USU Advances to Silver-level Healthy Campus Legacy Award

The Utah Department of Health has once again lauded Utah State University for promoting and improving the health and well-being of students, faculty and staff through wellness initiatives.

UDOH recently announced 2006 recipients of its ‘A Healthier You’ Legacy Awards. Utah State received a silver award in the Healthy Campus category; a step up from the bronze award Aggies received in 2005.

 

“We’re really happy with the progress our university has made in improving campus wellness,” says Jamie McKinlay, program coordinator in USU’s Student Health and Wellness Center. “From here, we’ll continue to focus on the initiatives we’ve established, along with new opportunities. We’re going for the gold.”

 

In presenting the award to Utah State, LaDene Larsen, director of UDOH’s Bureau of Health Promotion, praised the northern Utah campus for its varied efforts in promoting a healthy environment. Among USU’s noted efforts, she said, are the university’s “One in Four” and “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” domestic violence and sexual assault awareness programs, substance abuse prevention programs, wellness and preventive health education programs, activities encouraging physical exercise such as the campus-wide Physical Activity Challenge and Healthy Campus Lunch Walks, policies implemented to clear walkways of snow and vegetation and signage indicating non-smoking areas.

 

Larsen also praised USU’s recently updated Student Health and Wellness Center Web site.

 

Funded by UDOH, the Utah Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health and community partners, the “A Healthier You’ program was initiated in conjunction with the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games. The program recognizes efforts by college campuses, communities, public schools and the private sector in increasing opportunities for health-enhancing activities.

 

McKinlay says the Student Wellness Center plans a sequel to last winter’s Physical Activity Challenge. More than 300 students, faculty and staff competed in the popular 13-week challenge, in which six-member teams tried to rack up the most exercise hours and consume five fruit and vegetable servings each day.

 

USU’s Student Health and Wellness Center provides a variety of educational and awareness programs in alcohol, tobacco and substance abuse, healthy relationships, sexual assault and rape prevention, nutrition, peer pressure and safe recreational practices.

 

McKinlay encourages USU students to make use of the services and programs offered by the center. “USU’s Student Health and Wellness Center is open to all Utah State students,” she says. “We encourage all Aggies to make use of our services when needed.”

 

 

Contact: Jamie McKinlay, 435-797-1010