It is my privilege to share the 2024–2025 College of Health and Human Sciences Impact Report. Within these pages, you’ll discover stories of innovation, equity, and community that demonstrate how our College is advancing health and human sciences—here in Silicon Valley and across the world.

Guided by our pillars for health equity: building capacity for interprofessional and collaborative practice and research, generating and applying health technology and innovation, and strengthening community capacity and wellness through partnerships, CHHS has achieved remarkable milestones this year.

Our students and faculty are living out interprofessional collaboration—from the Interprofessional Symposium, where 115 students and faculty from 11 disciplines came together to practice team-based problem solving, to the School of Social Work’s $30 million statewide workforce development projects, which unite universities across California to address critical shortages in behavioral health, child welfare, and aging services.

We are also at the forefront of health technology and innovation. The Health TechQuity Conference sparked campus-wide dialogue. The Health TechQuity Conference brought together multidisciplinary faculty and students, industry entrepreneurs, and community healthcare providers who intersect with health technology, and asked, How can technology eliminate health disparities? Dr. Nicole Zhang is pioneering nurse-led technologies for bladder health. Dr. Yi Yuan is developing AI-driven tools to improve speech perception for people with hearing loss. And our School of Nursing is launching a new informatics and technology curriculum to prepare future nurses to lead in digital-era healthcare.

Just as importantly, we are building community capacity and wellness through authentic partnerships. The Growing Together Family Health Fairs served 150+ West San José residents per event, affirming health as a basic human right. Our students contributed more than half a million hours of service—valued at $23 million—across California communities. And the pre-release screening of The Brown Heart, hosted by our Nutrition student club, brought together 300+ community members to confront the South Asian heart health crisis.

These are just glimpses of the powerful work happening across our eight departments, where equity, innovation, and collaboration are not just aspirations, but everyday practice. I invite you to turn the page and explore the stories that follow. They reflect more than achievements—they reflect our College’s enduring commitment to advancing health equity, preparing the next generation of health leaders, and building healthier, more just communities in San José, California, and beyond.

With gratitude and anticipation, Audrey Shillington, PhD Dean, College of Health and Human Sciences