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Goethe, the German philosopher once wrote, "There are no new ideas, we just have to re-think the old ones."
In January of 1985, a group of faculty, staff and students went to a SHAC Retreat at Boyd's Mason Lake Resort. As part of the weekend a modified Delphi group process was used to gather ideas, rank the ideas, and estimate the requirements to implement the ideas. Twelve students, and eighteen faculty and staff were involved in the process. The first part of this report will be a list in rank order of the suggestions that were made by the group and the average number of points each idea was given when rated by the entire group. A rating of 5 was the top score possible and a rating of 0 was the lowest score possible. The number after each idea is simply the average score the the idea was given by the entire group.
| Increase the positive alternatives in the vending machines on campus. | 4.6 |
| List the caloric content of foods, showing the advantages to alternatives in all food service operations | 4.4 |
| Identify additional spaces and promote those spaces that now exist for quiet time so individuals would have an opportunity for reflection, meditation, and relaxation. | 4.4 |
| A lifestyle development lab where individuals could asses themselves and begin to make improvements. | 4.4 |
| To improve the food service operation. | 4.3 |
| Advertising to increase the awareness of and utilization of wellness offerings that exist on the campus today. | 4.3 |
| Increase the non-smoking areas in academic buildings, residence halls, food service, and lounges. | 4.3 |
| To develop a centralized wellness resource center where informational materials on all six dimensions would be available on a walk-in basis to students. | 4.2 |
| Accredited wellness major | 4.2 |
| Increase the utilization of campus TV, Pointer, and journal articles for the promotion of wellness. | 4.2 |
| Expand health related courses within the health and physical education department. | 4.1 |
| A personal or group wellness recess. This would be an officially designated time once or more each semester where people throughout the university in all positions from academic, student, clerical support, maintenance, and so on would be given an official designated time to investigate one of the six dimensions of wellness for themselves. | 4.0 |
| Weekly radio spots to promote health seeking behaviors. | 4.0 |
| Faculty support to increase responsible use of alcohol. | 4.0 |
| Incentives to increase the activity levels of the students and faculty on campus. | 4.0 |
| More wellness workshops for students and faculty. | 4.0 |
| Provide opportunities for art to be displayed throughout the campus. | 4.0 |
| More fitness facilities are needed. | 4.0 |
| Whole bran on the tables. | 4.0 |
| Provide vegetarian entrees that are hot in the grid such as veggie pastries. | 4.0 |
| Alter the 4 credit physical education requirement with more emphasis on health related courses. | 3.9 |
| Faculty improvement programs to increase the faculty's participation in personal wellness activities. | 3.8 |
| To improve resident assistant training in dormitories with particular emphasis on encouraging responsible use of alcohol. | 3.6 |
| Encourage the development of alternatives to the square. | 3.6 |
| Develop a wellness oriented nightclub. | 3.6 |
| Paid student leaders for wellness promotion. | 3.5 |
| Encourage broader bus service and car pooling for students. | 3.5 |
| Dorm representatives for SHAC to ensure broad based input. | 3.5 |
| Assertive training in dorms to improve the environment concerning loud abusive activities and alcohol related confusion. | 3.4 |
| Give support and encouragement for competitive mental sports. | 3.4 |
| Construct more whirlpools, hot tubs, saunas and a new swimming pool. | 3.3 |
| Encourage the sanction for faculty time to pursue personal wellness. | 3.2 |
| Increase health hazard awareness advertisements and programs. | 3.2 |
| Develop a women's health issues course. | 3.2 |
| An automated dial-a-videotape system so students could obtain information in the privacy of their room or designated room. | 3.2 |
| Broaden the support by ongoing programs for all levels of staff within the university - this includes faculty, academic staff, and classified. | 3.1 |
| Support more wellness clubs. | 3.0 |
| Improve the dining atmosphere within the university dining facilities. | 2.7 |
| Provide bread baking workshops to encourage whole wheat and other types of bread baking. | 2.5 |
| Develop a wellness trivia contest. | 2.0 |
| Health Promotion message behind airplanes over the campus. | 2.0 |
Any suggestion receiving a 3.5 or better was then discussed in more detail in small groups. Groups were split to represent student and faculty interests. Each group was to address each suggestion with the following five topics in mind:
1. Who has the authority to give sanction or permission to implement the idea?
2. Whose responsibility would it be to monitor or supervise this project or idea?
3. Where would the revenues come from if additional moneys are require to implement the idea?
4. What would be the suggested timetable for implementation of this idea?
5. How would this project or idea be evaluated to determine whether it has merit for continued operation?