Wellness. Webster’s New World Dictionary defines it as the condition of being healthy or sound, especially as the result of proper diet,
exercise, etc.

Provost Andrea Chapdelaine, Ph.D., calls it a “mind-body relationship” that includes good nutrition, physical fitness, and emotional, psychological and spiritual health, all of which can be achieved at Albright’s new Schumo Center for Fitness and Well-Being, opening this summer.

The center, made possible with a $4.75 million gift from Margaret K. Schumo and her daughter Cynthia Lynn, “is very much the student’s vision,” says Chapdelaine. “What we’ve created is really what they wanted,” she says. “Our hope is that we are able to provide opportunities for students to take a more thoughtful and holistic approach to well-being.”

Students, faculty, staff and donors Schumo and Lynn have been actively involved in creation of the facility, working with architects and designers to plan fitness and wellness programs and to design the facility to support them.

In spring 2006, students were surveyed and participated in focus groups to determine what types of programs and amenities were most desirable. The 22,000-square-foot facility, which is attached to the north and west side of the Bollman Center, houses a cardiovascular fitness room; a weight room; an aerobic room; a nutrition classroom; conference space; offices; locker rooms; an atrium; and a café featuring healthy snacks. Computers with software programs that track fitness goals will also be available.

Melissa Jaworksi ’09, a student representative on the programming committee, says she’s most excited about the possibilities of having Pilates, kickboxing and dance spaces available. “I would really love to see these programs expand over the next few years and am confident that they will be well received by the student body.”

In addition to a space for meditation, the spiritual component will include Eastern spiritual practices such as Hatha Yoga and Tai Chi – practices that share a common view that wellness can be cultivated through energy enhancement– says Victor Forte, Ph.D., assistant professor of religious studies, and a faculty representative on the programming committee. “They both provide a number of benefits, including improvements in tone, strength, energy, focus, calmness, confidence and longevity.”

Professor of Psychology Patricia Snyder, Ph.D.’70, who also serves on the programming committee, says she teaches students in her classes to understand the relationships among the psychological, physical and spiritual self, and the value of balance and moderation in life. “At a time when our world and the people who live in it seem out of balance, it is my hope that programs at the Schumo Center will provide hands-on research and personal experiential opportunities for some of our current students in psychobiology and psychology.”

Two new majors that would coincide with programs offered at the Schumo Center—nutrition and wellness—are also being explored and discussed, says Provost Chapdelaine. Medical schools are beginning to build courses about wellness and natural remedies into their programs, and only two colleges in the nation currently offer majors in wellness, she says. Although these possibilities are just in the discussion phase, if they are indeed offered, Chapdelaine says, “We could offer a uniqueness to our pre-med program. It would be a really interesting niche for us.”

The programs and facilities at the Schumo Center are also open to alumni and friends of the College, as well as the Berks County community.