Health and Wellness Initiative

Health and Wellness Initiative

We all need to feel well to do well. Rackham's definition of wellness includes more than just physical health: there are the psychological, spiritual, vocational, intellectual and cultural parts of your life, too. Balance within and among these is essential to your success in graduate school and throughout your professional career. To address this need for balance in and out of your academic life, Rackham launched a Health and Wellness Initiative for graduate and professional school students. Below are some questions to help you learn more about the Initiative.

Why did Rackham launch a Health and Wellness Initiative?

Although there are many ways in which graduate and professional school students can obtain support for a healthy life on our campus, the size of the University can make these resources difficult to identify and locate. Some sources of physical and psychological assistance may also be difficult to afford.

What is the Health and Wellness Initiative?

In Winter 2006, Dean Janet A. Weiss began a health and wellness initiative that will extend over the coming three years. Because managing stress is important to a successful graduate career and beyond, the first effort of the Health and Wellness Initiative was a mental health awareness campaign.

Over the next three years, we will continue to develop programs and activities that get these resources into your hands more easily, provide opportunities to improve nutrition, increase exercise, explore personal and professional development, get control over unhealthy habits, and connect with peers at social and cultural activities. We will continue to do this in partnership with those faculty and staff who have an interest in your well-being and those who provide resources to help meet your needs.

What is the focus of activities for the health and Wellness Initiative?

Mental Health

Screening for Mental Health

On October 5, 2006, Rackham sponsored a Mental Health Screening on October 5, 2006, as a part of Screening for Mental Health, Inc.'s national effort for large-scale mental health screenings.

"got stress?" Brochure

Rackham developed the "got stress?" brochure, in collaboration with Daniel Eisenberg, Assistant Professor of Health Management and Policy at the School of Public Health and author of the UM Healthy Minds Study, to help normalize feelings of stress and reduce the stigma of talking to someone about concerns. The "got stress?" brochure also includes a map of counseling/treatment and support/referral resources. The brochure was first distributed in the Winter 2006 semester and has since been updated. A pdf of the brochure and resource map are available on our website.

Stress Management and Imposter Syndrome workshops

Working with the Psychological Clinic, Rackham offered a Stress Management and Imposter Syndrome workshop in the winter term.

Stress Down Days

Rackham offered the first Stress Down Day in the Winter 2007 semester. The event featured board games, video games, a movie screening, knitting, chair massages, and dinner. Resources for mental health on campus were available at the event.

For the 2007/2008 academic year, we will be holding Stress Down Days on exam study days, on December 12, 2007 and April 16, 2008.

Raising Voices: Mental Illness Inside Out

In collaboration with the School of Art and Design, Rackham co-curated a show of works relating to mental illness, which received submissions from students, staff, faculty, and community members. The intent of this exhibition was to raise awareness about the realities of mental illness. How does mental illness change the life experiences of those with these diseases? And how do these individual experiences ripple out into the community -- families, health care systems, social services organizations?

Physical Health

According to the 1996 U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health, physical activity "[r]educes symptoms of anxiety and depression and fosters improvements in mood and feelings of well-being."

The results from our Health and Wellness survey show that many graduate and professional school students are aware of the link between physical activity and stress relief. When asked the question: "What kinds of activities help you to relieve stress," the number of references to physical activity more than doubled the number of references to other forms of stress relief.

Introduction to Yoga

This four-week series is designed to introduce students to the foundation of a healthy and fruitful yoga practice. Students learn to explore various breathing, physical, relaxation and meditation techniques that are central to hatha yoga and useful in cultivating a balanced practice. This program launched at the end of January, 2007 and has continued throughout the summer months. More four-week sessions will take place in Fall 2007 and Winter 2008 semesters.

Active U 2007

Active U 2007 is a fun incentive program designed to help participants become more physically active. In Active U's first year, over 8,600 faculty and staff participants joined in the fun and raised over $36,000 for charity. For Active U 2007, graduate and professional school students were invited to participate in the program. Over 1,200 students took part in the program.

Dexter-Ann Arbor Run

Rackham sponsored students to run in the 2006 and 2007 Dexter-Ann Arbor Run. Between the two years of Rackham's participation in the event, the registration fees of the Rackham Graduate School Team and Rackham's sponsorship together have raised over $13,000.

Health and Fitness Fair

In Winter 2007, Rackham sponsored a Health and Fitness Fair event for graduate students, which included basic health assessments, information on nutrition and physical activity resources on campus, and other interactive health-related activities. Snacks and refreshments, as well as prizes for participation were provided.

Fitness Workshops

In collaboration with MFit, Rackham offered several workshops during the fall semester about how to incorporate fitness into your life.

Nutritional Health

An article in Psychology Today talks about the relationship between food and the brain: "What you eat affects which nerve chemicals will be dominant in your brain, which affects how you feel."

The results from our Health and Wellness survey revealed that many students have concerns about their eating habits. When asked the question: "Do you have any of the following concerns about your eating habits," more than half of survey respondents noted that they were concerned with eating unhealthy foods or eating too much (58% of 996 and 54% of 991 respondents, respectively).

View a summary of survey results

Fall Breakfast and Spring Breakfast

During UM study breaks, we will offer healthy breakfast options to help remind students to take a break to eat breakfast. Mark your calendars for October 16 and February 28 for these events.

Nutrition Workshops

Working with a registered dietician from University Health Service (UHS), we will offer four nutrition workshops throughout the year to help students better understand proper nutrition and easy ways to incorporate healthy eating into their lives.

Nutrition Awareness Campaign

The Nutrition Subcommittee of the Health and Wellness Student Advisory Board launched a poster campaign of common food myths and facts about these topics as a part of the Nutrition Awareness Campaign. There is also a website attached to the campaign with links to information about nutrition from the U-M campus, from other institutions, and from the government.

Other Activities

Health and Wellness Workshops

  • Managing Your Mind®: Time Management for Graduate Students: Geri Markel, Ph.D.
  • Balancing Work and Life: Doreen Murasky, Center for the Education of Women

GradConnect Newsletter: Four times per academic year we will send out an e-newsletter to all graduate and professional school students about health and wellness topics four times per academic year, with a special emphasis on resources available on campus and in the community. Our partners include the Institute for Human Adjustment (IHA), UHS, CAPS, The Career Center, and the University Library, MFit, and Michigan Health Community.

Women's Health and Fitness Day: Rackham sponsored slots for 50 graduate students to attend the Medical School's Women's Health and Fitness Day in February 2007.

Who is involved in the Health and Wellness Initiative?

In her dual role as Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Dean Weiss considers all graduate and professional school students to be a part of the Health and Wellness Initiative. The work of the Initiative is the responsibility of Graduate Student Affairs at Rackham and there is a Program Manager dedicated to the efforts of the Initiative, Natalie Bartolacci.

We have many partners in this effort, including the Psychological Clinic, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), University Health Service (UHS), Recreational Sports, MFit, the Medical School, the School of Public Health, The Career Center, and the University Library, to name a few.

If you are interested in bringing health and wellness programming to your department or program, please contact Natalie Bartolacci at (734) 647-2640.