The goal of the Wellness Center is to promote a healthy lifestyle during college and beyond. Its activities are based on the philosophy that energetic involvement in healthy activities reduces the tendency toward self-destructive behavior. Wellness Center services and programs include a Peer Health Educators program, Wellness newsletters, a weekly Stall Talk, two annual wellness events, a wellness library, and community service opportunities, in which over 850 students enthusiastically participate annually.
Strong ties exist between the Wellness Center and academic programs. Faculty serve on the Wellness Committee; Peer Health Educators make presentations to classes; Health and Physical Education faculty work with the Center to select speakers for Wellness courses; and the Center sends newsletters to faculty.
The Wellness Center may be understaffed. The professional staff consists of one full-time director who also serves as the community service coordinator; the Center's many programs appear to need additional professional staffing.
In a 1998 survey of 368 students, 27% reported binge drinking (defined as consuming five or more drinks in a row for men and four or more for women) at least once within the previous two weeks. In the previous month, 14% had driven within an hour of consuming two or more drinks, 13% had performed poorly on a test or project because of drinking, nearly 10% had injured themselves at least once in the previous academic year because they had drunk too much, and almost 5% had been involved in an alcohol-related fight. Our police chief estimates that 50% to 70% of campus disorderly conduct and vandalism offenses are alcohol-related.
We are currently in the midst of planning an extensive effort to curtail student alcohol abuse. In 1999 President Caputo appointed a Student Alcohol Abuse Task Force to develop a more holistic and integrated approach to reducing student alcohol abuse by recommending strategies to reduce those factors that appear to reinforce harmful student alcohol abuse. The task force's major recommendations (Appendix 5-3) have been accepted in principle by the President's Advisory Council, and we are presently studying how best to implement them.
As a public institution, Millersville University does not formally sponsor any religious organizations, but we encourage the presence of diverse religious organizations to meet students' spiritual needs. Millersville promotes the eight religious organizations active on campus through a brochure, a Web site (www.millersville.edu/~religion/), and office space in Potter House. The religious organizations combine efforts to plan an interfaith Festival of Lights celebration each December and to produce spiritual programs and activities for Wellness Week each Spring.
Approximately 400 students are active in these organizations and approximately 2,000 students are involved in outreach services and programs. The student focus group participants described earlier in this chapter felt their spiritual needs are being met by the options offered by Millersville's religious community.
About 500 men and women compete in Millersville's 19 intercollegiate sports. All sports compete in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) in NCAA Division II, except wrestling which competes in Division I.
Our intercollegiate athletic programs are committed to developing the whole student and integrating athletic and academic experiences. The six-year graduation rate for female student-athletes entering since 1988 is 78%, compared to 70% for all undergraduate women. The six-year graduation rates for male student-athletes entering since 1988 is 64%, compared to 68% for all undergraduate men. In 1998-1999, 64 of our student athletes earned at least a 3.25 grade point average and were honored as PSAC scholar-athletes. This achievement places Millersville among the top schools in the conference.
In 1996 allegations were made of NCAA violations in our men's basketball program. The President appointed a special panel to review the allegations. After the panel made its report, a number of substantial changes were made in the men's basketball program and in the management of men's athletics. The NCAA reviewed the allegations and our responses and concluded, " . . . inasmuch as the institution's actions in this case were substantial and meaningful, no further action should be taken by the NCAA in this matter."
The intercollegiate athletic programs are also committed to ensuring equity and access to diverse populations. In 1998-1999, while 10% of Millersville's students were of color, 14% of our student athletes were of color, compared to 13% of State System student athletes as a whole. Only Cheyney (a historically African-American university), California, and Kutztown Universities have larger proportions of student athletes of color.
Millersville is one of the few schools in our conference to have separate, equally ranked directors of men's and women's athletics. In 1997-1998, when 58% of our undergraduates were women, 46% of our intercollegiate athletic participants were women, women received 45% of our athletic grants-in-aid, and women's sports consumed 45% of our intercollegiate athletics operating budget. Our 79-member football team is a major reason why we have not achieved complete parity. We are in compliance with Title IX, however, because we have endeavored to expand options for women, most recently by adding volleyball.
Millersville promotes physical fitness and wellness through 30 intramural sports, 14 club sports, and a variety of fitness programs. Millersville presently has a shortage of appropriate playing fields, outdoor activity areas and other recreational facilities. The new capital facilities master plan (see Chapter 11) includes a new sports education center (field house), playing fields and other activity areas. Our upcoming targeted campaign, also discussed in Chapter 11 and still being planned, may include raising funds for these projects.
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