SLCC Welcomes the New Dean of Health Sciences

Salt Lake Community College welcomed its School of Health Sciences dean, Robert Pettitt, PhD, to the College this past summer.

“This job is everything I hoped it would be,” says Pettitt. “It is rewarding because we get to help the community by providing skilled graduates to help fill the high demand for health care workers.” He points out that it is also rewarding to see the benefits to students and the community through SLCC’s health sciences outreach clinics and community services.

Pettitt spent the early part of his career training athletes and then entered a phase of conducting research and mentoring master and doctoral degree students. He is formerly a full professor and chair at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and he was the director of Research & Sponsored Projects and a full professor at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions.

He earned a PhD in Exercise and Sports Science from the University of Utah and is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine. Pettitt has published more than 90 articles and has authored the textbook, "Exercise Physiology Laboratories." For the past 12 years he has consulted for the Force Science Institute, evaluating human performance in police and SWAT officers.

A Few Fun Facts

What really won you over in taking this new position?

The clincher was interviewing with Associate Provost Jason Pickavance and Provost Clifton Sanders. When I first met these two, I knew right away I would like working with them. They have some of those hard-to-define qualities that make people great leaders.

What got you interested in the sports sciences?

I started out in athletic training/sports medicine treating injured athletes. Once I got into my PhD, I really got interested in the limits of human performance and the best ways to develop exercise prescriptions.

What do you do in your spare time?

I’ve done martial arts since I was 12 years old. I’ve continued to advance in styles of Isshin Ryu, Shorin Ryu, and Shimbukan to the point in which I now need to travel to Okinawa, Japan in order to train and advance in rank. I practice martial arts when I can, but most of my time outside of work is spent being a dad to my two sons and three stepdaughters. I’m happy spending time with family.

Who was one of your mentors and why?

My former professor at SUNY Cortland, Jack Daniels, made me realize as an undergraduate that you could take theory and apply it to practice. He would take what he was teaching then apply it to his role as a running coach at the school, testing the runners. He was also a former Olympian and coached Olympians. I modeled a lot of his spirit of turning theory into practice in my career.

What accomplishment are you most proud of in your career?

I received the Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award when I was at Minnesota State Mankato in 2014, and the stipend from this award funded my sabbatical to Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia and the Australian Institute of Sport. I'm proud of this accomplishment because only two to three from over 700 faculty receive this distinction. In Australia I learned a ton and had a ton of fun too.