President Feridun Hamdullahpur has approved the Terms of Reference for the President’s Advisory Committee on Student Mental Health (PAC-SMH). The Terms of Reference sets out a mandate, membership and timeline for this committee. Since the announcement of the PAC-SMH there has been a strong wave of interest expressed by students, staff, alumni, parents, and faculty in discussing the state of mental health among students and awareness of mental health resources available. The Terms of Reference reflect that there will be multiple opportunities for interested individuals to participate; through the Advisory Committee and Panel membership, as well as through information gathering events.
In addition to soliciting information from students and the University community, the PAC-SMH will be analyzing University and societal data sets, and providing recommendations to the President. The PAC-SMH will conduct its core mandate between April and December of 2017.
In the coming weeks, appointments for the 8-10 person Advisory Committee will be confirmed by the President. Shortly thereafter, the PAC-SMH will meet to initiate a process of online application for Panel groups that will inform the Advisory Committee in key areas (Mental Health Experts, Student Services, Community Partners, Academics, Student Experience). This will be an open invitation to the University community to apply to the area where they believe they can be of most help.
Additional announcements about the recruitment processes and public events will be made soon. For more information about the PAC-SMH’s scope and the different Panels, see the complete Terms of Reference.
