Creating psychological safety to boost student success

The creators of a Go Grant Initiative designed to focus on the psychological wellbeing at CMU launched workshops focusing on the topic with a pair of heavy hitters in the wellness and social justice community.

First, Michael Kocet, a longtime administrator in higher education and mental health education facilitated daylong workshops for graduate students and employees about psychological safety.

Then, Michael Benitez, Jr., followed up by spending time with students in the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion for discussion on surviving the current climate in higher education. Benitez is a noted educator, author and international speaker who visited CMU as part of the Emma Norman Todd Distinguished Lecture Series.

They were the first monthly workshops that are part of a new initiative to improve student retention through becoming a psychologically safe campus. The $30,000 Go Grant-funded program helps CMU make progress on priorities one and three of the 2025-2028 strategic plan: to inspire student success and ensure institutional sustainability.

Drivers of the psychological safety initiative are:

• Nikita Murry, director of the Center for Collaborative Learning and Engagement
• Kirsten Webber, faculty in the School of Communication, Journalism and Media
• Danny McQuarters, Jr., assistant director of Strategic Initiatives and Collaboration in the division of University Engagement and Student Affairs.

“A lot of K-12 schools have taken on this initiative. It's about recognizing that one behavior that you might see as distancing, like a kid isn't turning in their homework, could be a trauma response,” Webber said. “That could be them figuring out how to feel safe in a space or feel more comfortable or safe.”

Webber said established psychological safety programs tend to focus on children, so CMU is developing its own framework. And while CMU has the ability to work with campus partners to bring in nationally regarded experts on this topic, they have also found CMU faculty and staff who are greatly regarded in the area of holistic wellness.

“We discovered we had partners on campus who were well versed in this work and what it means to be psychologically safe,” Webber said. “There are folks who are coming alongside of us who are informed in the scholarship in this area and helping us to build what we want to have, not just for this year of the grant, but in the following years.” 


Murry says while the initiative connects to CMU’s strategic plan, it also addresses crucial pieces of the university’s culture and values.

“When we talk about psychological safety, for us, that means how are we living up to our leadership standards and what's important to us as an institution in order to fulfill our mission, vision and values. If we're not, psychologically safe, then we're absolutely not meeting our mission, vision and values, nor are we being the leaders that we believe we are,” she said.

The overall goal of the program is to improve student retention by creating environments where people can feel safe, and create an empathetic and understanding university culture where students from all backgrounds are able to thrive.

“If we're picking up on more of these cues for students that are more at risk, then we're going to do a better job at getting them to services that they need, and that's going to support retention and that's going to support graduation rates,” Webber said.

The initiative has started building a Blackboard workshop site where people will be able to access recordings, suggested readings and self-guided activities on the topic of how to assess psychological safety.

The next monthly workshop is planned for November 14 and will focus on psychological safety from an indigenous perspective.

Go Grants in Action is a year-long series that shares the stories of how CMU students, faculty and staff are making a positive impact on the people and communities we serve through the Go Grants initiative