UM Wellness Education Broadens Focus to Promote Student Well-being

The Wellness Education office focuses on promoting healthy choices for students regarding physical fitness and mental health. Photo by Robert Jordan/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

The University of Mississippi Department of Campus Recreation is working to ensure all members of the campus community achieve well-being through its newly-named Wellness Education office.

Formerly known as the Office of Health Promotion, the mission of Wellness Education is to serve as an advocate for informed and healthy choices while encouraging students to strive for wellness. The name aligns with the William Magee Center for Wellness Education, which will provide comprehensive drug and alcohol education for students.
The Magee Center is expected to open in the new South Campus Recreation Center in spring 2019.
Erin Cromeans, assistant director for wellness education, said she hopes the name change will continue the conversation around student health and well-being.
“We recognize wellness cannot be achieved solely with Campus Recreation, but with strong campus collaborations, co-curricular practices and evidence-based, effective initiatives,” she said. “Wellness education offerings will undoubtedly increase with the new center to provide innovative prevention services to our campus community.”
The new name and logo also reflects a broader scope of wellness focus, said Peter Tulchinsky, director of campus recreation.
“We feel that Wellness Education better suits the priority of educating our campus community on holistic well-being,” he said.
Tulchinsky hopes students will recognize Wellness Education and its initiatives as part of the Magee Center and gain a clear understanding of the office’s mission.
“We really like the new marks for Wellness Education and their connections to the different dimensions of well-being,” he said. “I think people are going to see the ‘WE’ logo and be able to identify the brand and the relationships to those dimensions.
“There are also some nice connections to the UM Creed, which we feel we’ll be able to highlight in our education sessions with students.”
For more information on wellness education at Ole Miss, visit https://campusrec.olemiss.edu/.      

By Christina Steube