RETHINKING MENTAL HEALTH

EVERYTHING ABOUT higher education depends on our minds.

Our minds enable us to learn and pursue our dreams, discover and innovate, conduct groundbreaking research, inspire the human spirit, create a better world, and build upon CSU’s proud legacy and land-grant mission of access and excellence.

Those of us in academic communities – whether students, faculty, staff, or leadership – have a lot riding on the wellbeing of the mind. Our mind’s cognitive capacity is critical to serve our aspirations and showcase our talents. We are constantly trying to improve our minds, but if we are struggling with depression, anxiety, or other mental health challenges, that ability may be hindered. Then, we risk becoming consumed by self-doubt and asking ourselves: Am I smart enough to be here? Do my professors or colleagues perceive me as capable and worthy? Do I fit in?

The answers are: Yes. Yes. And a resounding, yes!

Mental health is important to me personally and professionally as a clinical psychologist who is keenly aware of how many of us will struggle with mental health challenges over the course of our lives. I am grateful for those brave enough to share their mental health struggles with me and others.

Mental health is a growing concern for universities and has gained more attention in recent years in great part due to the global pandemic, when many people found their mental health deteriorating. And it has become a priority for our CSU System Board of Governors, who recently launched a new initiative: The CSU System Vision for Student Mental Health in 2030.

As part of the initiative, CSU System and its member campuses committed to becoming national leaders in fostering and supporting student mental health. By the year 2030, our students will perceive that all aspects of campus life – administrative, academic, and student life and services – are designed to promote mental health. I am proud to serve at a university System that prioritizes student mental health and one that is recognized nationally for its efforts.

The Princeton Review named CSU to its 2025 Mental Health Services Honor Roll. We were one of just 16 schools across the U.S. that made this inaugural list, and the only institution in Colorado. The list salutes those universities that The Princeton Review advisory board for the project identified as displaying an exceptional commitment to their students’ mental health and well-being. We are extremely proud of the recognition, but we know we still have work to do.

In higher education, institutions like CSU have grappled with how to address student mental health and well-being. The National Education Association published an article in 2023 titled “The Mental Health Crisis on College Campuses.” The article states that the rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation on college campuses have never been higher. It further says the majority of college students today – more than 60 percent – meet the criteria for at least one mental health problem. Our faculty and staff are at times overwhelmed by what they witness our students experiencing.

It’s for that reason student mental health is inextricably linked to faculty and staff mental health. We fear we cannot serve students and their needs if we are not OK ourselves. Every day those of us who work in academe strive to dazzle everyone with our intellect and our thinking, so it can feel quite threatening to acknowledge that our minds might not be working optimally. It can feel threatening to think we might not be well and that we need help too.

So, how do we move forward to better support the mental health of everyone across our academic communities? There is much we can do and are doing. In addition to the CSU System and its member campuses making mental health a priority, we are doing what we do best in higher education when we face a problem: convening, collaborating, talking, and finding solutions.

That’s what the CSU community did at the Fall 2024 Provost’s Ethics Colloquium on Mental Health in Higher Education. The colloquium featured keynote speaker Katie Rose Guest Pryal of the University of North Carolina School of Law, a nationally renowned expert in mental health and neurodiversity. Pryal has authored several award-winning books, including her most recent: A Light in the Tower: A New Reckoning with Mental Health in Higher Education. Her talk was powerful and inspiring, and was followed by a panel discussion with CSU faculty and staff leaders on how we can arrange academic life so it fosters good mental health.

Pryal’s talk focused on the need to find new approaches to mental health on campuses and improve our collective well-being. She emphasized the need to bolster inclusive university environments where anyone with mental health challenges is included, accepted, and can succeed. Her framework includes changing how we talk about mental health to remove the stigma that characterizes a range of diagnoses as psychologically abnormal. She suggested reframing mental health as neurodiversity to be more inclusive and encompassing. Pryal defined neurodiversity as “normal variations in human neurological function, with an emphasis on normal.”

Pryal also invited faculty to teach with mental health in mind. She talked about how to avoid “toxic rigor” that harms both students and faculty. The idea is that, in higher education, we are compelled toward an expectation of rigor because we have been told it leads to better learning outcomes for students. That usually aligns with a mindset that more is better, especially when it comes to measuring progress.

But Pryal argued, and I agree, that less can actually be more for both students and their professors. One or two fewer assignments allows deeper and more thoughtful work and could ease stress and anxiety that worsens mental health issues. In the end, rethinking this rigor angst can result in everyone having a healthier academic experience without sacrificing the high standards of curriculum objectives.

When I think about how CSU can grow and do better, I am reminded of the Boyer Commission’s report on The Equity-Excellence Imperative: A 2030 Blueprint for Undergraduate Education at U.S. Research Universities. The report makes the case that equity and excellence are inextricably entwined, and universities must better address persistent undergraduate equity gaps to achieve true excellence.

The Boyer Report includes a section on fostering belonging by nurturing mental health and well-being. The commission cited common academic practices, including high-stakes exams and first-year grading policies, as examples of institutionalized conventions that can exacerbate mental health problems. And they called for universities to identify and reevaluate practices and policies to promote wellness.

Changing culture and the way we think seem to be a common theme as we delve into the complex matters of mental health and how we can better serve our mission. The time has come for universities to openly admit we cannot function as thriving academic communities unless we prioritize mental health.

I am excited to see what these next few years will bring as the CSU System initiative changes the landscape on how we respond to mental health challenges. The future well-being of our students, faculty, and staff will depend on our success in rethinking and reframing mental health, and I have no doubt other universities around the nation will be watching us.

Marion K. Underwood is Colorado State University provost and executive vice president – CSU’s chief academic officer and second in command within university administration. Before joining CSU leadership a year ago, she was dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences and a Distinguished Professor of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University.

Illustration at top: Dave Cutler