James Raper is dedicated to creating a community at RPI that facilitates wellbeing for every RPI student. He engages broad campus partnerships, employing qualitative and quantitative data to develop a shared vision for campus wellbeing – a vision that strengthens the student experience and enables each student to bring their full selves to campus and their lives.
As RPI’s associate vice provost for student health and wellness, James is a member of the Vice President of Student Experience’s Leadership Team and partners to ensure effective clinical response systems for acute student needs, and helps to develop effective public health approaches to support student flourishing.
James provides oversight of the Health and Wellness Leadership Team, which is responsible for the integrated clinical care delivered by the Student Health Center and the Counseling Center, and also oversees Athletic Training staff and RPI Ambulance.
James brings more than 20 years of experience as a psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, and student affairs administrator. In addition to his clinical experiences, his background includes collaborative strategic planning, risk management, and serving as a graduate level faculty member. Before joining RPI, James served in numerous administrative roles including associate vice president for health, wellbeing, access, and prevention at Emory University and assistant vice president of health and wellbeing at Wake Forest University. Prior to that, he was the university’s counseling center director and chief mental health officer, drawing on extensive experience in leading university behavioral intervention, threat assessment and crisis management.
James is a licensed clinical mental health counselor-supervisor in North Carolina. He played a leading role in the creation and development of the inaugural national group of university health and well-being leaders (UHWL) and is regularly invited to share his expertise in national and international settings. His research and publications include a book chapter on crisis intervention and clinical burnout as well as a doctoral dissertation on counselor suicide intervention skill. He engages with a range of professional associations and volunteers with several community organizations.
With a PhD in counselor education and supervision from Syracuse University, James also holds a master’s in community counseling from Wake Forest University and a bachelor’s in religion from Colgate University.
Kevin Readdean, PhD, LMHC joined the Student Health Center in 2007 as the Associate Director of Student Health Services, overseeing both administrative and health promotion functions. In 2023 he became Director of the Counseling Center. Kevin received his Masters in Psychological Services from the University of Pennsylvania and is a licensed Mental Health Counselor. He received his PhD in Health Systems Administration from Rutgers University. Prior to joining Rensselaer, Kevin was Administrative Director of the Health and Counseling Services at SUNY Cobleskill.
Dan joined RPI in 2025 after spending almost 20 years at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital Colorado as an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine. He did his residency in the combined disciplines of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Connecticut and completed a fellowship in Adolescent Medicine at Children’s Hospital Philadelphia. He continues to maintain board-certification in all three specialties. In addition to general adolescent and young adult health care, Dr. Reirden was the medical director of the Adolescent HIV treatment and prevention program and founded the hospital’s TRUE Center for gender affirming health care. His medical practice consisted of a mix of outpatient care and inpatient care, including those hospitalized with medically complex eating disorders. His non-clinical activities included bioethics and residency education, and he continues to be NICHD-funded in HIV research with the Adolescent Trials Network. He received his MD from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and his BS in Biology from Fordham University.
