History and Mission
The College of Education, Health, and Human Services (CEHHS) promotes the preparation and continuing development of exemplary teachers, administrators, and health and human service practitioners and leaders.
To achieve its mission, the College of Education, Health, and Human Services draws upon a broad assortment of institutional resources, including staff and programs in other colleges of the university. Additionally, the facilities of local school districts, other public agencies and private corporations are regularly utilized to provide students with a rich spectrum of experiential learning opportunities.
The College of Education, Health, and Human Services achieves its mission in concert with the mission of the University of Michigan-Dearborn and strives to educate, prepare, and sustain exemplary practitioners and administrators in the interrelated fields of education, health, and human services. The College contributes to UM-Dearborn's identity as a dynamic metropolitan university where teaching and research interact to develop leaders and new knowledge for the betterment of and service to the metropolitan region of Southeastern Michigan.
A central focus of the academic programs, faculty scholarship and outreach activities of the College of Education, Health, and Human Services is our commitment to:
- preparing culturally sustaining, reflective professionals,
- improving the lives and health of vulnerable populations,
- addressing racial and ethnic discrimination, and
- developing effective regional leadership.
History
Established as the School of Education by the University of Michigan Board of Regents in 1987, the College of Education, Health, and Human Services is the newest academic unit on the UM-Dearborn campus. However, education programming has deep roots on the campus, stretching back to fall 1960, when teacher education courses were added to the offerings in what was then the Division of Literature, Science, and the Arts.
Three faculty members were hired in 1960 to launch the education program. Paul D. Carter, who was an associate professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, was selected as the first head of teacher education at what was then called the Dearborn Center of the University of Michigan. Professor Carter served the University of Michigan for 20 years before retiring in 1976, after which he was named professor emeritus on both the Ann Arbor and Dearborn campuses.
In 1971 the Regents gave the campus its current name, the University of Michigan-Dearborn. That also was the year in which the Department of Education was formed within the Division of Literature, Science, and the Arts, and Richard W. Morshead was selected as the chairman. Morshead remained the leader of education on the UM-Dearborn campus until his retirement in 1989, including serving as the head of the Division of Education and then as the inaugural dean of the School of Education when it was formed in 1987. Moreshead wrote A Brief History of the School of Education that outlined the development and accomplishments of the teacher education program.
In 2013, the Regents approved a name change for the School of Education, officially creating the College of Education, Health, and Human Services.