Samford University was among 30 institutions named to The Princeton Review’s 2025 national honor roll for displaying exceptional commitment to students' mental health and well-being.
The selection recognizes the programming being offered by Samford CARES, which comes alongside students in moments of stress, change or crisis to offer support, direction and encouragement.
April Robinson, Samford’s assistant vice president for student development and support, said students want to be healthy and happy but often cannot make sense of the barriers that are holding them back. Samford CARES joins with faculty, staff and administrators in a unified desire to know students personally, to notice when they may be struggling, and to respond with compassion and wisdom. That shared mission has allowed Samford to exceed national norms and become a campus where student well-being is valued and visibly prioritized.
“After 26 years on staff at Samford, I can attest that both the heart and the hands of the university are committed to our Christian mission ‘to nurture persons,’ which includes an approach to student wellness that is both thoughtful and thorough,” Robinson said. “Plenty of institutions offer student support services, but Samford fosters a culture of care that is inspired by Scripture and guided by compassion and wisdom.
“Ultimately, we want students to be like the tree described in Jeremiah 17—rooted, resilient and able to flourish even when life brings difficulty and disappointment.”
Results from The Princeton Review’s second annual Campus Mental Health Survey—a project conducted in partnership with the Ruderman Family Foundation—reveal double-digit national gains in campus counseling, wellness, and student-support programs, with 61% of colleges now offering formal support programs for students returning from mental-health leave, up 18% from the previous year.
“From the beginning, the heart of Samford CARES has been people who love students and want to see them thrive,” Robinson said. “We invest in licensed counselors, case managers, wellness educators and student leaders who embody both professional expertise and a genuine commitment to nurturing persons. The Counseling, CARE and Wellness offices bring a rich blend of clinical insight, pastoral care, educational programming, and peer leadership that allows us to meet students where they are and walk with them toward growth and healing.”
Samford CARES, which has grown in scope since its creation 11 years ago, flourishes today thanks to three essential pillars: a staff of seasoned professionals, invaluable partnerships across the university and a serene space dedicated to counseling and wellness.
Samford’s dedication to students is emphasized by its avenues of outreach.
“We never assume students will automatically know where to turn when they feel overwhelmed, discouraged, or uncertain,” Robinson said. “Samford CARES works intentionally to go to them—in classrooms, residence halls, student organizations, convocation events, digital platforms and social media feeds.”
"The heart and the hands of the university are committed to our Christian mission ‘to nurture persons,’ which includes an approach to student wellness that is both thoughtful and thorough."
— April Robinson
With enrollment surpassing 6,000, Samford CARES preaches regularly that caring is a community endeavor. “We encourage faculty, staff, students and parents to say something if they see something,” Robinson said. “If anyone has a concern for a Samford student, we ask them to submit a CARE Form so we can reach out, mobilize support and work toward an individualized plan of care to address any emotional, academic, physical, and spiritual needs.”
It's an approach inspired by the lost trilogy in Luke 15—the lost coin, lost sheep and lost son, where Jesus commands that Christians proactively search for and seek to restore those that are lost.
“In our efforts to embody the attentive nature of leaving the 99 and going to find the one, we do personal outreach, meet students one-on-one,” Robinson said. “We also host wellness workshops, offer small group studies on faith and wellness, promote counseling and mental health resources, and support peer-led initiatives with the hope of restoring students to a place of thriving.”
Other institutions on The Princeton Review honor roll include Boston University, Columbia, Dartmouth, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton, Rice and Texas Christian University.