JED Campus Health and Well-Being Committee

As you may have heard, Missouri S&T has become a JED Campus!

JED Campus is a nationwide initiative of The Jed Foundation (JED) designed to guide schools through a collaborative process of comprehensive systems, programs, and policy development with customized support to build upon existing mental well-being, substance abuse, and suicide prevention efforts. JED Campus schools embark on a strategic partnership with JED that assesses and enhances existing work and helps to create positive, lasting, systemic change in the campus community. As part of the process, each school establishes an interdisciplinary, campus-wide team to assess, support, and implement improvements.  

Over the course of our participation in the program, we will:

  • Collaborate with the JED Campus team over four years to identify opportunities to enhance emotional health, substance use, and suicide prevention efforts and ensure that schools have the strongest possible mental health safety nets. 
  • Complete an in-depth, confidential survey at the beginning of the program, and then again after three years, to assess mental health promotion, substance use, and suicide prevention efforts.
  • Participate in a full-day, in-person campus visit with JED Campus staff to generate goals for improvement and develop a strategic plan that serves as a roadmap over the course of the program 
  • Receive ongoing support from a dedicated Campus Advisor who provides consultation, guidance, and resources to help each school achieve its goals.
  • Become members of a nationwide Learning Community – a network of JED Campus schools that share advice and experiences, access presentations and discussions on topics of interest, and have access to an in-depth, online resource library.

The committee has successfully completed many strategic plan items since the start of the project and is working on phase two initiatives. The accomplishments and new goals are outlined below.

  • Established, identified, and trained faculty champions (mental well-being ambassadors)
  • Developed a mental well-being syllabus statement 
  • Created the Health and Well-Being Canvas course and Miner Well-Being Certification Program 
  • Created and distributed student and faculty electronic newsletters 
  • Established two new peer support groups - Miner Support Network and Project Connect 
  • Launched the Health and Well-Being website with a comprehensive resource database
  • Delivered STEP UP! for Mental Well-Being and resource presentation during opening week 
  • Created a Health Communications Specialist position to promote committee efforts and resources
  • Intern position created to enhance support for international and graduate students
  • Improved the presence of and engagement with Health and Well-Being social media accounts 
  • Established the Responsible Student Action Protocol
  • Revised the Campus Policy III-57 Drug and Alcohol Prevention
  • Held the first Transgender Visibility Week and created an LGBTQ+ support group and consultation
  • Developed a mental well-being ambassador curriculum for student leaders
  • Restructure JED Committee - focus on faculty engagement, assessment, inclusion, and student initiatives
  • Identify, collect, and share well-being and inclusion data on new student success dashboard
  • Launch a communications campaign on redefining success
  • Build a webpage for faculty that provides resources on well-being in the learning environment
  • Incorporate well-being resources in new employee orientation and new faculty orientation
  • Build relationships with faculty senate and department chairs to gain support from faculty
  • Adopt the Inclusive Excellence Framework and incorporate into JED strategic plan
  • Re-identify and train faculty champions and establish an ongoing line of communication
  • Partner with New Student Programs to improve well-being messaging during opening week
  • Build and maintain a training and communications matrices
  • Develop a new Faculty Excellence in Well-Being award and present it annually
  • Provide recommendations to campus constituents on the best way to support student well-being

Committee Chairs
Debra Robinson

Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs
Jessica Gargus

Director of Student Well-Being

Subcommittees and Members

Purpose: To collect, analyze, and share well-being and inclusion data

Members: Jessica Gargus, Wayne Jones, Rachel Morris, Dorie Paine, Mindy Bryson, Katie Roberts, Liz Dodd, Adam Rademacher, Michael Pleimann, Edna Grover-Bisker

Purpose: To promote academic partnerships and enhance engagement in well-being and inclusion matters that contribute to student success

Members: Dave Westenberg, Jessica Gargus, Jonathan Kimball, Smitty Grubbs, Carol Durk, Kate Drowne, Daniel Forciniti, Dan Reardon, Laura Woods-Buchanan, Rainer Glaser, Wes Lewis, Simran Bhatia, Simone Waldon

Purpose: To promote social connectedness and enhance support for underrepresented groups

Members: Jessica Gargus, Beth Concepcion, David Spivey, Cindi Nelson, Karen Head, Barb Prewett, Annie Birt-Milbradt, Simran Bhatia, Nicole Roberson

Purpose: To facilitate student and committee collaboration and provide feedback on health and well-being initiatives

Members: Simran Bhatia, Rachel Kohman, Mahathi Dhulipala, Spenser Walchuk, Tohajie Raet, Raghu Yelugam, Raheemat Rafiu

JED Resources

Mental Health Resource Center

The Jed Foundation’s Mental Health Resource Center provides essential information about common emotional health issues and shows teens and young adults how they can support one another, overcome challenges, and make a successful transition to adulthood.

 

Higher Education Resources

Leaving home for the first time, living in a new city or state, and having to manage their own schedule may be a challenging experience for a student. In addition, they may struggle to make new friends and build the life skills they need to succeed. JED has developed programs and resources to help students have a healthy and positive college experience while preserving their mental health.