Creating Environments For Flourishing: Using innovation, evidence, and community to support and improve the emotional and behavioral health of students

In 2019 and 2020, nearly 100 higher education leaders came together in a set of convenings to examine the mental health and well-being of their students. Held at Georgetown University and hosted by Georgetown President John J. DeGioia and Mary Christie Foundation President John P. Howe III, M.D., the convenings offered data reporting, expert perspectives, and strategic discussion on the complicated and tenacious problem of student mental health.

The Higher Education Leadership Convenings on College Student Behavioral Health yielded five promising opportunities to improve student behavioral health by changing the environments in which it is addressed. The immediate and significant implications of the COVID-19 pandemic provide a unique window for change. These implications are a reminder of how important student well-being is to a successful college experience.