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Division of Academic Affairs
College of Health Professions

College of Health Professions Strategic Research Plan

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  • 2026-2031

    • The College of Health Professions Strategic Research Plan 2020-2025 established a strong foundation for advancing research that improves health, healthcare delivery, and community well-being. The College of Health Professions (CHP) continues to serve as a catalyst for innovation, a driver of discovery, and a partner in addressing complex health challenges through interdisciplinary scholarship. 

      As Texas State University advances its "New Research Frontiers" vision and pursues Carnegie R1 status through the "Run to R1" initiative, the College of Health Professions will further expand its research enterprise by creating impactful knowledge, securing competitive external funding, strengthening doctoral and graduate research pipelines, fostering community-engaged scholarship, and translating discoveries into meaningful health outcomes.

      The College recognizes that health challenges increasingly require interdisciplinary solutions involving health sciences, aging and dementia research, artificial intelligence, digital health technologies, population health, healthcare systems, and community partnerships. Building upon its legacy of excellence in teaching, clinical practice, scholarship, and service, CHP will position itself as a leading contributor to Texas State University's research mission through innovative, relevant, and impactful scholarship that improves lives across Texas and beyond.

      Mission

      The College of Health Professions advances Texas State University's research mission by creating, disseminating, and translating knowledge that improves health, healthcare delivery, workforce development, and quality of life. Through collaborative, interdisciplinary, and community engaged scholarship, CHP supports faculty, students, healthcare partners, and communities in addressing current and emerging health challenges while preparing the next generation of healthcare researchers and practitioners.

      Vision

      The College of Health Professions will be recognized as a leading health sciences research enterprise within Texas State University, advancing innovative discoveries, evidence-based solutions, and translational scholarship that improve the health and well-being of diverse populations while contributing significantly to the university's attainment and sustainment of Carnegie R1 status.

      Guiding Principles

      Consistent with the college's longstanding values, CHP research activities will be guided by:

      • Excellence in scholarship and discovery
      • Interprofessional collaboration
      • Innovation and creativity
      • Integrity and ethical conduct
      • Community engagement and partnership
      • Student success and mentorship
      • Translation of knowledge into practice and policy

    • Strategic Research Priorities

      • Strengthening the culture of research and scholarship across all CHP departments by supporting innovative, rigorous, and impactful research programs.

        Objectives

        • Increase peer-reviewed scholarly publications and research dissemination.
        • Expand interdisciplinary and interprofessional research collaborations.
        • Enhance national and international visibility of CHP research programs.
        • Support faculty development in emerging research methodologies and technologies.
        • Increase citation impact and scholarly recognition of CHP faculty.

        Success Indicators 

        • Growth in annual publications and scholarly products.
        • Increased faculty awards and professional recognition.
        • Expanded interdisciplinary research teams and centers.

      • Contribute substantially to Texas State University's Run to R1 goals through sustained growth in externally funded research.

        Objectives

        • Increase submission and success rates for federal, state, foundation, and industry sponsored grants.
        • Expand infrastructure that supports clinical, translational, community based, and data driven research.
        • Develop strategic partnerships with healthcare organizations, industry, and governmental agencies.
        • Support large scale collaborative funding proposals across colleges and divisions.

        Success Indicators 

        • Increased annual research expenditures.
        • Growth in external grant awards.
        • Increased participation in multi-investigator and multi-institutional projects.
        • Enhanced utilization of research facilities and laboratories.

      • Align CHP research efforts with one of Texas State University's core impact pillars: Health Sciences and Aging/Dementia.

        Objectives

        • Advance research addressing aging, dementia, chronic disease, disability, rehabilitation, communication disorders, healthcare management, health information systems, and population health.
        • Develop innovative interventions that improve patient outcomes and quality of life.
        • Address healthcare disparities affecting underserved and vulnerable populations.
        • Strengthening partnerships with healthcare systems, community organizations, and public health agencies.

        Success Indicators 

        • Growth in health sciences and aging related research initiatives.
        • Increased external funding in priority health areas.
        • Demonstrated impact on healthcare outcomes and policy.

      • Leverage emerging technologies to improve healthcare delivery, education, and research.

        Objectives 

        • Promote research involving artificial intelligence, machine learning, health informatics, simulation, cybersecurity, and digital health technologies.
        • Support collaborations between CHP researchers and faculty in computer science, engineering, and related disciplines.
        • Advance research examining ethical, effective, and equitable implementation of AI in healthcare.
        • Develop data driven approaches to healthcare quality, safety, and operational excellence.

        Success Indictors 

        • Increase in technology focused research projects.
        • Growth in AI-enabled health research initiatives.
        • Development of innovative digital health solutions and partnerships.

      • Support the university's commitment to student centered research and doctoral growth.

        Objectives

        • Increase undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral student engagement in faculty led research.
        • Expand research assistantships, fellowships, and mentoring opportunities.
        • Foster pathways from undergraduate research to graduate and doctoral education.
        • Prepare students for careers in research, academia, healthcare leadership, and industry.

        Success Indicators

        • Increased student participation in research activities.
        • Growth in student publications and presentations.
        • Expanded doctoral research productivity and completion.

      • Advance research that addresses pressing healthcare needs and translates discoveries into practice.

        Objectives

        • Engage patients, providers, community organizations, and policymakers as research partners.
        • Expand implementation of science and quality improvement initiatives.
        • Translate research findings into clinical practice, education, policy, and healthcare operations.
        • Promote commercialization and innovation opportunities through university and external partnerships.

