“Our human resource will continue to be our wealth,” the Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (KNUST) Prof. Mrs. Rita Akosua Dickson, said on Saturday as she joined staff and students for a campus wellness walk and aerobics session, underscoring the link between health and institutional success.

More than 90 members of the university community participated in the exercise, organised by the KNUST Wellness Committee as part of routine efforts to promote physical fitness and mental well-being.

“If that is true, then it means our health is also our wealth,” Prof. Dickson told participants, noting that a healthy workforce is central to effective teaching, research and service.

Chairperson of the Wellness Committee, Dr. Mrs. Phyllis Tawiah, said the initiative reflects a broader approach to well-being that goes beyond physical exercise.

“The goal is comprehensive well-being,” she noted, urging participants to adopt lifestyles that nurture both body and mind.

She encouraged the university community to take advantage of recreational facilities on campus, including the swimming pool and open spaces, and highlighted gratitude and contentment as key principles for managing stress and enhancing quality of life.

Prof. Dickson commended participants for maintaining fitness routines despite academic pressures and changing weather conditions, describing the student turnout as evidence of a growing wellness culture at KNUST.

“We can never give what we don’t have,” she said. “For us to give life, work, and serve these students, we must have strength, energy and life ourselves.”

The session concluded with aerobics, after which the Vice-Chancellor wished participants well, ending with “Afihyia Pa!” a message of goodwill for a healthy and fulfilling season.

The university continues to expand wellness-focused initiatives as part of efforts to strengthen staff productivity, student engagement and overall campus well-being.