Mission
Faculty Affairs and Professional Development is committed to fostering a culture of well-being within our academic health sciences community. Through evidence-based offerings, we strive to support the personal and professional flourishing of our faculty — recognizing that those who are well are best positioned to advance the mission of academic health sciences.
Measuring Well-Being
Each year, the wellness program conducts a Well-Being Index campaign. The Well-Being Index is a Mayo Clinic-developed, validated self-assessment tool that measures multiple dimensions of distress and well-being. Participation is voluntary and anonymous, and results help identify areas of need and guide wellness initiatives.
Community & Departmental Support
Well-being is most meaningful when it is felt close to home. Virginia Health Sciences has 18 departmental well-being representatives who serve as wellness points of contact at the local level. Representatives are connected through a shared email list and come together at optional quarterly meetings to discuss well-being topics relevant to both the school and their individual departments. To the extent possible, the wellness program provides funding for departmental level well-being initiatives.
Mindfulness Training — MIEA
Among our core offerings is the Mindfulness Institute for Emerging Adults (MIEA) program, developed over the course of a decade by psychiatrists Holly Rogers, MD & Margaret Maytan, MD to bring the benefits of mindfulness to the college students they worked with at Duke University's student counseling center. The course is an introduction to mindfulness and meditation, taught as a weekly, 75-minute class over four weeks. The curriculum is evidence-based and specifically designed for teaching mindfulness, meditation, and stress management to college students and other young adults. Although the program was developed for "emerging adults," the specific mindfulness and meditation practices in the curriculum are applicable to all age groups.
Graduates of the program are invited to continue their practice by attending ongoing weekly and monthly meditation groups hosted by the Wellness Officer.
Well-Being Speaker Series
Four times per year, the wellness program hosts virtual talks on Zoom featuring nationally recognized well-being speakers. These presentations bring expert perspectives on a range of well-being topics to our academic community.
Upcoming Speakers
Please check back for updates.
For Further Information, Please Contact:
Richard W. Handel, Ph.D.
Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University Wellness Officer
Faculty Affairs and Professional Development
rhandel@odu.edu
757-446-5777
