To better support student mental health, Stevens Institute of Technology has received a federal grant totaling nearly $500,000 over the course of four years. Awarded through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), an agency under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the grant will fund initiatives aimed at improving mental health awareness, expanding student support, and increasing faculty involvement.
The grant runs from September 30, 2026, through September 29, 2030. Beginning in Fall 2027, several new initiatives are expected to be introduced to students.
The need for additional support is reflected in Stevens’ 2024 Healthy Minds Study. According to the grant’s cited data, 32% of respondents screened positive for moderate-to-severe depression, 25% screened positive for moderate-to-severe anxiety, and 71% reported that their mental health concerns had affected their academics.
To learn more about the grant and what students can hope to see come from it, The Stute spoke with Dr. Eve Riskin, Dean of Undergraduate Education and the project’s principal investigator.
One of the main components of the grant is Faculty Learning and Outreach: a Community of Knowledge (FLOCK). This program is designed to help faculty recognize and respond to students experiencing mental health challenges. Participating professors will undergo semester-long training to learn to identify signs of distress and approach students who may need help to connect them with appropriate resources. Over the course of the grant, the program aims to train at least 18 faculty members with the hope of strengthening the support network available to students, both inside and outside the classroom.
Riskin emphasized the importance of faculty involvement, explaining how “faculty are on the front lines” and that having professors approach students in need of support “can happen organically,” rather than relying on students seeking out assistance themselves.
According to Riskin, the idea for faculty involvement originated with Dr. Xiangwu (David) Zeng, Senior Vice Provost of Academic Innovation and Faculty Affairs, who had been developing the concept for nearly a decade. Riskin expressed excitement about the program’s potential, explaining that the initiative “could be a model nationally.”
Beyond faculty training, the grant will support several programs aimed at students. Stevens plans to introduce a new lesson in its First-Year Experience (FYE) course, covering mental health awareness, substance misuse prevention, and the importance of seeking help and academic accommodations.
Additional initiatives include expanding the visibility of existing mental health campaigns, offering ADHD testing to students without a formal diagnosis, and installing two sensory pods that will provide low-stimulation spaces for neurodivergent students. The grant also focuses on increasing student engagement, particularly among transfer and commuter students, to both strengthen their sense of belonging and reduce feelings of isolation. This is especially important, considering data cited by the grant proposal stated that 46% of first-year commuter students from the Fall 2025 cohort had attended zero campus events as of February 2026.
The grant will build on existing mental health resources, including Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), while encouraging further awareness of support already available to students. Through these initiatives, Stevens hopes to make it easier for students to receive help when they need it.
