Accepted Proposals

11. What if Hamilton trained the next generation of leaders in health and healthcare through interdisciplinary academics, experiential learning, and professional development?

May 16, 2025

The collaboration led by: Natalie Nannas

With collaborators: Mackenzie Cooley; Max Majireck; Matthew Grace; Rhea Datta; Justin Clark 

The Hamilton Health and Humanity (H3) Initiative is an interdisciplinary collaboration of faculty, staff, and students dedicated to developing future leaders in health and healthcare, broadly defined. The H3 Initiative will develop a certificate program in Interdisciplinary Health Studies that takes a holistic approach to student development by exploring a breadth of disciplines with health-focused courses and outside-of-class experiences. A central course in “Medical Thinking” will leverage Hamilton’s extensive alumni network in health careers to bring real-life, hands-on experiences directly to our students. Beyond academics, the H3 Initiative will promote professional development through speaker series, events, networking, and facilitating internships.

The proposal was submitted for TRANSFORMATIONAL funding (no maximum) and was ranked high with respect to the other proposals based upon the evaluation rubric.

The committee applauds the proposers for:

• Transformational Vision: Recognizing the initiative as highly innovative
• Interdisciplinary Approach: Successfully integrating sciences, humanities, and social sciences to create a holistic health education experience.
• Structured Implementation Plan: A well-defined three-phase rollout that ensures feasibility and long-term sustainability.
• Experiential Learning Opportunities: Emphasizing hands-on experiences through shadowing, guest lectures, and professional development.
• Career Preparation & Networking: Establishing a Health Careers Network to connect students with alumni and clinical experiences.
• Institutional Alignment: Strongly supporting Hamilton’s mission of interdisciplinary learning, liberal arts education, and experiential learning.
• Potential for Long-Term Impact: Envisioning the creation of a Center for Health and Humanity as a lasting institutional resource.
• Scalability & Adaptability: Demonstrating potential for expansion into other interdisciplinary fields beyond health studies.

The points that the committee recommends the proposers need to continue to develop include:
Financial Sustainability:

• Identify additional external funding sources (grants, alumni contributions) to support long-term sustainability, especially for Phase 3.
• Consider cost-saving measures, such as using student assistants instead of post-bac fellows.
• Infrastructure & Logistical Planning:
  • Address the feasibility of establishing the Center for Health and Humanity without immediate funding.
  • Ensure smooth coordination between multiple departments, Career Services, and the Levitt Center.
• Assessment & Metrics:
  • Develop clear success metrics to track program effectiveness (e.g., student enrollment, internship placements, faculty participation).
  • Define benchmarks for long-term impact, such as post-graduate career outcomes in health-related fields.
• Institutional Integration:
  • Clarify the process for approving the Interdisciplinary Health Studies Certificate within Hamilton’s academic framework.
  • Ensure administrative buy-in for curricular changes and new programming.
• Scalability & Adaptability:
  • Explore how elements of the program (e.g., Health Lab model) could be expanded or adapted to other interdisciplinary fields.
  • Consider potential collaborations beyond pre-health advising, such as public policy, environmental health, and bioethics.

From the committee’s perspective, the next phase of this project would include:

• Securing Institutional Approval & Funding Strategy
  • Obtain administrative approval for the Interdisciplinary Health Studies Certificate.
  • Identify and pursue external funding sources (grants, alumni contributions) to ensure long-term sustainability.
• Pilot Key Program Components & Gather Feedback
  • Launch initial programming, including the Medical Thinking course, guest lectures, and student cohorting.
  • Collect data on student participation and faculty engagement to refine the program based on early outcomes.
• Develop Clear Assessment Metrics
  • Establish concrete success metrics, such as student enrollment, internship placements, and post-graduate outcomes.
  • Create a framework for long-term evaluation to track the program’s impact and sustainability.

The committee recommends funding the next phase of this proposal for $25,000 to move this idea forward for further aspirational design and development.