Carleton University President Benoit-Antoine Bacon highlighted the importance of breaking the stigma around mental health issues during a keynote address at the Excellence Canada Summit in Toronto on Nov. 5, 2019.
President Benoit-Antoine Bacon
At the summit, Carleton became the first post-secondary institution to reach Gold Level certification in Mental Health at Work. The Students and Enrolment division earned Bronze Level certification in Excellence, Innovation and Wellness.
Speaking about Mental Illness as a Means of Helping Others
In a speech entitled “My ongoing journey towards resilience, purpose and gratitude,’’ Bacon recounted his own experience, saying he felt it was his responsibility to speak about mental illness as a means to help others do the same.
“No one should feel they have to suffer alone,” said Bacon, whose story inspired many of some 500 attendees to reach out and discuss his story further.
Over the last several years, Carleton has implemented a number of initiatives to support the mental wellness of students, faculty and staff, including an award-winning student Mental Health Framework, training for faculty and staff, and the Not Myself Today campaign.
Carleton’s accomplishments were highlighted in a video that was played at the summit.
Founded in 1992 by Industry Canada as the National Quality Institute (NQI), then rebranded as Excellence Canada in 2011, the organization is an independent, not-for-profit corporation dedicated to advancing organizational performance across Canada.
Excellence Canada: Advancing Organizational Performance
As Canada’s national authority on Quality and Healthy Workplace® practices, Excellence Canada has created a uniquely Canadian model, providing measurable standards and objective validation through its certification programs.
Since inception, Excellence Canada has helped thousands of organizations in Canada, across many industries, implement continual quality improvement systems and employee wellness strategies.
Wednesday, November 6, 2019 in President, Student Experience
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