Community and Well-Being
Integrated support for health and wellness, with a culture that builds community and belonging
We're helping students flourish in their academic and personal lives by creating a culture that encourages compassionate care for self and others. Along with offering intentional opportunities to develop relationships and build inclusive communities, we're empowering students with knowledge and resources to help them promote, advocate for, and manage their personal health and well-being at Emory and beyond.
Caring for Self and Others
“The kindness of everyone on campus has helped me grow and figure out who I am and what I want to do. I feel I can take on new things and ask questions because I’m supported."
—Annika Urban 23C, Emory Women’s Cross Country All-American
What’s New: Community and Well-Being Highlights
Reframes: Discovering the Possible
Part of Student Flourishing is learning to reframe life’s unexpected detours and own the positive and fulfilling changes these obstacles create. In 2024, Emory introduced “Reframes: Discovering the Possible,” a student-facing project seeking to ignite a campus-wide conversation about embracing the power of reframing unforeseen moments in life. The project highlights personal narratives from faculty, staff, and alumni, where they share moments of struggle and vulnerability through video vignettes and a portrait exhibition. Students are invited to share their own Reframes stories and build connection during Wonderful Wednesdays and the “Reframes: Dinner and Dialogue” event series.
Early Community Building
We’re expanding our pre-orientation programs to enable more students to explore communities of interest and connect with faculty and peers, both across programs and the Oxford and Atlanta campuses. In 2022, more than 40 percent of the first-year class participated in pre-orientation programming—building community right from the start. Meanwhile, the newly expanded Emory Weeks of Welcome offers more intentional, large-scale programming on the Atlanta campus to create class-based traditions for both new and returning students. And Emory Athletics is enhancing the fan experience with new events programming and its first Orientation Pep Rally to create camaraderie and school spirit for all Emory Eagles.
Flourishing Fellows Program
Designed to foster resilient, inclusive, relationship-based communities on campus, this program, piloting in 2022–2023, will train 12–15 diverse student leaders in the work of intentional community building and active peer engagement. Each Flourishing Fellow will commit to meeting 40 Emory students over the course of the year for friendly conversation over coffee, a stroll, or other connection, with weekly team gatherings as well as regular guidance and supervision from mentors in the Office of Spiritual and Religious Life.
Enhancing Student Support
As part of its ongoing focus on student well-being, in spring 2022 Emory launched the comprehensive web portal “Be Well, Your Way” and hosted multiple events to help students connect to the wide array of resources available to support their physical and mental health and wellness. In the 2022–2023 academic year, Emory Campus Life will offer training to help school-based student affairs and student services staff recognize and respond to anxiety—a common student mental health concern—while leaders across campus will conduct an intensive review of crisis response plans to optimize support for students in crisis.
New Leaders for Well-Being, Belonging
Emory Campus Life has appointed new leaders focused on well-being and community, strengthening Emory's commitment to prepare all students for lifelong success and positive transformation in the world. James Raper, our first associate vice president for health, well-being, access, and prevention, will advance Emory’s strategic initiative to integrate, enhance, and promote our holistic health and wellness services for all students. Kristina K. Bethea Odejimi, our new associate vice president for belonging, engagement, and community, will build synergies across programs aimed at enhancing students’ sense of belonging at Emory through community building and engagement in university and civic life.
Student Characteristics Project
Beginning in fall 2022, students can opt to share identity-related information such as designated pronoun preferences, gender and sexuality, first-generation status, military-affiliated status, religious/spiritual identity, and ethnicity in Emory’s official student record system. The data will support more inclusive classrooms while helping the university better serve its diverse communities.
New Identity Spaces
As part of our racial and social justice initiatives, Emory is creating new identity spaces to offer warm, welcoming spaces for students to connect with peers, faculty, and staff with similar backgrounds, engage in programming, and access resources. Currently in renovated spaces in the Alumni Memorial University Center, five student identity groups will move to new homes in Cox Hall in fall 2023: Asian Pacific Islander Desi/American (APID/A) including domestic and international students; the Center for Women at Emory; Centro Latinx; Emory Black Student Union (EBSU); and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Life.
