How Campuses Bring Integrated Wellness to Broader Audiences

Michael Popke Headshot
[Photo courtesy of California State University, Sacramento]
[Photo courtesy of California State University, Sacramento]

College and university recreation professionals are making giant strides toward integrating wellbeing across multiple campus programs and services. As many can strongly attest, these efforts by definition include consideration of employee health and wellness.

Take East Carolina University, which since the 2003 launch of its Employee Wellness Institute, has encouraged faculty and staff to adopt a healthy lifestyle in pursuit of attaining — in the words of the program's own literature — "an optimal state of mind, body and spirit." The program promotes eight dimensions of wellness (physical, occupational, spiritual, environmental, financial, social, intellectual and emotional) and has partnered with on-campus entities as diverse as Human Resources, Occupational Therapy, Student Health Services, the Counseling Center, the College of Business, the Office of Financial Aid and the departments of Kinesiology and Psychology.

"With wellness, everything overlaps," says Suzanne McDonald, assistant director of physical activity and wellness education for ECU's Campus Recreation and Wellness department. "We can connect everything. If we convince someone to start taking a group cycling class on a regular basis, we're touching on at least five of the eight dimensions: physical, social, spiritual, emotional and financial. Even doing a crossword puzzle or learning a musical instrument contributes to enhanced wellbeing."

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