The Charge: Recognize the role of a healthy community in individual wellness. Supporting staff and faculty wellness from a holistic perspective - as we do for students - could increase productivity and model healthy behaviors for students.

What's Happening: Through a collaboration between CC's professional development program, Excel@CC, and Bemis School of Art, CC faculty and staff are invited to make time to reflect, explore, and innovate. More than 55 employees participated in two different wellness Excel@CC sessions.

Meditative wheel throwing provided an opportunity to work with clay, learning/practicing beginning wheel skills offers a chance for meditation with automatic feedback. Participants were invited to learn how it feels to be truly centered. The Mindful Mandalas course taught participants the art of mandala-making, a tool that can be used for transformation while reflecting wholeness, unity, and harmony. The workshop was a guided meditation with exercises using simple materials. Attendees set an intention, still the mind, and opened the heart.

It was "an opportunity to get away from my computer and clear my mind," says Eric Raczkowski, server applications specialist in ITS. "Having to concentrate on something that I don't do on a regular basis and am not particularly good at was a great way to clear my head for a while."

Anne Goodman-James, CC's head swim coach, also participated. She says, "I believe in the importance of mindfulness and meditation for a healthy life, and want to learn more about ways to achieve it. I have also enjoyed coloring mandalas as a means of mindfulness and relaxation." She encourages fellow staff and faculty members to take advantage of opportunities to expand the ways you look at self-care.

Check the HR webpage and "Wellness State of Mind" tab on the benefits site for upcoming Excel@CC wellness sessions.