EAST LANSING — Michigan State University’s move to lay off at least some members of its Counseling and Psychiatric Services unit is drawing criticism from those who claim it contradicts MSU’s public stance that mental health is a priority.
An online petition calls for the reinstatement of former CAPS Director Swapna Hingwe and other psychiatrists whose jobs were eliminated.
“The decision to eliminate Dr. Hingwe’s role and dissolve CAPS psychiatry services stands in stark contradiction to the university’s public claim that ‘mental health is a priority,” said the petition, which had been signed by more than 1,370 people as of Aug. 6. “It is deeply ironic − and profoundly disturbing −that even as administrators pledge to strengthen student wellbeing, they have removed one of the most trusted leaders in campus mental health care and dismantled a key component of the system that served students with dignity and depth.”
Spokespersons Amber McCann and Emily Guerrant did not respond to several messages left for them by the State Journal on Tuesday, Aug. 5 and Wednesday, Aug. 6.
But McCann confirmed the cuts for a Detroit News report on Aug. 4, saying they were part of previously announced university-wide reductions. The university is still prioritizing psychiatric care, but through a different provider, McCann said, who added that MSU Health Care will be responsible for student psychiatry and that CAPS will still provide counseling services.
The online petition said Hingwe “embodied what it means to center student mental health, not just in policy, but in practice − through presence, outreach, and culturally attuned care … If mental health is truly a priority, then it must be reflected in who is empowered to lead, the services that are preserved, and the values that guide decision-making.”
Hingwe’s supervisor, Leigh Norwood, also was laid off, and the changes have “sent waves of concern across the CAPS team and the campus as a whole, the petition said.
Who authored the petition was unclear, and how much the university might save from the layoffs and other changes also was not clear. But layoffs and other cuts at MSU are hardly a surprise.
MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz announced in May that the university needed to cut about 9% of its general fund over the next two years, with 6% cuts planned for 2025-26. He made it clear that staff cuts would be necessary.
The financial issues were discovered as part of an ongoing review into the university’s finances conducted after Guskiewicz became president, officials said.
CAPS was one of the resources MSU made available to students, staff and others in the of the mass shooting on campus in February of 2023.
Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Petition objects to cuts, layoffs to MSU’s counseling and psychiatric services
Reporting by Ken Palmer, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
