“‘When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot manifest, strength cannot fight, wealth becomes useless and intelligence cannot be applied.’ This quote lays the foundation for why it’s so important that each of us focus on the health of our students. What’s interesting is that this quote is not particularly new. This is from the doctor to Alexander the Great back in 335 B.C. The importance of focusing on student health and well-being is something people have understood for a very, very long time.”
— Susan H. Murphey, vice president emerita for student and academic services at Cornell University, presented the 2016 Robert F. Nicely Jr. and Donna C. Nicely Distinguished Scholar in Education Lecture on Friday, Nov. 18, at The Nittany Lion Inn. Her lecture, “Creating a Healthy Campus Environment for Students: It Takes a Village," focused on the importance of student health and well-being on college campuses. Murphey worked with students for 37 years at Cornell, and under her leadership the university changed first-year programming and Greek life, and expanded support programs for racial, ethnic, religious and LGBT communities.
Sponsored by Penn State’s College of Education, the Nicely Lecture is funded by the Robert F. Nicely Jr. and Donna C. Nicely Distinguished Scholar in Education endowment. Established by Robert and Donna Nicely, the endowment enables the College of Education to bring prominent educational scholars and speakers to the University Park campus to give speeches, meet with faculty, and lead seminars for students.
Robert Nicely is an associate dean emeritus and professor emeritus in the College of Education. He served on the Dean's Development Council for the Investing in People initiative from 2003 to 2007, and is a past member of the College of Education Alumni Society Board. Donna Nicely also retired from the College of Education, where she was the contracts and proposals specialist.