Renée Crown Wellness Institute

May is Mental Health Awareness month — and full month on campus for everyone: students, parents, educators, staff.

Endings, beginnings, packing up, moving on to what’s next, whether that’s just for the summer or the rest of a life.

The Crown Institute and Dr. G (.cuboulder) know that seasons like this can test our mental health.

Here are science-backed practices to draw from, all arising from the Crown Institute’s research and programs for young people and the adults who support them.

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❓ What connections do you notice between eating, sleeping, daily activities, and your health, wellness, and learning?

❓ Which habits actually help you feel grounded right now?

❓ Looking ahead to the next few weeks, how would you like to focus on eating, sleeping, movement, connection, or daily activities to support your wellness?

Even one small ACE activity (Accomplishment, Connecting, or Enjoyment) can make a difference. ❤️

An extraordinary and historic honor for William "Bill" Penuel and the .

Bill has been elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences — the first faculty member from the CU Boulder School of Education ever to receive this distinction.

A longtime collaborator and Faculty Fellow with the Renée Crown Wellness Institute at CU Boulder, Bill’s work has fundamentally shaped how researchers and educators collaborate to create more equitable and meaningful learning environments for educators and young people alike including the study of compassion, dignity and contemplative practice.

Well-deserved recognition for a brilliant scholar, generous collaborator, and deeply thoughtful human.

Congratulations, Bill!

🔗 Get the full scoop in our link in bio.

We’re excited to announce the new Joseph R. Bankoff Memorial Scholarship, created to help offset the cost of the Cultivating Compassion & Dignity in Ourselves and Our Schools digital certificate from the Renée Crown Wellness Institute.

This four-course, master’s level certificate offers practical tools and resources for educators who want to care for themselves, sustain compassion, and help build more caring school communities.

A limited number of $1,000 scholarships are available annually for current Colorado PK–12 educators with direct student contact.

Applications are open now through June 30, 2026. 🌱

➡️ Learn more + apply at the link in bio.

Educators are being asked to hold so much right now and it’s taking a real toll.

What if support wasn’t something you had to find outside your work, but something built into it?

The Cultivating Compassion & Dignity in Ourselves and Our Schools Graduate Certificate offers a practical, flexible way to build skills that sustain you and strengthen your impact in the classroom.

Online. Self-paced. Designed for real school environments.

Start when it makes sense for you whether that’s a summer reset, back-to-school, or a new year intention.

🔗 Learn more in our link in bio.

📢 Btw, we share opportunities like this regularly. Follow us here and on LinkedIn so you don’t miss a beat

Contemplative education is under pressure from two directions at once.

From one side, institutions want proof that it works — lower stress, better focus, improved emotional regulation.

From the other, the traditions that gave rise to these practices were never primarily about wellness.

This talk proposes a way forward, drawing on the Dalai Lama's vision of secular ethics — an approach grounded not in any religion but in our shared human experience, our common desire for happiness, and our fundamental dependence on one another.

🗓️ May 5, 2026
🕰️ 2:00 – 3:00pm MDT
🎦 Virtual (Zoom)
🔗 RSVP in our link in bio.

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📢 Btw, we share opportunities like this regularly. Follow us here and on LinkedIn so you don’t miss a beat!

Educator burnout isn’t just an individual issue, it’s a systems issue.

When educators are overwhelmed, it impacts classrooms, relationships, and the conditions for learning and growth.

The Compassion & Dignity for Educators project explores what happens when we center compassion, dignity, and well-being in schools, and the results are both measurable and meaningful.

🔗 Learn more in our link in bio.

If you’re a CU student interested in mental health, education, and community engagement, and you’re comfortable capturing photo, video, and conversation in real-world settings, we’d love to hear from you!

⏰ Apply by April 28

🔗 Link in bio

We know peer-led programs can make a real difference in how young people relate to their bodies.

But programs don’t run themselves. People do.

This research asked a simple but important question: what helps peer leaders feel prepared to hold these conversations with care and impact?

What we found is both encouraging and clarifying. The training works. And when we listen to the people doing the work, we can make it even stronger.

Because when peer leaders feel prepared, the ripple effects go far beyond a single conversation.

🔗 Learn more in our link in bio.

🤩 Are you our next Director of Marketing and Comms?

⏰ Application deadline: April 12, 2026

🔗 Visit our link in bio to learn more and apply.

📣 And please spread the word!