ISU WellBeing
With more than 6,700 employees, Iowa State holds itself accountable in supporting the success and happiness of its faculty and staff. After exploring ways to address this challenge with a Wellness Task Force in 2010, the university launched ISU WellBeing in 2014 to provide ongoing support for personal well-being. In addition to examining the ways in which Iowa State supports, develops and provides autonomy to its employees, ISU WellBeing also works with individuals to help them find their purpose and values in life.
As one of Iowa State's newest campus-wide initiatives, ISU WellBeing supports faculty and staff in six different areas: community, emotional, financial, mental, physical and spiritual well-being. Each of these elements uniquely aligns with the economic, environmental and social components of sustainability. For example, physical well-being supports economic sustainability by helping people to make personal choices that decrease health care costs; environmental sustainability by encouraging people to enjoy the great outdoors through recreation and volunteer opportunities; and social sustainability through initiatives such as community walking programs.
ISU WellBeing works closely with Student Wellness and many other campus and community partners, including the City of Ames, Iowa's "Healthy Hometown" Initiative, Mary Greeley Medical Center and the McFarland Clinic. With the help of Environmental Heath and Safety, Facilities Planning and Management, Live Green!, Student Wellness and other campus stakeholders, ISU WellBeing is formed a University Wellbeing Leadership Alliance (UWLA) in 2018 to better serve faculty and staff. Additionally, after collecting employee data to identify the most-requested resources needed on campus, ISU WellBeing launched the online Wellbeing platform, Adventure2, to offer 24/7 support and guidance. For more information about these exciting initiatives, contact ISU WellBeing Coordinator Stephanie Downs at sdowns@iastate.edu.
"Wellness is about creating a culture where people thrive, where they can bring that best self to work every day and act from that best self, and they aren't bogged down by politics and negativity and lack of autonomy."
-Stephanie Downs, ISU WellBeing Coordinator