Student Wellness Resources
Wellness Resources for Students
The faculty and staff in the department care about the well-being of our undergraduate and graduate students. We understand the rigors of earning a degree from Illinois ECE, and there are times when it's necessary to ask for help.
Many resources are available within the department and on campus for students needing assistance, but it can be challenging to know where to start. This page serves to fill that role.
Bruce Hajek, Department Head
Leonard C. and Mary Lou Hoeft Endowed Chair in Engineering
Academic Advisors
Regardless of the issue, reaching out to our academic advising team is a good first step. Any of the individuals listed below can help answer questions, provide solutions, or direct you to the appropriate resources, if necessary.
Undergrad Advisors
Graduate Advisors
Advising Contacts
ECE Office of Student Affairs
2120 ECE Building
Hours: Weekdays 8am-12pm, 1-5pm
PH: (217) 333-0716
FAX: (217) 333-8582
Faculty Mentors
Each undergraduate and graduate student is assigned a faculty mentor they meet with regularly. Outside those regularly scheduled meetings, students are encouraged to reach out to their mentors for guidance on academic and other matters.
If students would like to request a different faculty mentor or are unsure who their mentor is, don't hesitate to contact the advising staff listed above to make that change.
Events & Programming
Each fall the department hosts separate events for undergraduate and graduate students devoted to mental health. These events feature faculty, students, and embedded counselors with The Grainger College of Engineering sharing available resources and listening to student concerns.
Please check departmental calendars regularly for other programming to support student well-being.
Registered Student Organizations
Becoming involved with or attending events sponsored by ECE-related registered student organizations (RSOs) is a great way to build your support system with peers. These groups organize social events, offer peer mentoring services, and provide opportunities to explore a variety of technical fields. Please visit the ECE RSO page to learn more.
Faculty and Staff Mental Health Ambassador Program
The Faculty and Staff Mental Health Ambassador Program is a set of initiatives that aims to help current University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty and staff understand and address student mental health concerns. Specifically, it provides training for faculty and staff to increase awareness of mental health.
The program offers implementable mental health initiatives to help create a culture of care and support. It is also intended to help faculty and staff members attend to self-care by offering guidance on the roles that faculty, staff and students play in addressing student mental health. Importantly, the program emphasizes that faculty and staff are not in a formal counseling role.
ECE has several faculty and staff who have completed the training, and you are welcome to reach out to them directly.
- Joan Brown, Academic Advisor
- Joyce Mast, Program Administrative Assistant
- Jonathan Makela, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Programs
Campus Resources
In addition to the resources provided by the ECE department, the Office of the Dean of Students maintains a list of resources available on-campus, as well as those offered by the Champaign-Urbana community.
Faculty and Staff Responsibilities
The role of faculty and staff listed on this page is to serve as an approachable resource willing to listen to and help people seeking guidance. In addition, they can be sounding boards for such concerns and advise on next steps.
We emphasize that they cannot undertake official investigations and are not trained to provide mental health counseling. Academic advisors and faculty mentors must obey all the rules of the University of Illinois, Grainger College of Engineering, and the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, including the stipulations of Title IX. They are also considered Title IX Responsible Employees.