The OneJax Institute at the University of North Florida is now accepting applications from teens entering grades 10 through 12 to participate in its Metrotown Institute, a four-day program that promotes respect and understanding across the differences of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status and ability. The Institute will take place 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, June 12, to Wednesday, June 14, and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, June 15, at Riverside Presbyterian Church, 849 Park St.
“Metrotown is truly a transformative experience for students who complete the program—it opens their eyes and changes the way they see the world,” said Nancy Broner, OneJax executive director. “The teens deal directly with prejudice and discrimination and while they’re learning about people who are different, they’re learning a lot about themselves.”
The Metrotown Institute brings together high school students to explore living successfully in an increasingly diverse and interdependent world. Participants will share ideas and feelings, discover their own unique talents, and experience a variety of perspectives on diversity issues, multicultural communications, religious traditions, gender roles and self-esteem, while earning 35 community service hours for their involvement. There will be small group discussions and workshops, creative and artistic activities, outdoor experiences and personal reflection.
Students must be referred to the program or endorsed by a sponsor, such as a parent, teacher, counselor, clergy or community leader. Anyone interested in referring a student should contact OneJax at (904) 620-1529. Students will be required to complete an application to be considered. Applications and additional information can be obtained at www.OneJax.org.
The program is designed for 50 students, who will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis. The registration fee is $150, which includes daily lunch and snacks as well as dinner on the final night. Sponsors are encouraged to help students raise money to cover the registration fee, although no one will be prevented from participating due to an inability to pay.
Metrotown is supported by the United Way of Northeast Florida and UNF. As an interfaith organization, the OneJax Institute at UNF educates, advocates and builds community to promote respect and understanding that will overcome bias, bigotry and oppression.
university of north florida
Small Business Week Awards Presented at UNF
The 25th annual Small Business Week Celebration luncheon will take place 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, May 4, at the University of North Florida’s Adam W. Herbert University Center, Building 43, Grand Banquet Hall, Room 1044. The event is presented by the Small Business Development Center at UNF with support from The Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship.
This year’s event features a keynote address on “The Entrepreneurial Culture, How to Engage and Empower Your People,” presented by Bonnie Harvey and Michael Houlihan, founders of Barefoot Wine and best-selling authors of “The Barefoot Spirit.” Barefoot Wine started in the laundry room of a rented farmhouse. Without money or knowledge of the industry, Houlihan and Harvey used resourcefulness, innovation and a positive company culture to build one of the top commercial brands in the country.
Following the keynote, the U.S. Small Business Administration will present the annual Small Business Week awards, which spotlight outstanding contributions of North Florida business leaders and champions at the district level. The U.S. SBA will also recognize North Florida’s top SBA lenders with awards for significant participation in the 7(a) and 504 Loan programs, including:
- North Florida District and State of Florida Minority Owned Small Business Person of the Year: Hanan Hamed-Furqan, THREEZ Company president/CEO
- North Florida District Small Business Advocate of the Year: James Boyd Stallings, PS27 Ventures managing partner
- North Florida District Small Business Financial Advocate of the Year:Janice Bounds, vice president of SBA Lending, CBC National Bank
- North Florida, State of Florida, and Region IV 8(a) Graduate of the Year:Andrew “Andy” Harold, A. Harold and Associates president
The registration fee for this event is $40 per person. Corporate tables that seat eight are available for $350. To register, call (904) 620-2476 or visit the website.
UNF, a nationally ranked university located on an environmentally beautiful campus, offers students who are dedicated to enriching the lives of others the opportunity to build their own futures through a well-rounded education.
2017 Gladys Prior Awards for Career Teaching Excellence Honor Four Teachers
On the 20th anniversary of the award, four Jacksonville teachers were surprised in their classrooms yesterday and today, Thursday, April 27, with the 2017 Gladys Prior Awards for Career Teaching Excellence, which were established in 1998 by Gilchrist Berg, founder and president of Water Street Capital, to honor teachers who have had lifelong careers in teaching and inspiring students.
As of this year, 80 teachers will have been recognized with a Gladys Prior Award. To date, Berg has given more than $1 million to honor Jacksonville teachers with an award named after his fourth-grade teacher, Gladys Prior, at Ortega Elementary. The University of North Florida College of Education and Human Services manages this gift and coordinates the annual award competition. Each of these career teachers will receive $15,000.
