Promoting Supportive Academic Environments for Faculty with Mental Illnesses: Resource Guide and Suggestions for Practice provides both a review of current research into the experiences of academic faculty with mental illnesses and a set of recommendations for academic administrators and colleagues to promote a more welcoming work environment in higher education.
This guide focuses on ways to make college and university campuses more accessible for faculty with mental disabilities. It provides concrete suggestions for creating a “culture of access” by offering effective strategies for promoting inclusive language, managing accommodations, and revising policies around recruitment, hiring, and leaves of absence. The recommendations in this guide are informed by a survey that gathered information from more than 300 self-identified faculty with mental-health histories. Completed by Margaret Price (The Ohio State University), Stephanie L. Kerschbaum (University of Delaware), Mark Salzer (Temple University) and Amber O’Shea (Temple University), this survey is the first of its kind and joins other key research projects sponsored by the Collaborative. The guide, authored by Price and Kerschbaum, can serve as a training manual on its own, or can be used as a basis for interactive workshops.