The University last week adopted the Okanagan Charter, a document guiding colleges and universities on how to center health and sustainability in campus life.

Created in 2015, the charter calls on higher education institutions to “embed health into all aspects of campus culture, across the administration, operations and academic mandates,” and to “lead health promotion action and collaboration locally and globally.” Since then, it has been adopted by 37 colleges and universities as of Feb. 24. Viewing health and wellness holistically, the charter emphasizes the value of environmental sustainability to support the health of people, communities and the world.

The University adopted the charter during last Friday’s B-Healthy Summit, where it was signed by President Harvey Stenger, Chief Health and Wellness Officer Johann Fiore-Conte and representatives from the Divisions of Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Operations, as well as the University Foundation, the Office of Sustainability, the Student Association and the Graduate Student Organization.

Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk, The Ohio State University’s vice president for health promotion and chief wellness officer, delivered a keynote address touching on the importance of preventative care, encouraging a shift from “sick and crisis care to prevention and well-being” in the United States, according to a report from BingUNews.

Melnyk then led a discussion with experts on how to enhance well-being among students and health care workers. The panelists were Dr. Ann Teng, the vice president and chief wellness officer at United Health Services; Alice Teall, senior director of wellness at Kenyon College; and Jennifer Wegmann, a lecturer in the Health and Wellness Studies Department. They discussed approaches to stress management and presented a “wish list” of actions for organizations to adopt to promote mental wellness.

From the Healthy Campus Initiative, B-Healthy, to the Office of Sustainability, the University has a variety of health and wellness programs. Fiore-Conte, also an associate vice president for student affairs, said that adopting the charter represents a “commitment (or re-commitment)” to health, wellness and sustainability.

“Great work is currently being done throughout campus that aligns with the guiding principles of the Okanagan Charter,” Fiore-Conte wrote. “It seems only natural that Binghamton would adopt the Charter as a formal and public commitment to the continuation of this work in a systematic and sustainable way on our campus.”

B-Healthy uses a “nine-dimension model of wellness” created in 2012 that prioritizes various parts of students’ health, including emotional, financial and physical, among others. The initiative is responsible for services like distributing free safe sex and menstrual products available around campus.

The Office of Sustainability, established in 2023, oversees projects and initiatives to promote environmental stewardship and “leads a coordinated effort to track goals and metrics for the campus,” according to a University spokesperson.

Looking to the future of wellness at the University, Fiore-Conte mentioned the construction of a new 75,000-square-foot addition to the East Gym and “substantial investments” in new staff positions within divisions like the University Counseling Center, CARE Team and Services for Students with Disabilities.

“Adopting the Okanagan Charter is a significant step in enriching the University’s commitment to health and well-being for its students, faculty and staff,” Stenger said. “This is a holistic approach to prioritizing health that will allow us to build on Binghamton’s strengths in health science and research and in communicating important ideas about personal health to members of the University community. My thanks go out to all of the people who will make this a healthier and more sustainable place to live, work and study.”