Huntsman Family Gives $150 Million to Fight Mental-Health Crisis

(Bloomberg) -- The Huntsman Foundation is giving $150 million to the University of Utah for research into mental illness and to improve mental-health services on the Salt Lake City campus and across the state.

The gift will support the school's Department of Psychiatry and psychiatric hospital, as well as the University Neuropsychiatric Institute, which will be renamed the Huntsman Mental Health Institute. The funds will also be used to expand services to students and into rural areas, and to fund research on genetic and other factors tied to mental health, according to a statement Monday.

“As we look at the needs around society on mental health, and look here in Utah, where we ranked 51st for the resources being spent on adult mental health, we need to be doing better,” said Peter Huntsman, 56, chief executive officer of chemical giant Huntsman Corp., who heads the Huntsman Foundation as well as the Huntsman Cancer Foundation.

“I'm hoping our focus on the high school and college population and on rural care will provide a model that can be used in other states and regions, and start breaking some of the logjams of need,” Huntsman said in an interview.

The family picked the University of Utah because of its experience in genetic research for cancer, he said. The Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) was established on the campus with a $100 million donation in 1995 by the late Jon Huntsman Sr.

Huntsman Sr., who died in February at age 80, started the family business, as well as both foundations. Peter's brother, John Huntsman Jr., 59, was governor of Utah and served as U.S. ambassador to Russia, China and Singapore.

Suicide was the leading cause of death among Utah residents ages 10 to 24 in 2017, according to an August report published by the university's Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. Utah has a shortage of mental-health professionals, especially those who deal with children, according to the report.

In addition to the cancer center, the campus is home to the Jon M. and Karen Huntsman Basketball Center and the Jon M. Huntsman Center, a sports and special events arena.

To contact the reporter on this story: Suzanne Woolley in New York at swoolley2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Eichenbaum at peichenbaum@bloomberg.net, Steven Crabill

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