JMU adopts Okanagan Charter, committing to health across campus

JMU extended its commitment to foster health and well-being across campus as it formally adopted the Okanagan Charter during an event on the Festival Conference and Student Center lawn.

Event remarks were delivered by Harrisonburg Mayor Deanna Reed, JMU President Charlie King, as well as JMU faculty and students involved with the charter and its campus-wide initiatives.

Created in June 2015, the charter provides institutions with a common language, principles and a cross-campus, health-promotion framework. JMU is the first Virginia university to adopt the Okanagan Charter.

JMU joined the U.S. Health Promoting Campus Network in 2022, and campus-wide health efforts have stressed productive, engaged learning and a strong sense of community, all in a holistic effort to create synergy across teaching, learning, research and engagement.

“By adopting the Okanagan Charter, JMU is committing to embedding health into all aspects of campus culture across administration, operations, and academics, and leading health promotion action and collaboration,” said JMU President Charlie King. “Together, we are making health and wellness a cornerstone of our university mission,” King added.

JMU Student Body President Brielle Lacroix focused her remarks on three key aspects of the charter: people, place and planet.

"As we continue to expand campus to include more students, more dorms, and a new library, this adoption ensures that the physical and mental well-being of our community and the health of the Earth is our utmost priority and solidifies that this place (JMU) really is different," said Lacroix.

The university also promotes health across campus through its strategic plan, the President’s Council on Health and Well-being, people-focused programs such as Balanced Dukes, and JED Foundation initiatives.