Program encourages healthy habits among Harrisburg faculty, staff

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — More than 70 faculty and staff members at Penn State Harrisburg participated in a challenge during the spring semester to promote healthier living, a program offered for the first time through a partnership between the campus’s Center for Fitness and Wellness and the center’s longtime supporter, the Ackroyd Family Foundation. 

The Healthier Days Campaign, which was also supported by the college’s Staff Advisory Council and Faculty Senate, challenged participants to track individual health habits with a goal of making healthier choices on a variety of behaviors. The eight-week campaign, which began in January, followed the Healthier Days program designed by Ted Ackroyd and the Ackroyd Family Foundation. 

“I believe everyone can do something to live healthier,” said Ackroyd, executive director of the foundation and a longtime supporter of the college. “We’re simply encouraging people to try, just try, to live a little healthier today than yesterday.” 

Participants formed teams and turned in weekly tracking sheets, earning points for increasing healthy behaviors — increasing their exercise, drinking enough water or getting enough sleep, for example. The center, staffed by Rebecca Mallinson, director, and Josh Gray, center manager, collected the data and sent out weekly tips and advice. 

Mallinson, assistant teaching professor of kinesiology in the School of Behavioral Sciences and Education, said the participation was well beyond what she had anticipated. 

“I think what I enjoyed the most was seeing how many of the teams connected and had a desire for this to continue,” she said. “There really seemed to be a desire for healthier living in the community, which is encouraging.” 

At a gathering to close out the campaign, participants talked about the ways they encouraged each other and shared advice among teammates. Ackroyd said he found it gratifying to hear those stories. 

“I like the creativity that is born in a university environment, and it was evident in this campaign,” he said.  

The points that participants earned from practicing the healthy behaviors translated into real dollars for the college from the Ackroyd Family Foundation. The campaign raised $1,750, and participants voted on how to spend the money, choosing to invest it in a variety of health initiatives tailored for the campus community. 

“Not only was this fun, we accomplished healthy habits, we had camaraderie and accountability,” Gray said during the closing luncheon, listing ways participants could continue to participate through group walks, recipe groups and other healthy activities. 

Center for Fitness and Wellness services expand 

The campaign also marked an expansion of services for the center. 

The Center for Fitness and Wellness originally opened in 2018 but closed during the pandemic. The Ackroyd Family Foundation provided funding to reopen the center in 2022 and has been financially supporting the center ever since. 

“It has been a privilege to work with Dr. Ackroyd,” Mallinson said. “He not only has provided the necessary financial support for the functioning of the center, but he is also engaged in the programming and vision of the center, which allows for fruitful collaboration. It has been rewarding to observe how the center has been beneficial for students, staff and faculty on campus, and Dr. Ackroyd’s support of the center helps to make that possible.”   

The center traditionally provided services such as fitness assessments, personal training and general nutrition advice to students from its location in the Capital Union Building. The Healthier Days campaign helped kick off the extension of those services to faculty and staff. Ten participants in the campaign used the services of the center during the challenge. 

Ackroyd has been a part of the Penn State Harrisburg community for years, he said, noting that he also used to teach at University Park, and his daughter and another member of his foundation team are Harrisburg graduates. 

“I’m thankful that we have a collaborative relationship,” Ackroyd said, adding that he would welcome other donors to work with him and the center to continue expanding the effort to create a healthier campus and community. 

Donors like the Ackroyd Family Foundation advance the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.