        Success Indicators

        • Increased community engaged research projects.
        • Documented improvements in healthcare practice and outcomes.
        • Growth in translational and implementation-focused funding.

    • To achieve these priorities, CHP will:

      Ensure Faculty Excellence 

      • Recruit and retain research active faculty.
      • Support faculty mentoring, leadership development, and research productivity.
      • Recognize and reward research achievement.

      Foster A Collaborative Research Ecosystem

      • Promote collaboration across CHP departments and with other colleges.
      • Encourage participation in university wide research initiatives.
      • Develop sustainable research networks with healthcare and community partners.

      Enhance Research Infrastructure

      • Invest strategically in shared research facilities, equipment, and support services.
      • Expand statistical, methodological, informatics, and grant development resources.
      • Leverage emerging technologies to accelerate research productivity.

    • By 2031, the College of Health Professions will:

      1. Be recognized as a major contributor to Texas State University's R1 research aspirations.
      2. Significantly increase external research funding and annual research expenditures.
      3. Establish nationally recognized areas of excellence in health sciences, aging, rehabilitation, healthcare innovation, and population health.
      4. Expand interdisciplinary collaborations across the university and with external partners.
      5. Increase student participation in research at all academic levels.
      6. Demonstrate measurable improvements in healthcare quality, access, and outcomes through impactful translational research.
      7. Strengthening the college's reputation as a destination for innovative health sciences research and scholarly leadership.

      Alignment with Texas State University Research Strategy

      This plan directly supports the university's mission of excellence, discovery, and innovation by:

      • Advancing the creation and exchange of new knowledge.
      • Increasing research activity and external funding consistent with the Run to R1 initiative.
      • Contributing to the university's Health Sciences & Aging/Dementia strategic pillar.
      • Expanding research opportunities for students.
      • Fostering interdisciplinary innovation, including AI enabled health research.
      • Strengthening community impact, economic development, and healthcare advancement.
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  • Effective: September 2019

    Preamble:

    The College of Health Professions comprises eight units (Clinical Laboratory Science, Communications Disorders, Health Administration, Health Information Management, Nursing, Physical Therapy, Radiation Therapy, Respiratory Care). Through its professional, technical, clinical and academic programs, the college serves as an advocate for quality improvement, a catalyst for innovation, a driver of new research, and a partner with resources to expand and improve health and wellness within the community. Our faculty are leaders within their health disciplines who are dedicated to preparing students to succeed in the changing healthcare landscape.

    Research conducted in the College of Health Professions focuses on a variety of health problems including disease, disorder, infection, illness, pain, obesity, and information security that interfere with the wellbeing of a variety of patient populations. To minimize the complications associated with these conditions, the faculty develops, conducts, and evaluates interventions, treatments, assessment tools, and simulations in didactic, clinical, and laboratory settings both in local and international environments. The College of Health Professions strives to play a prominent role in improving healthcare quality in Texas and beyond its borders to advance the services available to providers and received by patients and families. The College of Health Professions seeks to conduct nationally recognized research by partnering with highly qualified international scholars. The research focus of the College of Health Professions is the creation of new knowledge that will benefit patients and our healthcare partners while simultaneously breaking new ground using innovative research designs to foster collaborative research projects in the community. 

    Mission:

    The College of Health Professions mission is to educate and prepare healthcare professionals with innovative teaching, evidence-based practice and principles, and a commitment to life-long learning in a student-centered environment. The College excels in teaching, clinical practice, scholarship, and service while responding to the diverse healthcare needs of the State of Texas, the nation, and the global community.  The College unites faculty, students, communities, and consumers in coalitions to expand the body of knowledge in healthcare practice and management.

    Vision:

    The vision of Texas State University's College of Health Professions is to be recognized for educating healthcare professionals who can identify, respond, and mitigate current and future healthcare challenges and disparities in our diverse society.

    Core Values:

    The College of Health Professions is committed to accomplishing its mission and vision without wavering from the following core values.

    • Compassion for all people
    • Integrity guides our actions
    • Diversity in our views and actions
    • Excellence is our expectation
    • Collaboration in how we operate

    Strategic Research Goals of the College of Health Professions:

    1. Expand the CHPs research activities with a focus on quality improvement in health care
    2. Use current and future clinical and laboratory research efforts to serve and study a diverse community to improve local healthcare efforts
    3. Encourage greater undergraduate and graduate participation in research activities
    4. Integrate research activities into a CHP collaboratory that is easily accessible to community partners and other Texas State faculty

    Operationalize:

    To operationalize the Strategic Research Plan, the College of Health Professions will focus on the following activities.

    1. Recruit faculty, students, and research assistants who reflect the diversity of the state’s population.
    2. Collaboration between CHP units, outside units, corporations, and businesses that complement our research activities and initiatives
    3. Assist faculty in becoming more productive, more innovative, more creative, and more scholarly in their work
    4. Increase internal and external research funding to generate a budget necessary to achieve the targeted goals and maximum efforts for staff, faculty, facilities, and other assets
    5. Develop interprofessional teams to serve and study our diverse healthcare population to improve healthcare access and quality
    6. Continue to build strong affiliations with clinical partners to produce new and expanded research opportunities
    7. Use our new state-of-the-art facilities to break new ground, and to streamline and increase research activities
    8. Foster initiatives amongst faculty and students to strengthen the preparedness of undergraduate students for graduate school and graduate students for research and academic positions.
    9. Identify research priorities throughout the college to define how the CHP will focus its efforts
    10. Assist faculty in achieving recognition as world-class leaders associated with world-class programs