Student Health & Wellness  ·  University of Utah

Building the Road Together

All-Teams Retreat  ·  2026

Every department. Every staff member. One room.
This is what it looks like when a division comes home to itself.

Read What 40 of You Said → See the Day
Our story
For the Record — Why This Retreat Exists

This Has Never Happened Before. Until Now.

The All-Teams Retreat is an annual tradition — but it is a new one. When Dr. Sherrá Watkins stepped into the role of Associate Vice President for Student Health & Wellness in 2022, not all of the departments we now call home were under one health and wellness line.

One of her earliest and most intentional goals was to change that — to bring every department under one roof, not just administratively, but relationally. To build a division that actually knows itself.

Dr. Sherrá Watkins
"Staff who had been here for years told me: this has never happened — even when these departments were under other AVPs before the new alignment. That told me everything I needed to know about where to start."

— Dr. Sherrá Watkins, AVP, Student Health & Wellness

The All-Teams Retreat is the living answer to that gap. It is not a staff meeting. It is not a training. It is the annual act of the division gathering in one space to see each other, know each other, and recommit to the students we serve — together.

The driving values have always been the same: collaboration, intentionality, and working within the ecosystem among each other — breaking down the silos that keep talented people from knowing the powerful work happening right next door.

🤝
Collaboration
Eleven departments. One division. The retreat is where we stop working in parallel and start working together — across units, across functions, across the silos.
🎯
Intentionality
Every element of this retreat is designed with purpose. You will leave knowing more about your division than when you arrived — and more about your role within it.
🌱
Belonging
You belong in this room. Your department belongs in this division. The retreat exists so that truth is not just stated — it is felt.
Friday, May 8, 2026 — At a Glance

What to Expect

9:00 AM
Check-In & Breakfast
Doors open. Light breakfast. Name tags available. Connection time before the day begins. Official program starts at 9:30 AM.
9:30 AM
Welcome & Grounding
Dr. Watkins opens the day. We name what we heard in the survey — and what we're doing about it.
9:40 AM
Who Are We
Where we started. What alignment means. Why every department in this room matters.
9:50 AM
You Asked. We Answer.
Direct responses to themes from the pre-retreat survey: compensation, accountability, silos, communication, and trust & psychological safety. Specific commitments. Specific dates.
10:00 AM
Programs & Initiatives
One full hour combining the strategic roadmap and KPIs, current programs and initiatives, the impact findings report, and the branding reveal — because they belong together. How your work connects to the four division-level KPIs. The 2021–2025 Impact Report as our story in the data. The Branding Toolkit and campaign theme: Support for Your Well-Being, Your Way. Medicat EHR rollout, the Referral Coordination Program, and the Partnership with Undergraduate Studies cluster.
11:00 AM
☕ Break
Ten minutes. Stretch. Refill. Step outside if you need to.
11:10 AM
Director Updates — All Departments
One full hour. Every director. What did we do? What are we building? Who on your team should be named today? What do we need from you?
12:10 PM
🏆 Lunch + Staff Recognition Awards
One full hour. Intentional seating — sit with someone from a different department. Recognition Awards across four FY25 categories: Student Impact, Leadership & Initiative, Innovation & Improvement, and Service Excellence. Recipients announced as a surprise during lunch.
1:10 PM
Interactive Activity
One hour and fifteen minutes. Cross-departmental teams engage with the SH&W ecosystem through play — learning what each department does, where work intersects, and what we don't yet know about each other.
2:25 PM
Closing & Commitment
One word. One commitment. One thing you're taking back to your team.
2:40 PM
🌿 Wellness Your Way
Optional. Staff are welcome to engage in networking with each other, crafting, or headshots — or you can choose wellness by ending the day early. No movement activity. No gifts.
3:00 PM
Adjourn
The road continues — now we build it together.
Your Voice Shaped This Day

What 40 of You Said

Forty of your 120+ colleagues — about a third of the division — filled out the pre-survey. The results below are what shaped May 8: the seven themes, the two numbers, and the only finding that was unanimous across departments — that 31 of 40 of you named student care as our defining strength.

Read the Full Pre-Survey Summary → Download Handout (PDF)

Two scale numbers · Seven themes · What May 8 does about each · Where the work hasn't reached yet

More Context · The Higher Ed Landscape

Dr. Watkins serves on the NASPA 2025 Top Issues in Student Affairs Advisory Committee and is featured by name in the Health, Safety & Well-being follow-up brief. The reports below show what 144 vice presidents for student affairs nationally rank as their top priorities. The fourth resource is the new Standards for Campus-Based Advocacy Services (NASPA, Every Voice Coalition, NOVA · January 2026).

NASPA · Main Report
2025 Top Issues in Student Affairs
144 VPSAs ranked 50 issues. Basic needs & collaboration top the list.
NASPA · Follow-Up Brief
Health, Safety, & Well-being
Features Dr. Watkins on basic needs & institutional integration.
NASPA · Follow-Up Brief
Administration & Governance
Compliance, revenue generation, organizational structure.
NASPA · Every Voice · NOVA
Standards for Campus-Based Advocacy Services
January 2026 framework for trauma-informed survivor advocacy.