Universities and colleges across the United States are finding that an ever-increasing number of students on their campuses are dealing with a variety of mental health issues, ranging from anxiety and depression to thoughts of suicide.

Recent studies and surveys indicate that nearly 45 percent of college students nationally report symptoms of depression, while almost 40 percent report experiencing anxiety.

Perhaps most concerning – up to 15 percent of college students have contemplated suicide. U.S. campuses report that approximately 1,100 students take their own lives each year, making suicide the second-leading cause of death among that demographic.

Western Carolina University is not immune from this growing mental health crisis. Thanks to a significant financial contribution from a WCU alumna, the university’s Counseling and Psychology Services Center now will be able to increase its evaluation and treatment of students struggling with depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions.

Rebecca Schlosser, a 1973 graduate of WCU and former member of the university’s Board of Trustees, recently made a transformative gift to WCU that will enable the center to greatly enhance its services by expanding access, increasing outreach and strengthening its ability to support student well-being.

“For me personally, mental health awareness came to the forefront when my son began struggling with mental health issues in 2007 and 2008 during his junior and senior year in college,” said Schlosser, a resident of Greensboro.

That son, David Edmond Wesley Schlosser, died unexpectedly at the age of 25, just nine days after graduating from Elon University.

“Students need to feel comfortable receiving mental health services,” Schlosser said. “College campuses should prioritize destigmatizing mental health, offering accessible resources and creating a supportive environment. Many times, mental health issues begin in early adulthood, which falls right during the college years. Dealing with the demands of college can add increased anxiety.”

She and her late husband, Greensboro attorney and former Guilford County District Attorney Michael A. Schlosser, made gifts in 2016 to create the David E. W. Schlosser Endowed Scholarship Fund in their son’s memory to provide support for students with demonstrated financial need in WCU’s Brinson Honors College.

They also agreed that they wanted to do something more to provide much-needed resources to WCU to help the university in its efforts to provide services to students struggling with mental health issues, in part to help parents and other family members avoid the heartache that they endured with the loss of their son.

The Schlossers later updated their financial plans to include a commitment to create an endowment to support the work of WCU’s Counseling and Psychological Services Center, a commitment that was fulfilled earlier this year.

In recognition of the gift establishing a program endowment for the center often referred to as CAPS, the university’s Board of Trustees has approved the facility’s renaming to the Schlosser Family Center for Counseling and Psychological Services.

The Schlosser Family Center for Counseling and Psychological Services has a mission of empowering students to engage in and be successful in a range of academic, social and cultural endeavors through fostering psychological wellness. The center provides individual and group counseling to students on a short-term basis at no cost as well as emergency services when a student is experiencing a mental health crisis. It is located in Suite 225 in the Bird Building and reaches beyond its physical office by offering tele-mental health services and appointments at WCU’s Biltmore Park off-campus instructional site.

Over the past few years, the center has consistently offered more than 7,000 appointments to an average of approximately 1,100 individual students annually, said Kim Gorman, associate vice chancellor for health and wellness.

Despite those numbers, the center has not experienced a significant increase in student usage of its services, which is most likely related to a limit in the ability to serve a larger number of students given current staffing restraints, said Caroline Engler, CAPS director. But the center has seen significant increases over the last three years in the severity and complexity of mental health issues presented by student clients, Engler said.

“Our data is consistent with Center for Collegiate Mental Health data in that we continue to see a rise in reported experiences of history of trauma. Additionally, according to CCMH data, WCU students report more frequent and intense experiences with depression, anxiety, eating concerns and suicidal ideation as compared to the national average,” she said.

“Although our students report higher levels of acuity than the national average, our data also indicates that, with treatment, they report more significant declines in experiences of suicidal ideation and overall distress than the CCMH national averages,” Engler said.

An official naming ceremony for the Schlosser Family Center for Counseling and Psychological Services is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 4. Fittingly, September is National Suicide Prevention Month.

“Renaming CAPS is more than just changing the name,” Rebecca Schlosser said. “I speak also on behalf of my late husband. It was our goal to provide this endowed funding to support WCU’s Counseling and Psychological Services and to help to destigmatize the challenges surrounding mental health. Our family wishes to help shine a bright light of hope along this very difficult pathway,” Rebecca Schlosser said.

“To the students at WCU, if you feel you need mental health support, I encourage you to seek services at the Schlosser Family Center for Counseling and Psychological Services,” she said. “You are not alone.”

The Schlosser contribution will enable the center to greatly increase the level of counseling and other psychological services it offers and improve and expand its training program so that additional providers will be able to more adequately address the growing need for mental health services at WCU.

Numerous factors are playing a role in the rise of mental health issues in the United States in recent years, said Engler.

