In August, 2025 the College of Science welcomed Harsha Deoghare as the new Associate Dean for Academics and Research. Deoghare comes to us from Western University of Health Sciences where he served in a dual role as the Associate Dean of Research at College of Health Science and Chair of the Department of Physical Therapy Education.
Deoghare obtained his bachelor’s degree in physiotherapy in India. After college he worked as a physical therapist in intensive care units. Back then ICU PT was emerging in India, with therapists in limited ancillary roles in the ICU settings. Seeing patients suffer without optimal rehabilitation support drove him to seek advanced training in the USA. A generous Alumni Fellowship at University of Florida supported his Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Science there.
He joined the CSU as Assistant Professor at Fresno State. While there, as the Graduate Coordinator, he led the successful transition to a fully independent doctoral PT program (DPT). At CSU Fresno, Deoghare served on the Academic Senate, Institutional Assessment Teams, and was an inaugural fellow in Fresno State’s 2014 DISCOVERe Program, pioneering tech-integrated teaching and promoting digital equity.
In his next role at Western University, Deoghare made numerous contributions that included an 11-year CAPTE reaccreditation, launching new DPT and OTD programs at Western University’s Oregon campus, serving as chair of the University research committee and launching an annual research symposium.
He also redesigned curriculum to integrate AI, digital health, and team-based interprofessional care. He’s passionate about creating programs that integrate technology into healthcare. At Western U he developed a virtual reality–based interprofessional education simulation that immersed students from multiple health professions in the lived experience of homelessness, fostering empathy while strengthening teamwork, communication, and clinical decision-making skills.
“There’s a whole backstory, that we don’t see when we judge solely on appearance.” Deoghare said. “It also demonstrates how behaviors are affected by experience. How do you make behavior change? First you need connection, that only happens with empathy.”
At Cal Poly Pomona College of Science, Deoghare is enthusiastic about supporting research. He will do that by reducing the administrative burden on faculty so they can focus on teaching and research, and by identifying funding opportunities.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty with traditional sources of funding. We need to work with the community to see what research is most impactful and look at individual donors, foundations, and industry,” he said.
“On the academic side we need to be sure that we’re training people for positions that exist. We want to prepare them for the workforce,” he added. Deoghare will encourage collaboration among departments and explore collaborations across the university.
He gives back to his native country as president of INSPIRE SWADES. It’s an organization of faculty in rehabilitation who have an affiliation with India. They do networking, programming, research, and clinical collaborations with India. Dr. Deoghare serves on the Board of Directors of the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy (ACAPT), a national organization advancing excellence in healthcare leadership.
When not working, Deoghare enjoys spending time with family, reading, and bike riding.
