The Mental Health Champion award is designed to cultivate an environment that values and recognizes mental health and the importance it holds in the well-being of each of our lives and for assisting the University of Iowa in meeting its strategic goal of being a health-promoting campus.

The University of Iowa Strategic Plan includes, as a goal, “Holistic Well Being and Success” which includes embedding mental health into all aspects of a campus culture that supports students, faculty, employees, and staff.

Preference will be given to those whose primary job is not in mental health, but who through their efforts, assist the university in accomplishing this strategic goal.

Mental Health Champions:
1. Make significant and sustainable contributions to campus mental health
2. Attend to their own mental health
3. Center diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusivity in all aspects of their contributions
4. Improve access to and awareness of mental health resources on campus.

All University of Iowa -affiliated faculty, employees, merit staff, P&S staff, post-docs, and undergraduate, graduate, and professional students.

Annually, there are up to two awards given to students and up to two awards given to staff/faculty/employees/post-docs.

Awards can be given to an individual or to a group.  Nominators can self-nominate or can nominate an individual or group.

Awards include a plaque and a monetary award of $250.00. Awardees attend an award ceremony to be recognized and will also be featured on the Scanlan Center for School Mental Health’s digital channels.

Nominations will open Wednesday, January 17th and are due Friday, February 9th.

Nominations are reviewed by the Awards Committee. The process is conducted in a transparent manner, allowing for any campus individual or group to be nominated. Nominations can be submitted by others or can be self-nominated. We encourage nominators to notify nominees in the spirit of transparency.

Nominators and nominees will be notified by March 8th.

The awards will be presented at the Institution Awards Ceremony on April 30, 2024.

Representatives from: Scanlan Center for School Mental Health, Employee Assistance Program, Graduate and Professional Student Government, Undergraduate Student Government, University Counseling Service, and the Women’s Resource & Action Center.

Current Representatives/Co-Sponsors: Scanlan Center for School Mental Health (Barry Schreier & Monee’ Turner); Employee Assistance Program (Bronwyn Threlkeld-Wiegand); GPSG (Nanle Gusen); USG (Ahmed Baig); University Counseling Service (Michael Fletcher); and WRAC (Linda Kroon)

1. Statement of how the individual or group meets the spirit of the award.

2. Data and examples that corroborates the nominee’s impact in sustainably embedding mental health into campus culture, including how the nominee’s efforts embed diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion.

3. At least one, and no more than three, letter(s) of recommendation that support the information and impact described in the nomination statement.

4. Complete the nomination form by Friday, Feb. 9, 2024.

Funding Sources & Considerations

Awards are funded by one or more sources managed by the Scanlan Center for School Mental Health.

Individual faculty/staff//postdoc monetary awards:  Cash awards to employees constitute gross wages and are subject to payroll tax withholding. This payment will be processed as a special compensation payment.  The award will include required taxes so that the recipient is in full receipt of the actual posted amount of the award.

Individual student monetary awards: Cash awards to students must be processed through MAUI Scholarship Workflow. These payments may lower the total need-based financial aid previously awarded to student.  The Office of Student Financial Aid will review each payment to determine if a student’s financial aid will be affected and will notify the student about any adjustments.  The award will include required taxes so that the recipient is in full receipt of the actual posted amount of the award.

Group awards: Awards given to a group may be used for group recognition activities (such as those aligned with staff appreciation policies), or for materials/supplies to further their campus mental health work. Award funding for groups will be managed by submitting expenditures to Scanlan Center for School Mental Health for payment or reimbursement.

Evaluation

To best evaluate this program the Scanlan Center for School Mental Health Higher Education Program will track demographically where individuals are receiving these nominations in order to ensure we are appropriately marketing the award to equitably provide access for all campus communities.