FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas announced the formation of a new department of rehabilitation, human resources and communication disorders. Headed by Barbara Hinton, the new department was formed by a merger of the college’s department of vocational and adult education and department of rehabilitation education and research.

"The new department encompasses the broad spectrum of adult and vocational education and rehabilitation issues," said Reed Greenwood, dean of the college. "We expect the merger to result in significant synergies to strengthen teaching, research and service activities."

Hinton noted that the merged departments both offered programs that served the education and development of the state’s workforce.

"This merger offers opportunities for collaboration in research and on issues that affect the entire state," Hinton said. "We are preparing the professionals who work with adult learners and who provide services that open the work world to all Arkansans."

In addition to teacher preparation and literacy promotion, a number of departmental programs focus on adult learners. The human resource development degree program is offered by distance education, linking Fayetteville with two-year colleges around Arkansas to meet the needs of working adults for a university education without leaving jobs or families. Additionally, over 300 childcare providers in the state have participated in an advanced training program developed and administered by the department.

The department’s graduate program in rehabilitation education has consistently placed in the top ten of such programs nationally in U.S. News and World Report rankings. In addition to faculty on the Fayetteville campus, the rehabilitation programs operate centers in Hot Springs and Little Rock that provide research and training services regionally and nationally. Two nationally respected journals are edited by rehabilitation faculty, Journal of Interpretation and Rehabilitation Education.

From the Speech and Hearing Clinic on campus, faculty in the communications disorders program prepare speech-language pathologists to serve in schools, rehabilitation clinics and private practice.

The central office for the department of rehabilitation, human resources and communications disorders is located at the University of Arkansas, room 100 of the Graduate Education Building. Information about the department’s programs is available at 479-575-4758.