What’s Happening in Wellbeing
Be sure to check out Student Wellbeing In The Media too!
BU Student Mental Health Services Honored in Princeton Review Project
Boston University is one of 16 colleges named to the Princeton Review’s 2025 Mental Health Services Honor Roll, an inaugural list of schools recognized for the ways they help students facing mental health challenges. “Mental health and wellness are ingrained in the BU experience,” the University’s citation says, while peer resources were praised for helping Terriers “identify signs of distress, develop effective skills for communicating with and supporting students.”
The Princeton Review commended BU for its breadth of services, which include 180-plus wellbeing programs, events, and learning opportunities available to students.
The distinction recognizes the efforts of BU’s Student Health Services (SHS), which provides mental health and wellbeing support through its affiliated departments Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS), Health Promotion & Prevention (HPP), and Survivor Advocacy, Response & Prevention (SARP), in addition to the Student Wellbeing office.
Read the full article in BU Today.
View the full 2025 Mental Health Services Honor Roll in The Princeton Review.
Breath, Rhythm, and Music: New Workshop Combines Them to Improve Wellbeing (Video)
Breathe in, breathe out—in this video, Igor Iwanek, a CFA lecturer in music and music theory, leads members of the BU community through unique breathing exercises, guided by the rhythms of North Indian classical music, during the weekly Breath, Rhythm & Music for Your Wellbeing workshop at the Howard Thurman Center.
[BU Experts] Wellness in Hospitality: The Increasing Need for Education
Leora Lanz, Executive Director of the Online Program and Associate Professor of Marketing at BU’s School of Hospitality Administration, explores how wellness is becoming a core component of hospitality marketing. Drawing from her experience teaching advanced experiential marketing, Lanz illustrates the importance of incorporating wellness into brand positioning, guest experiences, and marketing strategies. Her students’ hands-on projects demonstrate how hospitality businesses can develop authentic wellness offerings that resonate with today’s travelers.
With insights from Kris Covarrubias, BU Student Wellbeing.
Your Path to Financial Wellbeing & Independence
Student Wellbeing and Her Financial Future invite all BU students to an interactive workshop titled “Your Path to Financial Wellbeing & Independence” on Wednesday, February 26 at 5 pm in CAS 313!
Attendees will learn about financial milestones and walk away with actionable “to-dos” that can lessen common stressors and feelings of imposter syndrome associated with personal finance.
Featuring Dr. Carrie Landa, PhD, Executive Director of Student Wellbeing, and Stephen Martiros, MBA, a professional wealth manager, and founder of Kindros, you will learn about the benefits of understanding your finances and active steps you can take towards your own financial wellbeing.
We hope you’ll join us and bring your questions!
Breath, Rhythm & Music for Your Wellbeing – Spring 2025
Click here for Fall 2025 Workshop Information
Join CFA professor Dr. Igor Iwanek and live musicians in learning the practice of Rhythmic Breath Control (RBC). Imagine your body is the hardware and your mind is the software. How do we keep this machine charged? RBC teaches you to create a power station for your body and mind using breath guided by rhythms of North Indian Classical music. Studies have shown how we breathe relates to how healthy we are, and in this interactive session, we'll learn powerful ancient techniques of Naad Yog (yoga of sound) designed to promote emotional resilience and holistic wellbeing.
Check out this video in BU Today about Breath, Rhythm and Music!
Learning Objectives:
- Improve cognitive performance and self-management in stressful situations with RBC.
- Learn to recreate the profound relaxation of deep sleep, on demand.
- Understand the power of breath to overcome overwhelming thoughts, stabilize the mind and energize the body.
Throughout the semester, one hour workshops will be offered most Tuesdays at 5:30 pm in Room 209 at the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground.
Spring workshop dates: 2/11, 2/25, 3/4, 3/18, 3/25, 4/1, 4/8, 4/15, 4/22, 4/29
Sponsored by:
- Student Wellbeing
- Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground
- BU Arts Initiative
- BU Center for the Study of Asia
- College of Fine Arts
- CFA School of Music
- CFA Department of Composition & Music Theory
- CFA Department of Musicology & Ethnomusicology
For an idea of what to expect, check out Dr. Iwanek's recent appearance at TedXBU:
Self-Defense Trainings
Safety Comes First!
Join us in fostering a safer campus environment through empowerment and awareness. Student Wellbeing, in partnership with BUPD, is excited to offer five self-defense training sessions designed to help students feel more confident and safer on and off campus. These 3 hour trainings provide skills and information around crime-prevention and awareness, including basic self-defense tactics that allow students to practice techniques in real-time. Sessions are open to all BU students.
