Focus of the Quarter:
e
u ss 8I
01
l2
l Fa
Wellness
Division of
STUDENTAFFAIRS Deans’ Update FALL QUARTER 2018 Dear Colleagues, I hope you’ve had a successful start to the new year and you’re feeling as energized by our students as I am. We started fall quarter with a positive and energetic Wildcat Welcome and thoroughly enjoyed seeing our students reunited with their loved ones for Family Weekend. As we look ahead, I want to take a moment and welcome two of our newest leaders in Student Affairs. Daviree Velazquez Phillips joined our team late last Spring as the Director of Multicultural Student Affairs. Angela Mitchell was also recently promoted to serve as the Director of Health Promotion and Wellness. Both of these outstanding leaders will help Northwestern make progress on diversity and inclusion and student wellness initiatives and will serve as strong partners to faculty, staff, and students.
Vice President for Student Affairs Patricia Telles-Irvin
Speaking of wellness, Student Affairs continues to focus on the health and well-being of our students. From our student wellness resources in the division in CAPS, CARE, Student Health, and other programs, to our partnership with a new food service vendor, to our outreach initiatives with the Office of Equity, to the continued strong work of our Northwestern Career Advancement team, and envisioning of the Undergraduate Residential Experience, we are keenly aware that wellness is of critical importance to student success. I also know it is at the heart of the work we all do with our students. In this edition, you will see some information related to these key areas and the work they have done to bring a positive Northwestern experience to our students. I look forward to what we will accomplish with our students at Northwestern this year. Thank you as always for being strong partners in the student learning experience. Have a wonderful year! Warm Regards,
Patricia Telles-Irvin
2
Vision WE WILL BE FULL PARTNERS IN THE STUDENT LEARNING EXPERIENCE. The Division of Student Affairs partners with the academic schools/colleges and other University Divisions in allegiance with the University’s vision and mission to advance student learning and success.
Mission THE MISSION OF THE NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY DIVISION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS IS TO EDUCATE STUDENTS, ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY, AND ENRICH THE NORTHWESTERN EXPERIENCE. We pursue our mission through providing learning programs, services, and mentoring to maximize students’ potential, removing barriers to learning, strengthening readiness to learn, and sustaining a safe and healthy Northwestern community.
3
RESILIENCE AND WELL-BEING AS IT RELATES TO SUICIDE PREVENTION: AN ALL CALL This year, Student Affairs continues to speak about and act upon the importance of resilience and well-being in support of a Student Affairs’ strategic theme: Foster Student Wellness. As we fortify resources and services for emotional wellness and suicide prevention, we know faculty and staff in Academic Affairs play a critical role in expanding a community of care in addition to support from parents, families, and students themselves. “Nothing is more important to Northwestern than the well-being and safety of our students,” said President Morton Schapiro. “Raising awareness about the resources and support available to community members is a key part of a public health approach to mental health and wellness. But we also need parents and families, staff and faculty, and fellow students to all work together to alert us if they see a member of the community struggling, so that we can provide the necessary support.” Student Affairs looks to Academic Affairs as partners in this work; as we know tragic losses in our community have touched us all. Northwestern has been working to provide ongoing support and healing. Students’ health and safety have been and remain our top priority so students can thrive both inside and outside of the classroom.
4
Web of Support The University’s approach is part of a broader strategy undertaken by Student Affairs in recent years to further ensure it meets its mission to help mentor students to maximize their potential and to sustain a safe and healthy Northwestern community. It also comes at a time when national rates of suicide are rising due to a variety of factors.
Northwestern approaches student wellness (mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual) by providing a collaborative support network consisting of multiple interventions and trained staff. This network consists of a framework, see above, that places students in the center of an extensive web of support, of which Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and the Dean of Students Office are integrally involved.
Student Affairs and CAPS are redoubling efforts to create a community of care and support to assist, counsel, and raise awareness among students about the importance of emotional wellbeing and suicide prevention.
Similar frameworks have been successfully implemented on a number of campuses and are endorsed by leading national agencies such as The JED Foundation (a non-profit organization whose primary purpose is to reduce student suicide). Recently, Northwestern hosted The JED Foundation on its Evanston campus to further develop and refine our framework. Northwestern seeks to create and sustain a community of care and support. We have been a part of this program for 3 years, and it demonstrates in very concrete ways a public health approach to emotional well-being and suicide prevention.
5
RESILIENCE AND WELL-BEING AS IT RELATES TO SUICIDE PREVENTION: AN ALL CALL, CONTINUED • “Be aware of the signs of depression and risk factors for suicide, and take them seriously,” Mark Reinecke, Chief of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine said. “If you’re concerned about a [student], take your concerns seriously and offer them support and refer them for professional care. Quite often, suicide stems from feelings of hopelessness and isolation. Offering support and hope for a positive future are part of the solution.”
