ATSU selected for Gallup Campus Wellbeing Consortium

MESA, Ariz. – A.T. Still University (ATSU) has been selected as one of only three inaugural member institutions of the Gallup Campus Wellbeing Consortium. The consortium works to create a new discussion about the wellbeing of the people who learn and work at colleges and universities, and to create a community where people use a common vocabulary about what is right with individuals. Consortium member institutions are committed to increasing the wellbeing of all the people on their campuses and in the surrounding communities.

ATSU was selected from a pool of interested schools based on their outstanding levels of commitment to the project and the powerful impact they are proposing to make on their campuses and in their communities. The University of North Texas and Texas Christian University were the other schools selected. This announcement marks the beginning of a five-year journey for each university to become a wellbeing campus and to help students, faculty, and staff reach thriving levels of wellbeing.

The Gallup Campus Wellbeing Consortium requires a commitment not only from university leaders but also from leaders in the surrounding communities. Mayors, school superintendents, and CEOs of the area’s largest employers indicated their support for each university’s commitment to become a renowned wellbeing campus.

“We are very pleased that Gallup selected ATSU to participate in this ground-breaking Wellbeing Consortium,” stated Dr. Jack Magruder, president of ATSU. “We are committed to educate caring professionals dedicated to whole-person healthcare and to provide a healthy learning and work environment, in keeping with our osteopathic heritage. Our participation in the Gallup Consortium will help us maximize progress toward that goal.”

Added Douglas Wood, D.O., Ph.D., ATSU senior vice president—academic affairs, “This is a landmark commitment to improving the lives of those who learn and work at ATSU. Being a member of the consortium aligns with our university’s mission to improve the wellbeing of not only our university family but also our community.”

The potential benefits of high wellbeing on a campus and in a community are powerful and extend well beyond just an assessment of physical health. Wellbeing incorporates five separate but related elements: Career Wellbeing, Social Wellbeing, Financial Wellbeing, Physical Wellbeing, and Community Wellbeing. Research has shown that high wellbeing has direct links to lower healthcare demands, reduced health insurance costs, higher GPAs, a more engaged student body and workforce, and other positive campus, community, and business outcomes.

“We believe that this consortium will highlight the great programs and services already in place in these universities,” stated Timothy D. Hodges, Ph.D., director of Gallup’s Campus Wellbeing Consortium. “We are also interested in discovering effective strategies that institutions can implement to enhance the wellbeing of those who live, learn, and work in these communities.” According to Hodges, one important goal of the consortium is to quantify the impact of wellbeing over time.

As part of the consortium, ATSU will provide selected students, faculty, and staff unlimited access to Gallup’s wellbeing assessment and tracking measurement tools. Each participant will receive personalized feedback that will include specific recommendations on how he or she can best improve aspects of their wellbeing. Participants will have access to individual and group action planning tools, campus-specific resources, a wellbeing journal, behavior trending capabilities, and other tools to help individuals and groups make real behavioral changes.

Faculty and staff from the Mesa, Ariz., Kirksville, Mo., and online campuses will work together to integrate the ATSU campuses’ overall results into targeted programs designed to elevate the five essential elements of wellbeing.

Gallup experts will consult with the participating campus consortium committees using campus-wide reports and aggregated data to help them implement programs and initiatives to enhance the wellbeing on their campuses.

A project manager and two additional faculty members from each member campus will also meet in Omaha in April 2011 and twice a year thereafter to share their campus-specific research designs and wellbeing strategies.

ATSU faculty who will represent the university as its consortium team include Project Manager Bernadette Mineo, Ph.D., OTR/L, chair of the department of occupational therapy, Arizona School of Health Sciences; Janet Woldt, Ph.D., associate dean for academic assessment, Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health; and Trish Sexton, D.H.Ed., associate professor, family medicine and American Osteopathic Association Health Policy Fellow, the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine.

For more information about the program and its goals, visit http://campuswellbeing.gallup.com.