Hal's Corner
Healthy Hokies
What do obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, lack of exercise, and stress have in common? They are the six most common treatable health-risk factors in the U.S. population. We know these are risk factors that should be a concern to our 7,000 plus employees. And by extension, reducing these risk factors should be a priority for Virginia Tech as an employer.
Virginia Tech President Charles Steger is taking action to insure we are a campus of Healthy Hokies. He recently established a 12 member Employee Wellness Task Force, led by Professor Kerry Redican. Professor Redican’s expertise in health promotion makes him a perfect choice to lead the Task Force. Task Force members possess a strong combination of interest, experience, and scholarly reputation in health and wellness issues.
Virginia Tech’s interest in employee wellness is not new. Our strategic plan outlines a goal to “promote the health and welfare of the university community”. With a reduction in funding earlier this year for the state of Virginia’s CommonHealth wellness program however, we lost state support for a full-time campus wellness coordinator.
While we will continue to benefit from state wellness efforts, President Steger recognized Virginia Tech needs to define its own approach to achieve our strategic plan goal. He appointed Theresa Conti as Virginia Tech’s wellness coordinator, funded through the Department of Human Resources. He asked the Task Force to develop a three year wellness plan by March of 2009. The plan will address several important objectives, while focusing on the employee wellness needs of current employees across the state and retired employees in the Blacksburg area.
The Task Force will undoubtedly generate plans to promote fitness and good health in our employee community, but that will be only half the winning formula. As I sit here five pounds heavier after the Thanksgiving break, it reminds me that knowing what I should do and doing it are two different things. Each of us must take personal responsibility to be a Healthy Hokie.
Look to this column for more news about the plans of the Employee Wellness Task Force. Their work will be important to Virginia Tech as we support the healthy lifestyles of our employees, past and present.
About Hal Irvin
Hal Irvin has been Virginia Tech's associate vice president for human resources since March 2008.
Before coming to Virginia Tech, Hal worked for 14 years at Georgia Tech. In his last assignment, he served as executive director of organizational development – reporting to the executive vice president for administration and finance and was responsible for employee learning, change management, and internal consulting services. He played a central role in Georgia Tech’s successful efforts to improve administrative services and transform its service culture.