National Recreation and Park Association Accreditation Self Study Evaluation, 1978 | University of Illinois Archives

In 1932, the Board of Trustees established the School of Physical Education with authority to award the degree of Bachelor of Science.¹ In 1957, the Board changed the name of the School to the College of Physical Education, which included the Department of Physical Education for Men; Department of Physical Education for Women; Department of Health Service; Department of Recreation, two divisions, a bureau and two clinics. It offered masters and doctoral degrees.² In 1968, the staff and program in Dance was transferred to the College of Fine & Applied Arts as the Department of Dance.³ In June, 1975, the Board renamed the College of Physical Education as the College of Applied Life Studies.⁴ The College of Applied Life studies was composed of three academic graduate departments: Health & Safety Education, Leisure Studies, and Physical Education.⁵

In March, 2006, the Urbana-Champaign Senate approved a proposal to rename the College, the College of Applied Health Sciences.⁶ This was done to reflect the College's research, instructional, and outreach programs as well as the structure of the College, which included the three departments that follow: the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health; the Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism; and the Department of Speech and Hearing Science. The stated mission of the College is "to advance research, instruction and public engagement that promotes the development of healthy, livable communities, facilitates optimal living with disability and promotes health and wellness across the lifespan and throughout a diverse society."⁷

1. Board of Trustees Transactions, 36th Report, June 11, 1932, p. 609.

2. Board of Trustees Transactions, 49th Report, June 20, 1957, p. 434-35.

3. Board of Trustees Transactions, 55th Report, July 24, 1968, p. 8.

4. Board of Trustees Transactions, 58th Report, June 18, 1975, p. 310.

5. Graduate Programs Catalog, 1980-82, p. 18.

6. Urbana-Champaign Senate Meeting Minutes, April 24, 2006, RG 4/2/1.

7. Urbana-Champaign Senate Meeting Minutes, March 27, 2006, RG 4/2/1.