The 2017 winners are Patrice Haupt, Paxon School for Advanced Studies; Alicia Henderson, Assumption Catholic School; Larry Knight, Stanton College Preparatory School; and James Miller, La Villa Middle School of the Arts. Together these teachers have well over 80 years of teaching experience.
The surprise visits were yesterday and today as follows:
Wednesday, April 26:
- 8:20 AM La Villa Middle School, 501 N Davis St.
- 11:20 AM Stanton College Prep, 1149 W 13th St.
- 12:45 PM Assumption Catholic School, 2431 Atlantic Blvd.
Thursday, April 27:
- 9:25 AM Paxon School for Advanced Studies, 3239 Norman E Thagard Blvd.
Patrice Haupt teaches language arts at Paxon. She’s known for her commitment to meet the varying academic and personal needs of her students plus supporting and mentoring fellow teachers. She holds her students to high expectations in her class, while honoring every single one of their identities and stories. Haupt is a sister, mother, friend, cheerleader, partner and an inspiration to all she meets. She’s described as vibrant, vocal and unequivocally in love with teaching and her students.
Alicia Henderson is a literature and English teacher at Assumption, where she also coaches the cross-country team. She does everything imaginable to engage her students in literature—taking students on reading-related field trips, such as a visit to a tearoom after reading “Anne of Green Gables” and an adventure at the Okefenokee Swamp complete with archery after diving into “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.” Henderson has an astonishing library and has the unique gift to match students with books that will draw them in. Her classroom invites students to read and discuss at tables and comfy chairs with pillow and rugs, all lit with soft light.
Larry Knight teaches Language Arts at Stanton and is the advisor to the award-winning Stanton newspaper, the Devil’s Advocate. Knight uses roundtable paedeia discussions after required reading assignments, which begins with a student voicing an assertion about the work and is followed by a discussion based upon analytical and creative thought. All this takes place with 14 and 15 year olds encouraged by Knight to pursue individual thinking and intellectual exploration—a true gift for freshmen entering the robust and challenging world of Stanton. His door is always open to new teachers learning from a master teacher, and he’s widely admired for many years of outstanding advising, teaching and mentoring the staff of the school paper.
James Miller teaches U.S. history at LaVilla. He’s an infectious storyteller whose classes are filled with rich images, maps, battle scenes, clips from movies, colorful descriptions and interdisciplinary projects designed to wake up students’ minds. Miller has woven his enthusiasm for gardening into his history lessons, with stories of families fleeing Mussolini with fig-tree cuttings from Italy in hand. He generously provided students with fig-tree cuttings from his own garden to plant their own trees. He also attends the performances of students and has been known to ask for an autograph or two afterwards.
UNF, a nationally ranked university located on an environmentally beautiful campus, offers students who are dedicated to enriching the lives of others the opportunity to build their own futures through a well-rounded education.
UNF Honoring Students’ Exceptional Service at Spring Commencement
The University of North Florida will honor two students with outstanding records of volunteerism and caring spirits, when it hands out more than 1,620 degrees Friday, April 28, during spring commencement at the UNF Arena, Building 34, on campus.
Senior Brianna Ballard, who is graduating this week with a bachelor’s degree in nutrition and dietetics, will be recognized as the recipient of the Senior Service Award, while, Sarah Rosen, a senior graduating with a degree in international studies, will be recognized as the recipient of the Albert D. Ernest Jr. Caring Award.
The UNF Alumni Association presents the Senior Service Award to a graduating senior for outstanding volunteer service to the University or community. The Caring Award recognizes students who demonstrate the spirit of caring, humanitarianism and volunteerism exemplified by Albert Ernest. Ballard will be honored during the 9 a.m. ceremony, while Rosen will be honored at the noon ceremony.
As an incoming freshman new to Jacksonville, Ballard, an Orlando native, immediately sought out volunteer opportunities as a way to become familiar with the campus and community. She began volunteering with the On-Campus Transition mentoring program, a program designed for UNF student-peers to help other students with developmental disabilities become acclimated to campus and feel a part of a community. She also participated in a Transformational Learning Opportunity study-abroad class to Peru, which opened her eyes to food insecurity and hunger present in our community, inspiring her to move forward with a major in nutrition.
Finding inspiration from her study-abroad experiences, Ballard created a food recovery program on the UNF campus and is the co-president/founder of the student-led organization, Food Fighters. The organization works with UNF Dining Services to recover and repackage food, providing meals and education to Northeast Florida Aids Network clients. The Food Fighters are not only successfully feeding the hungry and reducing food waste but are also teaching UNF students about food safety, nutrition education and leadership skills. The group’s work has also helped the University to build a bridge with local nonprofits.
