053 MTSU KICKS OFF CAMPUSWIDE EMPLOYEE WELLNESS INITIATIVE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 7, 2006
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Dr. Mark Anshel, 615-898-2812
Gina E. Fann, 615-898-5385


Faculty, Staff ‘Rushing’ to Participate in 10-Week Program/Study

(MURFREESBORO)— MTSU faculty and staff are racing to make their hearts healthier by joining a new campuswide wellness initiative.
Eager employees rushed to fill the 100 available openings in the first 10-week session of the MTSU Faculty-Staff Wellness Program, which kicks off Sept. 18, according to Dr. Mark Anshel, program director and professor of health and human performance.
“There is unprecedented enthusiasm on this campus about this program,” Anshel said. “It’s been a long-needed undertaking, and individuals from all departments, from administrators to secretarial staff, are rushing to embrace improvements in their health and wellness.”
Two other program sessions, each with a 100-participant maximum, are set for the spring and summer 2007 semesters. Those tentative dates are Jan. 29-April 13, 2007, and a still-to-be-finalized 10-week period between June and August 2007. Both sessions already are seeing sign-ups, Anshel said.
“We are the only university in Tennessee that will be providing virtually 100 percent financial support [for an employee wellness program],” MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee told faculty in announcing the plan. “To ensure the commitment of each participant, there will be a nominal fee of $20—which includes a T-shirt for those who remain in the program.
“The T-shirt you receive will be a size smaller than you now wear,” McPhee joked.
Dr. Tony Johnston, MTSU Faculty Senate president, initiated the program to promote wellness on campus. He and Anshel submitted a proposal to McPhee this summer for approval.
“President McPhee deserves recognition and appreciation for his willingness to lend financial support to a program that will improve the health and both physical and mental well being of his faculty and staff,” Anshel said.
The program, which also will serve as a study called “The Effect of Personal Coaching on Improving Healthy Lifestyle Habits,” will feature:
• individual fitness coaching by four coaches;
• weekly nutritional counseling from a registered dietician and two graduate nutrition students; and
• guidance from a psychologist, or life-skills coach, who will help participants target mental barriers and replace bad habits with healthy ones. Anshel also will offer tips on applying healthy habits, such as time-management skills, to the workplace.
“We plan to take very good care of our participants,” Anshel said. “There’s no question that lives are going to change permanently as a result of this program.”
It begins Monday, Sept. 18, with a 90-minute orientation in Room 100 of the James Union Building on campus. Those who can’t attend the Sept. 18 session must attend orientation in the same room on Wednesday, Sept. 20, from 5 until 6:30 p.m., Anshel said.
For more information about the program and its goals for MTSU employees, contact Anshel at manshel@mtsu.edu.
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