Message from the Office of the President: Fighting Anti Semitism, Regent Her Funeral, and PIPSM and PRISMH Updates

Dear students, faculty, and staff,

Today, we recognize the 80th birthday of Duluth native, Nobel Prize recipient, and U of M alum, Bob Dylan, who continues to inspire and make us proud. Among his countless poetic lyrics, one seems particularly appropriate given the issues of the day. In his song, Brownsville Girl, he notes, “Strange how people who suffer together have stronger connections than people who are most content.” As campuses committed to community and belonging, we stand against all forms of hate and suffering, including recent reports of anti-Semitic bias and violence. We call on our entire community to find stronger connections nonetheless and elevate our mission to understand, educate, and reject discrimination through shared humanity, respect, and care for each other.

Below please find a few important updates.

Remembering Regent Her
Our community mourns the passing of University Regent Kao Ly Ilean Her. Regent Her was such a strong advocate for the University and all members of our community—particularly for Minnesota’s Hmong and Asian American Pacific Islander communities. The public is invited to pay their respects June 5-6 during services at the Legacy Funeral Home in St. Paul.  We will miss her very much.

President’s Initiative to Prevent Sexual Misconduct (PIPSM)
The President’s Initiative to Prevent Sexual Misconduct (PIPSM) is an important systemwide effort toward long-term culture change and a University community free from all forms of misconduct, including sexual misconduct. Professor Karen Miksch, who has been terrific, is wrapping up her term in June as one of the steering committee co-chairs for PIPSM on the Twin Cities campus. We invite nominations (including self-nominations) for her successor, who will serve a two-year term along with the vice president for human resources. Ideally, the new co-chair will be a faculty member or senior leader. For more information about the role, please contact Sara Veblen-Mortenson.

President’s Initiative for Student Mental Health (PRISMH)
In February, we launched the President’s Initiative for Student Mental Health (PRISMH).  PRISMH will take a holistic and systemwide approach to ensure every student has the mental health tools and resources they need to flourish. It will include tangible outcomes such as a platform to highlight available clinical and counseling options, upstream research into prevention and underlying causes of mental illness, and outreach across the state. We put out a call for task force participants and I am thrilled that more than 300 students, faculty, staff, and clinicians responded to that call. We will be letting all applicants know about next steps shortly, including the composition of the task force. This summer, the task force will set its agenda and then begin their work in earnest in September. We will provide updates when more information about their direction emerges, as well as future opportunities to engage in this important work. I would like to offer my sincere appreciation to everyone who expressed interest in this effort.

I’d also encourage you to listen to the third podcast in our Top of Mind series, highlighting mental health at the University. This episode highlights our popular PAWS program (Pet Away Worry & Stress).

Please continue to be healthy, safe, and well.

With warmest regards,
Joan Gabel