February 12-13 | New York, NY
2025 Presidents’ Convening on College Student Mental Health and Wellbeing
Making Higher Education Work for Life
On February 12 and 13, 2025, a select group of higher education leaders from around the country gathered at New York University where they examined and discussed the current state of student mental health and wellbeing. The leaders were joined by behavioral health experts as well as those in teaching and learning, to explore data, share best practices and consider evidence-based approaches to helping all students on campus flourish.
The major theme of the Convening was moving from response to prevention in creating population-based strategies for student mental health and wellbeing that take into account both the acute needs of some students and the mental health of all.
The event was sponsored by the Ruderman Family Foundation.
Panel: Moving from Mental Health to Wellbeing with Chief Wellbeing Officers
- Besty Cracco, PhD, Associate Vice Chancellor of Campus Life & Wellbeing, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
- Candice Epps Jackson, MS, EdS, NCC, LPCA, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs for Health and Wellbeing, Winston-Salem State University
- Estevan Garcia, MD, DrPH, MPA, FAAP, Chief Health and Wellness Officer, Dartmouth College
- Moderator: Zoe Ragouzeos, PhD, LCSW, Vice President, Student Mental Health and Wellbeing, New York University
A President’s Role in Student and Community Wellbeing
- Connie Ledoux Book, PhD, President, Elon University
- Melissa L. Gilliam, MD, MPH, MA, President, Boston University
- Marvin Krislov, MA, JD, President, Pace University
- Moderator: Linda G. Mills, President, New York University
Design Session: Creating a Vision for a Wellbeing-Centered Institution, Part I: Understanding the Issues (Slides)
- Facilitator: Urmila Venkatesh, MFA, Assistant Director of Alumni Career Engagement, Stanford Life Design Lab
Examining and Improving Gen Z’s Mental Health
- Jean Twenge, PhD, Professor of Psychology, San Diego State University College of Sciences; author
Promising Practices and Population-Level Approaches
The Furman Advantage (Slides)
- Connie Carson, MEd, MBA, Vice President for Student Life, Furman University
- Beth A. Pontari, PhD, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Furman University
The QUESTion Project
- Gerard Senehi, MEd, Founder, The QUESTion Project
- Michael Barakat, MEd, MS, Principal, Bronx High School for Law and Community Service
The Resilience Lab
- Megan Kennedy, MS, Director, The Resilience Lab, University of Washington
Panel: Princeton Review Survey
- Robert Franek, Editor-in -Chief, Princeton Review
- Karen Singleton, PhD, Deputy Chief Health Officer, MIT Health
- Moderator: Hanna Shaul Bar Nissim, PhD, Deputy Director US, Ruderman Family Foundation
Design Session: Creating a Vision for a Wellbeing-Centered Institution, Part II: Define and Design (Slides)
- Facilitator: Urmila Venkatesh, Assistant Director of Alumni Career Engagement, Stanford Life Design Lab
New Frontiers in College Mental Wellbeing Research
- Sarah Ketchen Lipson, PhD, EdM, Principal Investigator, Healthy Minds Network; Associate Professor, Department of Health Law Policy and Management, Boston University School of Public Health
- Interviewed by John Volin, PhD, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, University of Maine
Reading Materials
Education’s Role in Shaping the Future
Healthy Minds Study National Report
The Work of College Counseling Centers in the Early 21st Century (Sharon L. Mitchell Counseling Services, University at Buffalo)
The Gap Between Need and Resources Is Urgent in Emerging Adulthood—This Is an Opportunity: Commentary on Kazdin (2024, Karin G. Coifman and John Gunstad)
Piercing the Veil of Teen Mental Health (Gerard Senehi, M.Ed.)
The Okanagan Charter to improve wellbeing in higher education: shifting the paradigm (Peter M. Ginter, Rebecca Kennedy, Paul C. Erwin1 and Wendy Reed)
Pathways Program Report 2022-2023
Navigating a Path Forward for Mental Health Services in Higher Education (Kimberly S. Gorman, David Walden, Lynn Braun & Marcus Hotaling)
Expanding Education’s Role in Shaping the FutureThe Unseen Promise of Whole Child Education and Social-Emotional Learning (Gerard Senehi, M.Ed.)
My Parting Prescription for America (Dr. Vivek Hallegere Murthy)
Photos and videos from the Presidents’ Convening will be added soon.
