McMaster Okanagan 2023-2024 Annual Report
The McMaster Okanagan Office of Health & Well-being is pleased to present the 2023-24 annual activity report. As this is the inaugural annual activity report, we felt that it was important to provide historical context for our office, as well as for each of the activities we are involved in.
In 2017, McMaster University was the first institution in Ontario to sign the Okanagan Charter. You can read more about the charter and McMaster’s committements to the charter here. The Charter was developed during the 2015 International Conference on Health Promoting Universities and Colleges and provides higher education institutions with a common language, principles, and framework to become health and well-being promoting campuses.
Upon signing, McMaster then-President Patrick Deane appointed Dr. Paul O’Byrne, Dean & Vice-President, Faculty of Health Sciences to lead a working group to explore how to enact McMaster’s commitments to the charter. Over the following years, the working group evolved into what is now known as the McMaster Okanagan Committee (MOC), with representatives from key administrative and academic areas across campus including student, staff, and faculty representation.
In 2020, Provost Dr. Susan Tighe, tasked the MOC Chair, Paul O’Byrne, to consider mental health issues facing McMaster students, faculty, and staff in the pandemic and beyond. Dr. O’Byrne appointed Dr. Catharine Munn to develop and chair a Task Force to address these issues, subsequently named the McMaster Okanagan Mental Health and Well-being Task Force. Upon completion of the Task Force’s mandate, Dr. Munn was appointed as Advisor to the Provost and Vice-President (Academic), Mental Health. It was decided that the most appropriate home for Dr. Munn and her work would be within the McMaster Okanagan Committee administrative team. Subsequently, the capacity and offerings of the office significantly expanded, and the office has been renamed the McMaster Okanagan Office of Health & Well-being to reflect this. For simplicity we used the name McMaster Okanagan throughout the report to indicate both our historical and current work.
The 2023-24 year was busy for the McMaster Okanagan team. In the latter end of the 2022-23 year, we undertook a strategic planning process to ensure our objectives align with those of McMaster as well as our commitments to the Okanagan Charter. Our work continues to be focused on prioritizing the mental 4 health, health, and well-being of every member of the McMaster community. We continue to collaborate closely with our partners across McMaster’s campuses and colleagues across Canada and around the world to ensure that we continue to inspire and build a brighter world, at home and beyond. We believe that health promoting universities and colleges, like McMaster, can transform the health and sustainability of our current and future societies, strengthen communities, and contribute to the wellbeing of people, places and the planet.
Report Contents
The office annual report dives into background and outcomes of each of the following areas. Click on the full report to check them out.
Professor Hippo-on-Campus
The Professor Hippo-on-Campus: Mental Health Education Program for Educators and Navigators is a comprehensive initiative developed at McMaster offering virtual asynchronous modules and in-person synchronous workshops, specifically designed for post-secondary faculty and staff and graduate students.
Educational Toolkits
Last year our office updated the Responding to Students in Distress & Difficulty Toolkit. We also continued to offer the Compassionate Communication Toolkit.
Period Equity Project & Bring Your Own Bottle Programs
The McMaster Period Equity Project, while housed in the Okanagan Office is only able to function with the support of our project partners. The Bring Your Own Bottle program continues to run with the support of our sustainability partners.
Collaborations
Learn about our collaborative initiatives with other McMaster offices.
- Collaboration with the McMaster Campus Food Council on the Campus Food Charter
- Collaboration with the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office (SVPRO, EIO): “It Takes All of Us” Consent Literacy Program Evaluation and Research
- Collaborations with Human Resources Services: Training and Implementation of the Working Mind Program for Staff, Faculty and Leaders
- Collaboration with the School of Graduate Studies: GrowGrads
Community Development & Engagement
Beyond our relationships with McMaster offices and departments we also have a thriving volunteer program. Beyond McMaster our team was actively involved in community events, committees, conferences, and talks.
Annual Events
Learn more about the 2023 MacMoves Week (held in October 2023) as well as the 2024 Thrive Week (January 2024).
Special Project Funding
2023-24 was the 4th year that McMaster Okanagan offered the McMaster community the opportunity to apply for small project funding related to improving health and well-being for McMaster students, staff, and faculty. The report gives small outcomes for the 9 successfully funded projects in the 2023-24 year.
Acknowledgements
The McMaster Okanagan Office of Health and Well-being would like to thank all our volunteers, as well as the students, staff and faculty who contributed to the success of 2023-24 year. We are also grateful to our many partners across campus who have partnered, collaborated, and worked with us over the last year and are passionately committed to improve the mental health, health and well-being of the McMaster community.
We would like to personally thank Paul O’Byrne, Susan Tighe, and Laura Harrington for their leadership and support of our work. Thank you also to the committed individuals who have been part of or championed the work of the McMaster Okanagan Committee over the past seven years. Finally, Lynn Armstrong and Catharine Munn would like to thank all the current and past members of the McMaster Okanagan Office of Health & Well-being team. We would not have been able to achieve any of this without your passion, dedication, and support.