Bryngil, David

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Conversations on Jesuit Higher EducationVolume 54 Article 4September 2018Linking the Collegiate Well-Being Movement andthe Jesuit TraditionDavid BryngilFollow this and additional works at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/conversationsRecommended CitationBryngil, David (2018) "Linking the Collegiate Well-Being Movement and the Jesuit Tradition," Conversations on Jesuit HigherEducation: Vol. 54 , Article 4.Available at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol54/iss1/46 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION                                                                                                                                          Wellness programs began to formally emerge oncollege campuses in the 1980s. Most commonlyrooted in areas of student affairs, such as campusrecreation and health services, wellness initiativeswere focused on the notion of promoting holisticphysical and mental health to students and, in somecases, to faculty and staff as well. The “wellnesswheel” became a familiar icon at universities. Pro-fessional organizations such as NIRSA: The Leadersin Campus Recreation (NIRSA – National Intramu-ral-Recreational Sports Association) adopted andchampioned wellness. Over the next three decadescollegiate wellness programs continued to expand.       In 2015, the collegiate world began to pivot froma wellness model to a well-being model, with thesigning of The Okanagan Charter: An InternationalCharter for Health Promoting Universities and Col-leges. This charter, developed with input from 380professionals from 45 nations, created a frameworkto guide the development of Health Promoting Uni-versities and Colleges. The charter created two callsto action for institutions of higher education: toembed health into all aspects of campus culture,across the administration, and in operations and ac-ademic mandates, and to lead health-promotion ac-tion and collaboration locally and globally. TheOkanagan Charter was the launching pad for highereducation professionals to reimagine what healthyand well college campuses should look like. Soon thecollegiate well-being movement was born.       Embraced widely by both NIRSA and NASPA(National Association of Student Personnel Admin-istrators), well-being emerged as an aspirational out-come for higher education. While wellness promotesmoving beyond just the absence of physical diseaseand ailments through the integration of social, men-tal, emotional, spiritual, and physical aspects ofhealth into a person’s life, well-being is derived fromAristotle’s notion of eudaimonia, translated as “hap-piness” or “human flourishing.” Aristotle believedthat a human being must live well and do well in allaspects of life in order to experience true happiness,not just ephemeral pleasures. Eudaimonia, whenachieved, would result in a person who is thrivingin life. This concept is central to the collegiate well-being movement. This movement is also rooted intwo other meaningful concepts: that it is the moralresponsibility of universities to prepare students notjust for better careers but for better lives and that uni-versity faculty and staff need to thrive in life just asmuch as students do. Universities need to have em-ployees who can adequately role-model a pathwayto well-being for their students. Saint Ignatius ofLoyola stated, “The person who sets about makingothers better is wasting his or her time, unless he orshe begins with himself or herself.”       Ignatius’ idea certainly reinforces the notion thatthe well-being of a faculty and staff is essential forthem to be best positioned to serve students. Thus,the collegiate well-being movement strives to changeuniversity culture and mission on their journeys to-wards “thriving” or “flourishing.”       Inspired by the findings of Great Jobs, Great Lives:The 2014 Gallup-Purdue Index Report, the collegiatemovement has widely adopted five areas of well-being: Purpose, Social, Financial, Community, andPhysical. The report indicates that “the odds of thriv-ing in all areas of well-being more than double forcollege graduates when they feel their college pre-pared them well for life outside of it.” As a result ofthis finding, along with the calls to action from TheOkanagan Charter, the collegiate well-being move-Linking the Collegiate Well-Being Movement and the Jesuit TraditionBy David Bryngil1Bryngil: Linking the Collegiate Well-Being Movement and the Jesuit TraditiPublished by e-Publications@Marquette, 2018                                                                                                                                                                                                                 7ment has started to blossom.Across North America thewellness model is shifting toa well-being model. In manyinstances, though, institu-tions are struggling to alignwell-being outcomes withtheir own university mis-sions. Jesuit colleges anduniversities, however, areuniquely positioned to adoptthe well-being model.       In essence, Jesuit educa-tion has been fostering well-being for hundreds of years simply by following theIgnatian principles that are the foundation of all ofour colleges and universities. Jesuit education has al-ways been rooted in the development of the wholeperson. Aristotle’s philosophy of Eudaimonia alsopromotes the benefits of holistic growth. The classi-cal basis of the collegiate well-being movement andthe Jesuit ideal of developing the whole person sharea natural synergy that can drive the establishment ofwell-being programs at Jesuit institutions. Studentsoften choose to enroll at Jesuit schools because theyseek the value of a liberal arts education and ourcommitment to cura personalis. Discernment mostcertainly is beneficial to helping one develop Pur-pose, and the idea of producing “men and womenfor others” supports Community and Social dimen-sions. The Jesuit history of promoting social justicelinks well to the areas of Purpose, Community, So-cial, and Financial. Magis as a concept is relevant toall of these areas as well.       Our students recognize the Jesuit track recordfor developing well-rounded, thoughtful individu-als. The collegiate well-being movement hasemerged with a similar desire to produce graduateswho are prepared for life after college because theyhave had an opportunity to explore “the bigger pic-ture.” Well-being challenges colleges to make thelong-term existence of their students better. Jesuit ed-ucation has answered this challenge since its incep-tion. Finally, Jesuit higher education has alwaysstrived to nurture facultyand staff who embrace Je-suit values and integratethem into their own lives.This application of curapersonalis to universityemployees has long beena predecessor to the ideathat well-being needs tobe fostered in faculty andstaff, not just students, inorder to have a flourish-ing campus community.        With the foundationof Jesuit education in place, our colleges and univer-sities should conduct an introspective examinationin order to promote a well-being model that is con-temporary, relevant, and inclusive of every commu-nity member. While campus professionals lead thewell-being movement, only the entire institution candevelop a truly successful well-being program. A“top down approach,” bolstered by true collabora-tion across divisions and departments, is essentialfor launching a sustainable well-being initiative.       At Jesuit universities, Mission and Ministryplays a vital role in the support of well-being. Ade-quately linking our mission to these programs willcontinue to create a unique, caring environment onour campuses. Step one is building a well-being pro-gram with unified vision and institutional commit-ment. Step two is assessment that identifies areas ofstrength that already exist on campus, as well asgaps that need to be filled in order to support well-being. Step three is creating a collaborative strategicplan for the implementation and sustainability ofwell-being. In the end, the marriage of the collegiatewell-being movement and Jesuit tradition can onlyresult in a campus community that is better preparedto thrive and flourish.David Bryngil, the executive director of Wellness & Recre-ation, has served as a student affairs administrator and adjunct lecturer at Saint Peter’s University since 1992.“The person whosets about makingothers better iswasting his or hertime, unless he orshe begins withhimself or herself.”—Saint Ignatius of Loyola2Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education, Vol. 54, Iss. 1 [2018], Art. 4https://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol54/iss1/4

Linking the Collegiate Well-Being Movement and the Jesuit Tradition

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Linking the Collegiate Well-Being Movement and the Jesuit Tradition

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