Ryan Travia

• Associate Vice President for Student Success, Babson College

Dr. Ryan Travia is Associate Vice President for Student Success at Babson College, having previously served as Babson's first associate dean of students for wellness. As senior student affairs officer/chief well-being officer, Ryan provides leadership and strategic direction for a comprehensive portfolio that includes: accessibility services, case management and CARE team, counseling and psychological services, first-generation student success, health services, student advising & success, and wellness & prevention services. Ryan believes that well-being is the key driver to student success and has worked tirelessly to remove barriers to accessing care, particularly for marginalized and underrepresented groups, as evidenced by his leadership in creating and managing a student emergency fund, developing amnesty and Good Samaritan policies for students who overdose on alcohol or other drugs, a recovery-focused medical withdrawal policy, launching a food and resource pantry, and building Babson's first sexual assault prevention and response program.

Prior to joining the Babson community, Ryan spent a decade at Harvard University as the founding director of the Office of Alcohol & Other Drug Services (Harvard's first“alcohol czar”). In this capacity, Ryan provided vision and leadership for the development, implementation and evaluation of a comprehensive substance abuse prevention program focused on education, intervention, policy development, and coordination with treatment providers. As the first substance abuse prevention specialist in University history, Ryan's leadership saw the implementation of a multitude of programs that promoted safer practices among students and monitored the effectiveness of University protocol regarding alcohol and other drug abuse. Among Ryan's many accomplishments at Harvard, two of which he is most proud include authoring the University's first Amnesty Policy and creating a nationally-recognized, award-winning peer education program, the Drug & Alcohol Peer Advisors (DAPA). Ryan also held a dual appointment as founding director of Harvard's Department of Health Promotion & Education. In this role, Ryan oversaw the Office of Sexual Assault Prevention & Response, Health Education, and coordinated a multidisciplinary team of health professionals from medicine, nursing, nutrition, mental health, and wellness in support of an integrated and holistic approach to health and well-being. Ryan previously led the alcohol and drug education program at Dartmouth College.

Ryan holds a bachelor's degree in Human Development and Elementary Education/Moderate Special Needs and a master's in Educational Administration, both from Boston College, as well as a doctorate in Higher Education Management from the University of Pennsylvania. His research interests include decision-making and restructuring at institutions that have been intentional about leveraging the connectivity between student and academic affairs to create more seamless learning environments for students. Ryan has written and presented extensively on framing and measuring well-being and his first book, Well-being Leadership in Higher Education: A Guide for Successful Well-being Programs, was published in January 2026.

Ryan has held a variety of leadership roles with the Health, Safety, & Well-being Initiatives (nee BACCHUS) of NASPA – Student Affairs Professionals in Higher Education, the American College Health Association (ACHA), and the New England College Health Association (NECHA), and was recently named an ACHA Fellow. Ryan provides expert consultation and external reviews to institutions of higher education, independent schools, and other organizations on issues pertaining to substance abuse prevention, health promotion, peer education, and various health and wellness services.

• 2020–2025 Associate Vice President for Student Success, Babson College
• 2015–2020 Associate Dean of Students for Wellness, Babson College
• 2012–2015 Director, Department of Health Promotion & Education, Harvard University
• 2005–2015 Director, Office of Alcohol & Other Drug Services, Harvard University
• 2003–2005 Coordinator, Alcohol & Other Drug Education Programs, Dartmouth College

Fellow of the American College Health Association

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