Dear Faculty and Staff,
As we look ahead to the fall semester, we recognize there is a broad range of anticipation with some eager to resume in-person classes and events on campus while others are feeling a little anxious or hesitant to jump back into face-to-face interactions. Our students will also be all along this continuum, some returning to a campus that may feel very different this fall and some just starting their college experience at CSU after a very challenging year last year.
We wanted to provide a couple of resources to support you and our students, and help us build a welcoming and inclusive campus community.
Mental Health and Well-Being Support
As we navigate yet another transition, it is more important than ever that mental health and well-being are top priorities. We all play a role in building a culture of care and support, and it starts by taking care of our own well-being needs and looking out for each other. There are many ways you can incorporate well-being into your interactions with students and each other:
- Take care of your own well-being: CSU offers multiple resources to support employee well-being, including the Employee Assistance Program, CARE Program, Commitment to Campus, Center for Mindfulness, SilverCloud Health online tools and well-being trainings offered by CSU Talent Development.
- Recommend mental health messaging in your syllabus: TILT provides a syllabus template that includes a helpful message for students about mental health help-seeking.
- Connect students to support: Your referrals make a difference. If you know a student who could benefit from support, please connect them with CSU Health Network resources.
- Integrate well-being into your curriculum: Consider easy ways you can infuse well-being practices into your teaching and work with students. Check out the pilot version of CSU’s Well-Being in Academic Environments Toolkit.
- Share well-being messaging during class: Use these PowerPoint slides with students during class to help raise awareness about available support resources.
- Tell Someone: This university resource is available for students and employees to report concerns about safety and mental health – yours or someone else’s – by calling (970) 491-1350 or using the online referral form. If you believe someone is at risk of immediate harm, call 911.
Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Module Launching for All Students
Beginning August 16, incoming students will be invited to complete the new Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging online training module as part of the We Are CSU program at Ram Welcome. Returning students will be invited to take the module starting August 30. The module takes about 40 minutes and guides students through short videos, what-would-you-do scenarios, and reflections. Through this optional training experience, students will:
- Explore their own identities,
- Learn about key concepts related to inclusion, belonging, bias, power, privilege and oppression,
- Understand the benefits of being part of a diverse community, and
- Develop skills related to allyship, bystander intervention, self and community care, and creating inclusive spaces.
We encourage faculty and staff to consider integrating the module into coursework and engaging student groups you advise with follow-up discussions to deepen student learning of content in intentional spaces. Training sessions are available for registration now and a toolkit will be available soon to assist faculty and staff with leading discussions about the module. For more information about this initiative visit https://racebiasandequityinitiative.colostate.edu/diversitymodule/ or email diversitymodule@colostate.edu.
We hope the end of summer brings you an opportunity to rest, recharge, and prepare for this fall. We deeply appreciate your efforts to welcome and support students this fall!
Sincerely,
Blanche Hughes
Vice President for Student Affairs
Mary Pedersen
Provost and Executive Vice President