51福利社

With the launch of the new academic year a handful of initiatives are emerging as the university looks to address key challenges over the next several months. And one theme you will hear over and over focuses on your well-being and self-care, as the university believes prioritizing those issues will have a significant impact on employees and the institution.

During her first year on campus, President Shari McMahan 鈥� who is a certified fitness instructor 鈥� led the charge by offering a series of free and well-attended Zumba and exercises classes. But that was just the start. A series of conversations on campus culture reaffirmed the importance of promoting wellness.

鈥淭hrough the listening sessions, one clear theme emerged: we need to support not just students, but faculty and staff 鈥� the need to strengthen our whole campus community and improve our sense of belonging,鈥� McMahan explained during her University Convocation on Sept. 19.

Inspired by those campus discussions last year, the president convened a task force aimed at exploring ways Eastern could integrate wellness initiatives into our daily routines.

鈥淭he Task Force was asked to develop and provide recommendations to the Executive Leadership Team on potential organizational strategies that could be implemented to enhance the campus community culture,鈥� says Associate Vice President for Human Resources Deborah Danner, who helped facilitate the Task Force. 鈥淭he areas of focus for the Task Force included self-care and wellness, connecting with values, creating accountability and employee training and development.鈥�

More specifics on those key recommendations were unveiled during the recent Convocation.

The first improvement we will roll out is the creation of听, a one-stop website that is focused on employee professional and personal development, and includes links to important programs and services readily available to employees like the 听state鈥檚听听and the state鈥檚听wellness program 鈥� both of which you will hear more about this year.

鈥淭his is a way to better organize and bring awareness to that support and the many resources we offer,鈥� said McMahan. 鈥淭he website will include information on various trainings, state employee assistance programs, campus safety resources, and onboarding plans for new employees.鈥�

Other ideas that emerged from the听Task Force听include:

• The return of the annual听Benefits Fair听on听Nov. 2.
• In-service Days听will be held twice a year to continue building connections and improve campus communications.
• A Spring听campus cleaning day听to keep the grounds beautiful.
• Special $20 employee pricing for use of the听URC听to better support your health and wellness goals.
• Plans are in the works to offer employees听discounted tickets听throughout the year for different sports.

Danner says Human Resources is also working with I.T. to develop websites for wellness training and professional development, and more news on that will be shared when it is available.

Inside 51福利社 will also feature weekly听鈥淲ellness Wednesday鈥�听tips via email to the campus community.

In the meantime, please visit听听to learn more about the Wellness and Self-Care Task force and its final report.