Growing Greenup Arts and Wellness

Growing Greenup

Arts and Wellness

Anne Stephens

For The Ashland Beacon

Do you know that May is National Mental Health Awareness Month? I have been seeing a lot of information, stories, and encouragement on social media about the importance of managing mental health. We all need to be aware of maintaining a healthy mental balance. This topic hits close to home for me because I believe in the importance of mental health awareness and each person’s responsibility for their own mental healthcare.

I have shared in this column before about the wonderful resources provided by my employer, the University of Kentucky. Students and staff alike have access to these resources. I especially appreciate when colleges within the university come together to share their specialties.

The intersection of arts and wellness is something that intrigues me. I enjoyed reading the article: Social Work wellness program invites staff to connect with the arts. I believe this is a great thing and would like to see more of this in our community.

If you are interested in more information, please reach out to me. I encourage my readers to be receptive to the human need for creativity, connection, and self-care as it pertains to wellbeing. 

Partnership between Colleges of Social Work and Fine Arts seeks to improve faculty and staff wellness, deepen connection to UK by Emily Houp, Published May 1, 2025.

The College of Social Work and the College of Fine Arts at the University of Kentucky has announced a new partnership to support social work faculty and staff wellbeing. The partnership, which is part of the College of Social Work Wellness Initiative (CoSW WI), is designed to offer creative, accessible ways for employees to prioritize their well-being.  

The CoSW WI was implemented in 2023 and is part of the college’s Forward, Together Strategic Framework. The goal of the overarching initiative is to increase and foster pathways for faculty and staff to participate in wellness activities. Through this new partnership, CoSW employees and their families can access performances held at the Singletary Center for the Arts.  

“We want our college to be an ideal place to be educated, employed, and engaged,” said Jay Miller, dean of CoSW. “Our wellness initiative is a strategic effort to actualize those goals and offer self-care options and support to our people. This new partnership with the College of Fine Arts is but one example of such an option.”   

And if staff sentiments are an indicator, this new partnership will contribute to meeting that goal.   For Meagan Lederman, a University of Kentucky employee of five years and staff member in the College of Social Work (CoSW), finding a sense of community in a new city hasn’t always come easy. A transplant to Lexington, she admits it can sometimes feel challenging to connect beyond the boundaries of the workplace. 

“I think connection is a big part of wellness,” explained Meagan Lederman, a CoSW staff member. “But, as someone who is not from Lexington, it has sometimes been hard to make connection and build community that feels authentic and lasting.” 

But, participating in offerings from this new partnership have changed that.   

Through the CoSW-CFA collaboration, Meagan Lederman and her family recently attended a matinee performance of A Night on Broadway: Heroes and Villains by the UK Choristers at the Singletary Center for the Arts.  

“The performance was amazing,” she said. “Each song featured incredibly talented student singers and fun choreography. What I loved most was watching my 7- and 9-year-old children completely captivated—singing along and soaking in the energy.” 

Her daughter, inspired by the show, left wondering if she might one day be a UK Chorister herself. 

“It filled me with pride, not just in working at UK, but in seeing our students shine and imagining that my kids might want to be part of this community someday,” Lederman said. 

While this partnership is in its first year, Miller looks forward to continuing to explore and expand self-care and wellness options at CoSW.  

“I am extremely grateful to Dean Shanda, CFA, and The Singletary Center for the Arts for being open to creative partnerships that support wellness,” explained Miller. “We truly hope this serves as a model that others can replicate to build community and foster employee wellbeing.”   If Lederman’s experience is any indication, these partnerships can certainly have a big impact.  “Programs like this show how UK can bring people together,” Lederman added. “It helped my family feel connected to the university and to Lexington in a way that felt joyful and lasting.” 

For more information, contact Anne Stephens, Agent for Community Arts and Development in Greenup County. 606.836.0201 anne.stephens@uky.edu 35 Wurtland Avenue, Wurtland, KY 41144 The Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is an Equal Opportunity Organization with respect to education and employment and authorization to provide research, education information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function without regard to economic or social status and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information, age, veteran status, physical or mental disability or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.  University of Kentucky, Kentucky University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Kentucky counties, cooperating.