From the Desk of Dr. Jana Holwick,
Dean of the College of Graduate
and Undergraduate Studies
As a community, Life University knows
who they are and works tirelessly toward
accomplishing the mission and vision
of the institution. Within the College of
Graduate and Undergraduate Studies
(CGUS), I consistently find connections
between our academic programming,
student internship opportunities and
extracurricular activities that weave a
thread throughout the college, supporting
LIFE’s core values and specifically
working toward the mission of the
college to empower students to achieve
successful careers within a vitalistic
philosophy that provides a means for
positive social impact and change.
Since joining Life University in the fall
of 2015, I have been a part of a wonderful
team within the CGUS that has developed,
or is currently developing, four new
degree programs. These include the
Bachelor of Science in Culinary Nutrition
(2016), Bachelor of Arts in Positive
Human Development and Social Change
(2017), Associate of Science in Health
and Wellness (2017) and Bachelor of
Science in Human Ecology (2019). These
additions bring us to 15 undergraduate
programs in the CGUS, and with that, an
increase to almost 900 undergraduate
students this Fall Quarter, the largest in
University history.
However, we still have a long way to go to
get to our enrollment goals for both our
undergraduate and graduate programs,
and more exciting degree programs and
other campus developments are in the
plans to help us reach them. Speaking
of campus developments, our New
Commons housing and dining facility
is amazing, and it has already helped
us become a more attractive option to
traditional undergraduate students.
As for the new Human Ecology degree,
it will begin enrolling in the 2019 Fall
Quarter and will consist of two tracks
for students to choose from — Science,
Sustainability and Resource Management;
and People, Politics and Social Change.
Human ecology is an interdisciplinary
field that studies the relationship
between humans and their economic,
social and natural environments. We
believe it will be a terrific addition to our
academic options here at Life University
that advances our mission of empowering
students to achieve successful careers
and meaningful lives, based on a vitalistic
philosophy that promotes optimum
performance and transformational
leadership, to produce a positive impact
in a dynamic world. Those who are
interested in finding out more about this
new degree should keep an eye out on
upcoming press releases and news from
the University’s website — LIFE.edu.
Another major component to our growing
numbers is the continued excellence and
development of our Athletic Department.
As new Running Eagles flock to our sport
teams, the CGUS team gets to put the
“student” in student-athlete, working
with these special men and women to
balance their educational pursuits and
career plans with their ambitions of
athletic excellence.
It is my pleasure to be surrounded by an
environment of inspiration and vision
led by both our Chancellor Dr. Riekeman
and President Dr. Scott here at Life
University, and I am eager to continue
improving the experience for our
undergraduate and graduate students for
the foreseeable future.
From the Desk of Dr. Richard M. Belcastro,
Dean of Online and Continuing Education
When I first joined Life University in April 2017, I was
pleased to be able to bring both campus-based and online
learning experience to the University to help expand our
online educational offerings. I continue to be thrilled about
the unique opportunities provided by Life University’s
dynamic programs, as well as being able to bring them to the
online modality.
During the past year, the University has added four new
degree programs to its online offerings: an Associate of
Science in Health and Wellness, a Bachelor of Science
in Biology, a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and the
beginning of the journey toward a Doctor of Chiropractic
with LIFE’s Pre-D.C. Pathway. These programs joined
LIFE’s established Master’s in Positive Psychology program
(General and Coaching Psychology tracks) in our online
program lineup.
The curriculum offered in LIFE’s online courses are the
same, recognized curriculum taught on our campus, and
many courses are instructed by our on-campus faculty.
Additionally, LIFE solely employs adjunct professors who
possess a wealth of online educational experience. LIFE’s
online programs are perfect for any student, from traditional
to nontraditional, as classes are accessible at any time so that
students may complete their work on their own schedule.
Additionally, a truly unique and advantageous benefit of a
Life University online education is the fact that our students
enjoy a world-class education coupled with the guiding
principle of Vitalism — the understanding and principle
that all organic systems in the universe are conscious, self-
developing, self-maintaining and self-healing. This guiding
philosophy at Life University is integrated throughout all our
undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs
and, of course, that follows through to our online offerings.
As a member of the LIFE community, I am dedicated to
continuing our commitment to a principled approach to
healthcare education and to bringing this philosophy to all of
our current and future online programs.
Sincerely, Sincerely,
Dr. Jana Holwick
Dean of the College of Graduate and
Undergraduate Studies Dr. Richard M. Belcastro
Dean of Online and Continuing Education
Alumni.LIFE.edu | 2018
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