Additionally, Ballard has served as the president of the UNF Healthy Osprey Club, a spin instructor at the campus Student Wellness Complex, a frequent volunteer at local gardens and food pantries as well as the St. Vincent’s Bariatrics Services Department. These opportunities have allowed her to share her passion for healthy living and inspire fellow students and others in Northeast Florida.
Rosen, a native of Boca Raton, spent a year abroad after high school volunteering in Tanzania and Costa Rica. She is the new Volunteer Services coordinator on campus, stressing to students the importance of volunteerism as well as creating hands-on opportunities. Rosen is a Refugee Friendship Volunteer with World Relief Jacksonville, assisting new immigrant families as well as volunteering with Hubbard House, Habitat for Humanity, UNF’s Interfaith Center and Model United Nations chapter.
She founded the Osprey Volunteer Club and stays active in the organization. In the summer of 2015, she biked across the Unites States with others and raised $8,000 for grants towards affordable housing. Last fall, Rosen ran in the Philadelphia Marathon, raising funds for the non-profit organization Girl Up, which supports females in developing countries.
This semester, Rosen was an Interfaith Center student assistant, where she worked advancing the mission of the Center to establish pluralism on campus, in the community and beyond through interfaith events and dialogue. She will continue her journey at Columbia University pursuing a master’s in social work, with a focus in social policy.
The ceremony for the College of Education and Human Services as well as the Brooks College of Health begins at 9 a.m. The College of Arts and Sciences (art, biology, chemistry, economics, English, fine arts, French studies, history, interdisciplinary studies, international studies, math, music, philosophy, physics, practical philosophy and applied ethics, religious studies, Spanish and statistics) and the Coggin College of Business begin at 12:30 p.m., while the ceremony for the College of Arts and Sciences (anthropology, communication, criminal justice, political sciences, public administration, psychology, social work and sociology) and the College of Computing, Engineering and Construction take place at 4 p.m.
The University expects to award a total of 1,546 bachelor’s degrees, 195 master’s degrees and 56 doctorates this term. Including the spring 2017 graduates, UNF has issued a total of 72,206 bachelor’s degrees, 18,241 master’s degrees and 476 doctorates since first opening its doors in 1972.
UNF Awarded $1.4M National Science Foundation Grant
The University of North Florida has been awarded a $1.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Robert Noyce Fellowship, which will support the Jacksonville Teacher Residency, a program in UNF’s College of Education and Human Services.
“The NSF awards are highly competitive and prestigious. By being selected to receive this award, the National Science Foundation recognizes the important work that DCPS and UNF are doing together. We are truly partners in the work of improving education by strengthening student and teacher learning,” said Dr. Diane Yendol-Hoppey, COEHS dean.
The Jacksonville Teacher Residency is a teacher preparation program for graduates of science, technology, engineering and math disciplines who want to become math or science teachers in urban secondary schools in Duval County Public Schools. The program prepares AmeriCorps Residents for a teaching career through a yearlong teaching apprenticeship in a Duval County urban school as they complete a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from the University.
The principal investigator is Dr. Wanda Lastrapes, University program director for the Jacksonville Teacher Residency, while the co-principal investigators include Drs. Dale Cassamatta, professor in the Coastal and Marine Biology Flagship Program; KoSze Lee, assistant professor, and Brian Zoellner, assistant professor, both in the Department of Foundations and Secondary Education; and Pali Sen, professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics.
“We’re honored to receive this support for JTR from the prestigious National Science Foundation. This grant will allow us to broaden and deepen our preparation and support of new math and science secondary teachers,” said Lastrapes. “Faculty from the COEHS and College of Arts and Sciences will explore innovative strategies to make STEM relevant and engaging for students in Duval County high-needs urban schools.”
The grant will support 15 members of JTR’s fourth cohort by providing a living stipend during the apprenticeship year; funding collaboration between faculty in UNF’s COEHS and COAS to deepen math and science content and instructional practices; and providing an induction and professional development program to support the new teachers in their first four years of teaching. The Noyce Fellows will receive a $10,000 salary supplement to support their work during the induction program.
During the 2016-17 school year, JTR AmeriCorps Residents served 537 students in Duval County public middle and high schools. 78 percent of students who completed services demonstrated growth of at least one achievement level in math.
