UNO Joins JED Campus to Support Student Mental Health and Wellbeing

The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is proud to announce that we have joined JED Campus in support of our students’ wellbeing and mental health. JED Campus is a nationwide initiative of The Jed Foundation (JED) designed to help schools evaluate and strengthen their mental health, wellbeing, substance use, and suicide prevention programs and systems to ensure that schools have the strongest possible mental health safety nets. Currently, nearly 500 campuses are engaged in the JED Campus program, reaching more than six million students in 44 states, and the District of Columbia.

"UNO is an amazing campus that consistently puts students at the center of all we do.” Cathy Pettid, Dean of Students at UNO, notes. “This new partnership with the Jed Foundation underscores our commitment to mental wellness. Emotional health is a campus-wide issue, and everyone has a part to play. I am deeply grateful for the faculty, staff, and students who are eager to innovate to address any unmet needs and amplify what we already do very well. Our exciting collaboration with the Jed Foundation is another terrific example of our culture of care."

By joining JED Campus, UNO embarks on a multi-year strategic collaboration that not only assesses and enhances the work that is already being done but also helps create positive, lasting, systemic change in the campus community. Cathy Pettid and Madeline St. Clair will co-lead this effort on campus. The program gives schools a framework for supporting student mental health, assessment tools, feedback reports, a strategic plan, and ongoing support from the JED Higher Education team.

“We are grateful to JED for their leadership and partnership – and especially grateful to Chancellor Li and her leadership team for making space for this work to be done on our campus,” says Madeline St. Clair, Assistant Director of Basic Needs and Innovation in Durango’s Advancement and Support Hub. “I am so excited to see how JED Campus shines a light on UNO’s uniqueness found in our amazing students, faculty, and staff, and our culture of care, social mobility, collaboration, student basic needs, community engagement, and wellbeing – but also excited to see where we can fill the gaps to better serve all our learners.”

UNO’s membership in JED Campus begins with establishing an interdisciplinary, campus-wide task force to assess, support and implement program, policy, and system improvements. In October, UNO students will be asked to complete the Healthy Minds Study to provide their feedback and experiences on mental health outcomes, knowledge, attitudes, stigmas, barriers, and service utilization. All self-assessment responses and feedback reports are confidential. Upon completion of these assessments, JED subject matter experts will provide UNO with a comprehensive feedback report identifying successes and opportunities for enhancements. Over four years, UNO will collaborate with JED to implement enhancements and build a sustainability plan.

“The college years are the age when many mental health issues first manifest, and it can be a time of significant stress and pressure,” said John MacPhee, Chief Executive Officer of JED. “JED Campus helps schools by working with them to evaluate what their college or university is doing to support student emotional health and wellbeing and find practical ways to augment these efforts in a comprehensive way. We believe that the implementation of a campus-wide approach to mental health will lead to safer, healthier communities, and likely greater student retention.”

For more information about JED Campus, visit https://jedfoundation.org/our-work/higher-ed/

The Healthy Minds Study for UNO Students

While not all college students face mental health disorders, college offers all students both an opportunity and a reason to learn to take care of their overall wellbeing, and especially their mental health.

The Healthy Minds Study will help UNO better understand the mental health needs of students through a 25-30 minute survey sent to all eligible students throughout the month of October. The results of this survey will be used to improve campus life and promote wellbeing within UNO’s diverse student body.