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The Last Word

Gerard McDonald

It was about this time last year that all university employees and retirees were asked to participate in a survey on wellness and active living. After much follow-up work on the part of the Department of Human Resources and the Working Group on Wellness and Active Living, I am very happy that we are now ready to begin some specific initiatives in this important area. These are briefly described in another article in this issue of The Communicator, and a fuller update of our key priority areas and specific near-term plans will be provided on our wellness Web site.

One of the specific actions outlined in this plan was the establishment of a university-wide Wellness and Active Living Advisory Committee. This task has been completed, and the first meeting of this committee was held on Oct. 21. The membership of this committee is essentially the same as the working group which preceded it, although their focus and mandate is now a somewhat different one. I am very pleased that working group members were willing to stay on in this capacity, and we will continue to benefit significantly from their expertise and high level of interest in wellness. I would like to acknowledge the important contribution they have all made to the work which has been done so far.

The members of the advisory committee are as follows (in alphabetical order) :

Mary Jane Puxley (Registrar’s Office) and Rob Shea (Student Affairs and Services) were members of the original working group but unfortunately were unable to continue because of other commitments. I’d like to publicly thank them as well for their enthusiastic support of the wellness initiative, and we appreciate the interest shown by Maire O’Dea and Karen Hollett who have agreed to join the committee in their place.

The advisory committee will continue to be active in advising our department on various aspects of wellness and active living at the university, and in identifying new initiatives to complement our overall strategy. The university’s longer-term success in sustaining a strong focus on employee wellness will not depend on the commitment of the advisory committee and Human Resources alone. This will ultimately be determined by the level of interest and support shown by employees and retirees as a total university community.

You can support our employee wellness goals in different ways. Over the next several weeks further details on specific program initiatives will be announced. For many employees I believe these will represent an excellent opportunity to make a change in lifestyle and to become more active, or more focused in some other way, on personal wellness. In addition, if you have an idea which you feel would promote and facilitate employee wellness, let us know! The Wellness and Active Living Advisory Committee may be reached via e-mail at this address: wellnessadvisorycommittee@mun.ca.

Finally, I know there are various individuals and groups around the university who already promote and co-ordinate wellness activities of one kind or another in their own areas. Please keep up the good work – you’re helping others and providing a great example at the same time! I would encourage anyone with a particular personal interest in wellness to look for opportunities to do the same – wellness is contagious.

As this will be the last issue of The Communicator before Christmas, I would like to take this opportunity to offer both you and your families my very best wishes for a happy, safe and restful Christmas season.

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