Helping Students Flourish

When it comes to student well-being, the national picture can be bleak. Headlines focus on campus violence and suicides; students report high levels of stress and anxiety.

At a Student Resiliency Symposium in Charlotte, four colleges and universities came together to focus on this issue and think about what a healthy campus looks like. The Duke Endowment sponsored the day-long event, inviting student life directors, professors and college staff who work with student health programs and campus activities.

“We all recognize how important this is,” says Frederick Murphy, director of counseling services at Johnson C. Smith University. “It doesn’t matter that our campuses look and feel different, students are having a hard time. And we have to ask ourselves what we can do as institutions to help them succeed.”