Utica College to use largest endowment donation to establish Institute for the Study of Integrative Healthcare

UTICA, N.Y. — Utica College (UC) will use a multi-year donation of $2.8 million to establish the Institute for the Study of Integrative Healthcare (ISIH).

“This represents one of the largest charitable gifts in UC’s history, and the largest single endowment gift since our founding,” Utica College President Laura Casamento said in an Oct. 28 announcement at the school.

The multi-disciplinary institute will promote advanced learning and research in the emerging field of integrative health care, which brings together a “broad range of practices in support of patient health and well-being,” Casamento said in a news release.

The donors, who have requested to remain anonymous, decided to make this philanthropic investment in UC out of their “firm belief that the college has a longstanding record of innovation and responsiveness to the changing landscape of the health-care delivery system,” the school president added.

The institute’s work will provide opportunities for students to collaborate and participate in professional research. In addition, the college will seek to establish partnerships with health-care providers locally, regionally, and nationally.

“What will be especially unique about the Institute, is the fact that of the roughly 50 similar institutes currently functioning nationwide, the UC Institute will be one of only a handful that is anchored in a four-year professional college with a liberal arts base,” Utica College Provost Todd Pfannestiel noted. “The vast majority of these institutes are tied directly to medical schools; however, the UC Institute will be uniquely positioned to explore integrative healthcare in an integrative educational model, which will include the traditional liberal arts, such as sociology and history among others, as well as business studies such as healthcare administration. Utica College is going to become a trailblazer with this model, made possible by the generosity and trust that the donors have placed in our college.”

About the institute

The institute will leverage technology to connect faculty, students, community members, practitioners, social-service agencies, and government to examine the relationship between integrative health care, patient health and professional practice.

Students in physical therapy, occupational therapy, nursing, healthcare administration and sociology/anthropology will be involved in “meaningful experiences” relating to their fields of study.

Faculty associated with the institute will take a transdisciplinary approach to their study to directly prepare students for their intended careers.

Plans also include bi-annual national conferences, bringing together faculty, students, practitioners, and evidence-based research principals.

“

The institute announcement comes just months after ground was broken for the Utica College Science Complex, a 25,000-square foot, $12 million to $14 million building to provide classroom and lab facilities for majors such as biology, chemistry, geoscience, and physics, while also supporting health profession studies.