About the Department
Blending engagement and service
Quality of education in Health, Recreation & Community Services (HRCS) begins with the professors and supporting staff who have one focus: your success.
You’ll benefit from both their passion as well as their expertise which reflects the diversity of your options and their disciplines. Whether connecting you to community organizations, sharing a story on hands-on efforts in global health or mentoring you in a gross anatomy lab, you’ll find a department full of people ready to engage with you and your dreams.
While a young department, formed in 2018 as part of a college reorganization, our leadership in athletic training, public health and leisure studies and services has a strong tradition. We’re continually reassessing and reshaping our undergraduate and graduate degree offerings to match changing trends, your needs and our strengths.
Kathleen Scholl, Ph.D., part of our recreation, tourism and leadership studies faculty, has led the department since 2020.
We are fully committed to human services and how they empower quality of life. And we believe strongly in community engagement and faculty service — for our students as well as our faculty and staff. It keeps all of us informed and connected.


Facilities That Impact
As an HRCS student, the setting is part of your experience:
- Wellness and Recreation Center (computer instructional lab, student computer center, wellness resources lab, fitness facilities)
- Human Performance Center with:
- The Sport and Human Performance Center for athletic training, sports medicine and hydrotherapy services
- Davis Center for Healthy Youth Development, housing public health, nonprofit leadership and youth initiatives
- Athletic training outcomes research, environmental health and human anatomy labs


Why HRCS Degrees?
- Dedicated, student-first, expert faculty
- Hands on experiences alongside UNI team trainers and area clinicians; at nonprofit, private, public agencies and organizations
- Accredited quality: Council on Accreditation of Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Related Professions (COAPRT) and the Commission on the Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE)
- Renowned clinical, classroom and laboratory facilities