Daily Egyptian for 8/25/11

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Extensive flooding, blown levee creates opportunities for two SIUC researchers

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Visitors explore greenhouses, go green

BROOKE GRACE | DAILY EGYPTIAN

Denise Massa, left, a graduate student in plant and soil science, and Kurt Miller, a resident of the Choate Mental Health and Development Center in Anna, tour SIUC greenhouses on campus Wednesday. Massa, the greenhouse job coach at the center, brings residents to tour the facility once a year. Residents of Choate maintain a greenhouse at the center with Massa’s help.

Wellness Center staff expands horizons KARL BULLOCK Daily Egyptian

Wellness Center staff members will be asked to broaden their area of expertise in an effort to provide assistance to more students on campus. Health Promotions professionals at the Wellness Center will no longer focus on any single area of wellness such as sexual health, stress management, youth outreach, nutrition or substance abuse — they will cover a wider range of areas, said Jason Gillman, director of the Wellness Center. He said the changes, which he hopes will be implemented by the spring semester, were necessary after public and mental health professional Barbara Elam retired this summer. Gillman said Elam would be difficult to replace because of her

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e’re going into students’ territory, getting our services out to reach more students. We’re having an environmental change by transitioning to something different.� — Derrick Williams Wellness coordinator for student development and diversity

level of expertise. Because she held two positions, the Wellness Center will break the public and mental health positions back up and move the mental health position back across the hall to the mental health clinic. The Wellness Center will now use an approach which generalizes the health professionals’ area of expertise to aid students in making healthy lifestyle choices, said Cornelius Fair, a graduate assistant in violence prevention and outreach. Derrick Williams, wellness

coordinator for student development and diversity, said the idea behind the move was to reach out to more students. “We’re going into students’ territory, getting our services out to reach more students,� he said. “We’re having an environmental change by transitioning to something different.� Gillman said the changes will not be obvious to students and will only affect those who seek help with a specific issue. “You want students who are ready to make change because

that is who finds us,� he said. Gillman said the counselors’ specialization change is intended to reduce harms and help with students’ academic success. Fair said he thinks the concern with giving counselors more responsibilities is whether they will be as effective. “Now they’re being asked to help in multiple areas like outreach, stress management and alcohol abuse,� he said. Fair said the transition will initially be a lot of work initially, but faculty members

should benefit from the overall experience because it helps them grow in their respective fields. “Some faculty may be trained to specialize in sexual assault or stress management,� he said. “Now they’re being asked to do multiple things concerning outreach, drug rehab and violence prevention which causes them to take up more responsibility.� The health educators will not be responsible for only their areas, Gillman said. In public health, professionals aim to impact the environment and social norms associated with a culture, he said. Gillman said the changes were made because there can’t be a person who sees individual people and creates big programs on campus as well. Please see WELLNESS | 3


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