Invest in the Mary Christie Institute Invest in the Mary Christie Institute

The need for a national resource like the Mary Christie Institute has never been greater as the pandemic and the social injustices of 2020 and 2021 have exacerbated the already disturbing rates of anxiety, hopelessness and decreased sense of belonging among young people. 

The MCI produces regular programming on a range of issues affecting teen and young adult behavioral health and has deep engagement with higher education leadership — the presidents, provosts, and student affairs professionals who are addressing the behavioral health crisis on campuses throughout the country.  

Through its work, the Mary Christie Institute has connected thousands of higher education professionals from hundreds of colleges throughout the country on issues impacting student behavioral health.  Its publications are read or listened to by thousands of audience members made up of higher education administrators, policymakers, and behavioral health experts; the Institute has partnered with every known national organization working within college student behavioral health and teen and young adult behavioral health generally; and it has highlighted the work of hundreds of experts and researchers in the field.  

The Mary Christie Institute is expanding both its policy scope and its programming to help improve how schools and communities steward the healthy development of teens and young people of all abilities, backgrounds and resources. In the next five years, The Mary Christie Institute aims to: 

• Expand its examination to key transition periods – late high school and early employment.
• Fill major gaps in research and dissemination in teen and young adult behavioral health
• Expand its journal to become a peer-reviewed source for breakthroughs in teen and young adult behavioral health
• Unite like-minded organizations across the country in collaborative programming and advocacy

How to help:

Donate to MCI:

A donation to the Mary Christie Institute directly supports programs including MCI publications (the Mary Christie Quarterly, the MCFeed and the Quadcast), survey research and the convening program. Support the MCI.

Become a Champion of Young Adult Mental Health:

Help underwrite MCI programming with a gift to our Annual Fund which fuels our work and expands our impact.  You will be recognized in MCI products and programs. Contact mmalpiede@marychristieinstitute.org.

Sponsor. dhumphrey@marychristieinstitute.org

Become a Sponsor of Mary Christie Institute Programming:

Through the Mary Christie Quarterly, the weekly MCFeed, the Quadcast, survey research reports, white papers, and convening program, the Mary Christie Institute (MCI) is highly engaged with higher education leadership at all levels – from trustees and presidents to student affairs professionals to health center and counseling center directors and practitioners. By sponsoring any of these materials and programs, our partners will visibly demonstrate their commitment to thought leadership in college student mental health and wellbeing before these important audience groups.  

Contact us to learn more about sponsoring the programs listed below.

 The Mary Christie Quarterly is a digital magazine of news, ideas, opinion on the issues that impact the health and wellness of young adults. It is published on the MCI website, distributed to a growing email list including higher education and health care policy leaders, and annually printed and distributed to college and university presidents and chancellors.  Since its launch, the Quarterly has included interviews and/or opinion from over 40 college presidents, as well as a host of higher ed administrators and health care, public health and policy experts.  It also regularly features student leaders, writers and artists.

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The MCFeed is a weekly summary of news and information with links to news articles and research reports delineated by student affairs topic starting with the week’s national coverage of the emotional and behavioral health of college students.  It includes articles from college newspapers throughout the country and is consistently well-received by an engaged audience in higher education and young adult behavioral health.

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Mary Christie Research Reports cover a range of issues related to student behavioral health and wellbeing including: opioid use on campus; parents’ perceptions of mental health support and suicide prevention on campus; strategies for high-risk drinking; marijuana legalization and the lessening of perceived risk; and creating environments for flourishing. Since its launch, the Institute has conducted six major surveys, disseminating the data in reports targeted to higher education leaders across the country. In 2021 it released the results of the first-ever national survey on faculty’s response to college student mental health issues through a partnership with the Boston University School of Public Health and the Healthy Minds Network, with funding from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.

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The Mary Christie Convening program began in November of 2016, when the Mary Christie Institute brought together over two dozen current and former presidents for a special forum on policies and practices on student health and wellness at an invitation-only colloquium at New York University.  There, the presidents agreed to make affirmative wellness a key priority for their institutions. Since then, the Institute has held an additional four national symposia, two involving presidents, provosts, and student affairs deans from 30 colleges and universities around the country.  Held at Georgetown University, and co-hosted by Georgetown President John J. DeGioia, the “Higher Education Leadership Convenings on College Student Behavioral Health” brought together nearly 100 thought leaders to explore this critical subject.

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The Mary Christie Quadcast, the Institute’s podcast was launched in June of 2020 and is released bi-monthly. The Quadcast features higher education leaders and experts discussing the emotional and behavioral health of college students.

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