John B. King, Jr., the fifteenth Chancellor of the State University of New York (SUNY) comprehensive education system, arrived at SUNY Oswego on Feb. 14 to discuss the system’s recent million-dollar funding allocation and the subsequent implications of the investment, which was made possible in large part due to New York State Governor Kathy Hochul and the collaboration within the SUNY structure.

“Thanks to the historic investment by Governor Hochul and the Legislature in SUNY’s operating budget for 2023-24, SUNY is investing recurring funding of $10 million yearly to support State-operated campuses in addressing student mental health needs,” according to a fact sheet published by the official website of New York State (NYS), ny.gov.

As chancellor, King is beyond welcoming of the new mental health incentive, finding the need to address mental health concerns among university students a top priority.

“As more SUNY students seek mental healthcare, we need to be there for them with expanding services, including having enough counselors on campuses or online to meet the need around the clock,” King said. “Mental health needs have no respect for the clock or the business day.”

Chancellor King also visited the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) to discuss the initiative’s potential impact, where SUNY ESF’s President Joanie Mahoney would parallel King support.

“While we are committed to helping students navigate immediate challenges; our ultimate goal is to provide them with strategies and skills that cultivate resilience so they can thrive during their college experience and beyond,” Mahoney said. 

Up north, SUNY Oswego President Peter Nwosu was present and, similar to King, advocated for the expansion of mental health services. 

“We applaud Chancellor King and the SUNY system for their ongoing attention to mental wellness and support for such important services,” Nwosu said. “The breadth and depth of our commitment to student well-being is a big part of our campus culture, and these funds will allow us to build upon our efforts in a healthy and substantial way.”

The realized allocation will directly affect more than 200,000 students across 28 participating SUNY campuses and develop existing services at at least 25 campuses. The allocated funds will also be adaptive to the particular needs of each institution, depending on student demographics and statistics.

According to the fact sheet by the NYS website, sites such as “SUNY Cobleskill will hire a 12-month counselor, allowing assistance to summer EOP program students and those on campus over the summer,” the “University at Albany will hire an LGBTQ+ Specialist to meet the needs of a student population who face increased risk for mental health concerns, trauma, and suicide” and “SUNY Old Westbury, officially recognized as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), will hire a dedicated bilingual counselor to reach out to the Hispanic student population.”

In addition to on-site services, the investment will expand on the Student Tele-Psychiatry Network (STPN) and facilitate the establishment of a revolutionary tele-counseling outlet for community colleges. In other words, funds from the balanced budget will augment physical, face-to-face and online mental health avenues.

An alternative to traditional sit-down therapies, STPN is an online counseling network managed entirely by SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, approximately 45 minutes south of Oswego. The network incorporates a diverse range of trained medical professionals to provide “psychiatric services and medication management to SUNY students,” according to the NYS website. 

“The network may also provide diagnoses, mental health assessments and short-term Cognitive Behavioral Therapy intervention to students,” per the NYS website.

Launching in 2017, STPN has met with over 2,800 students, documenting approximately 13,430 appointments since its inception.

At SUNY Oswego, the received funds will be used towards “hiring more staff to support students, such as staff that specialize in providing care to students from marginalized backgrounds,” “entering tele-counseling contracts to provide more access to therapy and practitioners from diverse backgrounds,” “extending counselor contracts [to]… provide services over the summer months” and “[providing] an increase in pay to per diem staff who offer much-needed services,” per the NYS website.

The influx in mental health funding does not come without reason; in recent years, the increase in mental conditions affecting university students has become unavoidable and has contributed to an equal magnitude of negative externalities. 

According to a 2022 report by the World Journal of Psychiatry, “In North America, 53% of 1,455 American college students reported that they had experienced depression since the beginning of college, and 9% said they had considered suicide since the beginning of college.”

King also emphasized the ongoing issue afflicting students in higher education by highlighting the most commonly mentioned disorders and their prevalence among adolescents and young adults.

“According to the latest annual Healthy Minds survey, approximately 40% of college students suffer from moderate or major depression and more than one in three college students are dealing with anxiety,” King said.

Being an undergraduate student comes with a transitional period characterized by uncertainty between the lifestyle led in high school and the new standards demanded by college-level courses. As the first step towards a more autonomous and self-sufficient self, university proves to be an innately difficult endeavor to navigate; the addition of mental health struggles compounds the strain further.

“We have to keep in mind that the mental health challenge that we face on campuses intersects with other challenges that students face,” King said.

In the face of concerning data, King is optimistic that the newfound financial support will significantly mitigate the pressure caused by mental health concerns by having the opportunity to fund new and existing safety nets. SUNY Oswego’s Mary Walker Health Center already has several counseling services in place, including Mental Health Crisis rapid appointments and a Text a Crisis Counselor program to streamline communication. These programs are at the forefront of expansionary efforts by the recent funds allocation.