On Feb. 11, the Anthropedia Center for Well-Being, comprised of the Anthropedia Academy and The Wellness Agora, opened its doors to the public. After being approached by the previous owner, the Wellness Agora is now located in where the Library Annex once resided.

One of the main purposes of the center is to help people reach their fullest potential and relieve the stress that drags an individual down through a bio-psycho-social-spiritual model. The Anthropedia Foundation, whose research informed The Wellness Agora, was founded by Lauren Munsch Dal Farra, M.D., Sita Kedia, M.P.H., M.D., and Kevin Cloninger, P.h.D., in St. Louis in 2004. 

Cloninger, Executive Director of the Anthropedia Foundation, as well as Lara Pennington, MSW, Director of Development and Community Engagement for the Anthropedia Foundation, felt that there was a lack of well-being, self-knowledge, meaning and purpose in today’s individuals alongside a world that is increasingly unstable. 

“Twenty years ago when we were getting started it was not obvious to anyone that these problems would be as bad as they are now,” said Cloninger. 

Sensing the degree to which individuals stress were affecting them, Cloninger felt that something had to be done to help, and The Wellness Agora was born. 

The Anthropedia Center for Well-Being offers various ways for individuals to not only learn how to reach their fullest potential and decrease stress, but also to teach others to do the same. These come in the form of coaching and different services that target an individual’s biological and psychological well-being. By being coached, an individual can learn how to lead a better, and more fulfilling life. By becoming certified in a training course, an individual can share what they’ve learned and help others to follow in a path of a healthier lifestyle and being. 

“I went through the training with that personal development in mind, but also for the professional implementation of the curriculum. And I fell in love with the curriculum,” stated Pennington on her experience before joining the team in April of 2018. 

Osha Chesnutt-Perry, a junior at SLU, reflects on her time with Anthropedia and The Wellness Agora with gratitude. “I have been fortunate to try some of these services in New York and have already reaped benefits in decreasing my anxiety, and look forward to continuing to use what’s offered here to support my academic and professional pursuits,” stated Chesnutt-Perry.

The services offered by The Wellness Agora target an individual’s body and mind, seeking to help relax, renew and recharge. Some of these services included an iso float, a thermal relax, infrared sculpt, biobalance and various other biologically based services. 

For all services, students in the St. Louis area will receive a 25 percent discount. For all SLU students with a valid ID, they will receive a 50 percent discount.

On Dec. 13, 2019, Dr. Mona Hicks, the Associate Vice President and Dean of Students for the Division of Student Development at that time, ended her successful career at SLU. Dr. Kent Porterfield, the Vice President at the time, also stepped down soon after. Their leave left empty spaces in the division, and the university has since undertaken a search to fill those seats. While the search for an associate and permanent vice president will continue, Dr. Debra Rudder Lohe has taken on the role of serving as the Interim Vice President for the Division of Student Development. 

Lohe stepped into her new role with a considerable amount of experience. In her almost 25 years of serving higher education, more than 10 of those have been at SLU. While bringing along the skills and experience she’s attained from years in the field, she’ll also have the support and aid of the Interim Associate Vice President and Dean of Students, Donna Bess Myers. “Being able to serve as that support to Dr. Debie and moving things along—that’s what we’re here for.” stated Myers, when speaking of her and other staff members support for Lohe.

“The full set of things that are really focused on students, that are not academic, that are not faculty in classrooms, all of that is under the umbrella of student development,” said Lohe about the function of the division.

While many were concerned about the changes that a new temporary leadership may bring to the division, Lohe described her and Myers’ role as only being to progress things that are currently going on in the division. “I think the way that [Myers] and I think about the interim role is we’re keeping things going, keeping the ships in the water, [and] allowing things that were already in process to continue to move forward,” said Lohe. 

The Division for Student Development is of the utmost importance to many students and staff, and both Lohe and Myers plan on keeping it that way. With pressing issues like student mental health and preparation for next year’s incoming class, the Division for Student Development aims to ensure that staff members feel supported and have all the resources they need to help students here at SLU. 

For the Division of Student Development, student’s mental health is at the forefront. “[Student mental health and wellness], that continues to be on the minds of folks in student development, and I think to the extent we can continue to be good voices for what are the kinds of programs we need, what are the resources we need, and how do we empower you to be helpful to each other, so I think student wellness is a big, top of the list,” said Lohe.

Although Lohe is only serving as the Vice President for Student Development temporarily, she is here to serve nonetheless with the aid of Myers. “Anything for students, that’s the cool thing about our gigs, anything for students.”, said Myers, reflecting on her and Lohe’s positions.

On Aug. 12, 2017, Charlottesville, Virginia made worldwide news as the sight of white supremacist riots. In the wake of this event, many departments at SLU began to respond to the incident, including the Department of Theological Studies. “We wanted to show that Theological Studies could respond, that Theology and Religion had something to say about these important moral issues going on,” said Elizabeth Block, Ph.D., assistant professor of Christian ethics. In the fall of 2017, the Department of Theological Studies responded to this social conflict by implementing the “Religion and Complex Social Issues Series.” 

For their initiative to address various social issues in society pertaining to religion and theology, the series held their first talk on “Racial Violence and God Talk”. The discussion was an open and inviting environment to discuss the recent conflicts going on, including input and responses from both students of SLU and faculty members from the Department of Theological Studies. Block speaks on the discussion saying, “We talked about the white supremacy, racism and gave theological responses to that. [We] showed how Theology and Religion are relevant.” 

Highlighting the future of the “Religion and Complex Social Issues Series,” Block poses a simple question: “Wouldn’t it be great if we could have these kinds of events more frequently where we respond to contemporary moral problems and challenges? [We would] bring together [people] from our departments, and also other departments, or those outside the university to have a panel where we talk a little bit, but we also open it up to student and faculty dialogue.” Since Charlottesville, the Department of Theological Studies has expanded their efforts to provide a space where students and faculty can engage in a conversation relating to social issues, religion, and theology, with panels on abuse in the church, immigration and deportation, and voting and values.

This year, the Religion and Complex Social Issues Series has decided to use a different medium to engage in a discussion of social issues and religion—film. Block, Rachel Lindsey, Ph.D., Professor of U.S. Religious History, and Emily Dumler-Winckler, Ph.D., assistant professor of constructive theology, are this years coordinators for the series. Lindsey introduced the idea of “Jesuits In the Movies” as a contemporary form of communication for the series. The idea is to have someone introduce the films, speak on issues to look for while watching the film, and then allow for discussion and dialogue after the film has concluded. “Theology and Religion are not just these discrete, isolated disciplines, but they really can speak to and help us to understand these things going on in the world,” said Block. “[It helps] to be able to really engage theology as it is out in the world,” added Lindsey on the decision to use film this year. 

The “Jesuit in the Movies” events began on Sept. 26, 2019, with the film “On the Waterfront,” and will continue until April 16t, 2020, concluding with “The Mission.” The next film in the sequence is “The Exorcist,” with a date being determined. The following films being shown in the spring are “The Hoodlum Priest” on Feb. 6, and “Romero” on March 26. Pizza, beverages and snacks will be provided by the Department of Theological Studies.