Notices of Intent for Name Changes
Two NOIs for name changes have been brought forward from the Provost’s Office, along with the attached documents:
- To change Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health to Paul G. Allen School for Global Health
- To change Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Department of Biomedical Sciences to Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Department of Translational Medicine and Physiology
We are currently soliciting comments concerning these name changes. These will be forwarded to the Provost’s Office on Monday, March 22.
There already exists a Department at WSU with physiology in its name – Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience. Thus, another “Physiology” Dept. is likely to create confusion for students seeking programs with a physiology focus. Finally, as there also doesn’t seem to be a formal collaborative structure between the proposed ESFCOM unit and IPN, this plan lacks transparency. Thus, I would recommend that this name change proposal be rejected.
There are two departments at WSU with “physiology” in their name – “Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience” and “Nutrition and Exercise Physiology”. The latter department is in the College of Medicine. There is no evidence that adding a third department with “physiology” as part of the name, and one without an undergraduate degree, will create concerning levels of confusion for students. The Notice of Intent filed by the department of Biomedical Sciences is completely transparent as to the motivation for the name change and the process used to arrive at the proposed new name.