Tuesday, February 17, 2026
2:00 – 3:30 pm ET

Tools to Support Students and the Professionals Who Serve Them

Across the country, colleges and universities are grappling with a difficult reality: students are arriving on campus with fewer coping skills, less resilience, and greater struggles with emotional regulation. Many have not yet learned how to manage disappointment or move through temporary setbacks. This leaves staff and faculty on the front lines, shouldering the emotional weight—often without the tools they need to protect their own well-being.

Join us on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, to learn how Pepperdine’s innovative RISE program was developed and implemented, transforming student well-being and empowering staff in the process.

You'll hear directly from our expert presenters about RISE—a proactive, research—informed, skill-building program that strengthens resilience across the entire community. Leave this webinar with the knowledge and skills necessary to create meaningful, sustainable change on your own campus.

Topics Covered

Gain crucial, actionable takeaways that allow you to:

• Identify and clarify how to create, refine, or expand resilience initiatives to meet the evolving needs of your campus community.
• Understand the latest data on escalating national mental health trends to provide the necessary resources and a resilience-focused model to meet the demand.
• Learn the dimensions and structure of the RISE program and how it supports both students and staff, making resilience development a campus-wide effort—not an isolated intervention.
• Apply resilience concepts in daily work by integrating practical strategies into orientations, advising, student leadership programs, team meetings, and frontline interactions.
• Foster a campus-wide approach to mental health and well-being through strategies that build cross-department collaboration, so no student falls through the cracks.
• Strengthen your own resilience as a professional and discover tools that help you maintain emotional well-being, reduce burnout, and stay grounded in an increasingly demanding environment. 

Presenters

Dr. Connie Horton is the Vice Chancellor and Executive Director of the Resilience-Informed Skills Education (RISE) Institute at Pepperdine University, where she leads initiatives to expand resilience education and well-being efforts across the University and beyond.
Click here for full bio.

Stacey Lee Gobir ('15, MDR '17) is the Director of the Resilience-Informed Skills Education (RISE) Program at Pepperdine University.
Click here for full bio.