Dear colleagues:
As our campus communities continue to face pandemic-related anxiety and challenges, the University of Illinois System remains committed to addressing the mental health of our students. We are taking a proactive, responsive, and adaptable approach to helping them thrive in these challenging times.
In consultation with the Student Mental Health Committee, we are proud to sponsor our second annual Mental Health Symposium on Wednesday, September 15, from 10 a.m. to Noon CST. This virtual, interactive seminar aims to improve our understanding and our response to the mental health needs of our students.
The symposium will feature a keynote address by Dr. Kelly Crace entitled: “Flourishing through Chronic Too-Muchness.” Dr. Crace is the associate vice president for health & wellness and director of the Center for Mindfulness and Authentic Excellence at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He received his academic and clinical training from Vanderbilt University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Duke University and has served as director of two college mental health centers – at Duke University along with William & Mary.
The day’s conversations will focus of how to flourish following burnout conditions and how to model wellness through our leadership. Building upon the research of the relationship between values and flourishing, the discussion will focus on how to shift a student culture from fear-based excellence to a deeper, more authentic level of excellence where wellness is essential. It will include practical strategies on how to engage our community in the "work of wellness" and bringing flourishing to the foreground of our leadership.
Please Register!
We look forward to your participation in this important conversation. Please complete the registration form to attend the symposium. We also hope you will share this message with other faculty, staff and student governance representatives who would be interested in attending the event.
This event is part of the U of I System’s ongoing effort to support mental health. We will continue to share existing resources and strive for new ones to help students develop their coping skills and address their social, emotional and academic needs.
Sincerely,
Tim Killeen
President, University of Illinois System
Avijit Ghosh
Interim Executive Vice President and Vice President for Academic Affairs, U of I System
Robert J. Jones
Chancellor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Michael D. Amiridis
Chancellor, University of Illinois at Chicago
Karen M. Whitney
Interim Chancellor, University of Illinois at Springfield