A University-Wide Approach to Changing Campus Cultures of Mental Illness Stigma

Kathleen M. Brennan, Ph.D. is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Sociology Program at Western Carolina University, USA. For more than a decade, she has used quantitative methodologies to collaboratively examine mental illness stigma in the context of higher education. She has co-presented these research findings to professional audiences and co-authored papers in higher education, health, and other disciplinary publications. Additionally, she regularly teaches about and provides consultation on the sociology of mental health and illness on campus and in the regional community. Kimberly Gorman, Ph.D. is Associate Vice Chancellor for Health & Wellness in the Student Affairs Division at Western Carolina University, USA. Dr. Gorman’s primary research interests are related to collegiate mental health and mental illness stigma in the college population. She has co-authored several papers about the impacts of mental illness and its related stigma in college students. She is a licensed psychologist who has worked in the higher education setting for more than two decades. She has served on the governing board of the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors and on the advisory board for the Center for Collegiate Mental Health.