JTR is a partnership between UNF and Duval County Public Schools, with support by the Jacksonville Public Education Fund. It was created in 2014 and has prepared 26 secondary math and science teachers for Duval’s urban schools, namely middle and high schools, in the Raines, Ribault and Jackson feeder schools.
The mission of the JTR program is to recruit, prepare and retain a diverse population of highly effective teachers who serve in high needs schools to ensure that Duval County students are college and career ready.
University of North Florida Appoints Three New College Deans
The University of North Florida announces the appointment of three new deans, Drs. Curt Lox, George Rainbolt and Jeff Chamberlain, who will be joining the University faculty this summer.
Lox will be the dean of the Brooks College of Health, starting the end of May, while Rainbolt will be the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, beginning in July. Beginning in August, Chamberlain will be the dean of the Hicks Honors College.
“I’m pleased to welcome three outstanding deans to the University administrative team as each dean has proven to be an effective advocate for faculty and students,” said Dr. Earle Traynham, provost in the Division of Academic Affairs at UNF. “I’m confident that Drs. George Rainbolt, Jeff Chamberlain and Curt Lox will bring to their respective positions a collaborative nature, strong leadership and experience in strategic planning.”
For the past two decades, Lox has worked at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville as a kinesiology and health education professor and as dean of the School of Education, Health and Human Behavior. He has served on the editorial review boards for the Collegiate Press and the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Currently, Lox is a member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.
He serves as a sport psychology consultant to the United States Martial Arts Team, St. Louis Steamers and the University of California Riverside Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, to name a few. Lox earned his doctorate from the University of Illinois and his master’s degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Dr. Pam Chally, former BCH dean, retired in late March but will return in October to serve as the University’s interim provost. Dr. Cathy Christie, BCH associate dean, is serving as acting dean to bridge the gap between Chally leaving and Lox starting the new post.
Rainbolt comes from Georgia State University, where he’s chair of the Department of Philosophy. Dr. Madeline Zavodny, his wife, will be joining the Coggin College of Business faculty as an economics professor. While at GSU, Rainbolt implemented an innovative plan to allow faculty to shift their teaching responsibilities between semesters to free up more time for research and also worked to help faculty members gain external funding.
He has held several international positions, including Visiting Professor, Shanghai University in Shanghai, China; Visiting Scholar, College Internationale de Philosophie in Paris; and Visiting Scholar, Universität Bielefeld in Bielefeld, Germany. Rainbolt earned both his doctorate and master’s degree from the University of Arizona and a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College.
For the past 10 years, Chamberlain served as the director of the Frederik Meijer Honors College at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. Previously, he was a professor of history at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois. His areas of teaching interests include social, political and intellectual as well as Ecclesiastical History of Tudor/Stuart and Georgian England.
Chamberlain has authored such books as “Accommodating High Churchmen: The Clergy of Sussex” and “Changes and Chances.” He earned his doctorate from the University of Chicago and earned two master’s degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, while his bachelor’s degree came from Bryan College.
The current Honors Director, Dr. Jeff Michelman, will be returning as a UNF faculty member, after working for the past several years elevating the Honors Program to a College.
UNF, a nationally ranked university located on an environmentally beautiful campus, offers students who are dedicated to enriching the lives of others the opportunity to build their own futures through a well-rounded education.
UNF Joins Competitive Carnegie Project on the Educational Doctorate Consortium
The Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate has accepted the University of North Florida among its 22 new graduate schools of education as members into the consortium. UNF joins numerous other schools of education across the country in the important work of redesigning professional practice preparation in education for the improvement of Pk-20 education and the organizations that support it.
The CPED is a consortium of over 100 graduate schools of education that have committed resources to work together to undertake a critical examination of the doctorate in education through dialog, experimentation, critical feedback and evaluation.
“For decades, the University has prepared hundreds of local and international educational leaders. UNF’s selection for the highly-competitive Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate recognizes the excellence of our doctoral program and commitment to game-changing innovation,” said Dr. Diane Yendol-Hoppey, dean of the College of Education and Human Services at UNF. “This innovation will focus on developing practitioner leadership using an integration of evidence-based practices, conceptual understanding and application.”
CPED institution members and their faculty engage in a model of professional development to learn from and with each other the best ways to design professional preparation. New members were chosen through an application process and evaluated by a CPED committee composed of faculty members of current CPED institutions. Acceptance into the Consortium is an invitation to enter into a process of change. As a member, UNF’s Doctorate in Educational Leadership will undergo a transformation as the leadership faculty learn and consider new, innovative ways to improve this degree.
