President's Mental Health Task Force
One component of our campus-wide approach to mental health awareness and support is the establishment of the President's Mental Health Task Force. The Task Force will focus on the goal to “Make Seeking Help Our Strength,” and work to develop recommendations to lessen the stigma associated with mental illness and find ways to encourage our students to seek help. The Task Force will meet four times during the 2019-2020 academic year for approximately two hours and will complete its work by June 2020. The work of the Task Force will occur within three subgroups focused on Communication, Collaboration, and Culture.
Members of the Task Force include:
Ms. Marybeth Murphy, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs (Co-Chair)
Dr. Kelland Thomas, Dean of the College of Arts and Letters (Co-Chair)
Mx. Cay Berman, President, Active Minds Student Chapter
Mr. Jason Chlus, President, Student Government Association
Ms. Rosemary Dice, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Academics
Ms. Susan Gross, Assistant Vice President for Financial Aid and Undergraduate Admissions
Ms. Penelope Halkiadakis ’19
Mr. Devesh Jain, President, Graduate Student Council
Dr. Sara Klein, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs
Dr. Ashley Lytle, Assistant Professor of Psychology, College of Arts and Letters
Dr. Theresa MacPhail, Assistant Professor, College of Arts and Letters
Ms. Coral Matar, Stevens Parent and Public Health Professional
Ms. Beth McGrath, Vice President for Government and Community Relations/Chief of Staff
Mr. Seth Moncrease, Director of Summer Pre-College Programs, Undergraduate Admissions
Mr. Warren Petty, Vice President for Human Resources
Mr. Russ Rogers, Director, Department of Physical Education, Athletics, and Recreation
Dr. Eric Rose, Director of Student Counseling and Psychological Services
Dr. Joelle Saad-Lesser, Teaching Associate Professor, School of Business
Dr. Dibyendu Sarkar, Professor, School of Engineering and Science and Chair, Faculty Senate
Mr. Edward Stukane, Vice President for Communications and Marketing
Ms. Nathalie Waite Brown, Director, Office of Graduate Student Life
Dr. Ye Yang, Associate Professor, School of Systems and Enterprises
Dr. David Zeng, Vice Provost for Academic Innovation and Faculty Affairs
On July 9, 2019, President Farvardin announced the formation of the Mental Health Task Force that included representatives from various sectors of the campus community: students, faculty, staff, alumni, and parents, with the charge for the 2019-20 academic year to focus on “Make Seeking Help Our Strength,” that is, to increase help-seeking behavior among Stevens students. The final report representing the work and recommendations of the Task Force can be found here:
Mental Health Task Force Report
The work of the larger Task Force was completed in November of 2020; however, the work towards making seeking help our strength continues. Progress updates on the recommendations of Task Force are posted below: