Across the nation, universities and colleges are improving their recreational facilities and programs in the interest of the health and wellness of students, faculty and staff. The University is currently evaluating its needs, and perhaps change lies ahead in the future.
"On my end, there are really high hopes that we may be forging forward with the type of facility that students at other campuses enjoy," Associate Director of Athletics for Physical Education and Recreational Sports Eric Stein said.
Ideas for a Health and Wellness Center have been discussed and have led to the formation of the Task Force on Health and Well-Being, appointed by President Tilghman in September. The task force is evaluating University policies and programs that address the health care needs and promote the health and wellbeing of students, faculty and staff. The task force will also examine University recreational programs and facilities in comparison with those of other colleges.
Scott Grant '05, an undergraduate member of the task force, said the committee will produce a report on the problems, including suggestions on how to address them. The task force plans to present a preliminary report early next academic year.
"There has also been discussion about how important the issue of a recreational facility is, and several members of the task force would like to see a new health, fitness and wellness center built," Grant said.
At Washington State University, the importance of its fitness center goes beyond keeping its students in shape.
"Students who frequent the recreation center more during a semester have higher grade point averages as well as more credits completed," said Kathleen Hatch, WSU's recreation director, refering to studies conducted at her university and elsewhere. "Recreation centers are an important element on a university campus. They contribute to academic success as well as aid in creating lifelong habits of health and fitness."
Quite a recreation center
WSU's Student Recreation Center — which serves a campus of 22,184 undergraduates — features an elevated indoor running track, seven courts for basketball, volleyball and badminton and a sport court for in-line skating, roller hockey and indoor soccer.
There are three activity rooms for group fitness classes, yoga, martial arts and dance. They also have the largest Jacuzzi on the west coast accommodating 53 people.
As health and fitness are becoming highly emphasized among college students across the nation, there is, as University CMO Daniel Silverman said, a "remarkable trend" in the building of such facilities.
At Ohio State University, Larkins Hall has been the major indoor fitness facility for the 72 years since its opening in 1931. Michael Dunn, Ohio State's recreational sports director, said Larkins Hall has outgrown its usefulness.
"It is falling apart, lacks many of the amenities of other recreation and fitness facilities that students, faculty and staff deserve on all college campuses," he said. "A building expected to serve 48,000 students and up to 25,000 faculty and staff members has fewer than 7,000 square feet of fitness equipment."
In comparison, the University's Stephens Fitness Center has 8,000 square feet and serves a much smaller campus.
Ohio State is planning a new 657,000-square-foot facility, featuring an indoor climbing wall that can have as many as 50 people working on the wall at one time, two indoor turf courts and an outdoor adventure area.
"It is about listening to students as they identify their needs and doing the best job possible of meeting those needs," Dunn said.
Improving University wellbeing
The University's Dillon Gymnasium offers over 200 physical education courses, 33 intramural sports programs and 33 club sports. Other recreational opportunities include racquet sports, massage therapy, fitness, dance and wellness classes, and various special events.
However, since being built in 1944, Dillon has not changed much, aside from a $1.4 million renovation in the year 2000 which created Stephens Fitness Center.
A survey by the health and wellbeing task force, conducted primarily among graduate students, indicated an interest in improving the facilities with comments ranging from a need for more treadmills at the Stephens Fitness Center to a need for more open hours at DeNunzio Pool, Stein said.
Stein enumerated some of the problems in Dillon Gym and Stephens Fitness Center. The Dillon locker rooms are in need of repair and renovation. Recreational athletes cannot work out in the fitness center before it opens at 7 a.m. It is usually overcrowded, and during prime hours, fitness equipment is often unavailable, he said.
What others are doing
Other Ivy League schools are following the same trend of upgrading recreational facilities.
Brown and Cornell are both considering or planning on building new recreation centers. Cornell and Harvard are renovating existing facilities.
In 2001, Yale spent $38 million on renovations of the Payne Whitney Recreation Center.
Last year, the University of Pennsylvania opened the Pottruck Health and Fitness Center, a $26 million recreational facility that adds 65,000 square feet to the existing 50,000 square feet of Gimbel Gymnasium. It includes four floors of fitness centers, a climbing wall, pro shop, juice bar, a virtual golf center and other facilities.
"It's clear that there is a desire among students, staff and faculty for a larger, more updated recreational facility," Silverman said.
Silverman played a role in formulating ideas for a Health and Wellness Center, observing that many schools have not taken a holistic, integrated approach to the issue by combining fitness with health and wellness.
"There is a perfect opportunity here as both Dillon Gymnasium and University Health Services are in need of upgrade and expansion. The two could be integrated into a Health and Wellness Center that has a broader view," he said.
In addition to fitness facilities and medical care, the center would offer nutritional counseling, physical therapy, a health resources library and a child care program.
"It would be a statement to have a Health and Wellness Center at the heart of the University — part of finding an important balance in people's lives."
However, there is a long process that must be completed before progress on such a project can be made, and it will be years before any plans are in effect.
"It comes down to the priorities of what the school wants to have," Stein said. "It would be nice to bring up our recreational facilities to the level of the boathouse or the football stadium."
Though the University's recreational facilities may be lacking, students are not deterred. Upwards of 80 percent of students are involved in recreational activities. Roughly 20 percent of undergraduates are on club teams.
From Sept. 16, 2002 through Sept. 15, 2003, there were 258,616 visits to the Stephens Fitness Center, with 3,217 people participating in fitness classes. And, 1,312 faculty membership passes were sold in that time.
Stephens Fitness Center is constantly bustling, and its small size serves to magnify the amount of energy and effort that University students, faculty and staff put into their health and fitness.
It is also a reflection of the enthusiasm that goes into things beyond athletic pursuits campus wide. "It's an active program and an extremely active campus," Stein said.
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