The Association owes a huge debt of gratitude to the members who served these past two years on the NIRSA Health and Wellbeing Task Force. Appointed in the fall of 2021 by the 2021–2022 NIRSA Board of Directors to lead a variety of initiatives, these individuals have played a huge part in supporting NIRSA’s ongoing strategic priority work to be a driving force in an integrated approach to health and wellbeing.
Mark Ferguson, Assistant Vice President, Well-Being at Ohio University and member of the Task Force, reminds us, “Wellbeing is complex and widespread change takes time, but the little things matter and can move the needle.” And this Task Force has moved the needle.
The Association owes a huge debt of gratitude to the members who served these past two years on the NIRSA Health and Wellbeing Task Force. Appointed in the fall of 2021 by the 2021–2022 NIRSA Board of Directors to lead a variety of initiatives, these individuals have played a huge part in supporting NIRSA’s ongoing strategic priority work to be a driving force in an integrated approach to health and wellbeing.
Mark Ferguson, Assistant Vice President, Well-Being at Ohio University and member of the Task Force, reminds us, “Wellbeing is complex and widespread change takes time, but the little things matter and can move the needle.” And this Task Force has moved the needle.
“NIRSA will continue to be leaders in the world of wellbeing,” says Marti Tomlin, Director-University Recreation at the University of Richmond and member of the Task Force. She says that the Association will continue trying to educate others on campuses and within our profession about what wellbeing is “and what it is not.”
“The members of this taskforce laid the groundwork to make those conversations a little easier by providing consistent language around wellbeing (through the inter-association definition), practical/tangible ways to ensure that your work is wellbeing work (through the Recreation for Wellbeing: Elevating Our Impact course), and providing ongoing opportunities to grow, learn, and engage with this work (through Promising Practices and the Wellbeing Briefing). While the Task Force volunteers are ending our time, our work will live on and hopefully impact the future of everyone’s wellbeing,” adds Marti.
In addition to the resources and opportunities named by Marti, the group also spearheaded the repository of Wellbeing Measures “that allows practitioners to find examples to advance both small and large-scale efforts on their respective campuses,” says Gregory Reinhardt, Associate Director for Programs & Assessment at the University of Washington- Seattle Campus and member of the Task Force.
The group had a chance to meet in person at DePaul University in late April of 2023. Occurring roughly halfway into their terms on the Task Force, the meeting gave the group a chance to coalesce and build momentum for their work: “Our in-person meeting was the highlight of working with this group…During that meeting in Chicago, I truly felt like I belonged. I experienced personal and professional growth through formal and informal conversations that I will continue to cherish,” says Leah Bank, Senior Coordinator, Fitness and Wellness at California State University- Bakersfield and Task Force member.
There is still much work that needs to be done on the health and wellbeing front, however. “This work is not linear. It is evolving and continues to change as the landscape changes,” says Marci Iverson, Assistant Dean of Student Wellbeing at Viterbo University. “Professionals are not all coming to the conversations with common language and experiences, therefore NIRSA needs to continue to provide a range of opportunities for the community to engage in conversations and in the wellbeing work (within recreation and across higher education). We need research to glean insights on the impact of our work on systemic change for individual and community wellbeing,” adds Marci.
Being 'Part of the Team'
“Health and wellbeing are shared initiatives among all departments and offices on campus. Due to the massive responsibility and efforts that go into implementing wellbeing initiatives at the systems level, it is too much for one organization to bear. Although collaboration within student affairs, and even academic affairs, is vital, addressing health and wellbeing issues is not as easy as it sounds. It requires the same passion and commitment among all stakeholders as I have seen in my fellow task force members, for which I am grateful to have served with,” says Jacob Eubank, Assistant Professor – Recreation Education & Therapy at CUNY Lehman College and Task Force.
“My biggest highlight from working with the task force is working with great and motivated individuals working towards a shared goal,” says Kevin George, Director of Campus Recreation at Rowan University. The opportunities to learn through service on this task force are real: “I’ve learned so much that I too can apply to our university wellbeing framework and strategic plan. I’ve not only from my role as a task force member, but through the other offerings, such as Wellbeing in Higher Education Week, being part of the team to create the ‘Recreation for Wellbeing’ course and having opportunities to present multiple times at Annual Conference regarding wellbeing,” adds Kevin.
Serving on this task force is your chance to “Create relationships to enact positive change,” says Darcie Burde, Program Development Manager for National Fitness Campaign and outgoing co-chair of the task force.
