ATSU Gallup Wellbeing Consortium Project on track

In early 2011, ATSU was selected as one of only three inaugural member institutions of the Gallup Campus Wellbeing Consortium along with Texas Christian University and University of North Texas. The Consortium works to create a new discussion about the wellbeing of the people who learn and work at colleges and universities. Consortium member institutions are committed to increasing the wellbeing of all the people on their campuses and in the surrounding communities.

Since that time, the project is moving forward. In September, informational sessions were held explaining the project and inviting ATSU first-year residential students, faculty, staff, and administrators to participate in filling out the Gallup Wellbeing Finder online. Initial data regarding participation was collected for both campuses September through October 2011.

“Although we are still in the initial data analysis phase of this five-year project, the initial response rate among residential students, faculty, and full-time employees was fifty-one percent,” said Janet Woldt, Ph.D., associate dean for academic assessment, Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health, and a member of the ATSU Gallup Wellbeing Consortium Project team. Other team members include Project Manager Bernadette Mineo, Ph.D., OTR/L, chair, occupational therapy, Arizona School of Health Sciences, and Trish Sexton, D.H.Ed., associate professor, family medicine, and American Osteopathic Association Health Policy fellow, Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Drs. Mineo, Sexton, and Woldt attended the Gallup Campus Wellbeing Consortium held in in early November in Washington, D.C., where they met members from the other participating inaugural universities. In addition, following the meeting of the consortium they represented ATSU at the annual Gallup Wellbeing Forum also held at Gallup Headquarters in Washington, D.C. According to Gallup, their annual Wellbeing Forum “brings together world-renowned research scientists and nationally recognized leaders from healthcare, government and industry to understand and explore crucial issues that affect the wellbeing of the world’s nearly seven billion citizens.”

Some of the next steps for the ATSU Gallup Wellbeing project will include: focus groups and conversations on both campuses about Gallup’s model of wellbeing, and the enlistment of “champions” of wellbeing – those who want to nudge, model, provide information or otherwise inspire others to improve their wellbeing. In addition, a follow-up research fielding period of the Gallup Wellbeing Finder will occur sometime in the spring. Stay tuned for more on those events.

In the meantime, the ATSU consortium team has a reminder: “Don’t forget your wellbeing!” This is a five-year project, but you can start your own wellbeing journey now. If you are part of the fifty-one percent who completed the Wellbeing Finder, use the Wellbeing Daily Tracker to help you track your wellbeing.

For more information about the ATSU Gallup Wellbeing Consortium Project, contact atsugallupwellbeingproject@atsu.edu.