The Fisher Institute for Wellness and Gerontology sponsors two distinct but related programs in Wellness Management and Applied Gerontology.  Each program has academic, research, and service components.  Academic programs include a master's degree in Wellness Management and a master's degree in Applied Gerontology, an undergraduate minor in gerontology, a workplace wellness undergraduate minor, and certificate programs in Applied Gerontology.  Services include school wellness initiatives, providing resources to businesses wishing to implement wellness, and outreach programs for older adults.  One such community educational program is the Kirkpatrick Lecture Series.  Graduate students assist in the provision of all services offered through the institute.

The research mission of the institute is to assist corporations, community agencies, and health care facilities in designing, implementing, and evaluating programs dedicated to lifespan wellness.  Major research topics of the institute include development and investigation of a multidimensional systems model for lifespan wellness and the application of the Ball State Model for Wellness in assessment of individuals, worksite programs, health care facilities, and community organizations.  Research interests also include effective techniques for reducing health care costs, motivating people to practice wellness-related activities, and the effects of health behaviors on longevity, morbidity and mortality.

In general, the institute is concerned with the processes of maintaining well-being for people, organizations, communities, and societies.  Both faculty and student research is related to this broad focus on keeping people well and developing techniques for achieving higher levels of functioning across the lifespan.

Students receiving degrees in wellness management and/or applied gerontology will enter a rapidly expanding job market for wellness and gerontology professionals.  Typical work settings include corporations, hospitals, YMCAs, entrepreneurial businesses, health care facilities, governmental agencies, and educational institutions.  Graduates will be challenged to solve the difficult problems of meeting the wellness needs of people and organizations in an aging society.  The challenges and opportunities are limited only by the energy, talent, and imagination of each graduate.