giving action opportunities to HEST constituents to achieve the most desirable outcomes for our community. The future years of the College of HEST will build on this foundation – to further transform our environment to most effectively meet the evolving needs of our people and communities.


 
This story was originally published in the fall 2023 issue of Pinnacle magazine. To read more, visit https://pinnacle.nmsu.edu/ .

The full article can be seen at https://newsroom.nmsu.edu/news/two-years-in--the-future-of-nmsu-s-college-of-hest-looks-bright/s/162632e5-2922-49a4-ad24-653619d6253a