The vision: To make UC Davis the healthiest community in the nation.

The mission: Champion a thriving culture of health and well-being throughout the UC Davis community. 

This is what Healthy UC Davis is all about. This is what a steering committee of staff, faculty and students has been, well, “steering” for the last year — in new programs and facilities — to make the vision come true on the Davis and Sacramento campuses, for staff, faculty, students and retirees.

And this is what you’re invited to learn all about, this Thursday (Oct. 11), during the Healthy UC Davis Kickoff Celebration, noon to 2 p.m. on the Quad. Similar events are taking place on the Sacramento campus and at all other UC health centers and campuses under the auspices of the UC Office of the President’s Healthy Campus Initiative aimed at making UC the healthiest place to work, learn and live.

HEALTHY UC DAVIS

Learn more and see the complete calendar of events.

“The kickoff celebration will be a fun way to let people know what we have to offer, but also to remind the community that there are a number of campus groups offering health-related help,” said Eric Kvigne, associate vice chancellor of Safety Services and a Healthy UC Davis leader.

Everyone is invited to the free kickoff celebration, which will include an outdoor yoga session, a mindful moment, a health resources fair, walking tours, food — and swag, of course!

Healthy UC Davis focuses on four areas: food and nutrition, mental and emotional well-being, physical activity, and being smoke and tobacco free.

“It can be hard to work healthy habits into our lives,” said Stacey Brezing, director of the Staff and Faculty Health and Well-Being Program and a Healthy UC Davis leader. “So what we’re doing is weaving health into our working and learning environments to make those changes more manageable.”

Here are some examples: Active Aggies Mobile, bringing exercise classes closer to you; the Food Access Map; and a food labeling system called Nourish that helps the campus community identify healthy foods at campus stores and eateries.

Now take a look at other Healthy UC Davis opportunities:

UC DAVIS FARMERS MARKET — It’s open for the fall, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Nov. 7, on the Quad. The market aims to boost the health of our community by making nourishing and locally grown fruits and vegetables available on campus. 

WELL-BEING TICKET DEAL: Now in its third year, the Well-Being Ticket Deal — presented in partnership with the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts — offers $10 tickets to staff and faculty, to a selected show each month.

The 2018-19 season starts this Saturday (Oct. 13) with the Julie Fowlis concert, 8 p.m. in Jackson Hall. She’s perhaps best known for “Touch the Sky,” the stirring theme song from the Disney/Pixar film Brave, but Fowlis is anything but a one-hit wonder. Fowlis, a native of the Outer Hebrides, is one of the preeminent modern interpreters of traditional Gaelic songs, as well as a deeply knowledgeable scholar of Highland and Gaelic culture. Her latest album, alterum, is a continued exploration of those storied traditions and further evidence of her unique gift. Her appearance on the Jackson Hall stage follows a sold-out run in the Vanderhoef Studio Theatre in 2015.

The Well-Being Ticket Deal (limit two tickets per person) is available as follows:

• Online — Use Promo Code FOWLIS18.
• By phone — 530-754-2787
• In person — The Mondavi Center box office is open from noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and one hour before all ticketed events

SEEDS OF WELL-BEING: A monthly series inviting staff, faculty and students to “explore simple, practical everyday activities to help cultivate well-being.”

Six meetings are planned, October through April (no meeting in December). Registration is required, and, because space is limited, you should sign up for only those meetings you can realistically expect to attend.

All sessions will be held from noon to 1 p.m., starting with Savoring for Well-Being, Thursday, Oct. 18, about practical ways to start savoring the positive in your life.

All of the remaining sessions are scheduled for the second Thursday of the month:

• Nov. 8 — Gratitude for Well-Being: “The Science and Practice of Gratitude — What Have We Learned?” Presented by Robert Emmons, professor of sociology, UC Davis. (This is also a Campus Community Book Project event.)
• Jan. 10 — Kindness for Well-Being, about simple ways of bringing more kindness to your life.
• Feb. 14 — Self-Compassion for Well-Being, a Valentine’s Day program on how to love yourself unconditionally.
• March 14 — Generosity for Well-Being, about cultivating a generous heart to improve your well-being.
• April 11 — Focus for Well-Being, on how and why to focus your attention for well-being.

Each session has its own registration link; you will find them here, in the “Seeds of Well-Being” drop-down menu under “Upcoming Events.”

FLU SHOT CLINICS: The Staff and Faculty Health and Well-Being Program has organized two flu shot clinics this month, with 150 shots available per clinic. No advance registration; shots will be given on a first-come, first-serve basis.

• Tuesday, Oct. 23 — Shots to be administered by Kaiser Permanente, which is among the providers of health care benefits for UC Davis employees.
• Thursday, Oct. 25 — Shots to be administered by UC Davis Health, another provider of health care benefits to UC Davis employees.

UC Davis Health will provide free blood pressure screenings at both clinics, and also will have information available on open enrollment.

Each clinic will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the lobby of the Cowell Building (formerly the Cowell Student Health Center) on California Avenue south of Russell Boulevard.

Questions? Contact the Staff and Faculty Health and Well-Being Program by email or phone, 530-752-6051.

Healthy UC Davis introduced those slogans and more with the installation last spring of four 1-mile walking loops — one in each campus district: Quad, Pavilion, Health Sciences and Gateway. Colorful buttons on pavement and concrete mark the loops, and they are shown here on a map. The Sacramento campus has two loops, and you can see those by clicking on the same map link, then clicking on “UC Davis Health Walking Loops.”

Now, almost six months in, Healthy UC Davis has posted a survey to gather opinions on the walking loops. So, if you have walked any of them, please consider responding to the survey. And, if you have not walked one, well, what are you waiting for? Go for a walk and then consider answering the survey.

What’s in it for you? Besides exercise and a mental break, survey respondents will be entered into a quarterly drawing for a Fitbit Charge 2.

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