BOISE, Idaho — Boise State University President Marlene Tromp hosted a national news media virtual roundtable on Tuesday with participants from colleges across the country like Howard University, the University of Minnesota and the University of Tennessee.
“This is a time for universities to collaborate not compete,” Tromp said.
The idea behind it -- to discuss student's professional and personal well-being amid the pandemic and the challenges universities have faced because of the coronavirus, like mental health.
“We did a lot of faculty training and we did a lot of work on not just their ability to teach online but their ability to accommodate students in this environment,” said University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel. “We did a lot of communication and town halls gave students voice to express what they wanted instead of assuming we knew better than they do, which is always humbling.”
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“We actually incorporated mental health into our strategic planning process in a way that we might not have otherwise, and we used students to be a part of the design thinking to really strategize how we respond in this moment,” Tromp said.
Those on the call agreed many of these new strategies should continue beyond the pandemic.
“We required mental health first aid training for every employee and faculty at the college that will become part of our yearly experience,” said Russell Lowery-Hart, president of Amarillo College.
Tuesday's roundtable consisted of multiple sessions including one that focused on different institutions and their response to the global pandemic, as well as how they've navigated challenges like student technology issues and COVID fatigue.
Another session dove into societal challenges and inequalities in health care and racism.
All institutions came together with the hope of moving past COVID-19 and ending the pandemic stronger and more unified than before.
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