Representatives from the Jed Foundation will be on campus next week as part of Dartmouth’s four-year partnership with the nonprofit mental health organization.
The two-day visit on Feb. 23 and 24 will focus on undergraduate mental health. In April, Jed will conduct a second site visit focused on Dartmouth’s graduate and professional students.
Dartmouth began working with the Jed Foundation’s JED Campus program in fall 2021 as part of an effort to address increased mental health needs on campus, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, says Mark Reed, director of the Dartmouth College Health Service.
“Mental health was already a priority, but last year pushed us to redouble our efforts,” Reed says. “The Jed Foundation is a national leader promoting student mental health and suicide prevention, especially around college-age populations, so it makes sense to partner with them.”
In the fall, Dartmouth convened committees consisting of students, faculty, and senior leadership for the undergraduate division of Arts and Sciences and for each of Dartmouth’s professional and graduate schools. Each committee is completing a comprehensive self-study of relevant mental health policies and procedures. At the same time, all students were invited to take the Healthy Minds Survey, which asked for feedback about campus climate and mental health resources available on campus.
During the February site visit, Jed representatives will tour campus and meet with an undergraduate focus group, Dartmouth’s wellness and mental health staff, and the undergraduate committee, co-led by Reed and Rebecca Biron, director of the Leslie Center for the Humanities and a professor of Spanish and comparative literature.
With the undergraduate committee, the Jed team will review the undergraduate self-study and Healthy Minds Survey results and help draft a strategic plan that the committee will refine and share with Dartmouth senior leadership this spring.
“We hope to develop a clear roadmap that the administration can adopt, a plan that represents the top priorities of our students and the community for building a culture of wellness and inclusivity,” Biron says.
Pulkit Nagpal ’23, president of the Dartmouth Student Mental Health Union and a member of the Jed undergraduate committee, says he wants the Jed visitors to “take students’ voices to heart” and help amplify those voices to the administration.
“Ultimately this is for students, and I want that to be front and center,” says Nagpal, a biology major modified with quantitative social science and a member of the East Wheelock house community. He encourages interested students to reach out to members of the committee.
In addition to Reed, Biron, and Nagpal, the Jed undergraduate committee members are:
- Douglas Babcock, associate director of safety and security
- Caitlin Barthelmes, director of the Student Wellness Center
- Frank Carr ’22
- Jessica Chiriboga ’24
- Rachael Class-Giguere, director of undergraduate housing
- Ian Connole, senior associate athletics director for Peak Performance
- Shontay Delalue, senior vice president and senior diversity officer
- Matthew F. Delmont, the Frank J. Guarini Associate Dean of International Studies and Interdisciplinary Programs
- William Detrick ’22
- Heather Earle, director of the Counseling Center
- Maylene Fahrenthold ’22
- Bryant Ford, associate dean for community life
- Isabelle Glennon ’22
- Anne Hudak, associate dean of student support services
- Alison May, assistant dean and senior director of Student Accessibility Services and the Academic Skills Center
- Jessica Meikle ’23
- Eric Ramsey, associate dean for student life
- Tiffani Sykes, associate athletics director for compliance
- Vitallia Williams ’22
