At the January 30 Council meeting, Vice President and Secretary of the University Leslie Kruhly enumerated the resolution of the various topics presented during last semester’s Open Forum. The status of the items raised is that there will be no subsequent action taken by the Steering Committee. But, in each case, the person who presented a concern has been put in touch with someone from the administration who has provided more information. For instance, on the matter of Penn divesting, although the Trustees have clearly expressed their decision not to divest, President Amy Gutmann has asked Provost Wendell Pritchett to investigate what other options there might be to address the issue. The president said that a report will be issued by the end of the semester.

There will be another Open Forum at the next Council meeting on February 20; the deadline to submit a topic is February 11. Ms. Kruhly said that each topic presented is taken seriously and addressed in some way.

The majority of the January 30 meeting was devoted to the presentation on “Prioritizing Wellness at Penn: a Campaign for Student Wellness,” which was introduced by VPUL Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum. She said that this series of tangible outcomes is a follow-up to the Campus Conversations that had previously been held. Penn’s new associate vice provost and chief wellness officer Benoit Dubé explained that there has been a reorganization of services on campus, which was a deliberate attempt to bring together five departments. Last year, CAPS (Counseling and Psychological Services) had 69,000 service encounters and the Student Health Service had 54,000 service encounters. Campus Health administered 10,000 immunizations during flu season. The Office of Alcohol and Other Drugs focuses on embracing harm reduction in the college environment. Penn has been taking a holistic and comprehensive approach to wellness, which incorporates eight domains including physical, emotional and  spiritual. These all fall under the theme of “Thriving at Penn.” Dr. Dubé said that it is his goal to redefine wellness, creating a “successful integration of competing demands that result in a state of flow.” This effort has already led to an increase in the availability of appointments at CAPS, including at nights and on weekends, along with counselors who speak other languages, including Mandarin.

Dr. Dubé said that more than 3,000 Penn people have been through the I CARE (Inquire, Connect, Acknowledge, Respond, Explore) training to be a certified first responder, approximately 50% were students and the other 50% were faculty and staff. He also mentioned the value of restorative mindfulness and how that has led to a Relaxation Room in the Biomedical Library to foster self-care. Dr. Dubé also discussed a new advisory group, SWAG (Student Wellness Advisory Group) that he is creating to include student voices that represent vulnerable groups and populations.

Michael Krone, president of the Undergraduate Assembly, discussed some initiatives that the UA has been working on, such as making it easier for students to find all resources from the UA’s website.

Haley Pilgrim, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Association, talked about ways she has created partnerships with others on campus to help GAPSA’s diverse and dispersed constituency.