Faculty Professional Development: Supporting Student Well-Being
Dear Pittsburgh-Based Faculty Members:
We are writing to share an important update regarding student mental health and well-being — a commitment central to our mission as a teaching and research community, as underscored by the recent launch of the Presidential Advisory Board on Student Well-Being, Mental Health and the Academic Experience.
CMU’s faculty and instructors are truly the eyes and ears of the student experience. Through your daily interactions, you help students navigate their educational journeys and foster the sense of care that defines our university. Your ability to identify and respond to a student in need of support is an essential component of our campus safety net.
Over the past several years, the university has made significant investments in equipping faculty to support student well-being. We have long offered mental health training for faculty — including the launch of faculty-designed programs in 2019 and the availability of Mental Health First Aid since 2014. Despite these longstanding offerings, we have heard from too many faculty members who lack awareness of these professional development opportunities.
To address this, we are reaffirming the expectation that all faculty members complete professional development focused on recognizing and supporting students in distress. Over the summer, the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty and the Student Affairs Community Health and Well-Being teams collaborated to develop a more robust system for communicating about this programming as well as monitoring faculty participation and ensuring consistent engagement with these vital training opportunities.
To uphold this requirement, each faculty member is expected to complete at least one of the following training programs by August 2026. Each of these trainings address the same core goal of supporting student well-being, but each offers a different level of depth and emphasis. You may complete the training that best aligns with your availability and desired topic of focus.
Supporting Student Well-Being: Faculty Professional Development in Recognizing & Assisting Students in Distress
A 90-minute, faculty co-designed, in-person workshop providing an overview of how to best support students. After the workshop, participants will be able to articulate key findings about student mental health, understand the faculty’s role in supporting students, identify effective ways to assist them and describe available campus resources. Register
Mental Health First Aid
A comprehensive eight-hour, in-person, evidence-based training program that teaches how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges. Participants build practical skills to provide initial support to someone who is struggling and connect them to appropriate resources. Register
Pathways to Suicide Prevention
A three-hour, in-person, experiential training program designed to enhance participants’ knowledge, awareness and skills related to college student suicide prevention. The program emphasizes empathic listening, effective communication and asking compassionate, direct questions about suicidal thoughts. It also integrates a multicultural framework to strengthen understanding and responsiveness to students with intersecting identities. Register
If you have completed one of these programs at CMU since August 2024, contact the Community Health and Well-Being team at chwb@andrew.cmu.edu to record your participation and fulfill this requirement. Faculty members are expected to refresh their training every two years.
These programs are designed to equip you for your essential role in supporting our students, and to remind you that you are not alone in this work. Our colleagues in Counseling and Psychological Services, along with other campus partners, bring deep expertise in supporting student well-being. They are ready to provide professional care for students who need more than classroom-level assistance and value your partnership in this collective effort.
We believe that engagement with these resources will make a meaningful impact for both our students and our faculty community. Thank you for your continued commitment to cultivating an environment that supports the success and well-being of our students.
Sincerely,
James H. Garrett Jr.
Provost and Chief Academic Officer
Gina Casalegno
Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students