KINGSTON, R.I.\u2014Nov. 13, 2026\u2014The University of Rhode Island has been named to the Princeton Review Mental Health Services Honor Roll for 2027, joining a select group of institutions across the country recognized for prioritizing student mental health and well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now in its third year, the Mental Health Services Honor Roll surveyed administrators at 739 institutions about their counseling, mental health, and wellness services. The project is conducted in partnership with the Ruderman Family Foundation, an organization focused on ending the stigma surrounding mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
URI was one of only 76 institutions named to the honor roll, receiving high marks for its variety of mental health services, including in-person individual and group counseling, and its connection to on- and off-campus resources. The University was recognized for its continuity of care, including a full-time care manager who works to connect students with community providers and works with identity-based organizations, university departments, and outside providers to arrange specialized support when needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis recognition shows the strong foundation we have built across campus and how important we believe mental health resources are to student health and quality of life\u2014everyone from faculty and staff to the president are cognizant of that,\u201d said URI Counseling Center Director Cory Clark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
URI extends wellness support and outreach before students begin college and the peer connection begins immediately during the first-year experience as student ambassadors and orientation leaders help new students find resources. Incoming first-year students complete a medical history form, and those who report being in active treatment are contacted about available services and helped to establish a plan for their arrival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat speaks volumes to how much this is a university-wide collaboration. Everyone, from mental health professionals on campus to professors and the administration is focused on student success. And being mentally and emotionally well is foundational to that\u2014it’s going to help you in the classroom, and it\u2019s going to help you connect and feel like you belong,\u201d said Michael Starkey, assistant director of URI\u2019s Counseling Center. \u201cThis has been a university-wide push and being named to the Mental Health Services Honor Roll is terrific honor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At URI mental health education has been brought into the classroom with for-credit courses such as Mental Health First Aid (EDC 203 ) and Advancing Mental Health on Campus (EDC 204) that help students to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illness and substance use disorders. In addition, annual events such as URI\u2019s Be 5K Walk\/Run for Suicide Awareness and Prevention, the IMALIVE Mental Health Fair, and FloURIsh Fest, an annual campus wellness celebration held each fall, have helped to shine a light on mental health and reduce stigma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cReducing stigma is hugely important, we want students to know that if they\u2019re struggling, anxious, or stressed out, they can access mental health services,\u201d said Starkey. \u201cWe want to provide access and help early rather than have students wait because they were afraid. \u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
URI\u2019s peer-to-peer resources include Rams Together for Recovery & Wellness, a collegiate recovery program, while the University\u2019s Office of Health Promotion hosts regular workshops and outreach on mental health awareness and stress. Separately, URI Health Services administers depression screenings by appointment, with interventions and referrals based on the results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clark, who\u2019s been with the university for 18 years, noted an increase in the focus on better mental health resources at the college level in the late 2010s when mental health awareness \u201cbecame center stage.\u201d The rise of social media, celebrity advocacy, and other initiatives have allowed public figures to share personal struggles openly, which has gone a long way toward destigmatizing the need for such resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAccess and awareness are particularly important,\u201d said Starkey. \u201cWe go to the doctor every year for a physical health checkup. That’s something we all do. Mental health is just as important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
URI\u2019s Counseling Center and other campus partners continue to focus on outreach, according to Starkey, including the Counseling Center\u2019s year-end satisfaction survey, which helps the department stay in line with nationwide best practices. Last fall, the Counseling Center earned accreditation through the International Accreditation of Counseling Services (IACS), which includes annual reviews to ensure continued alignment with IACS standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think we keep a good pulse on what\u2019s happening with the student body,\u201d Clark said, \u201cso that we can navigate toward what our students need at any particular point in time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Michael Parente, director of communications and marketing in the URI Division of Student Affairs, wrote this news release.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" KINGSTON, R.I.\u2014Nov. 13, 2026\u2014The University of Rhode Island has been named to the Princeton Review Mental Health Services Honor Roll for 2027, joining a select group of institutions across the country recognized for prioritizing student mental health and well-being. Now in its third year, the Mental Health Services Honor Roll surveyed administrators at 739 institutions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":112097,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1914,1903,1916,1902,1915],"class_list":["post-112096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-graduate","tag-health-and-wellness","tag-partner-produced","tag-student-engagement","tag-undergraduate"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112096"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112096\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112098,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112096\/revisions\/112098"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}