Published Sept. 4, 2024

Dear MSU Community,

Each year, I recognize September as Suicide Prevention Month by highlighting opportunities for suicide prevention and the abundant student resources for student mental health and wellness at your university, Montana State.

Sadly, suicide is one of the leading causes of deaths on college campuses across the U.S., and Montana consistently ranks as a state with one of the highest rates of deaths by suicide in the U.S.

The good news is that suicide can be prevented. Accessing treatment, creating a safety plan with a clinician, reducing access to lethal means during a crisis, and training others to recognize warning signs of suicide are all factors that can be life-saving, and all these resources are available on our campus.

In addition to providing free, confidential counseling and crisis response to MSU students, our Counseling & Psychological Services offers many options for training in suicide prevention. They provide in-person training (ACT, QPR, Mental Health First Aid) as well as the online MindWise Signs of Suicide training both for students and for faculty/staff. I encourage everyone to participate in this easy, online training, which teaches us how to recognize signs of suicide and refer a student for help:

  1. Visit the MindWise website and click "Create Account."
  2. Enter the redemption code: MSU.
  3. View your dashboard and choose "MindWise on Campus - SOS for Higher Ed for Students" or "SOS for Higher Ed for Faculty/Staff."

We are especially excited this year to highlight student wellness with the opening of our new Student Wellness Center, which houses Counseling & Psychological Services, Campus Recreation, Student Health Services, and Health Advancement. This puts all aspects of student wellness — mental health, medical, dental, pharmacy, substance use, fitness, health education, and campus recreation — in one building. We hope our students use this beautiful new facility and all the services inside to their fullest extent!

We also encourage students to take advantage of MSU's weapons storage facility to safely store firearms and other weapons, as well as our prescription drop-off locations at our University Police Department and on-campus pharmacy. These resources help reduce student risk, especially during times of mental health crisis.

Faculty and staff can learn more about assisting students on our MSU Assist page and in our Faculty Guide to Student Mental Health, both of which were created by our Student Mental Health Faculty Advisory Committee. Faculty and staff are also encouraged to tend to their own mental health and wellness by accessing free counseling services through our Employee Assistance Program, as well as the many wellness opportunities available to all MSU and Montana University System staff.

Sincerely,

Waded Cruzado

Waded Cruzado
President, Montana State University