“There is a trend that individuals who seek treatment at university counseling centers have been engaged in treatment prior to coming to college. This tells us that their distress levels are affecting individuals in middle and high schools,” she said.

The global COVID-19 pandemic is frequently cited as one primary source of the increase in mental health issues among young people, causing uncertainty and fear of the unknown, disrupting social connections and interrupting academic schedules, Engler said.

“However, the pandemic simply intersected with other ongoing social factors including the divisiveness we are seeing in our communities – and in our families. This is having an impact on our sense of community and belongingness, both factors that are essential for good mental health,” she said. “Furthermore, research shows the impact of social media has been problematic and contributing to mental health symptoms. Finally, there is much evidence of the impact of sleep disruption, often caused by excessive cell phone use and gaming, on mental health symptoms for teens.”

The additional services made possible by the Schlosser gift will help a larger number of students receive the mental health services they need to be able to stay enrolled in school and on track to graduate, said Gorman.

A 2023 research project conducted by Gorman and WCU colleague Kathleen Brennan, professor of sociology, found that students who seek help for their mental health issues are more likely to persist in their educational journey.

“We know that our services are helpful for retention of students as demonstrated by our recent study. The results indicate a higher number of counseling sessions was helpful in retention efforts for all students at the university,” Gorman said. “So, this gift is an investment in our students.”

Gorman and Brennan published the results of their study in a paper titled “More Sessions Make a Difference: University Counseling Centers and Student Retention” in the June 2023 edition of the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice.

“We just feel immense gratitude,” Gorman said. “This gift is an incredible acknowledgement of the importance of mental health services at WCU.”

Rebecca Schlosser earned her bachelor’s degree in education. While a student at WCU, she was a member of Delta Zeta sorority, spent four years as a majorette with the marching band, and was a member of both Kappa Delta Pi and Alpha Phi Sigma honor societies. The WCU chapter of Phi Delta Kappa named her Most Outstanding Female Student at WCU her senior year.

After completing her undergraduate studies, she taught at a private all-girls school in New York before returning to school at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, earning her master’s degree in education there in 1983. During her time at UNCG, she met her future husband and helped him start his law firm.

Mike Schlosser was a graduate of Virginia Military Institute and Wake Forest University School of Law. He died in February 2024, 10 years after he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and amyloidosis as a result of his exposure to Agent Orange as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Paratrooper Corps serving a tour in South Vietnam.

Rebecca Schlosser served on the WCU Board of Trustees from 2017 until 2023 and formerly served on the university’s Foundation Board of Directors and Board of Visitors. A member of the Madison Legacy and Cullowhee giving societies, she served on the steering committee for WCU’s previous “Lead the Way” comprehensive fundraising campaign. She is an involved member of the Triad alumni chapter and frequently hosts Triad-area events at her Greensboro home. The Schlossers have been annual donors to WCU since 1990.

The naming of the Schlosser Family Center for Counseling and Psychological Services comes as WCU is in the midst of the public phase of its “Fill the Western Sky” comprehensive fundraising campaign, an effort to raise a minimum of $100 million in philanthropic support for the university’s academic, student engagement and athletics programs.

For more information about the “Fill the Western Sky” campaign or to make a contribution, visit WesternSky.wcu.edu, call 828-227-7124 or email advancement@wcu.edu.

