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Cathrine Duffy Appointed Director of Healthier U

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Cathrine Duffy, Healthier U Director

STONY BROOK, NY, January 7, 2020 – Cathrine Duffy, Director of Student Support in the Office of the Dean of Students at Stony Brook University, has been appointed Healthier U Director at Stony Brook University, effective January 2, 2020, announced Judith B. Greiman, Sr. Vice President for Government and Community Relations and Chief Deputy to the President.

Healthier U is Stony Brook University’s health and wellness program that focuses on improving the total well-being of employees, a major strategic priority for the University. As Director, Cathrine will be responsible for continuing the development of the Healthier U initiative and implementing a full suite of programs designed to support a healthy work environment and provide opportunities for staff and faculty to enhance their physical, fiscal and mental health. Cathrine will also eventually assume leadership responsibility for the Employee Assistance Program.

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Cathrine Duffy, Director of Healthier U (center); consults with Marie Turchiano, Interim Director of Recreation and Wellness (left); and Durron Newman, Assistant Director of Student Personnel (right) at the Walter J. Hawrys Campus Recreation Center.

“We are committed to promoting a culture at Stony Brook that values employee wellness and supports a healthy work space,” said Greiman. “The goal of Healthier U is to educate, encourage and empower our employees to make healthy decisions and lifestyle choices, while enhancing our sense of community and the culture of health and wellness. Cathrine has the skill set and background needed to guide Healthier U to the next level.”

According to a 2017 CareerBuilder survey, “3 in 5 workers (61%) say they are burned out in their current job, and 31 percent report high or extremely high levels of stress at work.” Implementing an employee wellness program in the workplace provides benefits for both the employee and the employer, including enhanced productivity, higher levels of engagement, and reduction in stress.

“Wellness is about the whole person,” said Duffy. “From behavioral and physical health to financial health and all the domains of wellness, for me all of these come together and impact how we show up at work. If we can help employees, through Healthier U, to enhance wellness at work and at home, then I’ll feel like we’re making a difference.”

In her role as Director of Student Support for the Office of the Dean of Students at Stony Brook University, Duffy oversaw programs that focused on the mental, physical, and academic well-being of 25,000 students and provide immediate crisis support for families and students. She has served on the CARE committee and represented the Dean of Students office on the Postvention Suicide Prevention Task Force and the International Student Success Task Force.

Duffy joined Stony Brook as a Founding Faculty Member and Academic Advisor for the School of Journalism at Stony Brook, where she taught undergraduate courses and co-coordinated the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High School Journalists. She previously worked at Newsday in various capacities including news editor, copy editor and deputy Long Island editor.

Duffy earned a Bachelors of Arts in English and a Master of Public Policy from Stony Brook University, and is currently enrolled in the Masters in Social Work program at Stony Brook. She was recognized as Woman of the Year in Education Administration in 2016, and has received several awards from Stony Brook University that recognize her commitment to the University and the profound impact she has made on the lives of students.

“I’d like each employee to feel like Healthier U has something for them. I’m hoping to do that by expanding the diversity of program offerings and opportunities to connect as a community,” said Duffy. “Ultimately, I’d like Healthier U to be considered a key benefit of employment at Stony Brook University.

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About Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University, widely regarded as a SUNY flagship, is going beyond the expectations of what today’s public universities can accomplish. Since its founding in 1957, this young university has grown to become one of only four University Center campuses in the State University of New York (SUNY) system with over 26,000 students, more than 2,700 faculty members and 18 NCAA Division I athletic programs. Our faculty have earned numerous prestigious awards, including the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Indianapolis Prize for animal conservation, Abel Prize and the inaugural Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics. The University offers students an elite education with an outstanding return on investment: U.S.News & World Report ranks Stony Brook among the top 40 public universities in the nation. Its membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU) places Stony Brook among the top 65 research institutions in North America. As part of the management team of Brookhaven National Laboratory, the University joins a prestigious group of universities that have a role in running federal R&D labs. Stony Brook University fuels Long island’s economic growth. Its impact on the Long Island economy amounts to $7.38 billion in increased output. Our state, country and world demand ambitious ideas, imaginative solutions and exceptional leadership to forge a better future for all. The students, alumni, researchers and faculty of Stony Brook University are prepared to meet this challenge.

 

 

 

 

 

Local editors’ note: Cathrine Duffy resides in Stony Brook, NY.

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