Exercise is Medicine On Campus names Georgia Southern Gold Level Campus

March 26, 2018

Volunteers encourage students to participate in the “Get off the Bus Gus and Walk for Your Health” campaign.

Georgia Southern University’s Statesboro Campus has been recognized as a Gold Level Campus by Exercise is Medicine® on Campus (EIM®-OC) for the University’s diligence to make physical activities a standard.

Using funds received last spring from a faculty service award, Department of Health Sciences and Kinesiology faculty members Greg Ryan, Ph.D., Rob Clouse, M.S., Amy Jo Riggs, Ph.D., Steve Rossi, Ph.D., and Bridget Melton, Ed.D., and students in the Southern Exercise Science Club worked in collaboration with several campus departments including Parking and Transportation, Health Services, and Campus Recreation and Intramurals to plan and promote the campus-wide physical activity campaign, “Get off the Bus Gus and Walk for Your Health.”

More than 100 exercise science undergraduate and graduate students assisted with the week-long campaign, which ran during Exercise is Medicine® Week in October. The campaign set out to encourage individuals to promote health and wellness throughout the Statesboro Campus by walking to their destination instead of riding the Southern Express transportation system. Campus volunteers were stationed at all major bus stops, and students who opted to walk instead of riding the bus were given tokens. The first 500 students to turn in four or more tokens were able to exchange them for a free t-shirt.

“We are thankful to Georgia Southern for providing support to allow for faculty to engage in meaningful service,” said Melton. “Being recognized as a Gold Level Campus really shows Georgia Southern’s commitment to our [campus] community’s health and wellness.”

Georgia Southern will be honored at a special EIM®-OC recognition session during the 2018 American College of Sports Medicine annual meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 30.

Georgia Southern University, a public Carnegie Doctoral/Research institution founded in 1906, offers 142 degree programs serving more than 27,000 students through nine colleges on three campuses in Statesboro, Savannah, Hinesville and online instruction. A leader in higher education in southeast Georgia, the University provides a diverse student population with expert faculty, world-class scholarship and hands-on learning opportunities. Georgia Southern creates lifelong learners who serve as responsible scholars, leaders and stewards in their communities. Visit GeorgiaSouthern.edu.