2025 Carolyn D. Baker Memorial Lecture - In-person event

School Mental Health: The Power and Potential of Teachers to Make a Difference presented by Dr Kevin Runions 

All are welcome to attend this free event. For catering purposes, please register by Friday 5 September 2025.

Carolyn Baker was an Associate Professor in the School of Education at The University of Queensland. Associate Professor Baker, who passed away in 2003, is best remembered for her research and her excellent postgraduate supervision and teaching.

This prestigious annual memorial lecture commemorates the life and valuable contribution that our colleague, Carolyn generously shared with us during her time at the School of Education. The Carolyn D. Baker Memorial Lecture is presented as part of UQ's Research and Innovation week. Join us as we remember our colleague and friend Carolyn Baker at this special annual event.  

About the lecture

Studies from around the world demonstrate that the overall mental health of children and adolescents has been deteriorating over the past two decades. Outside the home, school is the setting where children and young people spend most of their time, for better or worse, making it a central location for mental health promotion and intervention.

To capitalise on this potential, schools can be supported to provide identity-affirming mental health support that equips students with strong mental hygiene practices, enables staff to recognise when students are struggling, and offers front-line support while awaiting community referrals. These are key elements of a comprehensive school mental health system. Such a model has been successfully implemented in Ontario, Canada, where School Mental Health Ontario (SMH-ON) supports multi-tiered school mental health across 78 school districts and authorities, serving more than two million primary and secondary students. 

Teachers have several important roles to play in supporting the mental health of every student, and school leaders have a crucial role in enabling this support. Dr Runions will outline current research on teacher-student relationship quality, the potential impact of classroom mental health literacy and promotion, and the bidirectional relationship of teacher and student well-being. This will provide a timely review of how educators and school leaders can invest their time and energy toward supporting student mental health. 

About our speaker

Dr Kevin Runions holds a PhD (2004) and a Master's degree (2000) in Human Development and Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, as well as a Bachelor of Education.

He currently leads the Research, Evaluation & Monitoring team at School Mental Health Ontario, the implementation partner of the Ontario Ministry of Education in supporting multi-tiered, identity-affirming student mental health programming for Ontario’s two million elementary and secondary students. He also holds an appointment as Assistant Clinical Professor (Adjunct) with McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

Previously, Dr Runions was Head of the Schools and Community Wellbeing team at Telethon Kids Institute, Perth Australia and a Research Fellow with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course (Life Course Centre). He has also held academic roles at Edith Cowan and Curtin Universities (Western Australia) and the University of Victoria (British Columbia).

Dr Runions is an internationally recognised researcher of child social and emotional development, with over 60 peer-reviewed publications addressing biopsychosocial aspects of child and adolescent development and how school practices contribute to mental health and well-being. His particular expertise includes bullying, aggression and dysregulated behaviours, their underlying processes, and the design, implementation and evaluation of interventions. His most cited publication is a meta-analysis of bullying and cyberbullying prevalence, with over 900 citations.

Dr Runions has consulted with governments in Australia and Canada, providing expert advice and strategic planning, including the Australian Department of Education, Independent Schools Australia, the Association of Independent Schools of NSW and the Provincial Auditor of Saskatchewan. He serves on the editorial boards of Aggressive Behavior, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, and Journal of Psychologist and Counsellors in Schools, and on the Council of the International Society for Research on Aggression. 

Program Overview 

• Registration: 5:15pm for a 5:30pm start
• Public Lecture: 5:30–6:30pm
• Reception: 6:30–7:30pm (light refreshments provided)

Who should attend

Alumni, Industry or government partners, Media, Prospective students, UQ students (including HDRs), UQ staff or researchers, Staff or researchers at another university.

Location

Room 206, Steele Building (3), St Lucia campus.