Wichita State offers weekly mindful meditation for staff and faculty

Wichita State used its June 22 newsletter to steer faculty and staff to a weekly mindful meditation group on the Rhatigan Student Center Patio. The sessions ran every Tuesday from 10:15 to 11 a.m. through July 28, with Counseling and Psychological Services, Human Resources and Staff Senate listed as hosts. No prior experience was needed, and participants were told to bring their own mat or blanket.

The setup made the practice easy to slot into a workday. The sessions mixed guided meditation, mindful breathing and quiet reflection, a simple format meant to reduce stress, improve focus and cultivate a greater sense of balance and wellbeing. For faculty and staff who wanted a low-pressure reset, the university framed the hour as a chance to slow down and be present rather than sign up for a formal class.

The meditation group was not an isolated gesture. Wichita State Staff Senate minutes from May 19, 2026, described it as one of two new summer wellness opportunities for employees, paired with a Faculty & Staff Running Wellness Group on Wednesdays at 4 p.m. That placement put mindfulness inside a broader employee-wellness lineup instead of treating it as a one-off perk.

Staff Senate’s own mission helps explain why it was involved. The group works to foster communication and collegiality among university staff and to serve as a liaison to university administration on issues of concern, which makes a meditation program a natural fit for a workplace group trying to do more than send out wellness reminders. CAPS added the campus counseling piece, tying the sessions to a department already focused on prevention and student support.

The choice of location mattered too. The Rhatigan Student Center was renamed in 1997 and sits as a central campus gathering place, so the patio offered a public but low-pressure setting for employees who might never have walked into a counseling office for mindfulness. Ben Flowers was listed as the contact for more information.

Wichita State made the point with the format itself: a Tuesday morning patio session, no prior experience required, and a mat-or-blanket setup that kept the barrier to entry low. That is the kind of workplace mindfulness program people can actually use between meetings, which is the real test for any campus wellness effort.