Barry University's SES Programs Receive 2023 Exercise is Medicine Silver Award for Promoting Campus-wide Health and Wellness Culture.
For the third year in a row, Barry University’s Sport and Exercise Sciences (SES) programs have been recognized by Exercise is Medicineâ for promoting a campus-wide culture of health and wellness. This year’s honor—the Silver Award—elevates Barry’s previous Bronze distinction and celebrates the SES-guided education initiatives that have inspired students, faculty, and staff to make movement a part of daily life.
A global health initiative led by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the Exercise is Medicineâ On-Campus (EIM-OC) program challenges college campuses to integrate fitness into traditional health care services. Barry is one of only 156 universities worldwide to earn the prestigious 2023 EIM-OC recognition and one of only 60 to win the Silver Award.
Professor Zacharias Papadakis, a longtime member and recently named Fellow of the ACSM, has been instrumental in guiding Barry’s SES programs and the Department of Health Promotion and Clinical Practice to create and facilitate sustainable, campus-wide movement and wellness programs that impact our community for the better. Among these initiatives is a referral system in which campus health care providers work in tandem with SES fitness specialists, creating whole-body treatment plans for students, faculty, and staff. In collaboration with Professor Tal Amasay, Dr. Papadakis also established the Exercise is Medicineâ and Barry Exercise Science student associations, which have organized fitness-related activities during the annual Nun Run and Homecoming events. They also partnered with Alena Costume, at Campus Recreation and Wellness, and Daniel Hill, at the Fitness Center, to further integrate campus wellness offerings with SES program expertise.
For Dr. Papadakis, earning the 2023 EIC-OC Silver Award is a welcome acknowledgement of the work he and Dr. Amasay have spearheaded over the past three years. “We put SES on the Exercise Science map on a global scale, not only for promoting the Exercise is Medicineâ initiative but also through our strong undergraduate research involvement,” he says, noting that more than 20 SES students have gained access to research opportunities and academic aid over the past few years. With the continued support of his colleagues and the Barry community, Dr. Papadakis hopes to build upon these recent achievements. “We have big dreams and goals for SES,” he says.
Dr. Papadakis will accept the Silver Award on June 1, 2023 as part of the Exercise is Medicineâ World Congress during the ACSM’s annual meeting in Denver.