The University of Wisconsin-Superior’s Pruitt Center for Mindfulness and Well-Being and LiveWell Northern WI have partnered to better support the needs of the community.

Now known simply as LiveWell, the new initiative of the Pruitt Center will expand the organization’s reach and impact.

“This new relationship is going to significantly expand our capacity to organize, host and participate in activities that are meaningful to our students and community,” said Lynn Goerdt, social work professor and LiveWell Coordinator. “The majority of our activities will still be in the Superior community or on campus, but we are expanding our ability to engage in Minnesota since that is also where many of our students and staff live. Working with the Pruitt Center is a very natural collaboration because both our missions focused on improving well-being.”

Since its launch in Fall 2022, LiveWell has offered opportunities for the community to connect, find joy, and enhance their well-being. Led by UW-Superior faculty and staff and supported by the Miller-Dwan Foundation, Essentia Health St. Mary’s Superior Hospital, the Superior Rotary, and many community partners, LiveWell has hosted 141 events with over 1,100 participants.

Beginning in 2025, LiveWell will continue to grow and expand its reach as part of the Pruitt Center for Mindfulness and Well-Being. This transition aligns with the center’s mission and opens new opportunities for enhancing well-being throughout the community. Through #BetterTogether events that foster connection and joy, as well as Gatekeeper Trainings designed to equip community leaders with suicide prevention and mental health awareness skills, LiveWell is committed to creating a healthier, more connected community.

“I am most excited to work with the Pruitt Center team and students and have more time and capacity to work on this important initiative,” said Goerdt. “It feels like supporting well-being and building community is more important now than ever, and our campus is such a beautiful incubator of well-being innovation. I am really excited about all the amazing things we have already been doing together this winter and looking forward to even more.

“I just want to thank the funders, like Miller-Dwan Foundation, that got this off the ground and invested in our idea incubation. And for the UW-Superior administration for supporting innovation. It is such a beautiful way to contribute to the well-being of this region.”

The Pruitt Center for Mindfulness and Well-Being is dedicated to advancing the science and practice of mindfulness. It offers resources and expertise through events, classes, and workshops for both the UW-Superior campus and the broader community. The center aims to make mindfulness accessible, providing tools to help individuals manage stress, relationships, and their lives. A key priority is fostering community by building partnerships across the campus and the greater community.

Doug and Becky Pruitt first brought the concept of mindfulness and well-being research to the attention of Chancellor Renée Wachter and Vice Chancellor for Advancement Jeanne Thompson in 2014. Becky, a 1965 alumna, has long been involved in mindfulness and well-being practices, serving on the advisory board for the Greater Good Science Center at UC-Berkeley and working with the Center for Mindfulness, Compassion, and Resilience at Arizona State University.

In 2018, Doug and Becky Pruitt made the opening of the Pruitt Center at UW-Superior possible through a generous initial gift.

“We see UW-Superior as a gem in the Northland, and we believe there is no limit to the positive impact the center can have on students, faculty and staff, the community, and the region,” said Becky Pruitt. “We have been extremely impressed with the leadership of the center and fully support its vision of becoming a hub that serves the entire university system and beyond.”

Since its opening, the Pruitt Center has supported the mental health and well-being of thousands of UW-Superior students, employees, and the public through on- and off-campus workshops, training, mindfulness course offerings, guest speakers, yoga sessions and more.