University of Iowa Undergraduate Student Government passed a joint resolution supporting university faculty and staff participation in the Kognito Distress Intervention and Suicide Prevention Program training. 

The resolution was introduced by Sen. Addison Eckard and Sen. Ngonyo Mungara. 

“This is a joint resolution between the GPSG, USG, Faculty Senate, and Staff Council and I believe that the Faculty Council was also included in the drafting and everything,” Eckard said. 

The resolution focuses on encouraging this training for faculty and staff instead of mandating it to prevent obstacles to its implementation and to promote genuine engagement, she said. 

“A lot of like, the importance of it being lost if you aren’t fully engaged in the training,” Eckard said. “I think this is really beneficial for students and faculty and will create really interesting conversations in the future.” 

Kognito Distress Intervention and Suicide Prevention Program is required for undergraduates through the Success at Iowa Course, which all incoming students must complete. But is not currently required for faculty and staff. 

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Bronwyn Threlkeld-Wiegand, director of the UI Employee Assistance Program, spoke at the meeting, highlighting the importance of engagement with the program. 

“Even though all of the scenarios in this training are student-facing, the skills are applicable to staff as well,” Threlkeld-Wiegand said. 

The Kognito training has been offered at the UI since 2019 as part of a three-year contract and has recently been renewed, Threlkeld-Wiegand said.