Lunch and Learns
Our lunch and learns offer staff and faculty a learning environment which promotes healthy lifestyle choices by increasing awareness, and supporting lifestyle changes. Lunch and Learns also offer an opportunity to gather, create connections and build relationships, which helps support your social-emotional well-being. We know that healthier lifestyles among faculty and staff will in turn create happier, more productive individuals who benefit themselves, Macalester, and the greater community.
Upcoming Lunch & Learns
Inviting Insight: Cultivating Wisdom and Well-being in Troubling Times
Wednesday, April 22, 2026 – Focus: Mental and Spiritual Well-being
Drawing from the work of social, psychological and educational theorists, philosophers, practitioners and activists; and spanning both eastern and western spiritual traditions; insight is defined as the capacity to suspend habits of thought and emotion, thereby enhancing receptivity and heightening awareness, that leads to deeper understanding, personal well-being and enriched relationships. It is, in effect, a ‘way of knowing’ that can be developed by all people. In times of crisis, insight serves as a critical personal and societal resource. During this session, we will explore practical strategies shown to assist individuals in cultivating insight to enrich their own lives and the lives of others.
Ruthanne Kurth-Schai has recently completed nearly 40 years of teaching, scholarship and service at Macalester College, including 30 years as chair of the Educational Studies Department. Throughout her time at Macalester, her work on campus, in the community, across the U.S and abroad, has been enriched by intensive study and teaching of tai chi and qigong through the Tilopa Tai Chi/Qigong Center in Minneapolis, in addition to study and practice of Buddhist approaches to insight meditation both locally and in Thailand.
Register to join us for lunch catered by Bon Appetit at 11:45, Wednesday, April 22 in the Leonard Center’s Hall of Fame room. The presentation will be from 12:00 to 12:50 p.m.
Past Lunch & Learns
Mind Body Spirit Heart Health
Wednesday, February 25, 2026 – Focus Area: Heart Health & Stress Management
Please join us for a hybrid lunch and learn. Dr. Courney Jordan Baechler with Park Nicollet Heart and Vascular Center will join us via Zoom to help us:
- Understand stress and the impact on cardiovascular health
- Practical approaches to reducing the impact of stress on our cardiovascular health
- Learn about a new heart age calculator developed by researchers, which translates cardiovascular disease risk
Lunch will be catered by Bon Appetit at 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday, February 25 in the Leonard Center’s Hall of Fame room. The presentation will be from 12:00 to 12:50 p.m. Register to join us on Zoom or for lunch.
Alcohol Use Screening and Interventions
Wednesday, November 19, 2025 – Focus Area: Heart Health & Cancer Prevention
Have you wondered what life might be like with less alcohol? Want to try another approach to lowering your blood pressure or reducing your risk for cancer? You’re in good company.
On Wednesday, November 19 WHAM will host Dr. Paul Anderson, MD, MPH, Regional Medical Director for HealthPartners and a Lifestyle Medicine practitioner for a virtual Lunch & Learn exploring effective alcohol use screening and interventions. In this informative session, you’ll learn the crucial role of moderating alcohol use in preventing common chronic diseases and improving overall longevity. Dr. Anderson will cover evidence-based approaches that promote wellbeing and reduce health risks.
This session will also serve as a kick-off for our next Mindful Drinking Group Coaching series led by our health and well-being coach, Kelly Fang. To learn more and register, visit the Mindful Drinking Group Coaching Form.
Register to join us for the Lunch & Learn on Zoom at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 19.
Reimagining Perimenopause and Menopause Hormone Therapy
Wednesday, September 24, 2025 – Focus: Mental and Physical Health
Join our health coach, Kelly Fang, for a vital Lunch and Learn to discuss the recent FDA hearing on Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT). This session will delve into how experts are challenging outdated medical dogma and the harm caused by misconceptions surrounding the 2002 WHI study. We’ll explore the significant, often overlooked, health benefits of MHT, including its potential for cardiovascular health, bone strength, and cognitive function.
Discover the crucial nuances of hormone formulations, routes, and timing, and learn about the urgent call for the removal of misleading blackbox warnings that create unnecessary fear and barriers to care. This is an opportunity to separate evidence from myth and gain a deeper understanding of this critical topic in women’s health.
Lunch will be catered by Bon Appetit at 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday, September 24, in the Leonard Center’s Hall of Fame room. The presentation will be from 12:00 to 12:50 p.m.
The Pursuit of Happiness: Creating A Sustainable Work-Life Balance (Virtual)
Wednesday, March 26, 2025 – Focus: Stress Management
In our rapidly changing world, stress has become ever so invasive in our lives; information overload, changes in technology, information processing, social networking, social media, and global economic dynamics affect everything from our sleep patterns, work habits and eating behaviors to communication styles and exercise habits; all of which affects health and productivity.
This session offers wisdom, insights and practical life skills for both personal growth and professional development. Topics to be discussed include establishing healthy boundaries, achieving a work-life balance, and essential coping and relaxation skills to help create and maintain a sustainable work-life balance. Creating a happy life is very possible, but first we must lay a solid foundation incorporating healthy boundaries and positive coping skills. Included in this presentation are valuable positive psychology, take-home tools and skills for all participants, based on our speaker’s WELCOA book, The Road to Wellness.
Learning objectives include:
- Define the concept of “Healthy Boundaries” in one’s personal life.
- Identify several positive coping skills for personal work-life balance.
- Illustrate one relaxation skill for personal work-life balance.
Brian Luke Seaward, Ph.D. is recognized nationally and internationally as one of the foremost experts in the field of Resiliency, Stress Management and Corporate Health Promotion. In addition to being regarded as an esteemed inspirational/motivational speaker, the wisdom of Brian Luke Seaward can be found quoted in PBS specials, The Chicago Tribune, The Huffington Post, college graduation speeches, medical seminars, boardroom meetings, church sermons, and keynote addresses all over the world. He has authored more than twenty (20) books, including the popular best sellers, Stand Like Mountain, Flow Like Water, The Art of Calm and Stressed Is Desserts Spelled Backward and the leading award winning college textbook, Managing Stress (11 ed). His corporate clients include Hewlett Packard, Royal Caribbean, Wells Fargo, TransAmerica