Register here for CRC training sessions
- Saturday, February 8, 1-4pm
- Monday, March 17, 1-4pm (Spring Break)
- Friday, April 4, 5-8pm
Register here for MED training sessions
- Saturday, February 22, 12–3pm
- Saturday, April 19, 12-3pm
Background
Safety is a core need, fundamental for our wellbeing and survival. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, safety ranks just after physiological needs such as food and water. Self-defense aims to provide both security of body and of mind, equipping individuals with the skills to physically defend themselves, and also how to think clearly and take control in situations where one may be at risk. Trainings not only teach effective techniques for self-defense, but also empower individuals by boosting confidence and enhancing self-esteem. In any instance, when faced with a threat of harm, having a plan in place for how to handle dangerous situations can significantly reduce vulnerability and help protect oneself.
*Important to note that these self-defense trainings do not substitute for official R.A.D. training sessions. Only a portion of a full-length R.A.D. session is covered in these trainings.*
New this Spring: Become a Plantbassador with Rooted Together
Calling all plant enthusiasts!
Do you want to add some greenery to public indoor spaces at BU and care for a plant? Apply to be a Plantbassador through our new pilot program, Rooted Together!
Rooted Together is a program sponsored by Student Wellbeing, Campus Planning & Operations (CPO) and Sustainability that invites BU students to care for plants in public, common spaces located throughout the Charles River, Fenway and Medical campuses. The intention of the program is to engage students in promoting their environmental, social, emotional and physical wellbeing by serving as caretakers to plants that can make campus locations more tranquil, inviting and healthy for all visitors.
You can now find Rooted Together plants beautifying the following locations:
- BUMC Chequers
- BUMC Instructional Building Lobby
- BUMC Hiebert Lounge
- CRC Dean of Students Lounge
- CRC Photonics Student Lounge
- CRC FitRec, Second Floor
- CRC FitRec, Dance Studio
- CRC FitRec, Lobby
- CRC FitRec Pool
- More to come!
No prior experience is required. Fall Deadline to apply: Monday, September 15, 2025.
Background
According to the Society of Research Administrator’s International 2023 article, "Nature at Your Desk: The Hidden Health Boosts of Office Plants," some of the benefits of introducing plants into indoor spaces like offices, lounges, lobbies and labs include:
- Improved Air Quality
- Humidity Regulation
- Stress Reduction
- Increased Productivity
- Noise Reduction
Rooted Together is designed to teach students of the health benefits noted above and enlist their services in caring for plants that will both benefit them as individuals and their fellow students given their placement in common spaces.
Stress ReLeaf: Working with Tea for Calm & Focus is Back for Spring 2025
Discover this popular Student Wellbeing initiative that uses tea as a catalyst for mindfulness. Through education and relaxation, we will explore the ancient practice of gong fu cha (“making tea with skill”) and cultivate a space that focuses on the present moment.
Workshop offered Mondays, from 4-5 pm, at the LGBTQIA+ Student Resource Center, 2nd floor, 808 Commonwealth Avenue.
Registration required. Registration links will be updated each week in advance of the following week’s session.
Spring 2025 Workshop Dates:
January 27 – Lunar New Year Edition
February 3
February 10 – Be My Valen-Tea Edition
February 24
March 3
March 17 – Steep Your Luck Edition
March 24
March 31
April 7
April 14
April 28 – Celebrate the End of the Semester Special
And be sure to check out this video in BU Today for a sneak peek at this awesome workshop!
What’s Your Big Idea to Promote Wellbeing?
It all starts with an idea.
Do you have an innovative idea about how to support students' social wellbeing at BU?
In the spirit of Experience Innovation, Boston University School of Hospitality Administration is calling all innovators to submit ideas for the $50k Hospitality Innovation Competition or $12.5k Student Wellbeing Competition.
The Student Wellbeing Competition focuses on innovative ideas or initiatives that promote the social wellbeing of students at Boston University. The success of these ventures is assessed based on creativity, novelty, reach, and feasibility to implement.
1st prize – $6,000
2nd prize – $4,000
3rd prize – $2,500
Applications are now open! Applications are due February 3. Learn more about deadlines and the application process.
Upcoming Info Sessions: Jan 28 and Jan 30
Register here.
In addition to SHA, partners include Student Wellbeing, BU Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences and Innovate@BU.
You’re Invited: A Thanksgiving Meal for All Students
Don't have a meal plan or plans for Thanksgiving? Join our community for a traditional Thanksgiving meal with plenty of sweet goods, delicious side dishes, and oven-roasted delights, including great vegan options!
Thursday, November 28, 5-8 pm at Marciano Commons.
You must register to attend by 11/25. You are welcome to bring a guest who is not a BU student; however, their cost will be $21 per person, payable at the door. If you have a meal plan and guest passes available, you can use those for your guest!