Mental Health of Professors Undervalued?

The recent years have been excellent in bringing to light the importance of mental health among students, employees, athletes, and more. It is no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic became catalytic in deteriorating the mental health scenario in the world. Studies have shown that the COVID-19 pandemic caused stress which increased the levels of anxiety and depression among students, especially college students. Maybe more than ever, faculty members are talking to students about mental health. And it is effective too.

But something we leave out in the process is the mental health of the professors themselves. The pressure on them has grown multifold in the past months, testing their mental health limits. According to a COVID-19-era report from Boston University’s School of Public Health, the Mary Christie Foundation, and the Healthy Minds Network, nearly 30 percent of surveyed professors report having two or more symptoms of depression. Many of them report suffering from the same health challenges their students face.

This makes it all the more important to listen to the ongoing faculty protests at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Hundreds of faculty at the UIC went on a strike this week, demanding higher pay, better working conditions, and support for mental health for students. The UIC rebellion follows a spate of strikes in higher education in the past few months in the US alone, including at the University of California and The New School in New York City. It’s high time we listen to those voices.