As Baker University’s new counseling center director, Kelly Bowers hopes to bring youth and organization to community outreach planning and the Women’s Programs and Initiatives grant.
Bowers said her outreach plans primarily focus on freshmen.
“Counseling is probably the last thing on their mind,” Bowers said. “They come in thinking college is all about freedom. Sometimes they need help with the adjustment.”
In addition to presentations in campus residence halls and greek houses, Bowers has plans for scheduling speakers and highlighting high-profile national awareness events, including National Depression Screening Day, National Eating Disorder Week and National Substance Abuse Week.
Bowers will also oversee the campus Women’s Programs and Initiatives planning as the grant director. The program provides a two-year grant under the Violence Against Women Act from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Baldwin City community has been very open to Bowers, she said. While she can only offer her counseling services to Baker students, numerous community members from the area have contacted her to welcome her and ask about her position.
Sharing similar counseling duties, Minister to the University Ira DeSpain met with Bowers to discuss the student confidentiality policy involved in counseling and to welcome her to the campus.
DeSpain said being in touch with Bowers will be useful, as he will surely encounter students who need a medical perspective and vice versa.
“We only correspond after the student has approved it, though,” DeSpain said. “Right now, we are on an ‘as needed correspondence’ policy.”
Bowers, a 2001 graduate of Albion College in Albion, Mich., earned her doctorate from the University of Kansas in 2006 after working her yearlong clinical rotations at Baker in 2003.
The opportunity for community interaction and her positive experience working with past and current health administrators are all part of her decision to return to Baker, she said.
Dean of Student Development John Frazier expressed his excitement about the success of the nationwide search to fill the position. The search committee was comprised of faculty, staff and students.
“We were attracted to her understanding of the small school experience and the dynamics of a community,” Frazier said.