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BOSTON, MA - March 24, 2008 - Outside The Classroom, Inc. is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2007-2008 Prevention Excellence Awards. The Prevention Excellence Awards honor individuals, institutions, and Greek organizations that have achieved excellence in their alcohol prevention efforts, thus significantly improving the quality of student life.
Through this program, ten institutions and Greek organizations were recognized for their achievements in alcohol prevention, and this year, the University of Central Florida and Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity were distinguished for their outstanding prevention success. These two Highest Honors recipients each received a $10,000 donation in the name of the administrators who helped develop and implement the prevention program.
Additional recipients of the Prevention Excellence Award include Bentley College, College of the Holy Cross, Delta Zeta Sorority, Eastern Illinois University, University of Alabama, University of Connecticut, University of Iowa, and Villanova University. Award applications were evaluated by an independent panel of experts in the prevention field. Their decisions were based on five criteria: implementation practices, communication, evaluation, programmatic linkages, and organizational linkages.
This year, the Prevention Excellence Awards included a new award recognizing the exceptional performance of an individual who has demonstrated continued commitment to the field of alcohol and other drug prevention. Dr. Chris Austin, Assistant Director of Health Promotion and Substance Abuse Prevention at North Carolina State University, was honored with the 2007-2008 Outstanding AOD Professional Award.
Award recipients demonstrated their dedication to the health and safety of their students by implementing comprehensive alcohol prevention programs on their campuses. The recipients' efforts included a variety of strategies, including Population-Level Prevention®, a prevention method that leverages the universal application of personally tailored prevention strategies to produce maximum reduction in risk. The recipients also created policy initiatives, peer education programs, and events that underscore the importance of safe behaviors. These initiatives were supported with communication to faculty, parents, and community members, as well as evaluation to ensure the programs are impacting students and their behaviors.
Outside The Classroom's Founder and CEO, Brandon Busteed, noted, "The applications we received this year were by far the strongest we've seen since the award was established three years ago. These institutions and Greek organizations have truly established themselves as leaders in college alcohol prevention through their implementation of innovative programs and multi-disciplinary partnerships."
Award recipients were honored this month at a reception that took place during the NASPA Annual Conference, at Boston's "Top of the Hub" Skywalk Observatory. Click here to learn more about this year's awards and recipients.
Alcohol prevention on our nation's college campuses is critically important. In September 2004, the Center for Center for Disease Control and Preventions announced an estimate that 4,554 underage deaths per year were a result of excessive alcohol use. Similarly, a March 2005 report from the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) reported that the problem of college drinking exceeds previous estimates. The report cites more than 1700 alcohol-related deaths and 2.8 million cases of driving under the influence in 2001. Previous estimates also suggest 500,000 injuries, 70,000 sexual assaults, and 159,000 first-year student dropouts due to alcohol and other drugs every year.
The Prevention Excellence Awards program is sponsored by Outside The Classroom, Inc., the developer of the AlcoholEdu® online prevention programs used on more than 500 college campuses around the country. Half a million college students engage with the program each year.
About Outside The Classroom
The leader in online prevention, Outside The Classroom has spent seven years focused on tackling high-risk drinking and related epidemic-level health issues by delivering programs and services designed for population-level application. The company offers a variety of programs, including AlcoholEdu, SexualAssaultEdu™, and MentalHealthEdu™, developed for students, parents, and higher education faculty and staff. All of Outside The Classroom's programs take a non-opinionated, science- and evidence-based approach, helping to support safe and healthy campus communities. Led by William DeJong, Ph.D., the company's development team includes prevention professionals, assessment and evaluation experts, experienced educators, and leading scientists. Outside The Classroom collaborates with many prominent organizations, including the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
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