Springfield College Names Richard J. Wood Director of Center for Wellness Education and Research

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Springfield College has named Richard J. Wood the new director of the Center for Wellness Education and Research (CWER) at the College.  Housed in the Springfield College School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, the mission of the CWER is to become the preeminent provider of practical, individualized wellness solutions aimed at disease prevention.    

“Our solutions are designed to address the overwhelming need for prevention of disease,” said Wood.  “There’s no shortage of guidelines out there with respect to physical activity, nutrition, and stress management; we aren’t here to make new guidelines.  People know these guidelines exist, but making them work within their lives is a completely different story.  We are here to address this gap, and will do so by designing strategies that will make these guidelines work within everyday life.”

Wood has been a member of the faculty at Springfield College since 2007 in the Department of Exercise Science and Sport Studies.  During his tenure, Wood has been educating in the area of nutrition, and conducting research related to lifestyle modification in the treatment of chronic metabolic disease.

Prior to his time at the College, Wood served as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in the division of endocrinology and metabolism, where he was part of a research team investigating the effects of lifestyle and pharmacological interventions on muscle health in obesity and diabetes. 

Wood earned a PhD in nutritional science from the University of Connecticut in 2006.  He also received a master of science degree in applied exercise science (2001) and bachelor of science degree (1999) in athletic training from Springfield College.    

Springfield College has a rich history of excellence in wellness-related fields.  Former Springfield College faculty member Peter V. Karpovich, M.D., was an internationally recognized exercise physiologist and one of the principal founders of the American College of Sports Medicine. Karpovich joined the Springfield College faculty in 1927, serving as a professor of physiology.  He was named director of health education at the College in 1947 and was appointed research professor of physiology in 1955.