Starting this fall, the University of Guelph will launch a new Healthy Campus Initiative that will aim to review, align, coordinate and enhance health promotion activities for U of G’s students, faculty and staff.

Overseen by President Franco Vaccarino and led by Carrie Chassels, vice-provost (student affairs) and Martha Harley, associate vice-president (human resources), the Healthy Campus Initiative will take a holistic approach to wellness at U of G.

“We have a strong foundation in wellness promotion,” says Vaccarino. “We are well-positioned to be bolder in our efforts to promote the well-being of students, faculty and staff.”

The Healthy Campus Initiative will be steered by the President’s Healthy Campus Advisory Council. The council will provide strategic direction and leadership to inform and support the planning, implementation, evaluation, communication and sustainability of the initiative. The council will include representation from University academic and administrative leadership, students, and Ridgetown and Guelph-Humber campuses.

Chassels explains that the initiative will coordinate and optimize collective efforts to promote well-being for the University community. “The council will play a key role in guiding the creation of standards that will help inform and measure our progress toward becoming a healthy campus,” she said.

“The University community’s involvement in our work will be essential,” says Harley. “In the months ahead, we’ll consult with students, faculty and staff to refine the initiative’s guiding principles, values and aspirational outcomes.”

Supporting the well-being of the whole person is an institutional commitment for U of G. Recently, the University achieved Excellence Canada’s Silver Healthy Workplace Certification. In 2017, U of G became a signatory to the Okanagan Charter: An International Charter for Health Promoting Universities, formalizing our commitment to embedding health promotion into all aspects of campus culture.

Questions about the initiative can be sent to healthycampus@uoguelph.ca.

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