Fresh Check Day Promotes Student Mental Health
A collaboration between CAPS and the HPE team, Fresh Check Day is the signature program of the Jordan Porco Foundation, whose mission is to prevent suicide, promote mental health, and create a message of hope for young adults. Sponsors included the Residence Hall Association (RHA) and Council of Graduate Students (COGS), with catering provided by the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center and music from Impact 89. Fresh Check Day is an uplifting mental health promotion and suicide prevention event, featuring interactive booths, peer-to-peer messaging, therapy dogs, support of multiple campus departments and groups, and food. More than 800 individuals (a 30% increase over the year prior) engaged with discussions and activities around mental health issues and resources on campus. Around 130 volunteers were engaged from 11 student organizations.
Encouraging Safe Celebrations with Student-Centered Communications
To foster a culture of safety and encourage protective behaviors during campus events, Health Promotion and Engagement, UHW Communications, and the Spartan Awareness, Safety, and Engagement (SASE) Committee partnered to develop engaging, student-centered communications. Focused on key celebration periods—such as March Madness, the MSU vs. UM football rivalry, Halloween, and St. Patrick’s Day—the campaign promotes responsible and respectful ways to celebrate. Messaging is delivered through student emails, residence hall posters, social media, a student-produced video, and table tents placed in campus buildings and local restaurants, ensuring visibility where Spartans live, learn, and gather.
Together We(ight) Lift Series Offers Healing Through Movement and Community
This pilot collaboration between Center for Survivors and SPARTANfit helped 12 survivors of interpersonal or sexual violence, and their allies, discover the power of movement and community in a trauma-informed weightlifting series. This free eight-week program supported all bodies and experience levels and offers more than just physical activity — participants built confidence, reduced stress, and connected with others in a space where safety and healing come first.
Coordinated Care for Students with Eating Disorders
The Multidisciplinary Eating Disorder Team meets provided coordinate comprehensive care for approximately 50 students with eating disorders, bringing together providers from primary care, nutrition, CAPS counseling, psychiatry, and the Center for Survivors. Each week, approximately 4 to 14 cases are reviewed to ensure coordinated, student-centered care across services. Robust eating disorder care is provided, including primary care (with two experienced providers), nutrition counseling (three experienced providers), therapy (including a clinician who leads the Body Image and Eating Concerns Support Group), psychiatry (two experienced providers), and trauma-informed therapy through the Center for Survivors, with the social worker playing a key role in facilitating referrals of students to higher levels of care when needed. Team members also provide annual educational presentations on eating disorders to predoctoral and postdoctoral interns each fall.
UHW hosts first gathering of Michigan U.S. Health Promoting Campuses Network
UHW hosted the first U.S. Health Promoting Campus Network meeting for Michigan universities who have adopted, or are considering adopting, the Okanagan Charter. Nine Michigan universities attended, including Michigan Technological University, Grand Valley State University, Western Michigan, Northern Michigan, University of Michigan (main campus), University of Michigan – Flint, University of Michigan – Dearborn, Oakland University, and Michigan State University. Health and wellbeing leaders from across these campuses came together to share best practices, exchange insights, and learn from one another in support of advancing statewide collaboration around student health, wellbeing, and belonging.