Trauma-Informed Campus Conference: Developing Novel Approaches in Higher Education

Run of Show:

• 9:00-9:30am | Registration & Coffee

• 9:30-9:45am | Welcome Remarks

• 9:45-10:30am | Keynote Presentation: Turning Toward, Turning Away: Trauma-Informed Choices in Higher Education Practice | Tricia Shalka, PhD

• 10:30-11:15am | Keynote Presentation: From Why to How: The Story of the Essential Elements | Mandy Davis, PhD, LCSW

• 11:15-11:30am | Break

• 11:30-12:15pm | Breakout Session 1

• 12:15-1:30pm | LUNCH + Facilitated Discussion (optional)

• 1:30-2:15pm | Breakout Session 2

• 2:15-2:30pm | Break

• 2:30-3:15pm | Breakout Session 3

• 3:15-3:30pm | Break

• 3:30pm-4:15pm | Breakout Session 4

This conference will bring together faculty, staff, and students from universities throughout the region for a day of engaging presentations, dialogue, and collaboration focused on advancing trauma-informed approaches within and beyond college campuses. The event will highlight innovative strategies for integrating trauma-informed principles into higher education, create opportunities for collaboration among faculty, researchers, students, and community members committed to fostering safe and inclusive learning environments, and explore what it means to cultivate a trauma-informed campus.

More About the TIC Workgroup

The Trauma Informed Campus (TIC) Workgroup at Temple University is comprised of students, faculty, and staff committed to cultivating a campus community that recognizes the impact of trauma and promotes safety, trust, collaboration, empowerment, and belonging for all members. To advance this mission, the TIC Workgroup promotes trauma-informed approaches across the university by reviewing programs, policies, and practices; supporting collaboration among campus partners; advising leadership; and fostering education, awareness, and continuous improvement through research, evaluation, and other initiatives.

Tricia Shalka, PhD is a faculty member in the Warner School’s higher education program at the University of Rochester. Dr. Shalka’s primary research investigates the impacts of traumatic experience(s) on college students including how trauma shapes students’ identity development, relationships, and navigations though educational environments.

In this keynote, Dr. Shalka will discuss what pulls us toward and away from adopting trauma-informed practices in higher education. Grounded in research, she will also offer several tangible strategies for what a trauma-informed practice might look like that can positively change the nature of our higher education organizations moving forward.

Mandy Davis, PhD, LCSW is the director of Trauma Informed Oregon, a statewide collaborative aimed at preventing and ameliorating the impact of adverse experiences on children, adults, and families. Dr. Davis works with organizations to apply TI approaches for both those served and the workforce through training, consulting, evaluating, and innovating.

In this keynote, Dr. Davis, Director of Trauma-Informed Oregon, shares the story of how the Essential Elements of Trauma-Informed Care and the accompanying fidelity tool were developed to help organizations move from understanding why TIC matters to knowing how to put it into practice, and to help sustain the movement by providing practical tools, and guidance for navigating the journey of organizational change. Mandy will walk through the process behind creating the framework, including the questions that started it and the lessons learned along the way. She will also reflect on where the work stands today and reflect on the future of the work.

Organizational Commitment: Leading for Well-Being: A Trauma-Informed Framework for Higher Education | Megan Holmes, PhD, MSW, LISW-S

Creating a trauma-informed campus requires more than training and individual practice change; it requires leadership that intentionally shapes the conditions in which people learn, work, and connect. This session introduces the Integrated Well-Being Leadership Framework, a science-informed approach grounded in trauma research, neurobiology, social connection, and organizational well-being. Participants will explore how leaders can foster trust, relational safety, regulation, connection, and belonging while creating environments that support both individual and institutional well-being. The session will highlight practical ways higher education leaders can translate trauma-informed principles into everyday leadership practices and organizational culture.

Target audience: All   |   Location: Paley 440

Culture and Climate: Cultivating a Trauma Informed Campus: Lessons Learned | Panelists: Amy Hoch, PsyD; Andrew Lee, PsyD; Liz Zadnik, MA | Moderator: Mark Denys, RN, BS, MHA

In this session, panelists will discuss practical strategies for implementation of trauma-informed approaches within university counseling and wellness centers.

Target audience: Campus administration, staff   |   Location: Paley 340

Culture and Climate: Cultivating a Trauma Informed Campus: Lessons Learned | Jamie Mansell

In this session, an overview of sexual misconduct through the lens of students in internships and clinical spaces will be discussed.  Additionally, an example of a unique interprofessional training and educational experience will be demonstrated. 

Target audience: Faculty, clinical supervisors   |   Location: Paley Simulation Center, Debrief Room 240A&B

Join members of the Temple University Trauma-Informed Campus Workgroup for a small group facilitated lunch discussion about advancing trauma-informed approaches in higher education. Participants will explore Trauma-Informed Oregon’s Five Essential Elements of Trauma Informed Care and share ideas, resources, and opportunities for collaboration. This is an optional experience that attendees may select when registering by choosing General Admission with Facilitated Lunch Discussion. Those who prefer to grab a boxed lunch or make their own lunch arrangements without participating in the discussion may choose General Admission without Facilitated Lunch Discussion.

