April 2022
The “Exercise is Medicine On Campus” (EIM-OC) program at UC Berkeley was honored for the 2nd year in a row with a Gold Level recognition award by the American College of Sports Medicine.
University of California, Berkeley is one of only 156 universities and colleges around the world to be honored by Exercise is Medicine® for its efforts to create a culture of wellness on campus. The presentation of lectures to University Health Services Primary, Urgent Care clinicians and to Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) clinicians and development of electronic Physical Activity/Exercise prescription and electronic referral of students to health coaching and fitness professionals who orient them to the EIM-OC program, helped University of California, Berkeley earn Gold level designation from the Exercise is Medicine® On Campus (EIM-OC) program.
“We are thrilled to recognize these campuses’ commitment to make movement a part of daily campus culture and give students the tools to cultivate physical activity habits that will benefit them throughout their lives. These campus programs are nurturing future leaders who will advance a key tenet of Exercise is Medicine: making physical activity assessment and promotion a standard in health care.”
- Robyn Stuhr, vice president of Exercise is Medicine
The Exercise is Medicine program at UC Berkeley was started in 2019 as a collaboration of University Health Services (UHS), Recreational Sports, the School of Public Health, and the Physical Education Program. EIM-OC at UCB is committed to the belief that physical activity promotes optimal health, is integral in the prevention and treatment of many medical conditions, and should be regularly assessed and included as part of health care. Since its inception, the program has successfully referred students for health coaching, physical activity assessment, and personal training. It also sponsored a celebration of EIM on Campus month where several online exercise classes were offered to students and hosted various conferences and lectures.
"EIM on Campus at Berkeley is a campus-wide program that utilizes physical activity to promote optimal health and is integral in the prevention and treatment of many medical conditions. It provides students with the tools necessary to strengthen healthy physical activity habits that can last a lifetime. The Gold award from the American College of Sports Medicine recognizes that UC Berkeley is at the forefront of Universities making physical activity and exercise part of daily campus culture. The collaboration between UHS, RSF, BPH and the PE program has been very successful in developing and growing the program.”
- Marlon Maus, MD, DrPH, FACS, UC Berkeley School of Public Health
We hope that this recognition will help increase awareness of the program around campus and encourage participation by students, faculty, and staff to promote the health and well-being of our student population through physical activity and exercise.
About Exercise is Medicine® (EIM)
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) co-launched Exercise is Medicine® (EIM) in 2007 with the American Medical Association as a global health initiative to make physical activity assessment and promotion a standard in clinical care, connecting health care with physical activity resources for people of all abilities. It calls upon universities and colleges to promote physical activity as a vital sign of health.
The EIM program at UC Berkeley encourages faculty, staff, and students to work together toward improving the health and well-being of the campus community by:
- Making movement a part of the daily campus culture
- Assessing physical activity at every student health visit
- Providing students with the tools necessary to strengthen healthy physical activity habits that can last a lifetime
- Providing a system allowing university healthcare providers to refer specific patients to health educators and fitness specialists