CU Boulder’s Student Flourishing Initiative is encouraging students to apply to participate on the Student Voice and Leadership Council, a group that will play a vital role in co-designing the initiative and shaping its outcomes. 

Why student participation matters

Chancellor Justin Schwartz announced the new initiative in the spring with an aim at strengthening CU Boulder’s ongoing commitment to student mental health and wellness. CU Boulder is partnering on the effort with The Jed Foundation (JED), a nonprofit that seeks to protect emotional health and prevent suicide for our nation’s teens and young adults. 

Renée Crown Wellness Institute Director Sona Dimidjian, Senior Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives Ann Schmiesing and Vice Chancellor for Student Life D’Andra Mull are co-chairing a cross-campus advisory committee that was formed over the summer and that includes student representation. The next step is forming the Student Voice and Leadership Council to further uplift the voices of both undergraduate and graduate students in advancing the initiative, which is expected to result in a set of recommendations for specific implementation actions and a collaborative plan for assessing impact over time. 

The goals of the initiative are to strengthen collaborative, comprehensive, inclusive and effective programs and policies that mitigate risk and promote flourishing for all students.

“Student success is one of our core priorities as a campus, and I am grateful for the leadership of Sona, Ann and D’Andra in this initiative and all of our faculty, staff and students who are participating in this vital work,” Schwartz said. “Ensuring student voices help shape our future plans is absolutely critical to creating an environment on campus where students are not only well but can flourish in their academic pursuits and personal lives.”

How students can apply—faculty and staff can help

• Students can apply by visiting the Student Voice and Leadership page and filling out the application form.
• Faculty and staff are encouraged to highlight this opportunity for students in their classes or with whom they work to help drive interest.
• Applications are due by Sept. 9.

Flourishing initiative work to date

The cross-campus advisory committee co-chaired by Dimidjian, Schmiesing and Mull includes deans, faculty and other leaders from across campus. 

• Baseline assessment: The group has spent the summer working through a baseline assessment from JED to help assess campus strengths and opportunities.
• Healthy Minds Study Student Survey: Members of the advisory committee have also been working with JED and the Healthy Minds Network to administer the Healthy Minds Survey, which will examine mental health and wellness, service utilization and related issues among undergraduate and graduate students across campus. 

Next steps

• Establish Student Voice and Leadership Council: Students selected for the council will be notified by Sept. 19 and begin meeting the week of Sept. 29.
• Launch Healthy Minds Study StudentSurvey: The survey will be sent to 24,000 randomly selected CU Boulder undergraduate and graduate students on Sept. 25 and remain open through Oct. 23. The survey will provide information about student mental health, service utilization, knowledge and attitudes about mental health, upstander/bystander behavior, mental health climate, resilience and coping, campus culture climate, and academic persistence, retention and competition. The results of the survey and comparisons to results from peer institutions will be critical to informing the Student Flourishing Initiative’s strategic planning efforts during the spring semester.
• Campus community engagement: After baseline assessments and the Healthy Minds Survey is completed in the fall, JED will visit campus in the spring for campus listening sessions.
• Strategic planning: The Student Flourishing Initiative, in partnership with JED, will begin drafting a three-year strategic plan in the spring. That plan will be communicated out in late spring/early summer, along with goals for year two and a plan for implementation. The process of becoming a JED campus is a four-year process that includes further student engagement, data collection and implementation efforts in ensuing years.