MU’s Wellness Resource Center was named fifth best in the nation by TopCounselingSchools.org, ahead of fellow SEC schools like Auburn University, University of Georgia and Vanderbilt University.
According to Amy Bell, the author of [the list,](http://www.topcounselingschools.org/universities-wellness-centers-for-students/) the site began its search by looking at the best student recreation centers. This search showed which universities offer good wellness provisions.
According to the list, MU is “certainly leading the way when it comes to alcohol awareness.” The list also said the center was recognized by the Department of Education and the Higher Education Center for its “model prevention initiative” in 1999, 2006 and 2010.
Kim Dude, associate director of Student Life and the Wellness Resource Center, attributed the success of the center’s alcohol awareness program to the duration of the program.
“The Alcohol Responsibility Month that we just had in October was our 32nd,” Dude said. “This office has existed since 1990, … (and it) was a major turning point on being able to focus on the topic.”
During MU’s Alcohol Responsibility Month, peer educators from the center reach out to residence halls, fraternities, sororities and classrooms with presentations.
Dude said the center has many programs besides the Alcohol Responsibility Month that promote MU students to make better choices about alcohol.
The center pairs with the Missouri Students Association in an initiative called “Take 5.” Dude said the idea behind “Take 5” is that for every five people going out, one person stays completely sober.
She said the center has hosted two “summits on alcohol use” in past months. Participants have included not only faculty and staff members, but also law enforcement officers and high school counselors, and representatives from treatment centers, the school board and City Hall.
Wellness Center Coordinator Tiffany Bowman said “social norming and environmental management with alcohol, and programming throughout the year” are the secret to the center’s success. She also said the peer educator program is key.
Bell said the MU Values Exercise and Eating Well is a program that sets the university apart.
Dude said the center houses a registered dietician and personal trainer who can help students find ways to exercise if they are intimidated by the recreation center.
The MUVE program encourages students to take advantage of all the opportunities that Columbia offers, from going to the MU Student Recreation Complex or running the MKT trails, Dude said.
According to Bell, the center also offers a “quit smoking scheme.”
Dude said the center has been able to afford to give free smoking cessation counseling and nicotine replacement therapy to students, staff and faculty through grants.
Bowman said participants in the program receive “two weeks of nicotine replacement products and come back every two weeks for up to eight weeks of free NRT” if they wish to use those products.
She said these free products include “over-the-counter nicotine replacement forms such as patches, gum, or lozenges.”
Follow-up procedures set the Wellness Resource Center’s smoking cessation program apart from those of other universities.
“We do three-, six- and 12-month surveys, and get a quitting rate,” Bowman said. “We know from that we have a pretty good success rate.”
Bowman said the new rankings surprised her.
“We didn’t know it was even being written,” she said. “It is a neat pat on the back for all the work everyone in this office does.”
Dude said the effort of the staff made the center’s recognition possible.
“This award is the result of a lot of wonderful staff members and a lot of wonderful student leaders who work with us,” she said. “We have peer educators that are the backbone of what we do here. It is students and staff who made that recognition possible.”
