Board of Regents to seek additional mental health funding for students
DES MOINES — The Iowa Board of Regents will seek an additional $1 million from the Iowa Legislature to address the mental health needs of students.
Regent Abby Crow of Tiffin made a motion for the money during last week’s meeting, citing discussions with students. “A central point of our conversation was the need for expanded mental health services and the benefits this will bring to our students at our Regent Universities,” she says. “Student leaders also provided us with a unanimous letter imploring us as Regents to support their efforts for expanded mental health resources and funding.”
Crow says it is not the first time the issue has been discussed. “I know as regents we’ve heard these needs presented consistently in recent years by students and university administrators highlighting an opportunity we have to address a central issue that touches the lives of many,” Crow says.
She says if the funding is approved, the students want to continue their involvement. “Our student leaders at our Regent universities would be extremely grateful to be involved in further conversations going forward regarding the specific allocation of this funding,” she says, “and offer their insight as to what specific mental health related resources programming or staffing might do the most good at their respective institutions.”
The Board voted to approve the request, which will go to the Iowa Legislature in January. Crow graduated from the University of Iowa in May 2023 with a degree in human physiology and a minor in biology. Her board biography says her goal is to pursue a career in the medical field, and is currently a nursing assistant at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