This program revision will be led by Dr. David Hoppey, UNF associate professor in the Department of Leadership, School Counseling and Sport Management, who will serve as the project principal investigator for the CPED initiative. He will serve as the University’s representative at all CPED events, relaying information between the member programs, their education schools and the Consortium.
The College of Education will provide resources and support for the redesign of its education doctorate, including participation in the CPED Consortium. This includes support for faculty to attend semi-annual CPED convenings, support for research efforts to study outcomes of the initiative and support for the redesign of the educational doctoral program.
Member programs and their education schools will provide CPED with evidence that the institution has met the milestones in order to create a record from which others can learn. Evidence of deliberations and resulting experiments can take a variety of forms (survey studies, cases, improvement efforts, self-studies and/or action research). This evidence should flow naturally from change efforts and further the work of the member programs and their education schools.
The vision of the CPED is to inspire all schools of education to apply the CPED framework to the preparation of educational leaders to become well-equipped scholarly practitioners who provide stewardship of the profession and meet the educational challenges of the 21st century. To accomplish this, CPED seeks to strengthen, improve, support and promote the CPED framework through continued collaboration and investigation.
The UNF Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership program has a rich tradition in the region of preparing transformative leaders. Since it’s inception in 1970, the program has provided candidates with a deep understanding of educational leadership through four curriculum strands—leadership, research, foundations and a cognate. The program prepares candidates with theory, opportunities for practice and analytical tools necessary to develop individuals and organizations to function effectively in our constantly changing global society. Scholarship and research are encouraged as well as nurtured with the goal of improving students’ ability to make data-driven decisions that enhance and nurture organizational learning.
The program employs a cohort model that provides students opportunities to study and learn within active learning communities. Through engaged reflective practice as well as interaction with faculty and cohort members, students deepen the understanding of themselves as advocates who effectively influence substantive change within organizations and communities. The program also strives to develop creative, ethical, humane, flexible and visionary leaders, who critically analyze problems, comprehend the inherent complexities of organizational systems and apply relevant research to examine and frame responses appropriate for different contexts, challenges and issues.
UNF, a nationally ranked university located on an environmentally beautiful campus, offers students who are dedicated to enriching the lives of others the opportunity to build their own futures through a well-rounded education.
UNF Hosts ‘Walk in a Woman’s Shoes’ and ‘Take Back the Night’ March/Candlelight Vigil
The University of North Florida’s Women’s Center will host a day of annual events in solidarity of National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. These events aim to unite the community to take a stand against interpersonal violence/abuse and to honor and remember those who have survived as well as those who lost their lives.
The “Walk in a Woman’s Shoes” event will take place 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, on the UNF Green, in front of the Fine Arts Center, Building 45. An awareness fair will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Osprey Plaza in front of the Student Union, Building 58. The “Take Back the Night” march will begin 7:30 p.m. at Osprey Crossings Courtyard (Buildings Q-S) and move to Osprey Plaza.
“These events initiates a conversation about a topic that often goes undiscussed,” said Brandi Winfrey, Women’s Center coordinator. “We want the community to become comfortable discussing sexual assault and interpersonal violence.”
The “Walk in a Woman’s Shoes” event will focus on figuratively walking in the shoes of a sexual assault survivor. Various exhibits will be setup, including a “Sole Survivors’” tent, which will display men, women and children’s shoes with sexual assault facts for each population. Additionally, there will be a “Clothesline Project” to decorate shirts that serve as a physical representation to honor or remember those who have been affected by sexual violence. Teal ribbons, T-shirts and light snacks will be provided.
Members of the University community will lead the “Take Back the Night” march, representing the solidarity of women and men who aren’t afraid to stand up and speak out against violence. The candlelight vigil as well as survivor speak-out will conclude the event in Osprey Plaza by honoring victims and survivors of intimate partner violence.
“Take Back the Night” events have been held by colleges and communities around the globe for more than 40 years and provide an opportunity for women to break the silence of abuse and victimization, bringing people together to stand in unity against interpersonal violence in their communities.
These events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the UNF Women’s Center at (904) 620-2528 or at [email protected].
UNF, a nationally ranked university located on an environmentally beautiful campus, offers students who are dedicated to enriching the lives of others the opportunity to build their own futures through a well-rounded education.
