Oxford Handbook of Well-Being in Higher Education

Well-being has become one of the defining challenges and opportunities of higher education in the twenty-first century. Alongside the traditional pursuit of academic excellence, colleges and universities must now address unprecedented levels of stress, depression, anxiety, and burnout among students, staff, and faculty. In The Oxford Handbook of Well-Being in Higher Education, Louis Tay and Beth M. McCuskey bring together leading researchers, educators, and practitioners to provide the first comprehensive, interdisciplinary resource on the multifaceted nature of well-being across different populations and contexts. The volume examines mental health trends, digital and social challenges, sense of belonging across diverse backgrounds, faculty and staff well-being, and the role of institutional culture and policy. The Handbook also highlights evidence-based interventions, innovative programs, and global perspectives, offering both theoretical depth and practical guidance. Organized around key themes-from foundational concepts and empirical trends to interventions, policies, and inclusive approaches-this volume integrates rigorous research with lived expertise from higher education leaders worldwide to address well-being at individual, relational, community, institutional, and societal levels. Essential for scholars, educators, administrators, student affairs professionals, policymakers, and anyone committed to higher education's transformative mission, this Handbook charts a path toward creating institutions that not only pursue knowledge but also cultivate thriving communities.

Louis Tay is William C. Byham Professor of Industrial-Organizational Psychology at Purdue University. His substantive research interests include well-being and character virtues. His methodological research interests include measurement, data science, and AI. He co-edited the Handbook of Well-Being (2018), Big Data in Psychological Research (2020), The Oxford Handbook of the Positive Humanities (Oxford, 2022), and other volumes. He has contributed to the United Nations' research reports on well-being and serves in consulting roles to top tech companies. He is the co-founder of the tech startup ExpiWell (www.expiwell.com) that advances the science of ecological momentary assessments. Beth M. McCuskey serves as Vice Provost for Student Life and Clinical Professor of Technology Leadership and Innovation at Purdue University. With a career spanning more than thirty-five years and three land-grant universities, her focus has been maximizing the impact of a residential campus on student learning and engagement. Well-being, in all of its forms, underpins this effort by bringing together the growth of individuals and the supportive nature of higher education communities. McCuskey has been an active member in the Student Affairs community, has published several articles and has served as President of the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International.