The Department of Exercise and Movement Science (EMS) is providing training to students seeking careers in health-science professions. The EMS program differs from the traditional approach to such training in that instruction goes beyond providing a basic science education. EMS students are taught the importance of physical activity and lifestyle in health promotion and disease prevention, a philosophy that has been very successful. The department has 220 majors, teaches all campus courses in human anatomy and physiology, and contributes heavily to the general science curriculum. The task of meeting the enrollment pressure created by these responsibilities is challenging. Moreover, the departmental developmental plan calls for major curricular additions and improvements; steps that are impossible without additional laboratory resources. This project is improving the EMS teaching laboratory environment and permitting the development of a new physiology sequence that uses human exercise models. Computer instruction in anatomy, redesign of the laboratory experiences in major core courses, and expansion of on-going collaborations with both area secondary schools and practicing physicians are becoming more viable. These changes are allowing EMS to provide excellent training to pre-health science students while enriching the curriculum so that students can work independently, communicate effectively, and have a heightened degree of sensitivity toward the value of physical activity in disease treatment and prevention. *
