Seton Hall University announced Friday that it will host the first ever New Jersey Higher Ed Mental Health Summit for all New Jersey colleges and universities, including community colleges, on Jan. 10, 2024.
Dealing with the mental health crisis for New Jersey’s young adults is a nationwide crisis and, for the first time ever, professionals from across the state plan to tackle growing young adult mental health crisis.
Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer of the legendary rap group Run-DMC, hip-hop pioneer and mental health advocate, will offer the keynote address.
Hundreds of professionals and frontline practitioners are expected to attend the gathering in South Orange and collaborate across disciplines to combat the youth mental health crisis and develop methods to foster the psychological health and well-being of students to help them thrive, develop and achieve personal and academic success.
“The summit is an opportunity for colleagues from all of our campuses to learn from one another and share best practices,” Karen Van Norman, associate vice president and dean of students at Seton Hall University, the summit co-chair, said. “We know that addressing the mental health needs of our students is the work of everyone on campus, not just our counseling centers.”
Van Norman serves as the summit’s co-chair alongside Dr. Sara Klein, vice president for student affairs at Stevens Institute of Technology.
“This is the first such summit offered in the state of New Jersey, and we are thrilled with the response we have already received. We hope this sets a precedent for future collaborations across the state that enhance training and development for higher education staff and ultimately improve the lives of our students,” she added.
Attendees can choose from nine morning breakout sessions and nine afternoon sessions, featuring expertise from dozens of dedicated higher education experts and frontline practitioners, as well as illustrative case studies from throughout academia, including:
- Best Practices and Collaborative Care for Student Athlete Mental Health;
- Beyond the Books: Promoting Psychology Well-Being Among First-Gen Students;
- Creating Services and an Environment that Supports People of Color and Diverse Populations;
- A Collaborative Holistic Approach to Addressing Interpersonal Violence;
- New Avenues for Student Involvement in Promoting a Positive Mental Health Culture;
- Power of Pebbles: The Impact of Therapy Dogs on Campus Life;
- Student Athlete Mental Health: An Athletic Trainer’s Perspective;
- Supporting Autistic Students in College;
- The Madison Holleran Act Amendment: Its Purpose & Impact on N.J. Campuses;
- What’s the Point of Having a College Counseling Center Today?
For more information on the Summit and to register, click here.