Science classroom named in honor of Jackson County’s first family of dentistry

By Bill Studenc

A classroom in Western Carolina University’s Apodaca Science Building has a new name in recognition of a couple’s three-decade record of financial support and in tribute to a family’s history of providing dental services to residents of Jackson and surrounding counties for more than 150 years. The McGuire Legacy Classroom is the moniker for a 64-seat general classroom formerly known as Room 207 and used by every academic division in the College of Arts and Sciences, including classes helping students prepare for dental school as part of WCU’s Pre-Professional Program. The new name, approved in December by WCU’s Board of Trustees, was unveiled during a ceremony Friday, March 3, attended by friends and family of benefactors Patrick and Jeanne McGuire, and university faculty, staff, students and board members. Patrick McGuire, who retired from his dental practice in 2016, and wife Jeanne, who served for many years as office manager, recently made gifts and pledges to three of WCU’s colleges. The contributions come in the form of a cash gift for the College of Arts and Sciences and two planned gifts for the Belcher College of Fine and Performing Arts and the College of Education and Allied Professions. The gifts will lead to the creation of three separate funds to be known as the Patrick and Jeanne McGuire Legacy Endowments in each college. The funds will provide experiential learning and professional development opportunities for students, faculty and staff in each college; support for initiatives that enhance the overall quality and reputations of the colleges’ programs; and support for initiatives that engage members of the Jackson County community. The gifts from McGuires are significant not only because they touch multiple colleges, but also because private support of academic programming is needed just as much as private support for student scholarships, said Richard Starnes, WCU provost. “Some might see this gift as simply a donation, but for Patrick and Jeanne McGuire this is an investment,” said Starnes. “Students, faculty and staff from across the university will reap the dividends of this investment in the form of support for innovative ideas, enhanced opportunities and transformative academic experiences for years to come. The university the McGuires love will be better, stronger and a more vibrant community of learning through their vision and generosity. We are deeply grateful.” Patrick McGuire attended WCU from 1972 to 1973, transferring to Pfeiffer University. There, he earned his biology degree and met his future wife, Jeanne, who studied early childhood education. He went on to earn his doctorate in dental surgery at Emory University. A member of the College of Arts and Sciences Advancement Council, he is part of a lineage of dentists serving patients in Western North Carolina. He began his practice in 1980 in Sylva with his parents, Harold and Patsy McGuire. The family donated nearly 70 artifacts to WCU’s Mountain Heritage Center related to Patrick’s grandmother, Daisy McGuire, North Carolina’s first female licensed dentist and the nation’s oldest practicing dentist when she retired at age 97. “Neither Jeanne nor I graduated from Western Carolina University,” he said. “However, I am a WCU alumnus. I spent most of the 1972-1973 school year at Western, as well as numerous summer school sessions taking courses I needed.” He also spent much time on campus as a child and young adult. “My father was a great sports fan and a huge fan of WCU football and basketball,” he said. “I have always loved Cullowhee and Western Carolina University. My one ‘sin’ is that I didn’t graduate from WCU. However, if I had I would never have met Jeanne, and that would easily count as the biggest misfortune of my life. So, I can’t be very sorry.” The McGuires said they decided to split their gifts among three colleges that have had an impact on their lives and the lives of other family members. “These gifts are in honor and appreciation of the past, while we support the continued growth of learning in the future. We also chose these three colleges as they represent the chosen professions of ourselves and our four children,” Jeanne McGuire said. “Our gift to the College of Arts and Sciences is because we have respect for the sciences with the McGuire family’s history in the dental profession, and history, especially of this region, is so very important to our lives,” she said. “The College of Education and Allied Professions is responsible for many of the educators who helped us raise our children. We were always impressed with the local schools our children had the opportunity to attend.” The Belcher College of Fine and Performing Arts is particularly near and dear to her heart, as she has been active in its Advancement Council and Friends of the Arts organization. Her husband and their four children have participated in WCU arts programs. “Our love of the arts is embedded in the fabric of our lives. Every aspect of the Belcher College has been an enhancement of our life in Jackson County,” she said. “Through the years, WCU always provided culture and opportunities to learn for our entire nuclear family. We were often on campus to experience the joy of the arts and fun of sporting events. It has been my experience with every event we are fortunate enough to attend that our lives are uplifted.” The recent gifts to WCU are also in recognition of the impact the university has had on the region in which the McGuire family has lived for generations, Patrick McGuire said. “As I have grown older and as Jeanne and I have worked on different committees and boards, I have reflected on what Western Carolina Teachers College, and its many iterations, has meant to me and my extended family. Variations of our family circumstances are reflected over and over across our beautiful mountains,” he said. “Originally this institution was created to inform and instruct individuals who would go out into the hedgerows and byways to educate the children in this mountainous area, which was at that time so remote and isolated by difficulty of travel. Since its inception, WCU has provided educational opportunities for my family and the entire region with direct training and also in providing primary and secondary educators who have dramatically transformed lives, mine included,” he said. The gifts also provide a coda for the McGuire family’s contributions to WNC through dental care. “Continuously, over more than 150 years and four generations, McGuires, their in-laws and relatives have provided dental services to Jackson County and beyond. My brother is in the wane of his dental career. When he retires, it will be the end our family’s remarkable run, of which I had but a small part. Through a few pictures exhibited in the McGuire Legacy Classroom of the Apodaca Science Building, we hope to preserve a small part of that history,” he said. Gifts creating the three college endowments are part of a lifetime of giving by the McGuires, which includes establishment of the Sweat/McGuire Endowed Scholarship to provide financial support to students in WCU’s Brinson Honors College. “Patrick and I were able to finish our educations without any debt because of the support our parents were able to provide for us. We were given much, and it is our honor to be able to give back to others,” said Jeanne McGuire, a member of the WCU Foundation Board of Directors since 2017. “It has been my joy to have talked with the leaders of each of the colleges across campus. What I learned from those discussions was the need for continued professional development opportunities. We know the deans and their support teams will use the funds to enhance the students, faculty and staff in ways that they see most important for their college,” she said. During a reception following the March 3 unveiling ceremony, Jeanne McGuire distributed hand-quilted coasters to guests in attendance, which Jamie T. Raynor, vice chancellor of advancement, characterized as “an act of generosity and hospitality that is so typically Jeanne.”