Cathy Whaley :: Profile

Cathy Whaley

Co-Principal Investigator/Project Coordinator for the Ball Brothers Foundation School Wellness

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HP 225
(765) 285-5846

Fax: 285-8237

Fisher Institute for Wellness and Gerontology
Ball State University
Muncie, IN 47306

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Cathy D. Whaley, M.S., CHES, holds a bachelor of general studies degree ('91) and a master's degree in health science ('00) from Ball State University. She is currently an Ed.D. in health science candidate at Ball State, and she is working full time at the Fisher Institute for Wellness and Gerontology as the School Wellness Initiative Project Coordinator. She will be working with local school administrators, teachers, and community partners in implementing school wellness programs and establishing a support system and School Wellness Coordinating Center to assist schools with their school wellness policy projects. Additionally, she will collaborate with the Indiana Youth Institute to incorporate suggestions for including various groups in formative research data collection plans. A data collection strategy will be developed to support county-wide school wellness evaluation efforts. Cathy was previously the Assistant Director of Outreach Programs for the Indiana Academy at Ball State. Prior to being employed at the Academy, Cathy was the National Director of Certification and Registry Programs for the American College of Sports Medicine whose national headquarters are located in Indianapolis. She is certified by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. as a Certified Health Education Specialist. She is a member of ACSM, AAHPERD, APHA, SOPHE, and Eta Sigma Gamma. Cathy’s wellness and health education interests are in chronic disease prevention, behavioral risk reduction, and physical activity epidemiology. Her master’s thesis, “Physical activity levels among adults in Indiana, 1986-1996,” identified high-risk groups for physical inactivity in the state utilizing epidemiological surveillance data, which has been associated with increased risk for developing coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes, and some forms of cancer. Her current research involves analysis of insurance claims data from a university health care plan related to chronic disease trends within the employee and retiree population, risk factors, and health care costs.