Wellness Champions Named Faculty/Staff Well-being Program of the Year

The NC State Wellness Champions program has received a special award from the Butler University Institute for Well-being: Faculty/Staff Well-being Program of the Year.

NC State is one of five universities to win one of the Institute for Well-being’s inaugural well-being awards. The awards honor institutions of higher education for outstanding achievements in well-being initiatives.

“I am extremely proud to know something that I’m deeply passionate about and so many others are passionate about has been recognized in this way,” said Alexis Steptoe, assistant director of wellness at NC State.

More than 150 employees participate in the program. Steptoe and Kelly Vance, the wellness, child care and perks coordinator in University Human Resources, manage the program.

“I think the program is amazing,” Vance said. “We have a very strong program, and I’m just excited to be a part of it.”

Wellness champion Janice Sitzes said the recognition the Wellness Champions program has received from Butler University is a testament to all the hard work Steptoe and Vance pour into the program.

“I was just thrilled to see all of their work receive recognition,” said Sitzes, director of continuing and professional education in the College of Natural Resources. “They do the work because they’re passionate about employee wellness, not to get an award. Everything they do is very genuine and authentic.”

Sitzes, an avid runner and bicyclist, has been a wellness champion since the program started. She said one of the best aspects of the program is how everyone involved shares wellness-related ideas and supports each other.

“It’s kind of like having a very big planning committee because you can tap into so many different resources,” Sitzes said.

David Herpy, an NC State Extension organizational development coordinator, joined the Wellness Champions program three years ago. He said the program is one of the reasons NC State has developed a strong culture of wellness.

“I’ve worked in public service my whole career — city government, county government and at another university,” Herpy said. “NC State’s culture of wellness is by far second to none. We did have a wellness program at the university where I previously worked in the Midwest, but the culture of wellness here at NC State is phenomenal. It’s exciting to be a part of.”

This post was originally published in University Human Resources News.