Ithaca College

College Park, MD, November 18, 2011 – During the Active Minds 8th National Mental Health on Campus Conference – the only national conference that brings together young adults from across the country who are passionate about removing the stigma that surrounds mental health disorders – Active Minds, Inc. presented awards to students and staff doing an extraordinary job raising mental health awareness and decreasing stigma on college campuses across North America. The organization is thrilled to announce that LeBron Rankins was named Active Minds Advisor of the Year award for his outstanding dedication and support of the Active Minds chapter at Ithaca College.

“It has become a mainstay at our conference each fall to recognize the hard work of chapters, advisors, and leaders in our ever-expanding network. And, each year it is increasingly difficult to choose the winners out of our hundreds of chapters and thousands of leaders,” said Alison Malmon, Founder and Executive Director of Active Minds. “This year was no exception, and I am thrilled to honor the exceptional contribution of Dr. Rankins to Active Minds.”

This year’s conference took place on November 18-20 at University of Maryland, College Park. More than 500 student advocates, campus leaders, and experts in the field came together to network, discuss new strategies for promoting college student mental health and to help shape the future of student mental health and young adult advocacy.

“Dr. Rankins is the epitome of a compassionate and caring advisor,” said Northeast Regional Chapter Manager, Carolyn Bradford. “He has an open door policy with his students, always makes himself available to provide direction and answer questions, and is incredibly encouraging of the vision his students have for the chapter. In the words of Chapter President, Danielle West – ‘LeBron provides unconditional support and positive feedback in any and all ways possible to push our chapter further to meet the goals and mission of Active Minds.’”

“I could not be more thrilled that we have Dr. Rankins as one of our chapter’s advisors,” said Malmon. “We are the organization that we are because of the tremendous energy and commitment of our chapters and their advisors like him. This award is the least we can do to validate the efforts he puts in day in and day out to truly change the conversation about mental health and mental health disorders on college campuses.”

About Active Minds, Inc.
Active Minds is the young adult voice in mental health advocacy and supports a rapidly growing network of 370 student-run, student-led chapters on colleges and universities throughout North America. By developing and supporting student-run mental health awareness, education and advocacy chapters on campuses, Active Minds works to increase students’ awareness of mental health issues, provide information and resources regarding mental health and mental health disorders, encourage students to seek help as soon as it is needed, and serve as liaison between students and the mental health community. Our vision is to create a better life for all who are affected by mental health disorders. Active Minds is a national non-profit headquartered in Washington D.C. To learn more, visit www.activeminds.org.