One-of-a-kind dean leads unique college at NMSU

There is probably not another college anywhere quite like New Mexico State University’s College of Health, Education and Social Transformation (HEST).

“It’s very unique,” said HEST inaugural Dean Yoshitaka “Yoshi” Iwasaki, Ph.D., who came to NMSU a year ago after living and working in 10 cities in three countries.

HEST was formed in 2021 by bringing together nine academic departments: borderlands and ethnic studies; counseling and educational psychology; communications disorders; kinesiology; public health sciences; sociology;  and NMSU’s schools of nursing; social work; and teacher preparation, administration and leadership.

The college also includes a diagnostic center that provides autism evaluations to southern New Mexico families at no cost, a speech and hearing center, exercise physiology and behavior sports psychology labs, Doña Ana County Head Start and a STEM outreach center.

“Learn. Engage. Transform.” was chosen as the HEST slogan after Iwasaki solicited suggestions from students, faculty, staff and alumni.

“This slogan nicely captures the centerpiece of who we are, what we do and why we matter to highlight the signature strength of our college,” Iwasaki said in an NMSU news release.

“We are producing transformative champions who are making a difference in our community,” Iwasaki told the Bulletin.

Focused on NMSU’s mission as a Hispanic- and minority-serving university, HEST faculty and the students they teach “are as diverse as possible,” the dean said.

“We are creating the pathways,” Iwasaki said, for public school students to flourish at NMSU and for New Mexico State graduates to excel in the workforce.

“We think big,” said HEST Communications Specialist Amanda Adame. “We are creating the people who are going to transform systems. We’re putting the boots on the ground.”

And even though it’s new, HEST is “always searching for ways to grow,” the dean said, “trying to catch up with the demand” for teachers, counselors, social workers, nurses, psychologists, communications disorders specialists, sociologists and experts in human movement the college is producing.

“Overall, HEST itself is a community of learning and engagement, as a catalyst for social change and transformation to uplift our people and communities we serve,” Iwasaki said in the news release.

Mental health is a college focus of particular importance to Iwasaki because his brother not only suffered from depression, he was also subjected to the stigma of a mental illness that had no effective treatment, Iwasaki said. That compelled Iwasaki to research mental health issues, including effective treatment. Iwasaki’s curriculum vitae includes multiple references to mental health and mental illness and to suicide loss and survival.

HEST students and faculty have connected with the Mesilla Valley Community of Hope to “help us find solutions besides medication” for people with mental health issues, and to address homelessness in the community, Iwasaki said.

It’s about “how we build the relationships and create the environment so those people feel welcome, safe and appreciated,” he said. “They have been abandoned; they give up.”

Pathways to recovery can include saying hello and making eye contact with someone who is struggling with homelessness, reaching out to that person and building a relationship, Iwasaki said, as he invited the community to join HEST students, faculty and partners “to help us in creating transformation.”

In the community and on the NMSU campus, that means addressing basic needs like housing, food and transportation, the dean said.

“It’s about making a difference,” Iwasaki said. “I’m proud of being an Aggie. I’m very grateful for the opportunity. I’m very blessed.”

“This is the most welcoming place,” he said. “I call Las Cruces home.”

Iwasaki came to NMSU from San Jose State University, where he served as a full professor and chair of the Department of Public Health and Recreation. Before that, Iwasaki was associate dean for research and director of the Community-University Partnership for the Study of Children, Youth and Families at the University of Alberta, Canada. He was previously a professor in the Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at Temple University in Philadelphia, and was a professional tennis instructor in both Tokyo, Japan, and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

Iwasaki has a Ph.D. and a master’s degree in applied health sciences from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. He has a bachelor’s of science degree from the University of Maryland School of Public Health in College Park, Maryland, and an associate of arts degree in tennis and sports management from the Technical College of the Lowcountry in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

Visit hest.nmsu.edu.