Mental Health and Wellbeing Director joins the University of Kansas

Staff Fellows recommended the position to coordinate and enhance resources that support employee wellbeing.

The University of Kansas recently hired a Mental Health and Wellbeing Director within Human Resource Management to connect KU faculty and staff with health and wellness resources, develop new initiatives, and assist employees who need mental health support by referring them to campus and community resources.

Jeff Stolz, who started this week, brings more than 10 years of experience working in the mental health field. Most recently he was a Social Worker and Program Coordinator at Van Go, Inc., where he was responsible for coordinating and implementing support for program participants on a variety of wellness-related efforts. Van Go is an art-based, social service non-profit that employs at-risk youth ages 14-24. This position marks a return to KU for Jeff, where he earned a Master of Social Work and a Bachelor of Science in Education.

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Director is a new position, created as a direct result of recommendations from employees participating in the Staff Fellows program. The position and the creation of the Wellness Office also aligns with Jayhawks Rising under the Improve Health and Wellness objective within the Healthy & Vibrant Communities strategic priority.

In addition to connecting individual employees with needed resources, Jeff will work to broaden KU’s wellness and prevention strategies and expand the scope of health and wellbeing offerings to employees. He will develop programs to focus on remote, in-person and hybrid workers, and plan and implement on- and off-campus outreach events and other activities to raise awareness of available resources, and to promote healthy life choices, mindfulness, stress reduction and safe spaces.

More information about employee health and wellness at KU is available on the Employee Wellness website.