UT’s first-ever wellness officer centers mental health on campus
Nationally recognized psychiatrist Dr. Jessi Gold has been named the first chief wellness officer for the University of Tennessee’s 59,000 students and 19,000 faculty and staff members. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)
Dr. Jessi Gold has spent the past six months creating a culture of wellness across the University of Tennessee system.
The University of Tennessee brought Gold on board in February as its first-ever chief wellness officer for its entire system.
Gold’s work focuses on supporting the well-being of the statewide system’s 59,000 students and 19,000 faculty and staff members.
It’s no small task, but Gold is also well-versed in caring for the carers.
“I’m also very interested in how we support the folks that are doing the work to keep the people well on campus,” she said. “So, as a person who’s worked in that job for a long time, it tends to be a group that gets neglected. So, I have the honor of representing them and being a voice for them.”
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UTHSC Dr. Jessie Gold Mental health Tennessee colleges Subscriber OnlyThank you for supporting local journalism.
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Aisling Mäki
Aisling Mäki covers health care, banking and finance, technology and professions. After launching her career in news two decades ago, she worked in public relations for almost a decade before returning to journalism in 2022.
As a health care reporter, she’s collaborated with The Carter Center, earned awards from the Associated Press and Society of Professional Journalists and won a 2024 Tennessee Press Association first-place prize for her series on discrepancies in Shelby County life expectancy by ZIP code.
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