Hunter
09/29/23
The State Board of Regents have added another $1 million to their state appropriation request in order to address mental health issues at Iowa’s three state-run universities.
The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports Regent Abby Crow — serving as the board’s student regent as she works as a University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics nursing assistant — suggested the appropriations-request amendment after regents met this week with student leaders across the campuses.
In a letter to the regents, those student leaders implored them to expand mental health resources and provided examples of how that funding would impact the students at the University of Iowa, Iowa State, and the University of Northern Iowa.
At the U of I, a spring assessment survey showed an increase in reports of self-harm, diagnosed mental health conditions, and students receiving services.
The Regents unanimously approved the amended ask, and will now ask the 2024 Iowa Legislature for a total of $620 million for the three universities, over $39 million more than this year.