Student Affairs Communications Group Minutes
December 10, 2014
Attendance: Kami Hammerschmith, Brianna McNall, Kent Sumner, Majeed
Badizadegan, Wendy Little, Colleen Schlonga, Bonnie Hemrick, Lisa Hoogesteger,
Carolyn Boyd, Sophie Wilson, Ruth Sterner, Katie Figoni, Michele Ribeiro, Adria
Godon-Bynum, Vanessa Johnson, Tara Sanders, Jennifer Viña, Natalie Schell, Danielle
Jarkowsky
Next meeting of the Student Affairs Communications Group will occur early next term.
Topic: Kent Sumner and Wendy Little will talk about where the Student Affairs
Communications Group has been and where we are going – changes for the future.
Today
Carolyn Boyd offered marketing updates on the First Year Experience initiative. The
FYE team for Student Affairs is taking an inventory of FYE programming within the
division. There will be an opportunity for anyone within the division to engage in FYE
planning once the results of the inventory have been evaluated. University Relations
and Marketing is working on a master calendar for all events and activities across
campus. They are also working to launch a new homepage.
We did introductions around the table. Carolyn mentioned this is the last Student
Affairs Communications Group meeting for fall term. The first meeting of the next
term will tentatively focus on where the Student Affairs Communications Group has
been and where we are going – changes for the future. Kent Sumner and Wendy Little
will present.
Lisa Hoogesteger with Healthy Campus Initiative (HCI) shared some background on
the Initiative. It started five years ago to help integrate health and wellness messages
across campus. The University received a grant from Pacific Source Health Plans to
focus on 18-24 year olds – getting health and wellness messages out and measuring
success. However, they are messaging to the entire campus – faculty, staff and
students. They partner with multiple offices across campus, such as the College of
Public Health and Human Sciences (CPHHS), CAPS, Student Health Services (SHS), the
Memorial Union, University Housing & Dining Services (UHDS) and Recreational
Sports.
A brand plan was developed for the Healthy Campus Initiative three years ago by a
graduate student, but when the position was not renewed the plan was not fulfilled.
Healthy Campus Initiative works with University Relations and Marketing on the
healthy campus initiative. Their tagline is Be Well. Be Orange. The tagline is not
trademarked and can be used by other departments.
University Relations and Marketing (URM) helped Healthy Campus Initiative develop a
message platform. Healthy campus is the message and Be Well. Be Orange is the tag.
They want everyone to help support their work.
Lisa shared a Powerpoint presentation. Healthy Campus Initiative looks to tie to Goal 1
in the Strategic Plan – “Provide a transformative educational experience to all learners.”
Enhance our comprehensive Healthy Campus Initiatives, caring about the health and
well-being of students, faculty and staff.
Healthy Campus Initiative has five focus areas:
1) Eat Healthy
2) Be Active
3) Manage Stress
4) Smoke Free OSU
5) Build Community
They begin at the New Student Picnic in the fall with healthy eating messages. During
Fall Term they partner with Recreational Sports at the Be Well Walk Run to offer a
“body shop.”
When students said that eating healthy costs more, UHDS created a “Better Bites” icon
to highlight nutritionally balanced options and created low cost “Make Cents” specials.
They are trying to message and measure the impact of healthy eating.
CAPS is introducing the Mental Fitness Movement. Students can sign up to compete in
the challenge to win prizes. The kickoff event with speaker Josh Norris from
Recreational Sports is Wednesday, Jan. 7. They hope to share the challenges on a
website, so faculty/staff can get the same information even though they are not eligible
for the prizes in the challenge. There will be nine challenges.
Healthy Campus Initiative has a student resource card showing campus resources and
offering tips for being active, eating healthy, managing stress and smoke-free OSU.
There is also a Faculty & Staff Wellness Resources card.
A Health & Wellness Guidebook App provides immediate help (24 hour hotlines, food
pantry hours, childcare information), contact and hours for partners, to do list, and
information under each focus area – be active, eat healthy, manage stress, smoke-free
OSU, build community – as well as a schedule of events, Twitter and Facebook. They are
updating all the content over the winter break for the start of winter term.
They are looking at a systemic infusion of healthy campus.
• Maureen Cochran in Student Affairs Research, Evaluation and Planning is reviewing
assessment plans to pull out healthy campus activities happening throughout the
Division.
• HCI is providing messaging to new students, including the Guidebook app.
• Bacc Core course connections are being made.
• Living Learning Communities
• Partnerships with CAPS, Rec Sports, SHS, UHDS, URM, Work/life balance, CPHHS
Bonnie offered an update on a meeting held in Portland with Watson Creative. Athletics
is looking at them to build loyalty and donors. See the 49ers loyalty website, Faithful49.
https://faithful49.com/49ersLogin/tabid/406/Default.aspx?returnurl=%2f
The company helps build loyalty through a tracking website that builds points. It has a
messaging system and loyalty codes. It also discourages overload. The website can
segment users for messaging. It is based on gamification. Students can receive points
for attending events, responding to messages, etc. This is still in the discussion phase.
No decisions have been made about building a loyalty site.
Lisa asked everyone to help in messaging Be Well. Be Orange. She suggested letting
students know you care about their health and well-being in meetings, providing
healthy food options when food is offered, and taking some deep breaths to start a
meeting.
In January an announcement will be made about a new steering committee for healthy
campus led by Dave Blake, Susie Brubaker-Cole and Becky Warner.
Jennifer asked if any webinars or other online resources were available for accessing
when people are available. There is no central resource site, but different departments
offer information related to their program. It was suggested that we could better
message the benefits offered through HR – gym subsidy, nicotine replacement, tuition
discount, etc.
Currently URM and UHDS are offering Finals Freebie Tweets where there are 10
winners daily who receive a treat wherever they are on campus. Dixon offers free fruit
Fridays. The MU is offering free fruit and candy bars during Finals Week.
It was asked how wellness is defined. Multiple definitions were offered. There is no
agreed upon, uniform definition.
P – Physical
O – Occupational
I – Intellectual
S – Spiritual/Social
E – Emotional/Environmental
Mind/Body/Spirit – although some say environment and community are missing from
this definition.
PERMA Model
P – Positive Emotion
E – Engagement
R – Positive Relationships
M – Meaning
A – Accomplishment/Achievement
Flourishing
It was asked whether health and well-being or wellness was the preferred term. Lisa
prefers health and well-being.
Bonnie talked about Active Minds, a student organization that focuses on reducing
mental health stigma. They partner with many other organizations. They are a five-star
chapter for the national organization. Some of their events include cookies and
compliments, sticky notes and the Daisy Project where they place 1,100 daisies in the
MU Quad to represent 1,100 suicides each year. They are able to attend a national
convention. KBVR TV created a PSA for them that focuses on the 1 in 4 statistic that 1 in
4 suffer from some form of mental illness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yffVssQAC0&feature=youtu.be
Active Minds is also working on a partnership with Linus Pauling Middle School to help
students know how to offer support to someone experiencing depression and/or
mental illness and how to identify the signs.
Michele said that MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) will be offered winter
and spring terms. The class is no credit and free, but meets weekly on Thursdays from 2
p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Michele also mentioned the Flourishing Series at OSU. There is one speaker event each
month. On January 30 Steve Simmons, OSU Men’s Soccer Coach, will be the speaker.
Lisa mentioned the Be Well weekly newsletter that is targeted to faculty/staff.