Dear student,
Happy week five! It’s truly wonderful to see our campus bustling with energy and enthusiasm.
As your interim dean of students, I want to remind you that I am here to help. Whether you’re a new student finding your footing or a returning student continuing your journey, please know that you are not alone. Our community is built on support, collaboration, and the shared goal of helping each other succeed.
I’d like to share a personal story with you. During my time as an undergraduate, I found myself falling behind in my classes. Assignments piled up, deadlines loomed, and I felt overwhelmed. Instead of reaching out for help, I kept my struggles to myself, hoping I could catch up on my own. This led me into a deeper spiral of stress and anxiety, and I even considered leaving the university. It wasn’t until I mustered the courage to speak with a professor that things began to turn around. By seeking assistance, I discovered a network of support that helped me get back on track.
Asking for help was the turning point for me, and it’s a lesson I’ve carried with me ever since. I’ve spent my entire career trying to help students like you become aware of resources and understand how to get the help you deserve. There are support offices and services on campus ready to welcome you and help you thrive at the UO. Here are a few support resources that I want to highlight:
- Tutoring and Academic Engagement Center: This center can help enhance your learning and success through tutoring, classes and workshops, individual consultations, graduate school test prep, and supplemental instruction.
- Care and Advocacy Program: Find resources and support to help you navigate the challenges of university life. If you are facing personal crises, family situations, or unexpected life events that disrupt your ability to focus on academics, this office can help. The team can help you manage these challenges while staying on track in your academic journey.
- Collegiate Recovery Center: The UO’s Collegiate Recovery Center offers peer support services to students experiencing substance use issues and opportunities to connect with the recovery community. Through individual consultations, group sessions, support meetings, and recovery events, the center helps students achieve their personal recovery goals.
- Duck Nest: The Duck Nest is your resource for self-care and life balance, offering peer-led mental, physical, and sexual well-being programs. They also connect you with well-being resources within the UO community and beyond.
- Basic Needs Program: Students may face challenges related to food security, housing stability, or financial resources, which may impact their well-being and ability to focus on academics. The program offers consultations and referrals to both on- and off-campus support.
- PE and Recreation: The Student Recreation Center is here to support your health and well-being through a wide range of programs and facilities. Whether you’re interested in strength and conditioning, personal training, group exercise, physical education classes, intramural sports, or family programming, there’s something for everyone at the Rec.
- University Health Services: Many of your health needs can be addressed right on campus. University Health Services provides comprehensive medical and mental health care, including primary care, sports medicine, psychiatry, counseling services, gender support, and specialized support for survivors of sexual assault.
- Free Expression at the UO and the Holden Center for Leadership and Community Engagement: At the UO, we deeply value and honor free expression and academic freedom. Free expression is fundamental to citizenship and academic life. As we celebrate these freedoms, we also share a collective responsibility to ensure that our campus remains a safe place where everyone can learn, work, and express themselves free from discrimination or harassment. Resources are available to support you in organizing impactful events that align with university policies, allowing you to express yourself boldly and responsibly.
I encourage you to visit One Stop for a comprehensive set of resources available to you. You are never alone, and if you’re unsure where to start to get the support you need, please contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 541-346-3216.
My door is always open, and I look forward to meeting many of you in the days ahead. Here’s to a productive, inspiring, and enjoyable fall term!
Warm regards,
Jimmy L. Howard, PhD
Interim Dean of Students
Division of Student Life
