March 25, 2005

WorkLife Programs to offer employee health-management symposium

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue WorkLife Programs will present The Big Picture, an employee health-management symposium for professionals the areas of work life, wellness and employee assistance on April 21-22 at various locations in Stewart Center.

Shelley MacDermid, professor of child development and family studies at Purdue and the director of the Midwestern Work-Family Association, will give the symposium's keynote address at 8:15 a.m. on April 21 in Stewart Center, Room 218.

MacDermid's presentation is entitled "Wellness, Work and Life: What's the Big Picture?"

Registration for the symposium costs $20 for students with Purdue I.D., $75 for the general public before March 31 and $100 for the general public after that date. The fee covers breakfast and lunch on April 21, breakfast on April 22 and various symposium materials.

"National conferences usually focus on one area of employee health management," said Branna Smith, WorkLife manager at Purdue. "This symposium, which we believe to be the first of its kind in this region, will provide a unique opportunity for work life, wellness and employee assistance professionals to discover how these three areas can work together in contributing to a healthy workplace."

In addition to MacDermid's address, the event will feature two other presentations intended for the general symposium audience.

The first of the general presentations, entitled "Coming Together: Cornell University's Approach to the WorkLife/Wellness/EAP Evolution," is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. on April 21 in Stewart Center, Room 218.

The second presentation, entitled "Don't Sweat the Petty Things and Don't Pet the Sweaty Things: How Happy Humor Helps Humans Heal," is scheduled for 8:15 a.m. on April 22 in Stewart Center, Room 218. That presentation will be led by Barry Schreier, coordinator of training for Counseling and Psychological Services at Purdue, who also is the leader of the improvisational comedy group One Size Fits All.

The symposium also will include 18 individualized seminars designed to address specific work life, wellness and employee-assistance issues. The seminars run concurrently in groups of three throughout the event.

Registration forms are available at the WorkLife Programs office, 501 Hayes St. Those interested in attending also can register online at www.conf.purdue.edu/worklife.

Registration forms and fees should be submitted online or by mail to OCEC Business Services, Purdue University, Stewart Center, Room 110, 128 Memorial Mall, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2034.

Writer: Aaron Martin, (765) 496-3133, martinac@purdue.edu

Sources: Branna Smith, (765) 496-3084, branna@purdue.edu

Erin Lukesh, WorkLife Programs, (765) 496-7435, elukesh@purdue.edu

Kathy Walters, Purdue conferences planner, (765) 496-3084, kw@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

Note to Journalists: Media are welcome at the events. To make arrangements, contact Kathy Walters, Office for Continuing Education and Conferences, at (765) 496-3084, kw@purdue.edu.

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