Support from Academic Affairs Early understanding and intervention often make a substantial difference in getting students timely access to critical resources when they are struggling. In Student Affairs, we are committed to continually reviewing our offerings, enhancing our services, and maintaining strong partnerships with faculty and staff to improve well-being for all of our students. Here is what you can do to help: •
Remind students to understand and find resilience within themselves. There are several components to resilience. One of the most salient is having a strong support network. Being and feeling connected is essential, coupled with one’s ability to cultivate, sustain, and utilize the network whenever necessary.
•
Encourage students to seek help when needed. Raise awareness about the wide variety of resources, services, and assistance that are available on campus and externally to help them in times of doubt or alienation.
6
•
Call on your peers and Student Affairs staff for assistance, support, and resources. If we can be of help to you in the year ahead, please contact the Dean of Students Office or any of our dedicated Northwestern colleagues who are equally committed to our students’ success.
•
Use resources available. Faculty and staff play a critical role in the early identification of mental health concerns. Resources such as the Community Concern Report and NUhelp are important ways that faculty and staff can reach out for assistance by reporting observed behavior they have noticed.
Services and Resources to Support Students: Many resources and systems are in place to support our students. Faculty and academic affairs staff are important partners with Student Affairs as we promote student well-being, and our desire is always to be proactive in reaching our student community with prevention efforts in addition to responding when a critical incident or crisis occurs. These initiatives highlight some of the many programs Northwestern has in place. Feel free to share these resources with students and colleagues: •
The suicide prevention program Question-PersuadeRefer (QPR) has trained nearly 6,000 campus community members since its launch in spring 2012.
•
A required orientation program occurs during Wildcat Welcome for incoming undergraduate students to learn about various aspects of mental health, the available campus resources, and how to access University support.
•
•
An on-line, anonymous, mental health screening tool is available 24/7 through CAPS in order for students to gain immediate feedback with information about available resources.
•
The “Let’s Talk” initiative sends CAPS staff to various campus locations to have office hours for students to come and chat about anything on their minds. The idea is that some students may be reluctant or intimidated to go to the counseling center first; therefore, we meet them in locations where they may feel more comfortable.
•
The “Breathe” app, launched in fall 2017, offers students and other community members access to brief video and audio clips on mindfulness and other stress reduction strategies.
• “Wildchat” is a peer listening service that offers students the opportunity to call and talk with other student peers about various issues and to learn about campus resources.
NUHelp, a website and an app, is in place to provide community members with quick access to a variety of campus services and resources, including health and wellness, safety and security, academic support, and how to share a concern about a student. Faculty and staff can – and should – report concerns about students by submitting a Community Concern Report or calling the Dean of Students Office: 847-491-8430.
7
•
Student Assistance and Support Services (SASS), a department within the Dean of Students Office, is in place to remove barriers to student success by leveraging a coordinated network of services that allows students to limit any potential barriers to academic, co-curricular, and social well-being.
•
CAPS offers crisis intervention services to students, with mental health professionals on-call either in person or by telephone.
MAKING CAREER CONNECTIONS New career platform enhances career experience
As the central career office on campus, Northwestern Career Advancement (NCA) is dedicated to setting Northwestern students up for lifelong success. NCA’s staff of experienced professionals, aligned with each school and college, help students make successful career decisions and connect their Northwestern experience to professional opportunities.
In June, NCA launched its new career platform, Handshake. Handshake replaced NCA’s CareerCat system, as well as Medill’s career platform, MEDILLINK, for all career activities and job/internship opportunities. The platform provides Northwestern students with a modern, customized interface designed to support all of their career needs. The more students use the system, the more they will see recommendations tailored to their interests, major(s), and skills. Handshake also enhances the recruiting experience for Northwestern’s employer partners, allowing recruiters to target specific majors and schools or broadly connect with Northwestern students, depending on their hiring needs.
Through a variety of services, including one-on-one advising and counseling, workshops, career treks, industry panels, career fairs, and on-campus recruiting, NCA supports students throughout the entire career development process — from self-assessment and career exploration to the job and internship search and offer negotiation. In the past year, NCA continued to expand its reach, engaging more than 5,600 unique students in an advising, counseling, or recruiting service. Staff provided career counseling and advising to more than 3,600 students in more than 11,000 appointments, walk-ins, and express advising meetings. NCA also facilitated new employer connections and supported existing relationships to broaden opportunities for students, welcoming more than 400 employers to campus for interviews, career fairs, or information sessions, and supervised more than 4,000 interviews in the NCA Interview Center. Here are a few more highlights from NCA’s successful 2017-18 year:
Beyond Northwestern: The first destinations of the undergraduate class of 2017 NCA is proud to report that within six months of commencement, 96 percent of the undergraduate class of 2017 was employed, attending graduate or professional school, or engaged in other career-related activities. This information is from NCA’s recently released First Destination Report, which provides detail on graduates’ industries of employment, salaries, and geographic locations based on data from 78 percent of the members of the undergraduate class of 2017.
