Vanderbilt University has lost four doctoral students in the biomedical sciences program to suicide in the past two years, according to interviews with students and emails from the university.
The deaths have added stress in a community of only a few hundred students already struggling with intense professional pressure and heightened the demand for counseling during the isolation brought on by the pandemic. Mental health services are so strained that some students say they can’t keep up and face lengthy waits.
Health challenges posed by COVID-19 include increased rates of anxiety and depression reported across the U.S., specifically by people 18-29. Rates of suicide have steadily increased over the past decade, according to the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention.
On Dec. 7, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a 53-page advisory detailing what he characterized as a youth mental health crisis, as well as ways to address its challenges. Campuses including Dartmouth and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have experienced sharp increases in students reporting declining mental health. Like Vanderbilt, both campuses reported multiple deaths by suicide since the onset of COVID-19 in 2020.
In a statement, Vanderbilt said it “is committed to a culture of caring in which the well-being of all community members – our extraordinary students, the faculty who teach them and the staff who play an immeasurable role in the success of the university – is enhanced and supported. We strive to foster a culture of openness through brave dialogue and honest self-reflection by investing in the mental health and wholeness of every member of the Vanderbilt family.”