by Eric D. Lehman, Associate Professor, Communications Specialist
The Connecticut Office of Higher Education has awarded University of Bridgeport a significant grant to enhance counseling services on campus.
The funds were awarded through the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund Connecticut Campus Mental Health Program (CCAMHP). “I am happy to share that UB has been awarded a grant in the amount of $102,450,” says Director of Grants Maria F. Gomes. “The project also supports UB’s view that mental health is a shared responsibility of the entire campus community and that more campus staff members can play a role in safety, health promotion, early identification, treatment, and response.”
UB’s Counseling Services delivers on-going mental health intervention to undergraduate and graduate students. These services are designed to encourage students’ personal growth and emotional well-being, while enhancing their ability to benefit from the University environment and academic experience. Some of the grant funds will go towards evidence-based training for counseling staff, student affairs staff, RAs, security personnel, coaches, and faculty. Other funds will be used for awareness activities, personal costs, and items that support the already available resources and services.
“We recognize that mental health is just as important as physical health for individuals to achieve their academic and personal goals,” says UB President Danielle Wilken. “We are excited that this grant enhances our ability to provide resources to critical staff who support our students every day.”
Learn more about UB’s Counseling Services.
Eric D. Lehman is the director of publications and associate professor of English at University of Bridgeport. He is the author or editor of 22 books, including “New England Nature, A History of Connecticut Food,” and “Bridgeport: Tales from the Park City.” His biography of Charles Stratton, “Becoming Tom Thumb,” won the Henry Russell Hitchcock Award from the Victorian Society of America and was chosen as one of the American Library Association’s outstanding university press books of the year. His novella “Shadows of Paris” and novel “9 Lupine Road” were finalists for the Connecticut Book Award. He has been consulted on diverse subjects and quoted by The Atlantic Monthly, USA Today, the BBC, the History Channel, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, and The Wall Street Journal.