8
NEW STAFF Northwestern is committed to providing services that support our diverse population and offering programs that keep our Wildcats healthy. Two new leaders in Student Affairs are focusing their efforts on building relationships across the university and delivering programs that support and improve the overall well-being of our students.
Daviree Velázquez Phillip, Director of Multicultural Student Affairs Daviree has served as the Director of Multicultural Student Affairs (MSA) within Campus Inclusion and Community since February 2018. Her strategic direction guides MSA programs and services in their goal of creating a more inclusive campus for marginalized students. Daviree is eager to build relationships with students, staff, faculty, and alumni to support the evolution of MSA. As the Director, she will continue to work with the MSA team in supporting students of color and LGBT students on campus while overseeing the Black House, the Multicultural Center, and the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center. Prior to joining Northwestern, Daviree served as Assistant Director of Diversity Education for the Center for Multicultural Equity and Access (CMEA) and as the Diversity and Inclusion Specialist for the Center for New Designs Learning & Scholarship (CNDLS) at Georgetown University.
Angela Mitchell, Director of Health Promotion and Wellness Angela Mitchell began serving as the Director of Health Promotion and Wellness (HPaW) at Northwestern in April 2018. She and her staff deliver programs that support and improve the overall well-being of Northwestern students. Angela hopes that through working with campus partners, HPaW can create an environment that allows all students to thrive. She is focused on growing HPaW to bring a more holistic approach to student health and wellness while still providing essential programs and services to address alcohol and other drug misuse among students. Angela has worked at Northwestern since July 2013. She most recently served as the Assistant Director of Health Promotion and Wellness and has significant experience in peer health education and health promotion. She is also a licensed clinical social worker and worked with college students as a therapist at the Loyola University Chicago Wellness Center. In addition to her work at NU, she maintains a small private psychotherapy practice in Evanston.
9
UNDERGRADUATE RESIDENTIAL EXPERIENCE INITIATIVE The 2017-18 academic year was an exciting time for students living on campus. In September, the brand new 560 Lincoln Street Residence Hall welcomed its inaugural residents. In early January, a thoughtful and transformative renovation of Willard Hall culminated in a grand reopening. As part of the Housing Master Plan, these two major projects will dramatically influence the residential experience of nearly 700 students each year. But what are the programmatic contours of that experience beyond the ever-improving residential facilities? The answer is, well, still under construction.
In its report released in January, the Undergraduate Residential Experience Committee sketched out a single residential model that would ensure every Northwestern undergraduate has a meaningful, supportive, and enriching experience while living on campus. With membership comprised of students, faculty, and staff and with substantial input from the campus community, the committee developed a framework informed by the ongoing Housing Master Plan and the new two-year residency requirement. The report outlines a residential experience organized around distinct and robust “Neighborhoods” in which students would have expanded options to find a sense of community and access the University’s network of care and support. Comprised of clusters of nearby buildings, including fraternities and sororities, Neighborhoods would have multiple smaller communities, or “Houses,” within them. While each House would remain private to its residents, each Neighborhood would have amenities such as multifunction rooms, a fitness room, and a collaboration space accessible to residents of all Houses within it. Both the Neighborhood and House levels will offer faculty and staff new opportunities for leadership roles and affiliations. Of particular note is the plan to expand the number of Faculty-in-Residence from five to ten.
10
A ten-week community feedback period followed the report’s release. The Vice President for Student Affairs and committee members attended multiple forums to listen, answer questions, and elaborate on the report. In addition, there was a heavily promoted opportunity to share feedback and questions online. Each submission received a personalized response from the most appropriate representative. In April, the Provost and Vice President for Student Affairs, with guidance from the Office of Change Management, approved the transition to a new phase of the initiative in which topical working groups would prepare detailed blueprints for the single residential model. Charged with formulating recommendations and projecting costs, these groups convened in June and worked throughout the summer. While the Neighborhood Operations group has researched infrastructural issues like an intra-campus shuttle, the ResidenceBased Instruction & Academic Support group has been exploring how courses in residential spaces can advance the goals of active learning and building community. Jennifer Luttig-Komrosky, Executive Director of Residential Services, commented that “meetings have been lively, as members with diverse areas of expertise—many outside the residential sphere—have brainstormed creative solutions that
promise to enhance the residential experience while generating collateral benefits for campus partners.” Working groups will submit reports during fall quarter for consideration by the initiative’s steering committee, which is chaired by Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education Miriam Sherin and Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Julie Payne-Kirchmeier. The steering committee will prepare a final, comprehensive report for the Provost and Vice President for Student Affairs, who will then make a decision about whether to proceed with launching the first phase of the single residential model in fall 2019. An announcement about their decision is anticipated in January. The energy and enthusiasm around the initiative reflect the ongoing commitment of the Division of Student Affairs to be full partners in the student learning experience. Nearly thirty members of the current working groups are faculty or academic affairs professionals. The collective insights of those individuals, students, and Student Affairs staff have expanded our imagination about the potential for a single residential model and helped us identify pathways to realizing that potential to advance undergraduate education and student life.
