University President Richard Lariviere is hoping to prove Friday that health and wellness not only matters to University students, but University administrators as well.
The University’s Healthy Campus Initiative is kicking off this school year with a one-mile walk and a five-kilometer “fun run” with Lariviere on Friday at 3 p.m. at the EMU Amphitheater with raffle prizes and musical performances.
The goal of the Healthy Campus Initiative, a collaboration between multiple departments and offices on campus, is to promote wellness among University students and direct students to the appropriate resources.
“We need to make sure people here are leading healthy, balanced lives,” Vice President of Student Affairs Robin Holmes said.
The University’s wellness model includes cultural, emotional, environmental, intellectual, occupational, physical, social and spiritual domains.
“One of the most important things in college is finding balance,” Physical Education and Recreation Assistant Director for Fitness Chantelle Russell said. “This is an ideal time for students to adopt wellness into their lives.”
University senior Lucy Kiester  said she thinks the University does a good job already of promoting healthy living, but the new campus initiative would be a great tool for students who might need more information.
“Health and wellness is important enough to require its own program,” she said.
The University is currently lacking a central location where students can attain information regarding health and wellness services, so a new program is necessary, according to its website.
In June 2009, the Healthy Campus Task Force submitted a proposal outlining their reasons for wanting to launch a new collaborative campus program. The task force identified positive programs that were in place at various university departments, but discovered little cohesion or collaboration.
The Healthy Campus Initiative will require additional staffing and securing resources to create an office solely dedicated to running the program.
The initiative has a corporate sponsor, but members of the program declined to announce the name of the sponsor because of contractual formalities.
The sponsor will fund the initiative with a grant for its first five years, which is in the process of being approved this fall.
Applicants for the initiative’s director position are being accepted, and in the near future, candidates will be invited to visit the University campus and will undergo an interview process.
The new program will include a research component involving the Department of Human Physiology.
Undergraduate and graduate students can participate in that research. In the future, other departments will most likely be involved in research as well, Holmes said.
Students can also get involved in a friendly competition with other Pac-10 schools, which have their own campus wellness programs. Students are encouraged to record their fitness levels and hours of exercise this term to be used in a collection of data by the Healthy Campus Initiative in the 2010 Best of the West Fitness Challenge.
“We want to have student participation,” Holmes said.
The website links to campus department websites, the University calendar, campus food venues, Eugene-area locations and other resources. The website lists Subway and Panda Express on its food resource “Eat Well” list, as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture website, Food Allergy Network and National Eating Disorder Association.
The Healthy Campus Initiative is a collaboration between the Career Center, the Counseling and Testing Center, the EMU, the Holden Leadership Center, Physical Education and Recreation, the Office of the Dean of Students, University Housing, the Health Center and the Division of Student Affairs, according to the Healthy Campus Initiative website.
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