University officials launched a campuswide initiative Feb. 28 to improve the health and well-being of USC students, faculty, and staff.

The initiative, called Healthy Carolina, will be spearheaded by USC's Division of Student Affairs. Healthy Carolina is expected to have significant, long-term benefits for the University community and to position USC as a national leader in campus health promotion.

"Once again the University of South Carolina is a pioneer in introducing a cutting-edge, state-of-the-art program that has tremendous potential to advance the quality of life for our students, faculty, and staff--in fact, for our entire Carolina community and, ultimately, for the citizens of our state and world," President Sorensen said.

Healthy Carolina will promote healthy behaviors to enhance student learning; improve the recruitment, retention, and productivity of faculty and staff; and be a catalyst for health research.

Specifically, Healthy Carolina will:

• identify the health needs of USC students, faculty, and staff
• guide the development and promotion of new programs, services, and policies that directly address those identified needs
• uncover opportunities for collaborative, health-related research.

Healthy students earn higher grades, miss fewer classes, and are more involved in campus activities. Improving students' health can help them get the most out of their college experiences and benefit them in the years after graduation, said Dennis Pruitt, vice president for student affairs.

"Thanks to the remarkable efforts of an insightful team at the University, we will be teaching students and other members of our community concepts that will enhance both their educational experience and life management skills during their college years and will benefit them for years to come," he said. "These competencies are the hallmark of a USC experience that our graduates take to their communities and places of business when they graduate."

Another goal of Healthy Carolina is to improve the health of USC faculty and staff, a key to increasing productivity, improving morale, and retaining excellent employees.

An inventory of USC health-related research activity will uncover opportunities for research collaboration between faculty and staff in academic units and other University offices. Much of this research will be directed at health concerns of particular importance to the people of South Carolina.

Healthy Carolina's approach to many health issues from an ecological perspective will complement USC's commitment to sustainable design and construction of green buildings such as West Quad and to Innovista's livability concept.

The initiative will seek collaboration from offices and academic units across campus, particularly the Arnold School of Public Health.

"It is the intention of the designers of Healthy Carolina to embrace collaboratively the expertise and commitment of other University offices and state agencies, USC's vast research enterprises, the will of our many talented faculty members, and the national foundations dedicated to improving the health of our citizens," Pruitt said. "Our goal is to deliver a model program that develops the best practices in the field, new knowledge to advance the concept of health and wellness in South Carolina, and the introduction of new health practices by our citizens."

Healthy Carolina will be guided by two national health-promotion documents, Healthy People 2010, by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the American College Health Association's Healthy Campus 2010. These publications identify major U.S. health concerns and outline objectives to improve the health of the country's citizens.

Healthy Carolina will tailor its objectives to the USC campus by conducting an assessment of the health needs of USC students, faculty, and staff, and by taking an inventory of the University's current health-related programs, services and policies.

Based on this information, Healthy Carolina will guide the development and promotion of programs, services, and policies that enhance USC's already outstanding health offerings.

"USC is already doing an amazing job when it comes to wellness, ranging from the first-class Strom Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center and the nationally recognized violence prevention program to the innovative research conducted by USC's acclaimed faculty," said Michelle Burcin, director for Healthy Carolina.

"We would like to see Healthy Carolina be the initiative that keeps health on the tips of everyone's tongues, the initiative that gets the campus focused on the health and well-being of our students, faculty, and staff."

For more information on Healthy Carolina, call Burcin at 7-4752 or go to www.sc.edu/healthycarolina.

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