Dr. Michael Roizen, author of the “YOU” book series, will give a presentation titled “Real Age: The Cleveland Clinic Experience” to kick off a wellness initiative at Ashland University on March 19.

Roizen, who is a frequent guest on The Dr. Oz Show and serves as chief wellness officer at the Cleveland Clinic, will speak at 7 p.m. in AU’s Myers Convocation Center. The event is free and open to the public and is sponsored by Ashland University’s Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, the College of Arts and Sciences and the Schar College of Nursing and Health Sciences.

“We are thrilled to have Dr. Roizen here as our motivational speaker and he will kick off a number of Health and Wellness initiatives being launched on campus this spring,” said Dr. Deborah Sullivan, family and consumer sciences professor at Ashland University. “We are excited to welcome students, faculty and staff, community members and local organizations to this public event.”

Sullivan said Roizen will be speaking on various health and wellness topics – mostly about the importance of diet and exercise as well as keys to living longer and healthier.

A world-renowned speaker, Roizen has given more than 1,400 lectures to professional medical groups and has been recognized with more than 20 professional lectureships. He is regularly quoted and featured in national newspapers, magazines and televised news programs including the Oprah Winfrey Show, Today Show, 20/20, CNN, Good Morning America, Fortune, Men’s Health, Reader’s Digest and Prevention.

As chief wellness officer at Cleveland Cinic, Roizen is responsible for implementing wide-reaching wellness programs that aggressively advocate healthy living and remove possible barriers to this end. He joined the Cleveland Clinic as chair, Division of Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine and Comprehensive Pain Management in 2005. In 2007, he was named chief wellness officer, the first person in the country to hold such a position. Under his leadership, the Wellness Institute has become a leader in helping patients, community members and employees achieve optimal well-being and a high quality of life.

Roizen has developed several groundbreaking employee, patient and community wellness programs including instituting a system-wide policy to stop hiring smokers, launching the weekly North Union Farmers Market at Cleveland Clinic for employees and the community, expanding employee wellness programs to include free Curves and Weight Watchers memberships and implementing Lifestyle 180, a groundbreaking program to help reverse the effects of common chronic diseases.

Through his energy and passion, Cleveland Clinic has become a leader in championing wellness and prevention as the hospital attempts to shift the national focus from “sick” care to “health” care.

His popular book, "You: The Owner's Manual," focuses on a number of topics including: Your Body, Your Home: Super Health; The Beat Goes On: Your Heart and Arteries; The Owner's Manual Diet and Workout.

Dr. Roizen's books will be available in the Ashland University Bookstore and a book signing will be held following the presentation in Myer's Convocation Center.