March 23, 2023

Dear UH Community,

The news of the second death on our campus hit us all so very hard this week. As president of the University of Houston, and as a mother who once sent her daughters off to college, hoping for the best, this truly breaks my heart. Please allow me to express my sincere condolences to the friends, faculty and staff, and loved ones who knew the students we lost too soon. And even if you didn’t know the students personally, I know you’ve been affected by their loss. The proximity to a tragic death can be traumatizing and evoke emotions of sadness, anger and disbelief. We are all grieving as a community and we are doing so in our own ways.

There is nothing more precious than human life. Since the first incident in February, my team and I had made mental health a university-level priority by intensifying our efforts in (a) fixing the building and (2) increasing mental health outreach. Clearly, it was not enough. Therefore, now I am making mental health and suicide prevention an urgent university priority, which means that we have to find solutions and do so right away.

In addition to keeping access to Agnes Arnold Hall limited and the availability of additional mental health resources open to the community, I am also establishing two task forces. The first one will evaluate the future of Agnes Arnold Hall by considering all possible options. But we all know that the physical space is only one of many factors, which necessitate the need for the second task force. This task force will review national best practices regarding mental health support on college campuses and recommend ways to support mental health in general, with a particular focus on suicide prevention on our campus. In the end, we want to create a culture of care and well-being in our community.

Both task forces will be chaired by former Interim Provost Robert McPherson and will include our shared-governance partners — Faculty Senate, Staff Council and the Student Government Association. Clearly, we need to dig deeper and do more. We have already received many suggestions for which I am thankful to you.  If you have any additional suggestions in any of the two areas — Agnes Arnold Hall and mental health — you may direct them to Dr. McPherson so they could be considered by the task forces.

In the meantime, please continue to use the services that Provost Chase and Vice President Maxwell have referenced in recent communications. Let’s each do our part in creating a caring campus culture. Let’s be responsive to one another. Give a smile, an encouraging word…you never know what someone is going through and how your small gesture may lift their spirits. If you see signs of stress and anxiety among your peers, please guide them to various resources available.

Please know that I care about each one of you. And to my students, you are much more than a letter grade in a class, a like on a social media post, the acceptance among your peers. You are loved, cherished and valuable beyond any measure. Don’t stop shining.

Renu Khator
President, University of Houston