Health and Wellbeing Initiative

At Texas Woman’s, we define wellbeing as the essential skills of self-care. Like all skills, they need to be taught, developed, and practiced.

Our approach to wellbeing at Texas Woman’s is based on the following beliefs:

Health and wellbeing is multidimensional.
Each person’s journey will be uniquely personal.
Each person can exercise agency over health and wellbeing outcomes.
Health and wellbeing practices positively correlate with productivity and life satisfaction.
Health and wellbeing practices are teachable skills.

Mission

We lead collaborations and coordinate efforts among cross-divisional departments to advance positive, sustainable outcomes in students’ lives.

Vision

Within 10 years of the initiative, every member of the Texas Woman’s community will identify health and wellbeing as an essential thread woven through the fabric of their Texas Woman’s experience.

How

Texas Woman’s has a rich history of expertise in a wide range of health and wellbeing disciplines. Through a highly collaborative process, this initiative coordinates and champions this expertise both in and out of the classroom.

Faculty, staff, and students comprise all theme area committees. This is also reflected in theme committee leadership, which is commonly composed of a faculty and staff member. Using our themed framework as a guide, we prioritize wellbeing efforts related to persistence and retention while developing students’ personal and professional growth.

History

In 2015, Dr. Carine M. Feyten, Chancellor and President, commissioned a Strategic Planning Design Team to develop a new university-level strategic plan that would be student-centered and purpose-driven.

All divisions—Academic Affairs, Student Life, Enrollment Management, Finance and Administration, and University Advancement—were instrumental in the conceptualization and development of the plan, including over 100 listening, sharing, and feedback sessions with students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community stakeholders. One clear theme that emerged was Texas Woman’s University’s prioritization of health and wellbeing.

As a result of these discussions, the Health and Wellbeing Initiative became a commitment to improving the lives of our Texas Woman’s community. By 2017, an inaugural director was hired. Over the course of 2017-2018, a team of campus leaders with expertise in health and wellbeing developed our core themes, priorities, and marketing campaign. Our current themes are MindWell, SpendWell, EatWell, MoveWell, and BuildWell. Work today involves refining these priorities by infusing them in curricular and co-curricular activities.

For me, health and wellbeing means creating a ritual or practice where self-care and self-love are prominent. Students believe that there is not enough time for wellbeing. We need to show them that there is time and not everything has to be done or rushed at once.

Najwa Seyedmorteza