Note: This letter originally appeared as an email sent to KSAS and WSE graduate students on October 5, 2021.
Dear students,
I hope the first month of the new semester has been a successful one. It’s wonderful to see so many of you on campus again and I appreciate the care you’ve taken to keep yourselves and others healthy as we readjust to in-person learning and activities.
I hope that you’ve had time to familiarize or reacquaint yourselves with the many programs and services offered by our Student Affairs and Student Health and Well-Being teams to support your success as a graduate student. Whether you need medical or psychological services, meals between classes, or a way to take a break from your studies, we are happy to connect you to our resources. And I especially encourage you to check out the newly renovated Ralph S. O’Connor Center for Recreation and Well-Being when it fully reopens this month (the Center is partially open now).
I also want to make sure you are aware of some of the other well-being resources available to you. The Well-Being Website is the central portal to find a wide variety of resources that support your health and well-being. On the website you can filter resources by your graduate student status, the location of where you learn, or by a keyword of interest. The site is also home to our popular Well-Being Blog, which covers eight dimensions of well-being and intersectional topics.
If you are looking to connect with staff, the Center for Health Education and Well-Being (CHEW) has several talented professionals to help you with your goals. Our Alcohol and Drug Education Specialist can do a brief motivational interview session with you; our health educators can bring a workshop or training to your organization; and our Gender Violence Prevention, Education, and Response Coordinator serves as a confidential resource for those who have experienced sexual or gender-based violence or those who might be interested in becoming a more effective active bystander. Additionally, your divisional Graduate Affairs offices offer individual academic and non-academic support and programming.
We continue to offer premium access to the Calm App, SilverCloud (a cognitive-behavioral therapy program designed to address stress, depression, and anxiety), and TimelyCare (a mental telehealth resource). If you want to learn more about any of these resources but are unsure where to start, please visit us during virtual well-being office hours. The schedule and Zoom link can be found on the CHEW website.
While we have made great strides in restoring campus life and reuniting our community, we must continue to be vigilant about preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Our requirement that all students, faculty, and staff be vaccinated and all students get regular asymptomatic testing provides substantial protection, but we should remain mindful that COVID transmission is still possible and that following the latest scientific guidance as it develops is key to the success of this semester. As we continue to monitor the state of the pandemic both locally and globally, please take a moment to review our current health and safety requirements.
Thank you again for staying safe and looking out for one another. I wish you all a successful semester.
Sincerely,
Kevin Shollenberger
Vice Provost for Student Health and Well-Being
Interim Vice Provost for Student Affairs