The IUPUI Wellness Coalition is developing a campus-wide framework to organize resources and guide the university’s support of student and employee wellness overall, tailored for the Indianapolis campus.

The framework will support Healthy Campus 2030, an assessment initiative to improve student and employee health metrics by the end of the decade. It’s also part of the IU Indianapolis 2030 strategic plan, which includes an objective to lead peer institutions in terms of mental health and wellness and better equip students to manage the demands of academic life.

“From a student success point of view, we know that when students are healthy, focused, confident and feeling their best, they’re going to produce their best work in the classroom, in the studio, in clinicals, etc.,” said Eric Teske, director of health and wellness promotion in the Division of Student Affairs and co-chair of the Wellness Coalition.

“The same goes for employees,” he said. “You can’t pour from an empty cup. We need to make sure that we are up to the task of serving students, and that means being able to be our whole selves at work.”

The Wellness Coalition, a volunteer group of faculty, staff and students, has been hosting listening sessions and gathering input from the greater campus community to build the framework.

“The language that we use matters, and the way that we think about it matters,” Teske said. “I want to use the everyday language of how we talk about being our best selves and improving our well-being, so it’s as self-explanatory as possible. What is included in the framework and how we’re going to achieve the goals will be apparent.”

Students and employees still have time to share feedback. Listening tour sessions will be held virtually from 3 to 3:30 p.m. Jan. 18 and 29. Sessions can also be scheduled directly with Teske before Feb. 2 by emailing him at erictesk@iupui.edu, and individuals can provide input at their own convenience by participating in a self-paced module.

A final conceptual model and visual design of the Campus Wellness Framework will be shared before the end of the spring semester.

The next Wellness Coalition meeting will be held Jan. 25. All IUPUI employees and students are welcome to attend the meetings or join the group.