I am overwhelmingly grateful for this opportunity to serve as the inaugural dean of the College of Health, Education and Social Transformation at NMSU. Since April 2022 – before my official starting date of July 1, 2022 – my onboarding process has involved reaching out to representatives from a variety of our stakeholder groups to start respectful, constructive conversations and dialogues about the co-creation of a prosperous, thriving future for our college. 

On behalf of the College of HEST, I would like to extend our sincere appreciation for interim Dean Henrietta Pichon’s leadership, commitment and caring support for establishing a robust infrastructure and foundation for the future of our interdisciplinary, solution-oriented and partnership-based college. We will continue to embrace and build on her legacy during this very critical culture- and community-building period. 

Above all, I am fully committed to co-building “one college under one umbrella” within the NMSU system, while embracing the strengths of each discipline embedded within the college to elevate our profile and visibility. “Putting people first” is my motto, with an intentionality to promote faculty and staff development, empowerment and success, which is the foundation to enhance the collective success of the college – transferable to advancing student success and the successes of our alumni, and community and industry partners. 

I envision the College of HEST as a distinctive college that integrates both human and health dimensions across clinical and community contexts, with its emphasis on holistic health, well-being and human development, guided by our fierce commitment to addressing health, educational and socio-economic disparities that the Borderland region and New Mexico face. 

Differentiation and branding through compelling and impactful storytelling are to our goal of positioning ourselves as a national and global leader in transformative education at a premier land-grant public research university. It is imperative for college stakeholders to come together and dig deep into the fundamental questions of who we are; why we are worth it and why we matter; who we serve; what we deliver; and how processes and strategies articulate our niche, distinctions and recognitions. 

I am wholeheartedly inspired by and attracted to this groundbreaking opportunity to mobilize NMSU and HEST in making a difference and having a profound impact on the communities we work with. Central to such partnership-based, solution-oriented approaches is our intentional, actionable commitment to social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion, and social economic mobility of our students and alumni, and their families and communities in New Mexico and beyond. On behalf of our people-first, relationship-centered college, I invite you to join me in our community-oriented transformative journey together. 

Yoshitaka "Yoshi" Iwasaki

Inaugural dean, College of HEST