Leading the way in wellness: ASU highlighted in The Princeton Review's 2025 Mental Health Services Honor Roll
Photo by Tim Trumble Photography
Being a college student isn’t easy — navigating new routines, people and places can be a challenge, especially if the right support system is not in place. That's why Arizona State University is a proud proponent of mental health support, highlighted by The Princeton Review and Ruderman Family Foundation’s 2025 Mental Health Services Honor Roll as one of only 16 colleges that aptly prioritize students' mental wellness on campus.
Aaron Krasnow, associate vice president for ASU Health and Counseling Services, said that ASU was selected by The Princeton Review’s Honor Roll because of the university’s continuous commitment to student success and well-being.
“We see the support for student mental and social health as fundamental to creating an optimal learning environment,” Krasnow said. “Further, we don’t only treat mental health support as a service function, we treat it as a community responsibility. Not many universities can simultaneously claim to value student success, mental health and demonstrate the commitment through action the way we have. We are proud that The Princeton Review was able to recognize and affirm our efforts.”
For inclusion in The Princeton Review’s 2025 Mental Health Services Honor Roll list, more than 200 colleges were surveyed using the following criteria:
- Overall administrative support for campus mental health and well-being through its policies, including commitments to staffing and student support.
- Students have a campus quality of life that is both healthy and attentive to overall well-being.
- How well a school is empowering its students to address their own mental health through education programs and peer-to-peer offerings.
Erin Trujillo, assistant vice president and director of ASU Counseling Services, said that ASU’s mental health support resources are rooted in the university charter — “ASU is a comprehensive public research university, measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed; advancing research and discovery of public value; and assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves.”
Arizona State University’s charter was created 10 years ago as a blueprint for creating an institution committed to excellence, access and impact. Trujillo said that many of the qualities sought out by The Princeton Review and Ruderman Family Foundation are clearly visible within that charter.
“The fundamental responsibility that we take for students and for all the communities that we serve is embedded into the way that we think,” Trujillo said. “And when there are larger-scale efforts in the area of mental health, those messages are acknowledged and amplified broadly, because we understand this is our collective foundation and responsibility, and I think our charter really underlines that well.”
At ASU, it goes beyond just providing students with a service — Trujillo says that peer-led efforts are “building a message of care for mental health. Devils 4 Devils aligns with many different student organizations to create community spaces, to host the annual Out of the Darkness Walk, and to normalize conversations of well-being, support-seeking and mental health.”
During the busy and often stressful time of earning a college degree, it’s essential for Sun Devils to prioritize their health and mental well-being.
“Prioritizing mental health is prioritizing success,” Krasnow said. “Students come to ASU to meet their academic, career and personal goals; mental health is fundamental to those goals and deserves to be prioritized at an individual and community level.
“Help is everywhere at ASU, from our counseling and health centers for direct care, to our fitness and sports complexes to engage our bodies and minds, to caring faculty and staff who want to help and support every student."
Not only is help available everywhere, but it is also available at any time, with ASU Counseling Services’ free Open Call and Open Chat.
“This is a 24/7 chat or phone service that is available across the world,” Trujillo said. “It has five languages. We know sometimes people just need one quick call or one chat, and they may need it at night, they may need it on the weekend, they may need it when they're back home.”
Sun Devils can also visit ASU Counseling Services for in-person support by making an appointment in their health portal or by simply walking in when needed.
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