Wellness Advisory Council

This group is comprised of individuals from both on and off campus to have an interdisciplinary conversation about the needs of our community. Members include counselors, administrators, police officers, and anyone who wants to be part of the discussion, including students. The Wellness Advisory Council (WAC) meets to discuss relevant topics, such as:

  • Alcohol
  • Drugs
  • Hazing
  • Recovery
  • Title IX

This list only scratches the surface of the topics covered. The purpose is to have a dedicated space to discuss important topics and allow for anyone to meet with an audience of stakeholders.

 

Framework

  1. Intrapersonal — Characteristics of the individual such as knowledge, attitudes, behavior, self-concept, skills, and developmental history.
  2. Interpersonal — Formal and informal social networks and social support systems, including family, work group, and friendship networks.
  3. Institutional — Social institutions with organizational characteristics and formal (and informal) rules and regulations for operations.
  4. Community — Relationships among organizations, institutions, and informational networks within defined boundaries.
  5. Public policy — Local, state, national, and global laws and policies.

The Social Ecological Model includes interventions at multiple levels to focus on individual concerns and population-level issues. Our goal is to provide services at all tiers and the Wellness Advisory Council fits into this framework by addressing Community Factors. This allows the University of Maine to have open dialogue between departments and interact with surrounding towns, organizations, and businesses. By opening communication between these groups, we can better serve our students by unifying community-wide efforts (Ecological model, 2018).

For more information, check out what the American College Health Association has to say by clicking here.

Ecological model. (2018).  Retrieved from https://www.acha.org/healthycampus/healthycampus/ecological_model.aspx

 

Get Involved

If you have a topic you believe is important, would like to attend meetings, or to join the mailing list, contact us at um.swell@maine.edu.