ERIC Number: EJ848815
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Jul-10
Pages: 1
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-5982
EISSN: N/A
Gettysburg College Takes Work-Life Balance Seriously
Wilson, Robin
Chronicle of Higher Education, v55 n41 pB8 Jul 2009
This article describes the work-life benefits Gettysburg College offers its employees. 400 of Gettysburg's 725 full-time employees participate in the college's wellness program. About half of them stick with it long enough to earn discounts of up to $500 a year on their health-insurance premiums. The wellness program--which includes free on-campus fitness classes like toning and Zumba dancing, free advice from nutritionists, and courses on preventing diabetes, eating well, and learning to relax--is partially sponsored by Gettysburg's insurer, Highmark Blue Shield. Many other features make Gettysburg a nice place to work, employees here say. They like its new $2-million child-care center and the college's generous maternity- and paternity-leave benefits. The campus is a comfortable place, where the faculty, staff, and administrators gather for what's known as the Friday afternoon social hour to eat, drink, and talk. In addition to its work-life benefits, Gettysburg is also known for being supportive of faculty members. Caroline A. Hartzell, a professor of political science, started a globalization-studies program three years ago with the college's encouragement. Now it ranks among the top 10 most-popular majors on campus. Junior faculty members can get a full semester's paid leave to work on research after their third year at Gettysburg. Susan F. Russell, chair of the theater-arts department, took advantage of the leave program and wrote two articles that helped her earn tenure.
Descriptors: Wellness, Fringe Benefits, Health Insurance, Employee Assistance Programs, Mental Health Programs, Quality of Working Life, College Faculty
Chronicle of Higher Education. 1255 23rd Street NW Suite 700, Washington, DC 20037. Tel: 800-728-2803; e-mail: circulation@chronicle.com; Web site: http://chronicle.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A