The opening of the renovated Recreation and Wellness Center has provided a fresh and spectacular reminder of the importance of health and wellness on the Gannon University campus. It may be the most visible symbol of wellness at Gannon, but that awareness should accompany everything that students, faculty and staff do here.
That’s the message articulated by Connie Kercher, assistant vice president of Student Development and Engagement. “Often wellness becomes narrowed to a single building or within one person’s area of responsibility,” she observed. “In the student development and engagement office, we want to share that we are all responsible for being a well campus and for moving each other along a continuum of wellness together.”
“We’re looking beyond just physical wellness,” Mary Jean Taylor, Gannon’s director of wellness, said, “to emotional and social wellness, spiritual development, an appreciation of the environment, intellectual wellness . . . and finally occupational wellness, meaning: do you feel fulfilled in your job, that what you’re doing is purposeful and part of our collected spirit at Gannon.”
The effort to build a culture of wellness at Gannon is intentional, systematic and well planned. It starts with an assessment of campus populations—students, faculty and staff—and their needs.
Learn more about Gannon’s wellness initiatives across campus.
The results are apparent, even at this early stage of the initiative. “We’ve found that people have increased their physical activity,” Kercher said. “It’s not just a one-day or six-week behavior change, but truly a modified lifestyle where they are aware of becoming physically active. More people are asking more questions, and that’s very exciting, because it tells us that our population has a need and a want, and we’re putting all that in the big picture of who we serve and at what time.”
A true culture of wellness at Gannon will acknowledge that the time for wellness is now, and the place is right where you are.
“We want to be intentional that wherever you are you can be working on your wellness,” Taylor said. “Wellness can happen everywhere, and reminding people of that fact is on our agenda.”