The Whole U: Where We Are and Where We’re Going
Welcome to The Whole U’s new website! We are really honored to have the opportunity to serve the UW community. In this post, I will provide an overview of the program and tell you a little bit about where we hope to go from here.
What is The Whole U?
The Whole U is a holistic employee engagement initiative that helps connect UW faculty and staff with all of the great resources available at the University. With six areas of focus–Staying Healthy, Being Active, Eating Well, Life Events & Changes, Volunteerism, and Engaging Personal Interests–we aim to bring people and resources together to make it easier to live active, engaged lives.
Currently, The Whole U offers four core services. You are looking at the first one! Ever notice how our big, beautiful University seems to offer everything, but decentralization makes it difficult to find what you need? So did we. Our website brings together events, discounts, learning opportunities, social groups, and interesting stories from around the University and organizes them by theme. We hope to make it easier for faculty and staff to find what they need and connect with like-minded people outside of our organizational silos. New content is added several times a week from contributors all over the UW. We also maintain Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Instagram accounts so that we can quickly spread the word about fun things happening on campus, volunteer opportunities, discounts, and contests. Please follow us if you’d like to receive these updates.
Our second service is hosting community events that support healthy lifestyles and personal interests. From quarterly signature events that bring together large groups of the community to regular seminars with UW experts and smaller events offered in a variety of locations and times, watch our events calendar to find activities that match your interests. Recommendations drive our calendar so let us know if you have an idea for a seminar or activity.
Our third service is support for faculty and staff to lead their own activities and interest groups that fit the schedules and cultures of their corner of the University. If you have an activity or interest group idea, check out our toolkit that brings together information to get your idea off the ground. The Whole U also wants to celebrate all the great things that are already taking place through success stories and recognition, so please let us know what is happening in your department.
The final element of our program is our fantastic community of Whole U Ambassadors. Ambassadors are volunteer program representatives from all over the UW dedicated to helping their colleagues learn about and participate in The Whole U. Your department’s Whole U Ambassadors are also responsible for bringing the unique needs, interests, and concerns of your worksite back to The Whole U team so that we can be more responsive to the diverse communities that make up the UW.
How does The Whole U work?
It is our hope that The Whole U is always changing and growing more responsive to your needs. However, as you can imagine, trying to be responsive to the needs and interests of a group as large and diverse as UW faculty and staff is a huge job for a staff of six. To address this challenge, we need your help!
The Whole U relies on crowdsourcing for program ideas, content, and feedback via surveys, snap polls, and our web-based feedback form. Crowdsourcing leverages the vast knowledge of our community and enables our staff to identify top priorities. We also invite you to share your ideas with your ambassador, send us an email, give us a call, talk to us through social media, or set up a meeting. However you are most comfortable, we want to hear from you because it is through crowdsourcing that we can best leverage our vast community knowledge, identify top priorities, and ensure accurate and up-to-date information is being represented.
Know about a campus event that would be great to promote? Have an idea for an interesting seminar? Did we miss a discount? Want to see an article that brings together all of the resources available on your favorite topic? Let us know!
Where are we going?
Where the program goes from here is up to you and everyone who works at UW! We hope you will be involved in Whole U offerings as your interest and availability allows. With your feedback (and a little patience), we look forward to growing The Whole U to be as diverse, inclusive, and adaptable as the community it serves.