UNH Today

The University of New Hampshire has joined a rapidly growing community of more than 110 colleges and universities throughout the country by becoming a member of the U.S. 校园健康促进网络(USHPCN), an initiative designed to “infuse health and well-being into all of our everyday operations” at UNH, according to Kathleen Grace-Bishop, director of education and promotion at UNH Health & Wellness.

Grace-Bishop is UNH’s liaison to the USHPCN, a support network available to member schools to help with the definition and development of strategies and creation of metrics to enhance what it means to be a health-promoting campus.

“我们的目标是让幸福真正融入我们这里的文化, so we can continue to evolve as an institution that supports the health and well-being of every member of our community,” Grace-Bishop says.

这种文化将以“优先考虑同情心”为特征, health and well-being, social justice, equity and inclusion as part of our values and mission for our entire community,联合国大学校长吉姆·迪恩最近在给全体教员的一封信中说, staff and students.

UNH’s interest in participating in the USHPCN came out of work done by the university’s Health and Well-Being Task Force, which encouraged joining the network. 其他学校似乎也有过类似的对话, as participation continues to rise – Grace-Bishop noted that membership was right around 90 when she began drafting information to share in early fall and has already risen to more than 110 in a matter of months.

该计划将在联合国大学的所有校区实施, not just Durham, 关注整个大学社区的每个人——教师, staff and students.

“我们的目标是让幸福真正融入我们这里的文化, so we can continue to evolve as an institution that supports the health and well-being of every member of our community."

“We are looking at wellness and well-being from the broadest perspective possible. 我们希望看到所有人的需求，”格蕾丝-毕晓普说. “The hope is really to identify a broad base of needs throughout our campuses, with the idea of having the institution over time begin to look at everything we do through the lens of health and well-being.”

The origins of the USHPCN can be traced back to 2015 and the creation of the Okanagan Charter, a guiding and aspirational document that was developed following that year’s International Conference on Health Promoting Universities and Colleges.

在其他国家建立网络之后, 在整个2020年，美国迅速建立了类似结构的势头.S.阿拉巴马大学伯明翰分校成为美国第一所私立大学.S. 该机构于当年12月正式采用了USHPCN章程. 首届USHPCN峰会于2021年2月举行, 一个月后，超过40所学校积极参与.

目前已有110多所学校参与，而且还在不断攀升, the network is a tremendous resource, Grace-Bishop says. UNH will be able to take part in monthly Zoom meetings where campuses share successes and developments, and members of national organizations can answer questions and disseminate information.

健康长期以来一直是UNH的一个目标, but the pandemic brought into focus just how important the well-being of every member of the university community is in maintaining a nurturing environment. 加入USHPCN将使这项工作继续开花结果.

“The pandemic really drew attention to how important it is to have a campus commitment to the health and well-being of the entire community, knowing that if we want our students to be successful here and in the future, 我们需要关注这个问题, 但不只是对他们——如果我们的员工也不健康的话, we can’t create a whole engaged, productive and thriving community,” Grace-Bishop says.

健康和福祉领域的工作始终在进行, Grace-Bishop said, and a big part of the process at UNH will reflect perhaps the most beneficial aspect of participating in the USHPCN – taking advantage of input from as many sources as possible.

Grace-Bishop said she encourages anyone that wants to get involved to reach out to her directly, as the goal is to involve any and all participants who are interested in helping the university identify ways to increase health and well-being, be it in systems, policies, practices, resources or other areas.

“We want to engage the voices of everyone on all of our campuses,” Grace-Bishop says. “The whole idea is embedding health and wellness into all aspects of our campus culture, and in the long run the hope is things we are doing on our campuses can then impact what’s happening locally and globally.”

Want to get involved? Grace-Bishop can be reached at kathleen.grace-bishop@femdomcenter.com.