After an extensive national search, psychiatrist and San Diego State University professor Dr. Karen Calfas was selected to fill the newly created position of assistant vice chancellor for student wellness, in which she will oversee the expansion and promotion of the four-year-old Student Affairs Wellness Initiative.
Calfas will oversee the wellness cluster, an interdisciplinary group of student services that includes Counseling and Psychological Services, Student Health Services, the Sexual Assault Resource Center and the recently established Campus Recreation Center.
When she arrived at UCSD in August 2007, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Penny Rue declared that student wellness would be a top priority for her office. She has since overseen the creation of the Student Wellness Center, which will eventually incorporate all of the cluster’s services under one roof. The new building is slated for completion by the 2011-12 academic year.
In the meantime, Calfas will oversee the expansion and promotion of the existing Student Affairs Wellness Initiative as well as development and funding of the new Student Wellness Center, consulting other campus departments to develop an interdisciplinary and holistic student wellness program at UCSD.
‘Dr. Calfas has a rare combination of talents, training and experience,’ Rue said. ‘First, she genuinely likes to work with students in both formal and informal ways. Second, she understands the importance of population-based health initiatives, not just treating those with symptoms but educating all of us on what it means to flourish.’
Calfas’ experience includes a doctorate in clinical psychology from the joint doctoral program at UCSD and SDSU, and extensive research in physical-activity trends. She has been a licensed psychologist in California since 1993.
As head of student wellness, she will be responsible for facilitating a strong culture of healthiness at UCSD, offering students the opportunity to develop lifelong self-management skills.
Calfas said that when she arrives at UCSD on March 23, she plans to unite the strengths of several campus organizations to provide students with more comprehensive and accessible health resources. Her activities will aim to combine services that help students achieve both mental and physical health under one umbrella program.
‘My first priority will be to meet with the many people who provide various services that are related to student wellness and doing some brainstorming together about the best ways to collaborate,’ Calfas said. ‘There are lots of areas in the Student Affairs office that are focusing on overall wellness. In addition, I want to meet with the student government, student organizations, and find out what students are interested in. It will be a time for me to get up to speed with all the activities going on that relate to student wellness.’
Additionally, Calfas will be in charge of raising funds to maintain financial support for the new’ Student Wellness Center.
Current construction plans call for a new recreation space with gym equipment and counseling and psychiatric services, along with the health-education services currently offered at the existing Student Health Center.
‘Students will benefit from having all these wellness services under one roof because it will be one-stop shopping for them,’ Calfas said. ‘If you want to work out or if you want to talk to someone about a problem, you will conveniently be able to do both of those activities at the same location.’
The center will eventually provide services for all UCSD students, but campus officials predict that the majority of its users will be undergraduates.
Readers can contact Sarah de Crescenzo at [email protected].