Bryant University is known for its focus on outcomes and for the transformative experience it provides students, notes Inge Lise-Ameer, Ed.D., Bryant’s vice president of student affairs and dean of students. But that transformation extends beyond its stellar career placement stats; the Bryant experience is designed to ensure that students — and graduates — thrive as people, as well as professionals.
“At Bryant,” Ameer says, “wellbeing is not an afterthought — it’s foundational.” It’s woven into campus life at every level: healthy dining, active living, mental health resources, restorative programs, and experiences that sharpen focus, balance, and purpose. A committed community works together to create a safe and supportive campus that emphasizes belonging and is a place where all members of the community matter and can succeed.
While student wellbeing has always been central to Bryant’s mission, the university’s Vision 2030 Strategic Plan has reinforced that commitment, including through investments in expanded facilities, services, staffing, and resources including the hiring of Amy Webster, the university's first ever Associate Director of Wellbeing and Nutrition.
Below, Ameer shares her thoughts on creating a culture of wellbeing and how Bryant is raising the bar.
Q: Why is college such an important time for students to focus on wellbeing?
Ameer: This is a moment that students will never have again — four years to explore intellectual and career pathways but also a path around their health, physical activity, a path around their spirituality. They can explore not just academics, but who they are.
For many students, college is the first time they’re fully responsible for their schedules, their health, and their decisions. Everything changes — sleep, eating, social circles, academic pressure. You also meet new people, have new experiences, and explore new ideas as well. That makes it the ideal time to intentionally build healthy habits and strategies that will carry into adulthood. We’re not just preparing them for the four years they’re on campus — we’re preparing them for everything that comes after.
Q: What should students expect from their college when it comes to wellbeing?
Ameer: Bryant’s students come to campus from across the country and around the world, and from a wide range of backgrounds and circumstances. Every single one should feel supported, have the resources they need to live out their best four years, and graduate ready to excel.
Making that possible means talking with students and meeting them where they are. More than any previous generation, today’s students want to have those conversations and take an active role in shaping their wellbeing.
It also means ensuring that support is not just available to them but that they feel comfortable taking advantage of it. Every single person will need help and support at some point in their lives, and we want to make sure students don’t just know it’s okay to seek help, but that it’s okay to extend a helping hand to others as well.
Q. How do you encourage that culture of wellbeing?
At Bryant, we aren’t just reactively responding to student needs in the moment, we are proactive from the moment students arrive on campus. During Welcome Week, new Bulldogs are introduced to the university’s wellbeing initiatives and the many resources available to support them throughout their college journey. First-year courses, such as “General Education 101,” continue that introduction, helping students connect wellbeing to academic achievement, personal growth, and lifelong success.
Throughout their four years at Bryant, students have a wide range of touchpoints to connect with wellbeing resources, from campus faculty and staff they can rely on to formal programming opportunities to our dedicated counseling offices to student groups that focus on different aspects of health and wellness.
Q: What makes Bryant’s approach to wellbeing different?
Ameer: Sometimes institutions will address wellbeing by saying, ‘Well, we have a great counseling center,’ or ‘We have great health services,’ or ‘We have a great gym.’ We have all of that, but we're going beyond it as well.
Wellbeing is complex and multi-faceted, so our programming, services, events, and resources, cover a broad range of topics across eight different dimensions: emotional wellbeing, spiritual wellbeing, environmental wellbeing, financial wellbeing, intellectual wellbeing, occupational wellbeing, physical wellbeing, and social wellbeing. Our approach is thoughtful and comprehensive, based on both research and conversations with our community.
We want to give students the same strong strategies, skills, and mentorship around their wellbeing that faculty provide in the classroom. Our goal is to help them become more proactive creators of their lives and their paths, and to be mindful of all the important pieces that they’ll need to consider.