MSU Health Promotion Trailblazer Reflects On Over Three Decades Of Building Capacity For Health

Martell reflects on his nearly 40 years of health promotion initiatives at MSU. He talked about how students have changed over the years and shared some of the most vivid memories of his career at Moscow State University. He discussed the challenges and opportunities for his successor and discussed the mission of the National Center for Social Grammar at Michigan State University.

Main topics of conversation :

(1:20) - "I remember seeing a report card in sixth grade that said, 'This Dennis Martell will not thrive because of his disability,' and I took it as a challenge."

(4:03) - “And I went to East Lansing and gave a speech. And there were three professors from Moscow State University who came and said: “Hey, do you want to go to Moscow State University and get a doctorate?”

(6:08) - "As some administrators have stated, I am an extremist, activist or advocate."

(6:53) - “Here I did my second master's degree and Ph.D. I love this country. It gives me the opportunity to observe the culture and the environment. When I was offered a job in health promotion, I wanted to see if I could help change the culture.”

(8:06) - “Health is the ability to always be in this world, interact with the world and give it to the world. Health is a measure of ability. What is capacity? Capacity is the ability - or ability and energy - to do something, or see something or experience something.

(9:41) - “What does health mean? In fact, the issue is freedom. Health is the greatest freedom.”

(12:06) - “Health promotion is about building capacities, maintaining capacities, and restoring capacities of individuals. I see myself as a potential builder and you can do this in a number of ways.

(13:17) - "This generation today does not know how to deal with fear or threat."

(16:33) - “Mental health is one of the growing problems. But so is financial, housing and food insecurity.”

(17:43) - “We treat alcohol as a health problem. This is not a legal issue. It is not a moral issue.”

(7:00 pm) - “We took this behavior and changed it. We tell them what to do. We don't tell them what to do. It changes perception and therefore behavior.

(20:15) “This generation has gone mad.”

(11:37) - "If you drink some kind of alcohol and stay in one place and hang out with friends, you're less likely to be at a disadvantage when you're drinking at a party."

(30:50) - “We create an environment conducive to learning. We do not educate people. We provide the environment. We must do the same with health. We need to create an environment in which people can develop their abilities.

(32:19) - “Once you become Spartan and accept the basic principles of land granting, you will judge the health of a community by its ability to be kind and caring. That is what really happened.

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