About the Center

How can we use creativity to promote health and well-being? The COVID-19 pandemic, a rise in chronic health issues, and changes in how people access health information have amplified the need for innovative approaches to health and professionals who understand the integral connections between mind and body.

To help meet those demands, the Center for Health, Human Development, and Creativity unites students and faculty from a broad range of disciplines for research and collaboration on health and human development topics. It also serves as MMC’s hub for students of any major who are interested in exploring and embarking on pathways toward health-related professions. The College’s hallmark is to nurture curiosity by encouraging learning that transcends academic boundaries, and both students who wish to follow a science-intensive pathway and students whose interests are transdisciplinary will find a home—and helpful resources—here.

For example, at the center:

• Anatomy meets movement as student biologists and dancers investigate the science—and risks—of the body in motion.
• Child psychology meets literature, the visual arts, and musical theatre as students assess and intervene to enhance social interactions and understanding among “typical children” and children with disabilities.
• Theatre meets vocal health as student actors learn the mechanics of safely projecting their voices.
• Business meets the arts to help ensure that communities thrive through cultural institutions and organizations.
• The biomedical sciences meet the social sciences as students in various fields consider real-world questions in medical ethics, health-care policy, psychological counseling, “emotional intelligence,” and health education.

The center will build upon major programs, such as Biology and Psychology, and minor programs and concentrations with the potential to become majors, such as Movement Science and Child Development and Creative Media. New programs will also be explored. With help from the center’s staff and affiliated faculty, students will find valuable resources for charting their futures and discovering new and creative ways to combine their interests in the arts, humanities, social sciences, or science and mathematics with health care.