Estela Rivero Named Emeritus Fellow for 2025

ALBANY, N.Y. (July 8, 2025) — UAlbany’s Emeritus Center elected Estela M. Rivero as William L. Reese Fellow for 2025. 

The Fellows program, named after founding president William Reese, honors UAlbany emeriti for sustained, consequential and exemplary post-retirement contributions and achievements in scholarship/creative productions, teaching or service, in or outside the University. 

Rivero received her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan and joined UAlbany in 1989 as the director of Counseling and Psychological Services, overseeing mental health services for students. Beginning in 2017, Rivero also served as assistant vice president for Student Affairs with responsibility for health and well-being, including oversight of health services, counseling and psychological services, behavioral health promotion and campus recreation. In this role, she helped create the Center for Behavioral Health Promotion and Applied Research, which works to enhance behavioral health promotion through the implementation of innovative programs and translational research. 

Rivero’s scholarly publications include co-authorship of a book focused on addressing behavioral health risks among college students, as well as numerous book chapters and refereed journal articles that have advanced evidence-based behavioral health practice in higher education. 

Since her retirement in 2020, Rivero has continued as a consultant in the Center for Behavioral Health Promotion and Applied Research, part of UAlbany’s School of Education, assuming an instrumental role in training and mentoring under the auspices of a $4.8 million federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). She also serves as a grant reviewer for SAMHSA’s Garrett Lee Smith Campus Suicide Prevention grant program. In addition, Rivero has served as a subject matter expert for the Jed Foundation, providing consultation on the development, implementation and evaluation of comprehensive mental health and suicide prevention and substance use prevention programs at colleges and universities across the United States. 

In 2023, she received the American College Health Association’s Ollie B. Moten Award for Exemplary Service to One’s Institution of Higher Education, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of college health, particularly in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion. Rivero also continues to present her work at meetings of the National Association of Student Affairs Professionals and other professional organizations. She works as a private practice psychologist in both New York and Michigan, focusing on enhancing equitable access to mental health care for graduate and undergraduate students. 

“The Board is impressed with the work that Dr. Rivero continues to do after retirement and that she exemplifies the Center’s goal of encouraging emeriti to stay actively engaged with their profession, the community and the University," said James Van Vorst, president of the Emeritus Center. 

Youqin Huang, associate vice provost for faculty success and administrative liaison to the Emeritus Center, said, “UAlbany emeriti have a vital role to play in the continued success of our university, and Rivero and the Emeritus Center provide wonderful examples of what emeriti excellence can look like.”

For more information about the Emeritus Center and the Fellows Program visit the website.