Head of University of Pennsylvania mental health services dies by suicide
The head of the University of Pennsylvania's psychological and counseling services department died by suicide, officials confirmed on Wednesday. Dr. Gregory Eells, 52, died on Monday morning due to multiple blunt impact injuries, according to the Philadelphia Department of Health, and the University of Pennsylvania confirmed his death to CBS News.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Eells jumped to his death from a 17-story building in Center City Philadelphia. The Inquirer said his death occurred about 6:40 a.m. on Monday morning along the 100 block of South Broad Street, where he had been living.
According to The Daily Pennsylvanian, the university's student newspaper, Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum and Chief Wellness Office Benoit Dubé wrote an email to the university community where they extended their condolence to Eells' family. The two administrators described his death as sudden and did not state the cause of death.
Eells had been hired in January to lead the university's Counseling and Psychological Services. He began in March after spending more than a decade at Cornell University in a similar role. According to a press release, Eells taught both graduate and undergraduate students in courses on counseling, social psychology and developmental psychology. He served as chair of the Mental Health Section of the American College Health Association in 2014 and won the Association for University and College Counseling Center Director's Award for Excellence in Counseling Center Scholarship in 2016.
Eells earned a PhD in counseling psychology from Oklahoma State University, an MA in psychology from Eastern Illinois University, and a BA in psychology and biology from Greenville College.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that police said no suicide note was left. Dr. Eells is survived by his wife and three children, who live in Ithaca, New York.