11
NEW DINING OPTIONS OPEN ON CAMPUS The fall quarter brings new dining options to residential dining and retail and the Norris Center. As a result of our new campus-wide food service contract, Compass Group, our new food service vendor, fully funded summer upgrades to Norris food court, the dining area in Sargent Hall, and Lisa’s CafÊ in Slivka Hall. Our partnership with Compass on these projects underscores our appreciation for the impact dining has on the campus experience. The Norris food court has experienced the most significant change with the completion of phase one of a project to create a reimagined food hall featuring exciting new concepts. Asiana Foodville, Budlong Chicken, Patty Squared, Wildcat Deli, and MOD Pizza have opened for business. Asiana Foodville offers authentic Asian dining with a hand-rolled sushi bar and chefs that specialize in pan-Asian cuisine. Budlongs Chicken is a Nashville Hot Chicken restaurant with handcrafted fare using locally sourced, antibiotic and hormone-free chickens. Patty Squared is a new concept from Evanston restaurateur Amy Morton offering burgers, salads, and other fresh and healthy options. Wildcat Deli serves high quality subs with a local twist. MOD Pizza offers completely customizable, individually sized artisan pizzas and salads made to order and served superfast. In addition, Norris now features an enhanced convenience store with healthy options, including Roots and Seeds, an expanded salad bar. The second phase of the Norris work will take place over winter break and bring a refreshed look to South end seating area.
12
In residential dining and retail, Lisa’s CafÊ at Slivka Hall now features a Plum Market Kitchen, providing a fresh-convenience combo experience, mixing natural, organic, specialty, and local products. Sargent Dining Hall opened for service to the class of 2022 with a refurbished cozy and relaxing farm to table atmosphere. Sargent Dining Hall is the first of four dining hall renovations to be funded by Compass. Elder, Foster Walker, and Allison Halls will follow. CafÊ Bergson will
undergo a renovation in late 2018 to feature a new coffee service concept from BrewBike, a student run company, as well as upgraded vending with fresh and healthy options. We are very excited about the improvements to our food service program, and we are grateful to Compass for the financial investment it is making to enrich the dining experience for students, faculty, staff, and guests.
13
WELCOME CLASS OF 2022 AND TRANSFERS!
14
Welcome to the incoming Class of 2022 and transfers! On September 19, these young Wildcats moved into their new homes and began to meet some of their classmates. The next day, new students met their Peer Advisers for the first time before joining in the classic Northwestern tradition of March through the Arch, followed by a Kiss ‘n Bye with their families.
discussions, and helping them navigate the exciting new world of Northwestern. Peer Advisers played a crucial role in the events of the week and will continue to support their students throughout the upcoming school year.
During the next five days of Wildcat Welcome, students learned how to handle both the academic and the social expectations of life at Northwestern. Each student attended informational sessions to learn more about their individual schools and receive academic advising before finally registering for their fall classes on September 25. Additionally, all students attended a series of True Northwestern Dialogues (TNDs) covering four important topics: alcohol and drugs, mental health and wellness, consent and sexual relationships, and diversity and inclusion. These TNDs also taught students about the many resources available to them on campus whenever they need assistance.
While the Kiss ‘n Bye might have been one of the hardest parts of Wildcat Welcome for some students, many got a chance to reconnect with their families over Family Weekend. In this last weekend of October, family members came from across the country to visit their students and see the campus. Throughout Friday, families had the opportunity to attend a wide variety of lectures and receptions, and on Saturday, many families cheered the Wildcats to victory in the big football game against Wisconsin. For new and returning students alike, family weekend was a reminder that no matter how far they had traveled to come to Northwestern, they could always feel supported throughout the school year.
With so much to learn, Wildcat Welcome was a busy time for incoming students. Fortunately, they all had Peer Advisers answering their questions, facilitating
15
STUDENT AFFAIRS
16