President's Message: Status update on campus Wellness Center and YMCA
These facilities are important enough to the future of the university that I've asked members of our team to keep exploring the idea, despite a vote last week by Student Government Association to oppose it.
Thanks to the hard work of a number of people on campus, a year ago the Wellness Services portfolio was created within Student Affairs and placed under the leadership of Dr. Maureen Dasey-Morales, better known as "Dr. Mo."
Wellness includes Campus Recreation, Counseling and Testing, Student Health Services and Child Development.
When she was promoted last year to associate vice president, Mo spoke powerfully about the importance of these services at the university. She said:
"If you're a resilient person, if you're energetic in your work and interact positively with others, and if you care for your mind and your body, you're going to be a more successful person in your career and your degree. You'll be more successful in creating things and innovating things. That's part of your education."
The new 60,000-square-foot Wellness Center and Y contemplated for Innovation Campus would bring together and allow the expansion of:
Student Health Services, now inadequately housed on the second floor of Ahlberg.
Counseling and Testing, now in Grace Wilkie.
Drop-in childcare services, that don't currently exist on campus. The Child Development Center, which serves a different role, would continue in its current facility on 21st Street.
A full-service modern fitness center.
Under the plan being discussed, Campus Recreation would continue and likely grow. Dr. Mo has been talking with the Campus Recreation staff this week and they've got cool ideas for expanding their services in new directions. Overall student employment in fitness and recreation jobs would grow. International students could be employed at the new facility, just as they are now at Heskett and Rhatigan.
A campuswide committee including students, faculty and staff, as well as Y staff, would make sure we're making complementary use of all campus recreation and fitness facilities.
The part of the plan that has drawn the most fire is the estimate of a $7.75 student credit hour fee. We're now exploring funding alternatives that will still provide the needed funds to operate the facilities.
Student fees in some form will be needed to finance these operations. That's exactly the way it's done at other Kansas Regents universities because these are services that primarily serve students.
KU, K-State and Pitt State all have much more modern facilities to show prospective students and parents, and the other universities would still be charging higher student fees for the same types of services.
A big advantage here is that under the agreement being discussed with the Y, our students would have access not just to the campus Y, but also to each of the nine Y branches in Sedgwick, Butler and Harvey counties. That would begin as soon as the fee went into effect, meaning that those paying the fee would get immediate benefit.
Thanks to all of you who have shared your thoughts and questions on a campus Y and Wellness Center at the recent town hall or information tables at the Rhatigan and Heskett.
There are questions we don't know enough yet to answer, such as what will faculty and staff pay to use a new Y. That depends on factors yet to be determined, but we will get you answers when we know them. For a list of frequently asked questions, go to http://www.wichita.edu/ymca.
Please email your thoughts and questions to me, president@wichita.edu. And for those of you who may be taking time off next week, have a wonderful spring break.