Target audience: All   |   Location: Paley 510 (Facilitated Discussion); Paley 530 (Informal Lunch)

Campus Dining Resources 

For attendees who choose to purchase lunch on their own, here are some nearby dining options, including the 12th Street Vendor Pad, Liacouras Walk vendors, and Temple food trucks. 

https://temple.mydininghub.com/en 

https://www.temple.edu/life-temple/housing-dining/temple-food-trucks 

Culture and Climate: Empathy in the Academy: Building a Respectful, Resilient University Culture | Deborah Cai, PhD

This session looks at what a trauma-informed university campus is, and what it is not; why it matters for students, faculty, and staff; and considers ways we can work together to create a supportive university culture.

Target audience: All  |   Location: Paley 340

Policy, Procedure, and Practice Review: A Trauma Informed Approach to Campus Hazing: Policy, Procedure, and Practice Review | Ryan McKee, PhD

More than half (55%) of college students in clubs, teams, and organizations experience hazing. Hazing can be physical, psychological, or sexual in nature and is linked to anxiety (including posttraumatic stress), depression, and other mental health concerns. The federal Stop Campus Hazing Act now requires research-informed, campus-wide prevention programs. Still, campus policies, reporting processes, and conduct procedures can result in additional harm when they are written without a trauma-informed perspective. This session applies Element #4 of Trauma Informed Oregon's TIC Implementation Tool, Policy, Procedure, and Practice Review, to campus hazing prevention and response. Participants will examine sample institutional policies as well as student group new-member practices. In a policy analysis exercise, participants will rate and revise a sample hazing reporting document using the TIC Implementation Tool.

Target audience: All   |   Location: Paley 440

Feedback and Quality Assurance: Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools in North Philadelphia | Mary Beth Hays, LSW; Maia Cucchiara, PhD

This session will examine the PHASeS (Philadelphia Healthy and Safe Schools) program. PHASeS uses a relational approach to increasing trauma sensitivity in elementary schools, embedding trauma specialists and other supports into the daily life of the school. We will address the origins of the PHASeS program, its design, and its implementation. Through a partnership between the Katz School of Medicine and the College of Education and Human Development, a team in the College of Education has conducted a five-year, mixed-methods study of the PHASeS program. The presentation will also discuss the study design and findings, especially our findings about the impact of PHASeS on educator well-being.

Target audience: All   |   Location: Paley 445

Culture and Climate: Supporting Student Learning and Development through Trauma-Informed Campuses | Krista Schroeder, PhD, RN, CCRN; Laura Sinko, PhD, MSHP, RN

Many students arrive at college carrying histories of trauma, and campus life can bring new exposures to harm. When campuses aren't prepared, trauma can quietly shape attendance, engagement, retention, and progression. When they are, the university can become a place where students learn, grow, and heal. Drawing on our framework for trauma-informed campuses, this session uses an ecological lens to show how trauma-informed principles can extend beyond the counseling center to every level of campus life (e.g. how faculty and staff respond to disclosures, how classrooms handle difficult content, how buildings and shared spaces make people feel, and how policies address harm through survivor-centered and restorative options). We will also discuss what it takes to implement and assess this work over time, and invite attendees to identify concrete opportunities within their own roles and units.

Target audience: All   |   Location: Paley 340

Policy, Procedure, and Practice Review: Overview of Programs, Policies, and Practices Influencing College Student Mental Health | Sara Abelson

Target audience: All   |   Location: Paley 440

Organizational Commitment: Trauma-Informed Campuses Begin with Trauma-Informed Leadership | Jason Lynch, PhD

Creating healthy campuses requires more than programs, policies, or student services; it also requires leaders who understand how trauma shapes people, relationships, and organizations. This session explores what it means to practice trauma-informed leadership in higher education and why leadership is essential to fostering healthier campus environments. Participants will examine core principles of trauma-informed leadership, consider how leaders can cultivate safety, trust, connection, and wellbeing within their teams and institutions, and reflect on how everyday leadership practices can either reinforce or disrupt conditions that contribute to organizational harm.

Target audience: Campus leaders/administrators   |   Location: Paley 340

Culture and Climate: Self-Regulation as Information: Building More Trauma-Informed Campus Communities | Lisa Henshaw, PhD, LCSW

This session will focus on how paying attention to our internal experiences and patterns of self-regulation can deepen our understanding of ourselves and our interactions with others. Participants will explore how mindful, self-aware approaches can support more responsive relationships and contribute to a more trauma-informed campus culture.

Target audience: All   |   Location: Paley 445

Please see information about parking below:

• BELL GARAGE: 1840 N. 11th Street Philadelphia, PA 19122

• MONTGOMERY GARAGE: 1859 N. 11th Street. Philadelphia, PA 19122

• TUTTLEMAN LOT: 1205 W. Montgomery Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19122

• CECIL B. MOORE LOT: 1223 Cecil B. Moore Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19122

• DIAMOND STREET LOT: 1140 W. Diamond Street Philadelphia, PA 19122

• NORRIS STREET LOT (FORMERLY LOT #7): 1961 N. Marvine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122

• Street parking may also be available nearby.