Conference discusses draft of groundbreaking recommendations framework

110 senior higher education leaders gathered on Monday, February 13, 2017 at Morgan Stanley headquarters in New York City to provide feedback on a draft version of a groundbreaking recommendations framework intended to help improve the support for the mental health and emotional well-being of students of color at America’s colleges and universities.

The Steve Fund and The Jed Foundation have partnered to create the Equal Chance at Mental Health Framework with evidence-informed expert recommendations for America’s colleges and universities to better support the mental health and emotional well-being of students of color. Too many students of color are failing academically, suffering emotionally and in some cases are facing serious risk, including death, because population-specific factors influencing their mental health are poorly understood. The Equal Chance at Mental Health Framework will be based on a systematic literature review, on a survey of existing evidence-based programs, on expert input from mental health and higher education leaders  and on a survey of more than 1,000 students.

The attendees got an early preview of the ten recommendations that will be at the core of the mental health framework that the Steve Fund and Jed plan to roll out later this year.

Steve Fund senior medical advisor Dr. Annelle Primm set the stage with a presentation that made the case for the need to improve support for mental health and emotional well-being of students of color. She was followed by a presentation of the draft recommendations by the senior medical advisors to the Steve Fund and JED, Dr. Alfiee Breland-Noble and Dr. Victor Schwartz. A panel of four university presidents then provided their perspective and thoughts. The panel was moderated by Dr. Carlota Ocampo, Provost for Trinity Washington University. The panelists were:

A facilitated discussion for conference attendees followed the panel to provide additional expert input on the framework and to share practical tips on implementing the recommendations on campuses. The discussions produced a number of ideas and important observations which the Steve Fund and Jed will incorporate into the final framework. Comments from the participants also highlighted the need for, importance of and excitement about the prospect of a clear and actionable recommendations framework that colleges and universities can implement to move the needle on supporting the mental health and emotional well-being of students of color.