GCSS: Mental Health

Panelists: 

Dr. Matete Madiba, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Dr. Madiba holds a Ph.D. from the University of Western Cape, South Africa, and is currently appointed Director: Student Affairs at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Before this appointment, she was Deputy Director of the Department for Education Innovation at the same University. She previously served as Acting Director: Curriculum and Development Support at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) before joining the University of Pretoria's Department for Education Innovation. Prior to the TUT appointment, Dr. Madiba served as a lecturer at MASTEC (Mathematics, Science and Technology College of Education). She participates in the Tuning Africa Project (African Higher Education Harmonization and Tuning Project) as a subject specialist and coordinator of the Teacher Education Subject Area Group, as well as serving on the management team of the Tuning Africa Project. Dr. Madiba's career in higher education has focused on academic and educational development in its broadest sense, including curriculum development, eLearning technologies, holistic student success, and student development.

She served on the UP institutional task team for Curriculum Transformation and is chair of the UP Institutional Transformation Committee. She is a member of the National Executive Committee for SAASSAP, serving as Research Development Officer. Dr. Madiba is an affiliate at the UP Faculty of Education, supervising M&D students, and has lectured at New York University, USA.

Assistant Director Jake MacIsaac, Dailhousie University, Canada

For nearly two decades, much of Jake MacIsaac's work has centered around taking a restorative approach in leading facilitated responses to criminal incidents. Recognized by colleagues for his "outstanding contribution to the criminal justice system" in Nova Scotia, Jake is a past recipient of the John Dunlop Award, and his counsel is routinely sought by government and community-based justice stakeholders alike.

Jake's passion for restorative justice expanded in 2011 when he joined the team at Dalhousie University to expressly reimagine a system of campus safety that shifted from an enforcement model to an anti-oppressive approach. As a relational leader, Jake models a principled and human-centered view when bringing partners together, resisting siloing of issues, and calling participants to show up in proactive and problem-solving ways consistently. An exemplar of this work is the Behaviour Intervention Team, where Jake serves alongside colleagues in a multi-disciplinary unit tasked with managing risk/threat assessment and building individualized response case plans - paying particular attention to mental health needs.

As the Assistant Director of Dalhousie University Security Services, Jake leads a team of public safety professionals who strive for excellence by showing up, being friendly, and trying hard! They serve an amazing university community of over 25k people who live, work, and learn together. Jake is also an Associate with the Restorative Research Innovation Education Lab at the Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University. Some of Jake's most celebrated work, reports, and articles on restorative justice can be found here. (https://restorativelab.ca/)

As a sought-after public speaker, writer, and justice leader, Jake also co-hosts a podcast called "The Disorienting Dilemma," where topics are often about how making a philosophical shift in service delivery using an equity, diversity, and inclusion lens can have a tremendous impact on employee morale, recruitment, and retention.

(https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-disorienting-dilemma/id1609111605)

Dr. Karen Pennington, NASPA, USA

Dr. Pennington was appointed Vice President for Student Development and Campus Life at Montclair State University in 1998. She came to the University from the State University of New York at Geneseo, where she served in the same role. She has held various positions in student affairs at six institutions in four states, including Director of College Activities, Director of Residence Life, Associate Dean and Dean of Students, and Vice President. Dr. Pennington received a master's degree in education from Gannon University, a bachelor's and master's in history from the University of Scranton, and a Ph.D. in educational administration from the State University of New York at Albany.

Dr. Pennington has served as a member of the Board of Directors of NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education and as Chair of the Board from 2003-2004. She has served as a member of the Review Group of the National Higher Education Center for Alcohol, Other Drug and Violence Prevention (a U.S. Department of Education appointment), a member of the Advisory Board for Archbishop Prendergast High School in Drexel Hill, PA., member, Board of Directors of the American Conference on Diversity; member, Board of Trustees of the University of Scranton, Scranton, PA; and as a member of the Board of Directors of the NASPA James E. Scott Academy for Leadership and Executive Effectiveness. She also served as a member of Fulbright Visiting Scholars, the Advisory Board of the Clery Center for Security on Campus, and member, Advisory Board of the Stetson University College of Law Center for Higher Education Law and Policy.

Dr. Pennington retired from her position at Montclair State University in 2021.

Interim Head of Security Services Richard Yates, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom

Richard has significant experience managing large teams in private and public sector organizations. In 1983 Richard joined the British Army and served as one of HRH Queen Elizabeth's Coldstream guards, after which he became a reserve officer and member of the Army Training Team.

He has been in the security sector for 30-plus years, joined the University of Sheffield in 1992, and currently leads the Security Services Team and the Campus Services Team, delivering a diverse range of front-line services for the University, ensuring a clean and safe place to work and study. The teams include 500+ staff in various departments such as Security Transport, Facilities, Recycling, Waste Removal, Car Parking, Logistics, Mail, and Cleaning.

Richard holds a level 7 in ILM and further qualifications in security consultancy and designing out crime. He has supported the Association of University Chief Security Officers (AUCSO) for over 25 years and has served as the Chair of the UK Northern Region for several years. He also is the lead on mental health.

A national instructor for mental health England, Richard is passionate about promoting mentally healthy universities enabling all students and staff to thrive and succeed to their best potential.

Chief Kristen Roman, University of Wisconsin-Madison & IACLEA Director-at-Large, USA