Views From the Field

Within the last five years, two-year and four-year colleges and universities have increased their focus on increasing persistence and completion rates for college students. 

Safety concerns in college football had risen to such a crisis level a century ago that then-President Theodore Roosevelt, a big fan, demanded rule changes be made to protect students playing the sport.

Sally Linowski, Ph.D., CHES; Associate Dean of Students at UMass Amherst

The negative impact of excessive drinking and substance use on one’s physical health is well documented. What is often overlooked is the ways in which substance use can interfere with academic engagement, which sometimes can be subtler, but also very serious.

Over the past seventeen years, I have had the honor of serving as the project director of Missouri Partners in Prevention, my state’s higher education prevention coalition. 

David S. Anderson, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Education and Human Development, George Mason University

For most students, a common misperception is that the college experience includes frequent alcohol parties, most college students use marijuana and other illegal drugs, and many use prescription drugs recreationally.

The holidays provide an excellent opportunity to talk to your young adults—about the devastating effects of opioid and prescription drug misuse.

As a recent college graduate, I can attest to how grateful I feel to have gotten an early start to my career in prevention. I have gained new skills that I will take with me through graduate school and my career, met new friends and colleagues, and had the opportunity to travel and learn in new places. 

When sharing my prevention story, I often tease that I went from enforcement to prevention. That is partially true as I was a campus police officer prior to working solely in prevention.