On February 2, 2024, Dr. Rob Gordon, President & Vice-Chancellor signed the Okanagan Charter Statement of Adoption on behalf of the University of Windsor.
The Okanagan Charter: An International Charter for Health Promoting Universities and Colleges (2015) calls on post-secondary schools to embed health into all aspects of campus culture and to lead health promotion action and collaboration locally and globally. Download the Charter
By adopting the Charter the University:
- recognizes that promoting health and well-being is essential to achieving our full potential in teaching and learning, research, and engagement. Evidence demonstrates that people who are well are more productive, are more able to engage in deeper learning, are more likely to be retained, and have a stronger sense of community.
- commits to sharing in the Vision, implementing the two Calls to Action for Higher Education institutions, and following the Guiding Principles as the means for translating the Charter into action.
- agrees to participate in National and International campus networks to activate the Charter to inform and support each other’s efforts.
Health and well-being promoting post-secondary campuses transform the health and sustainability of our current and future societies, strengthen communities and contribute to the well-being of people, places and the planet.
Health promoting universities and colleges infuse health into everyday operations, business practices and academic mandates. By doing so, health promoting universities and colleges:
- enhance the success of our institutions
- create campus cultures of compassion, well-being, equity and social justice
- improve the health of the people who live, learn, work and play on our campuses
- strengthen the ecological, social and economic sustainability of our communities and wider society.
Two calls to action:
To embed health into all aspects of campus culture, across the administration, operations, and academic mandates:
- Embed health in all campus policies Create supportive campus environments
- Generate thriving communities and a culture of well-being
- Support personal development
- Create or re-orient campus services
To lead health promotion action and collaboration locally and globally:
- Integrate health, well-being, and sustainability in multiple disciplines to develop change agents
- Advance research, teaching, and training for health promotion knowledge and action
- Lead and partner towards local and global action for health promotion
University of Windsor Commitments
A University is its people. As outlined in its strategic plan, the University of Windsor is committed to prioritizing people and becoming an institution that consistently operates from a place of care, compassion, respect, humility, and empathy. This commitment can only be achieved by putting the well-being of students, faculty, staff, and the community at the forefront of everything that we do and providing an environment for all to flourish as we deliver our mission “to empower positive change through regionally and globally engaged inquiry, learning, scholarship, creative activity and research”.
The University of Windsor will:
- Promote, protect and support positive mental and physical well-being and foster a civil and respectful campus environment.
- Foster a sense of energized belonging, connectedness, inclusion, and engagement on campus through day-to day practices and actions that align with the University’s guiding principles.
- Integrate sustainability into all aspects of campus life by taking action on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals around health and wellness.
- Nurture and support collaborative and interdisciplinary local, national, and global health related research and knowledge translation initiatives.