The Okanagan Charter | Springfield College

The Humanics mission of Springfield College is to educate all students in spirit, mind, and body for leadership in service to others. Directly aligned with this mission, our effort is to prioritize the College’s commitment to health and well-being. This commitment extends beyond the programs and services provided to students, faculty, and staff, and intentionally addresses the entire campus community through addressing the systems and settings that can make Springfield College a healthier place for all.

Formal Adoption of the Okanagan Charter

On April 23, 2024, Springfield College will be formally adopting the “Okanagan Charter: An International Charter for Health Promoting Universities and Colleges” that places health and well-being of students, faculty, and staff at the forefront.

What Does Adopting the Charter Mean?

In adopting the Okanagan Charter, Springfield College will continue to work towards a healthier campus community in people, place, and planet. The College maintains its position of leadership by reinforcing our commitment to health and well-being. A healthy campus for all will improve the lives of those who live, study, and work here, and will pay dividends in concrete outcomes, such as employee and student retention.

In adopting the Okanagan Charter, Springfield College acknowledges these aspirations and calls to action, and commits to creating a healthier community for all.

Our Health Promoting Campus Plan

About the Okanagan Charter

The Okanagan Charter remains the most impactful and aspirational framework for institutions of higher education to pursue well-being for all. The Okanagan Charter includes two calls to action for health promoting colleges and universities:

  1. Embed health into all aspects of campus culture, across the administration, operations, and academic mandates; and 
  2. Lead health promotion action and collaboration globally and locally.1

The Okanagan Charter was an outcome of the 2015 International Conference on Health Promoting Universities and Colleges held on the University of British Columbia's Okanagan campus in Kelowna, Canada. The Charter development process engaged researchers, practitioners, administrators, students and policy makers from 45 countries, and a Pledge to bring the Charter back to their settings was signed by higher education leaders and delegates, as well as representatives from the World Health Organization, Pan American Health Organization and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization1The Charter was developed on the territory of the Okanagan Nation, and the Okanagan Nation had representation at the 2015 International Conference on Health Promoting Universities and Colleges

1 Ryan M. Travia , James G. Larcus , Stacy Andes & Paula G. Gomes (2022) Framing well-being in a college campus setting, Journal of American College Health, 70:3, 758-772.