Pacific University has received national recognition for its continuing commitment to the mental health and emotional well-being of its students, faculty and staff.
Pacific is one of 38 institutions to receive Insight Into Academia magazine’s 2026 Excellence in Mental Health and Well-Being Award. The honor recognizes colleges and universities dedicated to fostering a culture of mental health wellness and belonging by providing innovative support for the emotional well-being of the entire campus community. Award winners will be highlighted in Insight into Academia’s September 2026 issue.
“This recognition reflects the collective work of so many people across the university who care deeply about our students and one another,” said Laura Stallings, PsyD, Pacific’s dean of student well-being. “It gives us an opportunity to recognize the stronger pathways we have built for care, connection, prevention and support while remaining accountable for listening, learning and addressing the gaps that remain.”
While Pacific’s cross-disciplinary commitment to mental health is ongoing, the university has developed several programs over the last year that enhance services available to the community.
Last spring, Pacific opened sensory rooms in both its Forest Grove and Hillsboro campus libraries, designed to give individuals a safe space to regulate their emotions and reduce anxiety. The research and planning for the rooms were developed as a capstone project by a student in Pacific’s graduate occupational therapy program based on her experiences and those of other neurodivergent students.
Pacific is in its second year in the College Autism Network’s Autism-Inclusive Campus Designation Pilot Program, which facilitates discussion on how the university can better meet the needs of autistic and neurodivergent students, including mental health supports. Pacific is one of just seven institutions nationally participating in the pilot.
Additionally, Pacific received a $1.36 million TRIO Services Support Grant from the U.S. Department of Education, allowing the university to enhance support programs for first-generation students, low-income students and students with disabilities.
Ongoing programs focused on whole community mental health and well-being include:
• Pacific’s care referral system, which allows students, faculty and staff a way to show care by connecting students with support for their holistic needs. The system reviews over 1,000 referrals annually and coordinates responses with partners across the university to address mental health, academic, basic-needs, medical, family, and other concerns.
• Linked at the bottom of every page of the university’s website, the “Support at Pacific” page ensures that information on support resources for all members of the Pacific community, from public safety to mental health to food insecurity, is no more than one click away.
• Campus-wide well-being programming at both the Forest Grove and Hillsboro campuses, providing education on mental health resources, well-being principles, and active opportunities to de-stress, including pop-up crafting tables and the university’s popular recharge events, featuring therapy animals, at mid-semester and before finals.
• Multidisciplinary working groups focused on mental health promotion, suicide prevention, and substance-abuse harm reduction.
Pacific’s commitment to positive mental health and well-being is not based in one office, but is shared across multiple divisions and departments.
Stallings emphasizes that the recognition by Insight Into Academia is not an endpoint, but a milestone as Pacific continues to evaluate the community’s needs and develop better approaches to mental health and well-being.
“At Pacific, we know that mental health cannot be separated from belonging, identity, access, academic success or basic needs,” Stallings said. “We want students to have multiple ways to find support and experience the university as a community that sees their humanity, respects their autonomy, and cares about their ability to thrive.”