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KU School of Health Professions marks 50th anniversary

Originally part of KU School of Medicine, today the School of Health Professions houses multiple nationally ranked programs

Black and white class photo of seven men and women in the 1970s
Medical Record Administration Education was one of the departments in the School of Allied Health when it was formed in 1974. Here are some early students in what would become KU School of Health Professions.

The University of Kansas School of Health Professions marked its 50th anniversary with a celebration on Sept. 27 attended by faculty, staff, alumni, friends and past leadership. Abiodun Akinwuntan, Ph.D., MPH, dean of the School of Health Professions, noted that the event marked a commitment to 50 future years of continued and sustained accomplishments. 

“It is indeed a privilege and unique honor to be serving as the golden (50th) anniversary and sixth dean of the School of Health Professions of the University of Kansas,” he said. “Building on the accomplishments of the previous leadership over the last 42 years, the current leadership, faculty and staff of the school have succeeded in elevating it to enviable heights.”

Akinwuntan said notable current achievements include a record-setting increase in student enrollment numbers for the 10th consecutive year, numerous programs ranked in the top 15 among all public institutions nationally, a 17-fold increase in research funding and a three-fold increase in financial assistance to students.

Then known as the School of Allied Health, it was established in February of 1974. At the time, the University of Kansas Medical Center had 1,750 students across all programs. Physical therapy, dietetics and other health professions students (as well as the nursing department) were contained within the School of Medicine. In anticipation of growth in health careers, the Kansas Board of Regents split the School of Medicine into three separate schools — Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health, which was home to dietetics, physical therapy and other health-related professions.

The purpose of the restructuring was to provide “enhanced administrative support” for the programs operating around the state and for the future growth of both the School of Allied Health and the School of Nursing.

Ronald Harper, Ph.D., served as interim dean of the newly formed School of Allied Health until 1977, when he officially became the school’s first dean. Other deans who followed were Stata Norton, Ph.D. (1980-85), James P. Cooney, Jr., Ph.D. (1985-1991), Lydia Wingate, Ph.D. (1992-97) and Karen Miller, Ph.D. (1998-2015). Since 2015, Abiodun Akinwuntan, Ph.D., MPH, has continued the legacy of transforming the School of Health Professions and guiding it into the future.

black and white image of a child wearing headphones while a hearing and speech professor guides his arm toward a stereo
Hearing and Speech was also an early department. Here a student
works with a young patient, circa 1975.

The original nine departments in the School of Health Professions, which was renamed from Allied Health in 2011, were Biometry, Dietetics and Nutrition, Emergency Medical Training, Hearing and Speech, Medical Record Administration Education, Nurse Anesthesia Education, Physical Therapy Education, Respiratory Therapy Education and Special Education.

Today the School of Health Professions offers 28 degree and certificate programs, including 12 graduate degree programs: athletic training, audiology, clinical laboratory science, dietetics and nutrition, medical nutrition science, nurse anesthesia, occupational therapy, physical therapy, rehabilitation science, speech-language pathology, therapeutic science and the newest program, genetic counseling, added in 2023.

The school offers three undergraduate programs in clinical laboratory science, health information management and respiratory care. Certifications are available in cardiovascular sonography, diagnostic ultrasound/vascular technology, dietetics internship, dietetics and integrative medicine and nuclear medicine technology.

“About 60% of people working in health care come from programs like in the School of Health Professions,” said Jeff Radel, Ph.D., retired associate professor of occupational therapy education and former associate dean for academic and student affairs for the school. “Dean Akinwuntan got a mandate to develop an identity of the school, and now we have greater visibility on campus, throughout the university and nationally.”

“We are celebrating more than a half-century of academic excellence,” said Jacob Sosnoff, Ph.D., associate dean for research and professor in the Department of Physical Therapy, Rehabilitation Science and Athletic Training. “We share a legacy of dedication to serving our communities and making a difference in the lives of countless individuals.”

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