UNF Nutrition and Dietetics Master’s Degree Program Ranks No. 9 Nationwide
The University of North Florida’s Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics online degree program in the Brooks College of Health ranked No. 9 in the country by GradSource.com. UNF was the only university in the state to make the ranking.
The universities and colleges included in the ranking were based on several criteria, including affordability, program prominence, student success, flexibility and related degrees. Some of the ranked universities across the country that UNF bested include Rutgers University Auburn University, New York Institute of Technology, Central Michigan University and Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, to name a few.
“We strive to have programs that are high quality, relevant and focused on preparing students for evidence-based practice,” said Dr. Judith Rodriguez, chair of the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at UNF. “We’re proud of this recognition and will continue to work toward providing students with an excellent education.”
The Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics is a 43-semester hour program with a thesis or non-thesis (projects) option. These two options are for registered dietitians and nutritionists with a bachelor’s degree from an Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics-accredited program who wish to pursue graduate training with an emphasis in clinical or community dietetics. The coursework for this program is delivered using a distance learning format.
The Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics thesis or non-thesis (projects) options allow students to pursue an independent research project as a culminating experience in their master’s program or 12 pre-approved credits through a series of project, field experience, and independent study courses.
The Nutrition and Dietetics Flagship Program at UNF offers undergraduate and graduate programs that are committed to transforming students into valued professionals through the pursuit and acquisition of knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors essential for lifelong learning.
UNF, a nationally ranked university located on an environmentally beautiful campus, offers students who are dedicated to enriching the lives of others the opportunity to build their own futures through a well-rounded education.
University of North Florida Seeks Additional Funding for Mental Health Counselors
The University of North Florida, along with Florida’s 11 other public universities, is asking the state legislature to allocate additional funding to hire mental health counselors for more than 341,000 students across the state of Florida.
Today’s launch of the “Safer, Smarter, Stronger” initiative brought together State University System stakeholders from across Florida to promote the importance of hiring mental health counselors and other system-wide priorities.
UNF has a Counseling Center on campus that offers individual counseling, psychiatric services, nutrition services and group sessions, such as art therapy, to the campus community. The University hopes to secure funding to add two full-time psychologists, two full-time counselors, a full-time psychiatric nurse practitioner, a full-time crisis management counselor as well as a database that helps the University collect and track student behavior information.
“Due to the increase in student demand and no increase in funding resources, wait times for an initial appointment have gone from one to two weeks just a few years ago to three or four weeks currently,” said Dr. Andrew King, UNF Counseling Center director and licensed psychologist. “Additionally, students who were seen initially every week are now scheduled every two or three weeks. When dealing with the stresses of college and the potential for mental illness, time is of the essence.”
The literature on college success and the UNF Counseling Center’s own research, King noted, has made it clear that college students are more likely to remain in college after the first year, complete their degree and graduate on time than college students who don’t seek counseling. When mental health is ignored, opportunities for growth are lost and preventable suffering only serves to exacerbate existing stress.
The UNF Counseling Center, accredited by the International Association of Counseling Service, opened its doors on campus in 1975. Center staff had more than 7,700 student appointments between 2015 and 2016 and between May 1, 2016, and November 21, 2016, mental health staff saw nearly 14 percent more students and provided over 24 percent more appointments to students when compared to the same time frame during the previous year.
According to King, Counseling Center analysis shows that the severity of student symptoms has increased from year to year, while the utilization rate of services has gone up and academic stress remains stable from year to year.
“Students are demonstrating a need for these services, and our universities are working to make sure they’re safe and have the resources to be successful,” said Rep. Kathleen Peters, a mental health advocate who spoke at the rally. “We need to make sure the funding is there to help the students who really need it.”
Other speakers included Board of Governors Chair Tom Kuntz and Timothy Jones, a student veteran at the University of West Florida, who has used mental health counseling services on that campus. Jones said it’s only because of mental health counseling and community support that he’ll be graduating this spring.
The mission of the UNF Counseling Center is to enhance students’ total educational experience by providing a confidential and supportive environment, where student concerns can be shared and explored. Center services assist students with their personal development and enhance their potential for academic success.
The Board of Governors’ legislative budget request is here. Contact UNF PR Director Joanna Norris to set up an interview with the University’s Counseling Center director or Brittany Davis, BOG communication director, to arrange interviews with a rally participant.
UNF, a nationally ranked university located on an environmentally beautiful campus, offers students who are dedicated to enriching the lives of others the opportunity to build their own futures through a well-rounded education.
