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"Some college administrators seem so distracted with fund raising, academic infighting, and community initiatives that they set up their emergency communications departments very poorly. Training is poor to nonexistent, secretaries are pressed into service with tremendous responsibilities for running 'notification systems' 24/7 and on weekends because no one else knows how to do it and the administration won’t pay for additional staff. Procedures are seat-of-the-pants and dependent on HIPPO (highest paid person’s opinion), except when something like Virginia Tech happens and there is some sort of scramble to do something different." --Donna
Most Colleges Avoid Risk Management, Report Says
Jill Biden Shines a Global Spotlight on American Community Colleges
Speaking at a Unesco conference in Paris, the vice president’s wife stressed the importance of two-year institutions to the nation’s educational goals.
Connecticut Public Colleges Lose 200 Professors to Early Retirement
Administrators are scrambling to plug holes in their course schedules for fall, with most expecting to do so by hiring more adjuncts or increasing class sizes.
U. of Georgia Paid 2 Fraternities $2.4-Million to Relocate, Contracts Show
The two were among five with houses on property where the university plans to build new academic facilities.
New Allegations in Admissions Controversy at U. of Illinois Suggest Ex-Provost Played a Role
Linda P.B. Katehi, the incoming chancellor of the University of California at Davis, has insisted she knew nothing of the admission of politically connected applicants at Illinois.
Sonoma State U. Foundation May Lose $350,000 on Loan to Former Board Member
The foundation will be forced to issue fewer scholarships in the 2010-11 academic year because of a diminished endowment, a university official said.
College Suspends Student for Working in Gay Pornography | 58
President Obama's Visit to Notre Dame Carries Barely a Hint of Controversy That Preceded It | 58
Drug Sting Nabs 21 Students at U. of Illinois | 57
Faculty Members and Union Protest Staff Layoffs at Temple U. as 'Cruel' | 57
North Dakota Board's Vote Puts 'Fighting Sioux' Mascot on Thinner Ice | 57
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February 15, 2008
Mental-Health Professionals Rally Behind Colleagues at Northern Illinois U.
Following the shooting at Northern Illinois University on Thursday, mental-health professionals from other colleges were quick to offer emotional and logistical support to their colleagues in DeKalb, Ill.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Northwestern University, and other institutions in the area volunteered to send grief counselors to Northern Illinois to help its mental-health staff provide counseling services at seven locations on the campus today. Some even arrived on the campus Thursday night to counsel students in dormitories.
Chris Flynn, director of the Thomas E. Cook Counseling Center at Virginia Tech, also stepped in to help, offering insight and advice based on his own experience handling the aftermath of the fatal shootings at Virginia Tech 10 months ago.
“In a situation like this, the needs can become overwhelming for a counseling center,” said Mr. Flynn. “We had over 300 volunteers on our campus in the days following the incident … It’s important that students know that counseling is readily available.”
Mr. Flynn sent Micky M. Sharma, director of Northern Illinois’s Counseling and Student Development Center, materials he had distributed to faculty members on leading discussions about the tragedy, how to recognize symptoms of traumatized students, and handling post-traumatic-stress disorder.
“We discovered after the shooting here that there were 286 classes that had a student or faculty member who died or was injured in the shooting,” said Mr. Flynn. “Even large campuses like ours and NIU are really small when it comes down to being connected to individuals who were personally affected.”
Virginia Tech’s counseling services will be available over the weekend to students, Mr. Flynn said, because his office is concerned that news of the Northern Illinois shooting will bring back traumatic memories for students in Blacksburg, Va.
In addition to messages of emotional support, counseling professionals across the country took up collections for takeout-food gift cards, according to Gregory T. Eells, president of the Association of University and College Counseling Center Directors.
Mr. Eells said such efforts were helpful because counselors working around the clock often do not have much time to eat.
“Unfortunately, people have a real sense of how to respond to this type of situation because of what happened at Virginia Tech,” said Mr. Eells. “We know that helping out with basic needs like food are essential right now, when they are so busy.”
In a mass e-mail, Lesley Sacher, president of the American College Health Association, urged her members to offer “special care to assist our NIU colleagues.”
The incident “should strengthen our collective resolve to do whatever we can to foster a safe environment in which college students can learn and grow,” Ms. Sacher wrote. —Elizabeth F. Farrell
Posted on Friday February 15, 2008 | Permalink |Comments
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I think it is awful what is happening in colleges, universities and schools today-violence, hatred, discrimination and numerous awful crimes. I thought students attended school to receive an education- now all you hear in the news is the numerous arrest for drugs, fighting, riots and the tragedy that is becoming more frequent; school shootings. I was a graduate student at a school in Texas that I love dearly, but I am not allowed to attend this university anymore because I have “PTSD.” The sad part is my professor sexually assaulted me and I was diagnosed with PTSD fifteen days after the traumatic incident. Therefore, to read articles that degrade people with “mental health” makes me upset because I deserve my education…my professor just tried to take it away. Not every label of “mental health” should be treated the same and it is sad that adminstrators’ aren’t educated enough to know what “mental health issues” or “PTSD” is really all about.
— texas Feb 16, 09:06 PM #