Grants and Contracts Details

Description

The Engineering WISE center will drive cultural change in the College of Engineering at the University of Kentucky (UK) through prioritization of Wellness through Integrated Support and Engagement. Prior NSF funded research on mental health help-seeking in engineering students (EEC 2024394, EEC 2225567) at UK has resulted in the development of our Center Mission Statement: “to enhance students’ mental health and improve sense of belonging within the College of Engineering. We aim to increase access to information and resources designed to support students’ mental health and to ensure that they are receiving positive messages and support about their identities and challenges as engineering students. We see relationship-building as an important tool in meeting our ultimate goal, which is to help engineering students thrive while they are at the University of Kentucky—and beyond.” To achieve this, we have established three Center goals: 1) to build information networks and supports for mental health and sense of belonging that are tailored to the needs of engineering students, 2) to increase student engagement with mental health services and exposure to supportive messages; and 3) to assess the effectiveness of these strategies to improve students’ well-being, sense of belonging, and academic experiences and outcomes. We understand the limitations of assuming that our perspectives will meet the needs of core stakeholders at UK (engineering students, engineering faculty/staff/administration, university administration). With a BPE planning grant, we aim to use action research to ensure that the Center activities meet the needs of core stakeholders. The planning grant will be divided into three phases: preparation, integration and expansion. Through preparation, we will use participatory action research with stakeholders to define the problem of mental health culture in engineering and identify Center activities that will drive cultural change. We will identify core activities and resources of the Center that align with our Mission Statement. These activities will move to the next phase, where we will ensure integration of Center activities with existing services at the department, college, and university level. Through meetings with university leadership and directors (e.g., directors of mental health centers, director of academic coaching, acting associate vice president for student wellbeing), we will map communication and integration strategies to ensure that Center activities are complimentary to existing resources and allow for smooth communication across services. Finally, through the expansion phase, we will meet with Phase II collaborative institutions to understand the needs of those institutions. Through integration of these needs at the planning grant phase, we will allow for a smooth expansion of Center services at the University of Kentucky to outside institutions.
StatusActive
Effective start/end date9/1/238/31/25

Funding

  • National Science Foundation: $99,663.00

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