On May 24th, 2018 Campus Living Centres hosted their second annual Symposium on Mental Health & the Student Experience. The event brought together 80 student affairs professionals from over 20 Canadian postsecondary institutions.
With the purpose of creating meaningful dialogue and exploring the role of student services in mental health, the symposium was a full day of professional development, featuring nine presenters and keynotes. Topics included responding to mental health related deaths on campus, assessing data from the National College Health Assessment, exploring the duty of care in student support, and reviewing challenges and opportunities within colleges and universities.
Our keynote presenter, Dr. Edward Connors has extensive experience working with First Nations communities across Canada, specifically in the areas of mental health and suicide prevention. In addition to the keynote, Dr. Connors hosted an interactive cultural sensitivity workshop that trained non-Indigenous service providers to better understand the worldview of Indigenous student. As postsecondary schools see an increase in Indigenous students, it is becoming more and more important for student affairs to understand the perceptions and experiences of Indigenous students.
Campus Living Centres would like to thank all of the attendees and speakers at the symposium. It was a day full of learning and discussion that brings us all one step further in our quest in supporting students.
For more information about the symposium, please email our Director, Residence Life & the Student Experience, Greg Hum, at ghum@campuslivingcentres.com.