The Division of Student Affairs recently announced the creation of the Office of Student Wellbeing and Care to provide a more holistic and collaborative approach to meeting student needs. 

In announcing the new office, Vice President for Student Affairs Kathleen Kerr noted that it connects with SUNY Oswego’s Strategic Plan, specifically the Thrive driver, and the institution’s commitment to the Okanagan Charter to advance wellbeing, equity and a sense of belonging for students.  

“The Office of Student Wellbeing and Care will be a cost-neutral restructuring of current staffing and resources from the Office of the Dean of Students,” Kerr noted. ”It will allow for more effective coordination of and communication about our efforts to support student wellbeing through preventative health education, alcohol and other drug resources, basic needs support and supportive case management.”

The Office of the Dean of Students, through this restructuring, will include the new office as well as the offices of Student Conduct and Accessibility Resources.

Grace Maxon-Clarke, associate dean of students, will serve as director of the new office. 

“Dr. Kerr coming to campus was part of a shift in how we care for our students, and Christy Huynh, assistant VP for student affairs and dean of dtudents has carried the vision forward,” Maxon-Clarke said. “It allows us to have an identity on campus so people know where to find the resources that we have, and allows us to connect and grow our support systems for our student body.” 

Other members of the Office of Student Wellbeing and Care will include Trisha DeWolf, assistant dean of students for alcohol and drug education; Shelly Sloan, assistant dean of students for student wellbeing; April Lopez, assistant dean of students - basic needs case manager; and Kimberly Fuqua, assistant dean of students - basic needs case manager and homeless liaison.

While these roles were previously just referred to different parts of the Office of the Dean of Students , this clarifies where the campus community can find these services, as “each person has almost been their own office, while this pulls us together collectively and gives it a name and strategic focus,” Maxon-Clarke said.

SUNY Oswego has been a leader among the state system in providing basic needs and other services, including establishing the first on-campus pantry in SUNY (SHOP - Students Helping Oz Peers) and as a model campus for outstanding student support and initiatives. 

The university’s proactive approach both cultivates and benefits from increased support from SUNY-led initiatives and from the Laker campus community’s support of the Student Emergency Fund and related donor-funded initiatives to help meet critical needs.

“This provides us with a central location for all the SUNY-related wellbeing and basic needs initiatives, where we can be the point people more clearly,” Maxon-Clarke said. “It also provides some strategic direction for wellbeing initiatives for our students by having a place where people can develop, implement and assess our efforts to make it more efficient.”

The creation of this office comes from work over the past few years to develop a more comprehensive care model that holistically supports SUNY Oswego students’ basic needs and wellbeing. This incorporated creating specialized case management teams in collaboration with university partners, including the Care Team, Academic Care Team, Injury and Illness Care Team and Basic Needs Case Management Team. 

“Under its new name, the Office of Student Wellbeing and Care will continue to provide educational programs, access to health supplies and prevention initiatives to meet the increased needs of our students,” Kerr said. “Additionally, the office will provide the necessary structure to coordinate university-wide efforts to support student wellbeing.”

“I’m very grateful that we have a campus that cares so much,” Maxon-Clarke said. “We have very caring faculty, staff and alumni who really want to help. I feel like that makes Oswego unique and we’re lucky to have such a special community.”