The College of New
Rochelle Receives $125,000 Grant from
the Aetna Foundation to
Support Educational
Programming
Aimed at
Addressing Obesity
New Rochelle,
NY (July 6, 2005) -- The College of New Rochelle (CNR)
announced today that it has received a three-year, $125,000 grant from
the
Aetna Foundation to help support educational programming associated
with
addressing obesity.
“We are pleased to receive such a generous grant
from the Aetna Foundation,” said Dr. Stephen J. Sweeny, President of
the College
of New Rochelle.
“This grant will enable us
to expand key components in our health and wellness curriculum to
benefit our
students and the communities we serve.”
Sharon C. Dalton,
Managing Director of the Aetna Foundation, said, “We are delighted to
support
CNR’s Weight and Wellness module and applaud the College’s efforts to
address the
health risks associated with obesity.”
CNR announced plans last
month to build a $25 million, 60,000-square-foot holistic Wellness Center.
The Center, a critical academic facility, will be unique in the greater
New York
metropolitan
area, because it will bring together and integrate multiple disciplines
to help
students understand and practice principles of healthy living and
wellness
throughout their lives.
The Wellness
Center
will consist of several technologically equipped learning spaces for
conferences, seminars and classroom instruction. It will allow faculty
and
students to develop health and wellness education modules that address
the
specific curricular needs of the CNR communities as well as further the
larger
national goals of preventing major chronic illnesses, injuries, and
infectious
diseases. Healthy lifestyle habits will be taught to students at all
CNR campuses,
and they will be encouraged to become models of wellness.
In concert with and in
preparation for use of the Wellness Center,
the College
established the Wellness Center Committee. Composed of CNR executive
administrators and faculty, the Committee is responsible for developing
a broad
range of holistically integrated health and wellness education
programs. The
first educational module to be created was the Weight and Wellness
module,
which was successfully piloted and tested among a group of student
athletes
during the 2004-2005 school year. The need to offer such programs was
determined following the completion of a comprehensive Community Health
Assessment conducted by CNR senior nursing students enrolled in a
community
health course.
Year one of the Aetna Foundation grant will enable
the College to refine and retest the module through the CNR School of
New
Resources at its Brooklyn Campus in Bedford Stuyvesant. A
volunteer group of adult students will
enroll in the program.
Year two of the Aetna Foundation grant will enable
the educators to adapt the Weight and Wellness Module to the specific
needs of
each CNR campus.
During year three, funds will be spent on the use
of distance learning technology and the outfitting of smart classrooms
in the
new Wellness Center building (scheduled for completion in spring 2007),
as well
as for technical consulting and faculty development and training.
This will enable the College to deliver the
module electronically to external constituencies.
The Aetna Foundation grant
is among the first gifts from corporate foundations in support of the Wellness Center.
Over the past two decades, Aetna has
supported CNR through student scholarships, and participation in the
College’s
Centennial Gala in 2004 and at annual golf and tennis outings.
The Aetna Foundation is
the independent philanthropic arm of the Hartford, Connecticut-based
health
insurance company, Aetna.
Founded in 1972, the Foundation seeks to help
build healthy communities by funding initiatives that improve the
quality of
life where our employees and customers work and live. Since 1980, the
Foundation has contributed more than $270 million in grants,
scholarships, and
social investments. The Foundation’s giving is focused on addressing
racial and
ethnic disparities in health care.
Additional information about the Aetna Foundation is available at
www.aetna.com/foundation.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
The first Catholic
college for women in New York State,
The
College of New Rochelle was founded in 1904 by the Ursuline Order.
Today,
it comprises the all-women School of Arts & Sciences, and three
schools
which admit women and men: the School of New Resources (for adult
learners),
the School of Nursing and the Graduate School. The main campus of
the College is located in lower Westchester County, 16 miles north of
New York City. The College maintains six other campus locations
in New York
City. Visit the College’s website at www.cnr.edu
