By Donald E. Messer, Executive Director for the Center for the Church and Global AIDS, former president of Dakota Wesleyan University.

Photo: DWU Avera Wellness Complex. Submitted photo.

MITCHELL, S.D. — Two prominent faith-based institutions have combined resources on the prairie of South Dakota to better serve the health and fitness needs of the community.

Dakota Wesleyan University and Avera Queen of Peace Hospital in Mitchell, S.D., have recently forged an alliance to promote wellness for both the 900-student campus and the city of 15,500.

Avera contributed $2.5 million toward the construction of the new $11.5 million DWU/Avera Sports and Wellness Complex for naming rights to the new facility.  Dedicating the facility in February 2016, the resident bishop of the Dakotas-Minnesota Area, Bruce R. Ough, hailed the new partnership as an ecumenical endeavor that benefits all people in the community regardless of their religious commitments.  He also acknowledged other key donors, including two couples--Donna and Paul Christen and Glenda and Fritz Corrigan--for their naming gifts, which enabled the college to construct debt-free the 85,000-square-foot facility.

The sports complex reflects a strong ecumenical relationship developing at Dakota Wesleyan. In 2013, the DWU Board of Trustees appointed Dr. Amy Novak as president, the first woman in the school's 130 year history to hold the position.

Bishop Ough, who is president of the United Methodist Council of Bishops, lauded Novak’s commitment to United Methodism, despite not being United Methodist herself.

"As a Catholic lay person, President Novak is highly knowledgeable of and deeply committed to the Wesleyan Way of personal and social holiness,” he said. “This commitment informs her leadership of Dakota Wesleyan and her bold ecumenical spirit."

Photo: Dr. Amy Novak, president of Dakota Wesleyan University addresses the audience at the dedication of the new DWU Avera Wellness Center. Bishop Bruce R. Ough (far right), resident bishop of the Dakotas-Minnesota Area looks on. Submitted photo.

A native of Mitchell, Novak is committed to partnerships.

“Avera Queen of Peace and DWU have a long history of partnering with one another,” she said.  “Our nursing students find practicum opportunities and employment with Avera, our athletic training students are mentored by Avera doctors, and our athletes are healthier and stronger thanks to Avera’s funding of our campus strength and conditioning coach. Both of our organizations are deeply committed to the wellness of the whole person – mind, body and soul.”

Photo: President Amy Novak visits with Bishop Bruce R. Ough, Dakotas-Minnesota Area at a meeting. Submitted photo.

The CEO of Avera Queen of Peace, Tom Clark, agrees.

“Partnering with Dakota Wesleyan is easy,” he said. “We have aligned values as organizations, a shared vision of what is possible when we work together, and a vested interest in the success of every student who attends DWU.”

Historically, the university always has had a diverse student enrollment.  Currently Roman Catholic students comprise 19 percent of the student population, and United Methodists 9 percent. Signs in the student center, citing quotations attributed to John Wesley and Mother Teresa, emphasize the school's ecumenical enrollment and outlook.

Photo: Signs of quotes from Mother Teresa and John Wesley in the campus center at Dakota Wesleyan University. Submitted photo.

Dakota Wesleyan University was one of  United Methodist institutions from across the world present at Higher Education night during the 2016 General Conference of The United Methodist Church in Portland, Oregon.