Oakwood University is only institution of higher learning to make the list.
During the 2018 Innovating a Healthier Future Summit last week in Washington, D.C., Oakwood University was announced as a national finalist for Partner of the Year by Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA). The organization also extended national recognition to Oakwood for its Healthy Campus 2020 (HC2020) campus wellness initiative with the presentation of the Partnership For A Healthier America’s Crystal Apple award on May 3, 2018.
Oakwood is the only institution of higher education to make the list of finalists for campus wellness and the innovations built into Healthy Campus 2020. Other finalists were Mercedes-Benz, McLane, Esstans, and Bright Horizons Family Solutions.
Pictured are (l-r) Prudence Pollard, administrator and principal investigator; Dr. James Gavin, chairman of the PHA Board; Nancy Roman, CEO of PHA; Leslie Pollard, president of Oakwood University; Michelle Ramey, director of Research and Grants; and Shirna Gullo, director, HC2020.
Oakwood is also the first and only Seventh-day Adventist University nationally recognized by PHA. In a congratulatory letter to President Leslie Pollard, Nancy Roman, President and CEO of PHA said that Oakwood University has demonstrated leadership in creating a culture shift toward wellness through the successful implementation of PHA’s evidence-based health and wellness guidelines.
Oakwood University joined the Partnership for a Healthier America in 2015 and was the first entity in the State of Alabama to join this dynamic movement to eradicate childhood obesity. The university had three years to complete the commitments, and completed them prior to the compliance date of September 2018.
The journey continues as Oakwood’s Healthy Campus 2020 program implements an ongoing sustainability plan to maintain and sustain the progress that has been made in the areas of food and nutrition, activity and movement, and overall programming. Active plans are in place to integrate additional comprehensive programming into the upcoming Community Health Action Clinic/Center.