Administrator’s suicide came after refusal of mental health leave

An administrator’s suicide at a historically black US university has been blamed on the institution’s refusal to grant her request for mental health leave.

The administrator, Antoinette “Bonnie” Candia-Bailey, died last week, apparently just days after she was fired by her alma mater, Lincoln University in Missouri, from her job as its vice-president of student affairs.

In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy there have been persistent protests by students demanding answers, and the president, John Moseley, voluntarily agreeing to take paid administrative leave while the university’s governing board of curators investigates the matter.

Lincoln is an 1,800-student public institution in the Missouri state capital of Jefferson City, founded in 1866 by black veterans of the US Civil War. Dr Moseley was named its president in 2021 after serving since 2015 as its head men’s basketball coach and university athletics director.

After Dr Candia-Bailey’s death, the board of curators said it “has confidence in the leadership team we have at Lincoln”, but accepted the president’s leave and promised to “fully examine important questions, concerns and gather facts”.

Dr Candia-Bailey was a career student services administrator who had worked at several US higher education institutions over two decades before being hired by Lincoln, her alma mater, last May. In a message she wrote just before she died, with instructions for it to be circulated by her colleagues, she described herself as encountering at Lincoln what she characterised as bullying and harassment related to her depression and anxiety, compounded by the refusal of the president and the board of curators to allow her time for necessary medical treatment.

The case has prompted protests from students, alumni and others beyond the community, alarmed by signs that any person pleading for mental healthcare – and especially someone whose race and gender possibly leaves them even more vulnerable – would have that request denied.

Those raising such concern include the president of the Lincoln University Alumni Association, Sherman Bonds, who shared the message left by Dr Candia-Bailey and called for Dr Moseley to resign as president.

Lincoln University officials said that they would not comment on matters involving Dr Moseley and Dr Candia-Bailey, other than issuing written statements mourning Dr Candia-Bailey’s death and briefly outlining the planned investigation. The university was reported to have told her she was being fired for failures to properly supervise her staff and its activities.

Students have been protesting on campus since they learned of Dr Candia-Bailey’s death, holding signs with messages that include “Justice for Bonnie” and “Bullying is not just physical”. One of the students, Jillian Patton, a junior from Wisconsin, said that justice means “everyone taking accountability of what they did”, including those who appear to have rejected Dr Candia-Bailey’s requests for mental health leave.

The board of curators held a meeting this week where it invited comments from students, who said afterward that they received no meaningful responses to their questions.

paul.basken@timeshighereducation.com

• If you’re having suicidal thoughts or feel you need to talk to someone, a free helpline is available around the clock in the UK on 116123, or you can email jo@samaritans.org. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international suicide helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.