Monmouth College Receives $300,000 Grant from National Institute of Health to Enhance Student Mental Health Services

Three-year grant is through NIH Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and part of Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Suicide Prevention Program.

by Barry McNamara

MONMOUTH, Ill. (09/23/2024) — Monmouth College has been awarded a $300,000 grant from the National Institute for Health to strengthen student mental health and well-being.

"This grant marks a significant investment in Monmouth students because it empowers our college to continue to be a place that fosters a healthy, resilient caring community of learners," said Monmouth President Patricia H. Draves.

The three-year grant is through the NIH's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and it is part of the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Suicide Prevention Program, aimed at improving college students' mental health and well-being.

"This grant will ensure that every student has access to the support they need to succeed academically and personally," said Dean for Student Success Michelle Merritt, who served as the grant's primary investigator.

Monmouth will use the NIH grant to implement "Scots POW," which stands for "Prioritizing Our Well-Being." In addition to developing programs centered on physical and mental health, Scots POW will support at-risk students, strengthen support systems for marginalized students, and promote overall student health initiatives that bolster retention and graduation rates.

"Research has shown that college athletes and first-generation college students are more at risk in terms of mental health," said Merritt. "More than 65% of Monmouth students are involved with athletics and nearly one-third of our student body are first-generation college students."

Caring for the whole student

Vice President for Academic Affairs Mark Willhardt said the NIH grant will benefit Monmouth students in numerous ways.

"Both nationally and locally, we know that support for mental health is one of the key factors students use to decide upon colleges or to help them persist to graduation," said Willhardt. "This NIH grant will allow us to provide extra support and to generate wellness programming that can impact the lives of many students, daily. The college is committed to educating the whole student, and we can only do that if the whole student is cared for."

The grant will also support an effort by Director of Student Well-Being Megan McGruder to direct a project with the college's Mental Health Peer Educators that will train at least half of the campus' students, faculty and staff annually on mental health, substance use disorder, suicide and integrated wellness.

"Faculty and staff indicated they would like to support students suffering from mental health distress, but they are not sure how to go about doing it," said Merritt. "As front-line responders, faculty and staff are well-positioned to recognize students in distress. However, they lack adequate training to recognize distress or to address it once they recognize it, and this grant will help address that issue."