Abstract
Higher education leaders are well-positioned to help advance the preconditions of and the foundations for well-being among people and among humans vis-à-vis nature. Campus leaders have distinctive opportunities and unique resources to address well-being, even in the absence of institutional supports. The authors draw from the literature to illustrate how diverse campus leaders are advancing well-being on campuses, individually and collectively, by breaking through institutional barriers, disrupting unjust policy action and inaction, and challenging dominant narratives that violate human rights and constrain civil liberties; by resisting corporate definitions of work-life balance; by privileging diverse knowledge forms, modes of communications, and ways of being; by re-centering civic mindedness and the common good; by embracing more holistic understandings of well-being; and by honoring humanity's dependence on eco-system diversity. In uncertain times, it is crucial that campus leaders engage in dialogue to advance health and well-being across and beyond campus communities.
TopIntroduction
A University or College is, by its very nature, an essential part of any systemic health promotion strategy, working collaboratively in trans-disciplinary and cross-sector ways. This Charter calls upon higher education institutions to incorporate health promotion values and principles into their mission, vision and strategic plans, and model and test approaches for the wider community and society. – (Okanagan Charter, 2018, p. 6)
What does it mean, and what does it take in terms of leadership, to advance the well-being of campus community members in institutions of higher learning? A standard path to addressing the question would be to focus on leaders who occupy the highest positions of authority. A more inclusive approach to leadership is represented in this volume given that all campus community members have a stake in the wellness initiatives envisioned and advanced by diverse leaders, from senior administrators, to individual faculty members, to intra- and inter-institutional faculty cohorts, to student leaders, to wellness professionals and health champions among campus staff, and to community partners. The chapter contributors in this volume share their research findings, insights, and experiences at a time when universities and colleges are facing persistent as well as unprecedented challenges, including the global COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis, which affect the well-being of campus community members. In this first chapter of the book, we identify the urgent need for campus leaders to engage in dialogues about individual and collective actions directed towards more holistic rather than compartmentalized approaches to wellness.
TopPrioritizing Campus Well-Being In Tumultuous Times
Movements with global supports, such as #BlackLivesMatter, #IdleNoMore and #LandBack, represent ongoing calls for just relations among humans and vis-à-vis Nature. Post-secondary institutions contribute to the advancement, or deterioration, of social determinants of health that can impact individual, community and societal health and well-being. Indeed, education is itself a social determinant of health. In the introduction to the July 2020 issue of The Lancet Public Health, titled “Education: a neglected social determinant of health,” the editors recognize that “[e]ducation is the most important modifiable social determinant of health” (para. 6); further, they emphasize that…
[E]ducation shapes lives—it is key to lifting people out of poverty and reducing socioeconomic and political inequalities. Today—as the world is shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic and the long-overdue recognition of structural racism—the centrality of education and schools to societies has become much clearer. (para.2)
The diverse learning spaces and research places across higher education institutions are responsible for knowledge creation and dissemination with implications for socio-political, economic, scientific and technological, and ecological realities, including those that are dark and harsh, ugly and unjust. For example, in Canada and the United States post-secondary institutions have been called upon by the national Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC, 2015) to acknowledge and redress their roles in maintaining long-standing systemic discrimination against Indigenous peoples, against Black communities and their members, and against racialized immigrants. Pam Palmater, a Mi’kmaq First Nation citizen, professor, activist and politician, explains:
Universities, colleges and training institutes in particular, have benefited directly from the dispossession of native peoples from their lands and sometimes benefited directly from Indian monies held in trust by the Crown. They have long excluded native peoples as faculty and administrators, while at the same time educating countless generations of Canadians and international students a sanitized version of both history and the present. Native voices and realities has [sic] been erased by universities for many decades. (2019, para. 10)
Key Terms in this Chapter
Interrelatedness: The state of having one or more mutual or reciprocal relationships with others.
Epistemic Hegemony: The domination of one view/form of knowledge and the subordination of all others.
Okanagan Charter: An international charter for health promoting university and colleges. Signatories commit to both embedding health into all aspect of campus culture and leading health initiatives both locally and globally.
Epistemological Pluralism: Refers to the respect for and promotion of different ways of knowing which may be based on diverse methodologies and/or different ontological frameworks, such as distinct Indigenous ontologies.
Holistic: Relating to or concerned with complete systems, rather than parts or subsystems.
Solastalgia: A form of ecological grief or the lived experience of negative environmental change.
Post-Secondary Education: Formal education which takes place after the completion of both primary and secondary education. This education is most commonly provided at a college, university, or trade school.
Interconnectedness: The state of being intertwined or connecting on multiple levels with others.
Common Good: Refers to what is shared and beneficial to all or most members of a community.
Social Determinants of Health (SDOH): The term refers to the complex circumstances in which people are born, grow, learn, live, work and age. The SDOH include intangible factors such as socio-economic, political, and cultural conditions and also, place-based conditions ranging from housing, food security, accessible healthcare, to safe environmental conditions.