College of Behavioral and Social Sciences

History

The College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (CBSS) was created in the summer of 2006. Dr. Elwood L. Robinson, Professor of Psychology, was appointed Interim Dean. The next year he was appointed the Dean of the College. The creation of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences represents a transformation in how we think about education and training at NCCU. This college was created to be responsive to rapid changing world of science, technology, societal needs, and our ever changing political and economic structures that provide the very foundation of our existence. The CBSS positions NCCU to become major players in this ever-changing and dynamic landscape. Increasingly, the most pressing and emergent population health challenges necessitate collaboration between the biomedical and social and behavioral sciences. The solution to our biggest health challenges may depend on whether scientist from the biomedical and behavioral and social sciences are able to learn each other’s language, listen across through gulfs that separate their sciences, and forge a new conceptual synthesis across their disciplinary boundaries. Behavioral and social science stands at a crossroads, bridging biology and the environment, linking basic and applied science, and informing national policy,” said OBSSR Director David Abrams, Ph.D. “Critical challenges face our national health agenda, including aging baby boomers, chronic diseases, and health disparities. About 70 percent of our health outcomes involve behavior at individual, group, and societal levels. Investments in socio-behavioral research have already paid off and can yield enormous future benefits, not only in economic terms but also in preventing death and suffering.” Dr. Debra O. Parker was appointed interim Dean in June of 2012 and Dean of the College in June of 2013.

Departments

The departments in the CBSS represent a broad spectrum of behavioral and social science disciplines.  The Departments are:

Criminal Justice

Human Sciences

Nursing

Physical Education and Recreation

Political Science

Psychology

Public Health Education

Social Work

College Priorities

The CBSS priorities are consistent with the University’s current agenda. The priorities of the University are to increase and improve retention, graduation, and placement rates; accreditation; quality customer service; internationalization of the curriculum and University; and appropriate and adequate use of technology and other innovative pedagogy.  Therefore, the College has the following goals:

1. Establish a student support structure that ensures student persistence: graduation, retention, and mastery of learning outcomes.
2. Advance a culture of research that supports and rewards excellence in scholarship.
3. Prepare culturally competent students for competitive careers in diverse cultural contexts.
4. Utilize resources to impact issues of the human condition in the community.
5. Enhance resources through innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.
6. Offer high quality, challenging academic programs that influence and respond to a changing society.

Academic Programs

One of the major strengths of CBSS academic programs is the number of major accreditations or reaffirmations and first time accreditations. The College now has the following accredited programs: Athletic Training, Department of Physical Education  and Recreation (Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education); Criminal Justice (North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission); Dietetics, Department of Human Sciences (Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education); Health Education (Society of Public Health Education; American Association for Health Education; Parks and Recreation, Physical Education and Recreation Department (National Recreation and Park Association/American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation); Social Work (Council on Social Work Education); Physical Education - K-12 (North Carolina State of Public Instruction/NCATE).