New Center for Wellness Education and Research to Open at Springfield College

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield College will open a new Center for Wellness Education and Research on Sept. 1 to conduct groundbreaking research, be a national source of the latest wellness information, and design and present public wellness-education programs.

“Our intention is to be to be a premier national resource on wellness across the lifespan,” said Jean A. Wyld, Springfield College vice president for Academic Affairs. “Interest in personal wellness has never been higher. There is great demand from the public, as well as health and wellness practitioners, for reliable data on effective strategies for achieving holistic wellness with its many components — physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and environmental.”

Housed in the college’s School of Health, Physical Education & Recreation, the new center will focus on research in exercise, nutrition, health, wellness, and physical activity. Also participating in interdisciplinary research and programs will be the faculty and students of the college’s schools of Social Work, Health Sciences and Rehabilitation Studies, Human Services, and Arts and Sciences.

Research will include both studies funded by governmental and private grants and by Springfield College.

Faculty specialists are already examining such subjects as the effects of various diets and exercise regimens on weight loss in different populations, and on the role of exercise and nutrition in the prevention or management of certain chronic diseases.

Much of the center’s work will be completed in the college’s new exercise science and wellness facilities, which opened in fall 2008 and are equipped with state-of-the-art cardiovascular training equipment and a biochemistry laboratory.

In addition to conducting and publishing research, the center will analyze and report on wellness research from other sources.  “There is a need for a central source of wellness information and a resource to interpret other research, and we’ve already begun to fill that gap,” Wyld added.

Other plans for the center include conducting an annual conference on a timely topic in wellness, developing a wellness research and education Web site, and collaborating with national and local organizations promoting wellness.

The new center will also coordinate and expand the college’s public wellness programs in Greater Springfield. “Local residents already participating in our research receive diet and exercise counseling and services, and we anticipate offering other services during future projects,” Wyld added.

The college’s programs in local schools and retirement communities also include wellness education and services.