When the University Board of Trustees approved a merger between kinesiology and community health on Jan. 20 after more than a year of discussion and debate, some members of the departments were concerned with how the integration would affect each curriculum. But, with the semester nearly over, department officials are calling the merger a success.

Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko, head of kinesiology and community health, said this collaboration is beneficial to both students and faculty and that he sees no downside to the merger.

“This is a really exciting opportunity to pull together faculty with a common interest,” Chodzko-Zajko said. “It provides more opportunities for students within the curriculum.”

Tanya Gallagher, dean of applied life studies (ALS), said she started a task force within ALS a year ago to try and find another department to blend with the small community health program.

“We needed to relieve community health of carrying all the administrative load of a department,” Gallagher said. “They only had five faculty members to do all of the work.”

Gallagher said the kinesiology department was a natural choice because of the common health theme and the lead of other universities. She said more than 100 campuses around the country have kinesiology and community health under one department.

Jenny Hahn, junior in ALS, said she didn’t see that the merger had any effect on her kinesiology classes this semester.

“They sent out e-mails and had information sessions to let us know what was going on,” Hahn said. “Other than that, I might never have known at all.”

Chodzko-Zajko said this is because the new department has been very careful to keep the different curricula and degrees independent of one another.

“These are two sets of programs that are very diverse in nature, and they will still be separate in rubric,” he said. “But despite the wide variety of areas they cover, both departments are characterized by the study of health. This will only accentuate the synergy between the studies.”

While she will still have a degree in kinesiology, Hahn said it could be beneficial to be connected to other areas of health.

“They have their classes and we have ours, so we aren’t directly affected,” Hahn said. “But no matter what you want to do with a kinesiology degree, you can benefit from the connection to community health. We could be dealing with health administrators in our job overlap.”

Gallagher said there have been committees dedicated to making a smooth transition, and the new department will be the best of both worlds.

“We are maximizing advantages of preserving department identity while reaping the benefits of an overlapping department structure,” Gallagher said. “We’re moving forward to try and retain the benefits of both systems.”

Although there was some debate about the merger when it was first proposed last year, Gallagher said faculty in both units and across the college has overwhelmingly supported it. She said the college is working on hiring new faculty members, and she is very pleased with the “rich applicant pool.”

Chodzko-Zajko said he is looking forward to hiring new people to help the department expand, and the search for faculty is already well underway.

“We are extremely optimistic about the opportunities and commitments we have so far,” Chodzko-Zajko said. “Talented faculty makes it easier to recruit people to the University.”

Despite rumors of faculty resignations and split opinions on the merger, Gallagher said there have been no problems and the faculty is working very well together.

“We are already seeing many positive benefits among students and staff members,” she said. “There’s increased collaboration and a deeper intellectual colleagueship”

Blending the departments will result in a common study of improving the quality of life, Chodzko-Zajko said. He said the department might also see larger research funding from the government.

“There are virtually no negative effects, and I’m already enjoying working with colleagues in both programs,” Chodzko-Zajko said. “It’s an exciting opportunity for both programs to grow.”