UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Linda LaSalle, director of Health Promotion and Wellness, will retire at the end of February following a 28-year career at Penn State that helped shape a more integrated, collaborative approach to student well-being.
Throughout her tenure, LaSalle guided the growth of Health Promotion and Wellness into a comprehensive well-being office, emphasizing collaboration with students and campus partners to strengthen prevention, education and skill development in response to evolving student needs.
“The collaboration with staff — within Health Promotion and Wellness, across Student Affairs and throughout the University — has been especially meaningful to me,” LaSalle said. “This work has always been about collective effort.”
In recent years, under LaSalle’s leadership, Health Promotion and Wellness expanded initiatives reflecting a more integrated approach to student well-being. These include the Nature and Art Rx initiative, which connects students with creative and nature-based experiences, and Flourish Penn State, a collective framework that helps coordinate well-being efforts across the University. The office also developed dedicated wellness spaces in the HUB-Robeson Center and the Intramural (IM) Building, creating accessible environments for rest, reflection and connection.
Wellness programming has continued to evolve, offering opportunities such as yoga and meditation, breath workshops, Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing), and other innovative practices that support mindfulness and stress-management skills. In 2018, Health Promotion and Wellness launched one-on-one wellness services with trained peer educators, expanding individualized support while reinforcing peer-led approaches to student well-being.
Prevention education has remained central to the office’s work. LaSalle oversaw efforts to secure grant funding that strengthened population-level education and prevention strategies, including an alcohol education requirement for first-year students and ongoing substance-use prevention, messaging and social norms campaigns. Health Promotion and Wellness also expanded alcohol and cannabis interventions by integrating mental health screening and support, reflecting a more holistic approach to student health.
Student engagement has been a consistent priority throughout LaSalle’s career. In recent years, Health Promotion and Wellness expanded the HealthWorks peer education program, increasing student leadership opportunities while extending the reach and impact of peer-to-peer wellness education across campus.
“We have absolutely incredible students in that program,” LaSalle said. “I’ve enjoyed all of my interactions with them — watching them grow and seeing the ways they support other students in thinking about their wellness and wellness-related skills.”
LaSalle joined Penn State in 1997 and served in a variety of roles within Student Affairs and University Health Services, including community health educator and associate director, before becoming director of Health Promotion and Wellness in 2017.
“Linda’s leadership has had a lasting and positive impact on our campus and our students,” said Andrea Dowhower, vice president for Student Affairs. “Through an intentional, evidence-based approach, she strengthened how we support student well-being and helped build sustainable systems that prepare students for success well beyond Penn State.”
As she prepares for retirement, LaSalle reflected on the relationships that have been central to her work.
“I’ve had lots of interactions with students in different capacities over the years,” she said. “Working closely with them on multiple projects has been really valuable, and I’ll miss that quite a lot.”
Health Promotion and Wellness, a unit in the division of Student Affairs, plans to continue its work supporting student well-being through collaborative, evidence-informed programming and services, building on the foundation developed over the past several decades.
Penn State Student Affairs supports holistic student success through advocacy, education, engagement and care. With more than 30 programs and units, Student Affairs helps students thrive in and out of the classroom, discover community and belonging, build leadership skills and create lasting memories. All programs and events are open to all students, regardless of sex, gender, sexual orientation, race or other protected class. Student Affairs is committed to building a community of belonging for all. Learn more about Student Affairs programs.