Affinity Group

Mental Health in the Academy

A rising number of students seeking mental health services across university campuses has prompted faculty, administrators and student service providers to call attention to what some describe as a “crisis of mental health.” In the Academy, and in Geography, in particular, there have been few collective and professional responses to this crisis. This affinity group encourages conversation and exploration of what a critical commitment to emotional and mental health in the academy might look like. Scholars have deliberated, for example, over the relationship between mental health and social space; the changing balance between work and life; the value of social reproduction; and the relationship between the neoliberalization of the academy and mental health. Drawing on these debates and others, we seek to explore how the organized practices of the academy are implicated in the current state of mental health among students, faculty and staff across university campuses and in doing so, consider ways that we might create healthier environments.

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Dues

Regular $10
Student $0

Leadership

Co-Chair: Marcia England, Miami University
Co-Chair: Linda Peake, York University
Member at Large: Emma Colven, University of Oklahoma
Treasurer: Ebru Ustundag, Brock University
Communication Director: Gina K. Thornburg, Ph.D., Independent Scholar-Activist, Los Angeles.

Contact

MentalHealthAG@communities.aag.org

Governance and Policy, Planning and Development

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