I am pleased to announce that Christopher D. Ingersoll will serve as the founding dean of the UCF College of Health Professions and Sciences, effective Aug. 1, 2019.
Dr. Ingersoll joins UCF from The University of Toledo in Ohio, where he is currently the vice provost for Health Sciences Affairs and dean of the College of Health and Human Services. His selection follows an extensive national search process. As dean of CHPS, Dr. Ingersoll will lead in establishing the college as a pacesetter in higher education while working to energize faculty excellence, innovation in teaching, student success and research partnerships. The college includes health-related programs (such as physical therapy and kinesiology), health sciences, social work, athletic training, and communications sciences and disorders.
Dr. Ingersoll’s background makes him ideally suited to take on the challenge of leading CHPS, which was established July 1 to help position UCF as a leader in driving 21st-century health care and social service solutions. During his four years at Toledo, Dr. Ingersoll led the successful merger of two colleges and an academic department from the university’s College of Medicine to form a new College of Health and Human Services. Among other accomplishments, he established separate associate dean positions for research and diversity and inclusion; developed college-level plans for capital campaigns and community engagement; and established an Institute of Health and Business Insights.
He is also a professor in athletic training at Toledo’s School of Exercise & Rehabilitation Sciences. His previous roles in higher education include serving as dean of The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow College of Health Professions at the Central Michigan University and, at the University of Virginia, the Joe H. Gieck Professor of Sports Medicine, chair of the Department of Human Services, and professor in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. His professional engagements include being elected a fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, and the Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions. In June, he will be inducted into the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame.
He earned his doctoral degree in Biomechanics from The University of Toledo; a master’s degree in Athletic Training from Indiana State University; and a bachelor’s degree in Sports Medicine from Marietta (OH) College.
I would like to thank the CHPS dean search committee and its chair, Dean Mary Lou Sole of the College of Nursing, for their valuable work in reviewing and selecting candidates for this key position.
We look forward to Dean Ingersoll’s arrival and his contributions to advancing excellence, innovation, and student success at UCF.
Elizabeth A. Dooley
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
