Students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will soon have an enhanced, centralized place on campus to go for individualized non-clinical case management, basic needs support, assistance with problem-solving and access to emergency resources in times of distress or crisis. The Connie Frank CARE (Coordination, Assistance, Response, and Education) Center is being established on the fourth floor of the Turner Student Services Building with donor support from Frank (LAS ’65).
Managed by Student Affairs through the Office of the Dean of Students, the Connie Frank CARE Center will help foster a greater sense of belonging and community on campus while also increasing access to health and wellbeing support resources for all Illinois students. Ann Marie Morgan, Associate Dean of Students and Director of the Connie Frank CARE Center, will steward the day-to-day operations of the facility, supervising three assistant deans leading the Center’s teams. This gift also provides support for an ombudsperson who will assist students experiencing conflict with university faculty, staff or policies and serve as a neutral problem-solver.
The Center will also facilitate connections to other campus health units and community partners, while not duplicating existing resources. The Connie Frank CARE Center staff will work closely with university partners inside the Turner Student Services Building, such as the Counseling Center, Alcohol and Other Drug Programs, The Michael L. Jeffries, Sr., Office for Access and Academic Success and the Office for Student Conflict Resolution. The Center will also collaborate with other units across campus, including Disability Resources and Educational Services, Title IX, Office for Access and Equity, Student Engagement and college-level units to support students and help them achieve academic and personal success.
Students, faculty and staff members will be able to engage in education, programming and outreach initiatives at the CARE Center to identify students in distress and offer support and assistance. There will be a variety of resources available, including a technology loan program, a CARE ambassadors program led by student peer mentors, food insecurity education, financial literacy workshops, and more. Co-working spaces to engage with students will also be available for units within and outside of the university, making resources centrally available to students in one location. On-and-off-campus partners will be encouraged to create programming related to student wellbeing, First-Gen students and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
“Connie Frank wanted to support a center that provides comprehensive assistance in a way that makes things easier for our students. This gift will allow us to do that,” said Stephen Bryan, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Advocacy and Dean of Students. “Her generosity will make a profound and lasting impact on generations of students and will emphasize the community of care that we have at Illinois.”