
Strategic Plan: Health and Well-Being For All

College of Health Strategic Plan, 2025-2030
Health and Well-Being for All
We’re reimagining how to better serve students, engage community stakeholders, stimulate discovery, and improve health and well-being for all, at every stage of life.
A Message from the Dean
Dear Members of the College of Health Community:
At the Oregon State University College of Health, we know health is the backbone of human potential and flourishing, from the functioning of cells to society. We passionately believe that health is for all: For every person, every family, and every community.
Our new strategic plan, Health and Well-Being for All, embodies our unwavering commitment to this belief.
We are dedicated to taking on the greatest challenges to health – from mental health crises to pandemics, chronic diseases, climate-related disasters, and the dramatic rise in factors that affect health such as loneliness, poverty, and inequality.
We’re health champions, well-being experts, and agents of change. Our view is holistic, encompassing the physical, mental, and social dimensions of human experience in every phase of life.
At the heart of our college beats a spirit of collaborative excellence. We cross disciplinary boundaries and partner with others to generate new knowledge, create solutions, and train the next generation of globally minded professionals in public health and human sciences.
Health and Well-Being for All has been designed to propel Oregon State University’s strategic plan, Prosperity Widely Shared. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “The first wealth is health.” Any vision of prosperity rests on health – which is at once a measure of prosperity and an enabler of it.
And when we say health and well-being for all, we mean it.
This strategic plan will drive what we do as a community in the years to come. It is an ambitious plan intended to increase the success of our students, the impact of our research, and the reach of our collaborations and engagement.
This strategic plan is built upon three foundational goals:
- Goal 1: Advance research and generate innovative discoveries to improve human health and well-being for all.
- Goal 2: Ensure that every student learns, thrives, and graduates.
- Goal 3: Create collaborations with communities, governments, education, and industry sectors to improve the health and well-being of their members and constituents.
We will also further our excellence in three signature research areas:
- Environmental Impacts on Human Health: Addressing the health effects of adverse environmental exposures, climate change, and natural disasters, and developing prevention and resilience solutions.
- Health Promotion and Disease Prevention: Focusing on primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention to avoid the occurrence of disease or injury, reduce progression and effects, and manage health problems.
- Health and Well-Being of Children and Youth: Promoting positive child and youth development through social policies, family support, education, and community engagement.
Let this plan unite us as we work together to create a healthier and more prosperous, equitable, and sustainable future for everyone. Please engage with us, share your ideas, and participate in the initiatives that will bring this strategic plan to life. Together, we will make this vision a reality!
Richard A. Settersten Jr., PhD
Interim Dean
College of Health