The mental health and wellbeing of students will be the focus of the "Mental Health Matters: Creating a Culture of Care in Higher Education" conference on Thursday, March 12, in the Dudley H. Davis Center.

Student mental health is a subject of growing concern in higher education. The conference, open to all faculty, staff, practitioners and interested members of the community who register via the conference website, will focus on problems as well as solutions involving a caring and collaborative campus culture. Presentation topics include innovative outreach programs, substance abuse, recovery, suicide prevention, cultural and linguistic competencies, psychiatric disabilities, autism spectrum, accommodations, LGBTQ identities, mind-body wellness, and strategies for managing distressed and disruptive students in the classroom. Participants can expect to gain new knowledge and tools for prevention, recognition, intervention, crisis management and referral.

Greg Eells, director of Counseling and Psychological Services at Cornell University, will serve as keynote speaker. Eells is chair of the Mental Health Section of the American College Health Association (ACHA) and past president of the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD). A strong advocate for college mental health issues, Eells received a Presidential Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award from AUCCCD.

The conference, sponsored by the University of Vermont, the Center for Health and Learning, the Vermont Department of Mental Health, the Vermont Department of Health, and the U.S. Attorney's Office, has been approved for continuing education credit (6.5 hours) for licensed mental health counselors and licensed psychologists. There is no fee for UVM affiliates.

Information: Doug Gilman, (802) 656-8352, douglas.gilman@uvm.edu.