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Global health project Exercise is Medicine® gives gold status to Maryville College for its fitness promotion efforts

Key Takeaways

  • Maryville College earned gold status from Exercise Is Medicine® for promoting physical activity and wellness on campus.
  • The college’s efforts include weekly events like Recess on the Pearsons Quad and the annual Pumpkin Run.
  • This marks the 10th year Maryville College has achieved the designation, underscoring its commitment to health and wellness.
  • Dr. Jennifer Oody highlights the importance of teamwork in these initiatives, crediting vital support from staff like Ramona Crawford.
  • The Outdoor Enthusiast Expo is planned for Aug. 28-29, 2026, focusing on community engagement and appreciation for nature.

June 29, 2026

Exercise is Medicine ® (EIM) has awarded Maryville College a gold-level designation for its efforts to create a culture of physical activity and wellness on the MC campus.  

A global health project managed by the American College of Sports Medicine, EIM advocates for promotion of physical activity among faculty, staff and students, a challenge that Dr. Jennifer Oody — chair of the Maryville College Division of Health Sciences and Outdoor Studies — says has been met with campus-wide enthusiasm.  

Several wellness opportunities on campus helped the College earn a gold-level designation from the Exercise is Medicine® On Campus (EIM-OC) program. Specifically, the division planned and promoted weekly Recess on the Pearsons Quad, midday field games during the lunch hour in front of Pearsons Hall; Camp 4, a weekly outdoor recreation and fitness program hosted by Mountain Challenge, the on-campus team-building and outdoor nonprofit based on the MC campus; and the annual Pumpkin Run, an annual 5K through the Maryville College Woods that’s open to all ages. 

“It is well understood that a physically active lifestyle supports the academic success and the overall well-being of students, and our EIM programming is reflective of the Division of Health Sciences and Outdoor Studies’ long-standing commitment to the health of our campus and the surrounding community,” Oody said. 

This is the 10th year that Maryville College has earned the designation and the ninth year the College has earned gold-level status, largely due to the work that goes into on-campus health and wellness programs each year.  

“It is a high priority that the division remains engaged in the American College of Sports Medicine’s Exercise is Medicine® On Campus programming, and we are thrilled to earn Gold Status again this year,” said Oody.  

“It truly takes a team effort, and we wouldn’t be able to do any of this work without Ramona Crawford, administrative assistant for the Division of Education and Health Sciences and Outdoor Studies,” she added. “She keeps all our event schedules up and running, coordinates volunteers, processes all necessary paperwork, and maintains our records for our Recognition Report. She is critical to ensuring that our division can do this work, and we’re so thankful for her!” 

EIM-OC launched its recognition program in 2014 to honor campuses for their efforts to create a culture of wellness. Schools earn gold, silver, or bronze status based on their activities. Gold-level campuses have created a referral system where campus healthcare providers assess student physical activity and refer students as necessary to a certified fitness professional as part of medical treatment. 

Silver campuses engage students, faculty and staff in education initiatives and make movement part of the daily campus culture, while bronze-level campuses promote and generate awareness of the health benefits of physical activity. 

“Not many people know that this work began with support from an internal professional development fund, the Gibson Grant, during the 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 academic years,” Oody said. “Since then, we’ve continued this work and earned gold status for nine years (2017–2021; 2023–2026) and silver status in 2022. This is an incredibly impressive achievement for our campus.” 

This work will continue into the fall semester with some new and exciting activities, most of which will be finalized over the summer. However, the second annual Outdoor Enthusiast Expo is already planned for the end of August at Maryville College.  

While it is not an EIM-specific activity, Oody said it is all about getting people outside and moving together as a community to encourage wellness and environmental conservation.  

The Outdoor Enthusiast Expo is set for Aug. 28-29, 2026, and is a free, two-day event at Crawford House, the home of Mountain Challenge, that aims to bring together consumptive and non-consumptive outdoor enthusiasts to promote shared learning and appreciation for the natural world.

Maryville College is a nationally-ranked institution of higher learning and one of America’s oldest colleges. For more than 200 years we’ve educated students to be giving citizens and gifted leaders, to study everything, so that they are prepared for anything — to address any problem, engage with any audience and launch successful careers right away. Located in Maryville, Tennessee, between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the city of Knoxville, Maryville College offers nearly 1,200  students from around the world both the beauty of a rural setting and the advantages of an urban center, as well as more than 60 majors, seven pre-professional programs and career preparation from their first day on campus to their last. Today, our 10,000 alumni are living life strong of mind and brave of heart and are prepared, in the words of our Presbyterian founder, to “do good on the largest possible scale.”