Good morning, everyone. We are all here because the health of our students is central to our mission as a university. At UCLA, we put students first.
Over the past 18 months, we have faced a number of student mental health crises. Today, we are bringing together colleagues from across UCLA to collaborate on innovative ways to strengthen mental health support for our students.
We already have extraordinary research, classroom engagement and student services in place — and meaningful work happening across our campus. Now, together, we have the opportunity to take that work to the next level and ensure every student knows we are connected and here for them.
You are a critical part of that.
I want to thank Vice Chancellor Gorden for his leadership in this area, and acknowledge everyone on his team who works every day to support the well-being of our campus community. I also want to acknowledge our keynote speaker, Dr. Thomas Parham, former president of Cal State Dominguez Hills. And our expert panelists today: Drs. Daniel Eisenberg, Nelson Freimer and Nicole Presley.
As many of you know, my background is in public health, and I want to frame my remarks today through that lens. Public health professionals view health not only one person at a time, but also in aggregate — across entire populations.
In that light, the term “student body” takes on a particular meaning. Each student is an individual. Each has unique experiences and needs. But they also form a population that we can look at as a community, with an eye toward anticipating and preventing challenges.
These two ideas — a holistic approach involving whole groups, and the commitment to proactively preventing problems before they start — are the essence of public health.
Of course, when a student seeks care, we must respond with high-quality, accessible and affordable services. Individual treatment is indispensable. At the same time, public health asks us to take a broader view.
Rather than looking at incidents of mental health challenges as isolated individual processes, we try to understand patterns across the entire population. We look at those who are ill, those who have high-risk factors and even those who may not exhibit symptoms but may lack access to care. We ask what conditions contribute to distress and how we can intervene before problems manifest. This perspective is especially important in addressing the mental health of young adults.
Mental health includes a whole spectrum of situations. On one end, there are discrete diagnoses such as depression. On the other, there are the common behavioral and emotional aspects of human existence — feeling anxious or experiencing sadness for a variety of reasons. These are all normal feelings.
We do not necessarily need to medicalize these conditions. But if we fail to pay attention to them, they can escalate into more serious psychiatric diagnoses. We must also avoid the false dichotomy between mind and body.
Every non-mental health problem has a mental health dimension. And emotional problems can act as triggers for a variety of physical conditions. If we are to meet our responsibility fully, we must adopt a comprehensive view that recognizes these interconnections.
For me, that view translates into four interrelated components that should guide our strategy here at UCLA: promotion, prevention, protection and preparedness.
First, promotion.
Health promotion is the proactive effort to empower people to lead healthy lifestyles. In the college setting, this includes facilitating physical activity, engagement in athletics and community-based activities.
Mindfulness, balance and stress reduction, regular sleep and good diet also have a place. These efforts reduce isolation and strengthen connection — both of which are essential to mental well-being.
Second, prevention.
Prevention means adapting specific measures to address risk factors that can lead to disease. In mental health, the causes are complex. It is not as simple as administering a vaccine. But we are learning more about how to intervene before manifestations occur, including in areas such as drug and alcohol abuse.
Third, protection.
From a public health perspective, protection means keeping students from harm. On a college campus, this includes preventing sexual assault, acts of violence, bullying and harassment and managing access to alcohol and other addictive substances. A safe environment is foundational to student well-being.
Fourth, preparedness.
We must ensure that we are ready to respond to extreme incidents and acute crises with clear procedures and coordinated action. Preparedness is about building systems that function when they are most needed.
Underlying all four pillars is a culture of measurement.
We must examine how common emotional distress is, understand the risk factors that predispose its appearance and assess the effects of our interventions.
If we have implemented a program, we must ask: Did it work? To what extent? Measurement is the common foundation that allows us to improve continuously.
There is also a moral and practical challenge we must address directly: stigma.
Stigma interferes with people seeking help. It interferes with effective management. And it interferes with measurement.
From a public health perspective, one of the most important priorities we have on campus is to de-stigmatize mental health problems.
Part of this effort involves recognizing the emotional pressures our students face while resisting the professional impulse to label them as pathologies. College students experience enormous academic and personal demands. Acknowledging this reality helps students reach out and seek help without fear that a diagnostic label will necessarily follow.
Counseling and early engagement are essential in preventing progression to more clearly defined psychiatric conditions.
Finally, we should remember the broader context of our work. Higher education involves a social compact. Society invests in us — through public support, philanthropy, and trust — and gains from that investment in the form of a well-prepared citizenry.
Our responsibility, therefore, extends beyond delivering instruction. It includes assuming responsibility for the overall success and well-being of our students.
Today’s gathering is an important milestone in advancing that responsibility. It allows us to deepen collaboration, sharpen our focus and strengthen the systems that support our students.
This work also aligns directly with UCLA Connects, our university-wide initiative to bridge divides and build connections. Mental health is inseparable from connection. When we strengthen the ties that bind us and build spaces that inspire respectful engagement and meaningful growth, we reinforce the conditions that enable students to thrive.
By viewing student health through a public health lens — by focusing on promotion, prevention, protection and preparedness — we can continue building a UCLA where every student feels supported, connected and equipped to flourish.
In this room, we have a remarkable brain trust. Each of you is part of the ecosystem of support our students depend on, and today’s conversation is an opportunity to strengthen that ecosystem together.
I look forward to hearing what comes out of today’s discussions.
Let’s remember: Hope connects us.
And we are stronger as One UCLA.