Colwell will rely on her extensive experience as a faculty member and researcher in the college to enhance the research mission of COHS and facilitate research productivity and collaborations.
In August, Malinda Colwell, Ph.D., a seasoned faculty member in Human Development and Family Sciences, was appointed as Associate Dean for Research in the College of Human Sciences (COHS). As Associate Dean for Research, Colwell will support faculty research endeavors and advance grant submissions and increase external research funding. Colwell will work with faculty and student researchers from each department in COHS and promote interdisciplinary collaboration both in the college and across campus.
Colwell expresses her deep appreciation towards the college and colleagues in her appointment.
“I am honored and humbled to be selected as the next Associate Dean for Research,” Colwell said. “It is a privilege to get to support faculty in their research and creative activity and to share their important work with those outside of our college.“
Continuing and growing the valuable and successful research already being done in the college is a top priority for Colwell. She plans to accomplish this by increasing internal and external grant proposals as well as expanding the partnerships between faculty and graduate and undergraduate researchers. Colwell looks forward to expanding these collaborations by gaining a deeper understanding of faculty within the college and each of their research interests.
Colwell will lean on her own research collaboration experience through initiatives such as the Coalition for Natural Learning to support this success.
“My experiences and research with collaborating with faculty and graduate students in many departments in our college have been broadened and enriched when thinking about issues related to children, families, and development across the lifespan,” Colwell said.
The coalition is an interdisciplinary research alliance between the Department of Design, Human Development and Family Sciences, and Landscape Architecture. Research promotes environments that emphasize a greater connection with our natural world by understanding environment-behavior relationships and natural systems through research, teaching, implementation, collaboration, and engaged scholarship. Coalition researchers will continue to work with childcare centers throughout the state to design outdoor learning environments and assess various developmental outcomes for young children in those environments.
Colwell emphasizes how research being performed upholds the mission of the college.
“The diverse research topics, methodologies, theoretical foundations, and approaches represented by the research and creative activity of our faculty reflect and support our mission of improving and enhancing the human condition,” Colwell explained. “I believe this is one of the strengths of the College of Human Sciences and equips us well for continued contributions across each of the fields represented in our college.”