Dean selected for College of HEST

March 31, 2022
TO: NMSU faculty, staff and students
FROM: Dorothy “Dee Dee” Campbell, Provost and Chief Academic Officer
SUBJECT: Dean selected for College of HEST

After a nationwide search, I am pleased to announce that Yoshitaka Iwasaki has been selected as the inaugural dean of the College of Health, Education and Social Transformation. Iwasaki will begin his new role at NMSU on July 1.

Established in 2021, the College of HEST is the result of a merger between the former colleges of Education and Health and Social Services and the Department of Sociology.  

I want to thank the search committee, chaired by College of Arts and Sciences Dean Enrico Pontelli, for their work. I also greatly appreciate the leadership of College of HEST interim Dean Henrietta Pichon, who has served in that role since the college’s inception in July.

Dr. Iwasaki has more than 20 years of higher education experience and expertise in community-engaged research and education, knowledge mobilization and capacity-building. He currently serves as a professor and department chair of the Department of Public Health and Recreation at San Jose State University.

Dr. Iwasaki, who has a Ph.D. in recreation and leisure studies from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, will arrive at NMSU at a pivotal time to lead our newest college. 

Dr. Iwasaki’s areas of interest and expertise include culture, diversity and community-university engagement, active living and quality of life. He also specializes in participatory action research to address social justice issues such as human rights, poverty, empowerment, youth engagement, mental health and social change.

Before joining San Jose State University, Iwasaki served as a professor, associate dean for research and director of a research center at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Extension from 2011 to 2018. He also worked as a professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Health Professions and Social Work at Temple University in Philadelphia from 2006 to 2011.

Iwasaki’s professional experience includes more than a decade of serving in leadership roles at higher education institutions. In 2017, he received the inaugural McKinnon Walker Trust Global Fellowship from the University of Wollongong in Australia. In 2008, he was inducted into the Academy of Leisure Sciences.

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Iwasaki to NMSU and the College of HEST.