by Jacob Fuhrer |
UP is in the process of hiring two new staff members to improve mental health care on The Bluff after a series of suicides led students to express concern to administration.
In an email to students earlier this week, University President Fr. Mark Poorman detailed the new positions, which include a new Health Center counselor as well as an Early Alert Program coordinator.
It’s all part of a broader effort to understand and improve mental health for UP students.
In November, Poorman convened a panel of staff members to gather information and suggest improvements. The eight-person panel, headed by political science professor Gary Malecha, expects to give its final report of recommendations to Poorman in the next three weeks.
“The administration is dedicated to providing assistance and support to students,” Malecha said. “We’ve come up with some ideas in terms of what we might want to do.”
Exactly what those ideas are won’t be revealed until the final report is delivered to Poorman.
Representatives from the Health Center met with the panel to suggest improvements, which include changing the name of Health Center to the Health and Counseling Center.
“It’s a way of destigmatizing what it is instead of hiding counseling underneath an umbrella of health,” said Will Meek, assistant director for counseling at the Health Center.
Meek also suggested practical improvements, like redesigning the lobby of the Health Center to make it more inviting. He called for more education around sexual consent as well as and effort to make the community more inclusive to diverse student populations.
Meek added that after an extensive search for an additional mental health counselor, a decision should be announced by the end of April.
Student mental health advocacy group Active Minds also met with the panel to discuss student well-being.
“They’ve given us a number of ideas in terms of trying to create a culture of caring,” Malecha said.
Some of these improvements include holding sessions in dorms to help make it easier for students to seek out support.
Malecha says some improvements have already been made, including decreasing wait times at the Health Center and increasing overall awareness on campus.
“One of the things we need to keep in mind is this is an issue that hits all universities,” Malecha said. “I was very much aware of it and I think it’s an important issue.”
Jacob Fuhrer is a reporter for The Beacon. He can be reached at fuhrer17@up.edu or on Twitter @jacobfuhrer.
