Health and Exercise Science Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice

Molly Gutilla, assistant professor, teaches epidemiology, research methods, and data analysis courses in public health. Dr. Gutilla believes learning about health equity is central to public health education and working within a community is the key to making positive changes that support health for all. In the classroom, she works with students to co-create inclusive learning environments since students do their best learning in environments where they feel a sense of belonging. Here teaching and learning philosophy prioritizes the importance of the application of material to the larger system in which students are living, learning, and working. While much of the content within epidemiology is technical, her goal is for the micro to translate into the macro and be used to save and improve lives, illustrating that health is a human right.

Using the lens of social determinants of health to explore and discuss health inequity

Kathy Hutcheson, senior instructor, provides her students in HES 355 Integration of Health Behaviors the opportunity to learn about the different Social Determinants of Health, such as economic stability, education access and community. Social Determinant of Health are factors that impact the health of a community that is often beyond the control of their own personal choices. Students discuss how Social Determinants of Health influence health and health inequity for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and people that are members of the LGTBQ+ community, who are often the most impacted by these factors.  They also discuss how individual and institutional discrimination can impact health behaviors and access to healthcare.

The course content in HES 145 – Health and Wellness was recently expanded to educate students on the Social and Physical Determinants of Health, or the nonmedical aspects of health that are often beyond our control yet influence health outcomes.  Social Determinants of Health often lead to health inequities, especially within the  BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and the LGBTQ+ communities.  Health equality is a human right and should be a universal goal.  The class, which was re-engineered by Wendy DeYoung and her team of other HES 145 instructors, identifies several health, fitness, and wellness disparities among various populations and discusses societal approaches and programming to help decrease or eliminate these inequalities. The department hopes that this class can be used as a model of how other classes can integrate DEIJ ideas into their course content and has begun the process of getting the course recognized as part of the AUCC CORE class offerings for the university as a whole.

Kimberly Burke, an instructor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science and the director of the Adult Fitness Program, provides a student learning environment as well as health and fitness access for the community of CSU through Adult Fitness. Employees of CSU, as well as those in the greater Fort Collins area of all adult ages and backgrounds are welcome to join the program. As a dual outreach and educational program, students get hands-on experiences in their area of study, and members of the program get individualized exercise programs tailored to their needs and abilities created by the students, helping many underserved adults get access to quality personalized training.

Brian Butki is a senior teaching assistant professor, director of the department’s summer Youth Sport Camps, and a first-generation college graduate. Dr. Butki is interested in promoting health and well-being among children and families, especially as it relates to physical, emotional, and social wellness. The CSU Youth Sport Camps are the centerpiece of an inclusive, friendly, wellness-based program designed to promote lifelong wellness activities. Everyone is welcome. Children and families of all ethnicities and abilities can benefit from participation in healthy lifestyle activities, and we strive to help everyone experience the positive and diverse benefits of physical activity. A scholarship donation program ensures that youth from all socio-economic backgrounds can participate in the camps. The Commitment to Campus program offers discounts to CSU faculty and staff families.

Exercise is Medicine ® on Campus is a nationwide program that we have adopted on campus as a referral program, partnering with the CSU Health and Medical Center, to pair individual campus community members with peer mentors to help guide them in beginning a fitness regimen to pair with their health and wellness goals. Rick Perry, an instructor in Health and Exercise Science, helped to build this unique collaboration on our campus which allows students, staff, and faculty who have received an exercise recommendation from their healthcare provider to connect with exercise consultants from the HES department for further information and guidelines. These one-on-one consultations help referrals build understanding and confidence when incorporating more movement into their daily or weekly schedule and help you discover the personalized answers to your questions regarding how exercise fits into your life. The mission of Exercise is Medicine – On Campus (EIM-OC) is to foster collaborative relationships and leadership on campus between exercise, health, and other disciplines that support the EIM-OC vision and goals.