UNIVERSITY GETS GRANT TO INSTITUTE CENTER TO STUDY SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Southeast Missouri State University has been awarded a $50,000 grant to establish a Center for the Study, Prevention and Education of Substance Abuse on its campus.

The Missouri Department of Mental Health, which administers the grant, made the award to Southeast and three other Missouri institutions. Twenty-eight institutions competed for the grants.

"This is exceptional," said Dr. Edward Leoni, chairman of Southeast's department of health and leisure studies. "There are many good things that go on on campus that address the issue of substance abuse, but there is a need for comprehensive programming.

"The goal of the center is to develop a coordinated system of research, prevention and intervention efforts, a reduction in use and abuse of alcohol and other drugs, and a dissemination program to serve members of the (Bootheel Educational) Consortium," Leoni said.

The consortium provides post-secondary educational opportunities to residents in the six-county region of the Missouri Bootheel.

The grant will enable the university to centralize its commitment to alcohol and drug prevention and will coordinate programming on the issue. Funds also will be used to stimulate creative new responses for alcohol-free activities for students, faculty and staff. In addition, faculty will be urged to engage in research, assessment and referral.

Under the grant, a coalition of faculty, staff, students and community members will be developed. Faculty and staff members will be trained to better identify and refer people with possible drug problems.

In addition, a student peer education program will be established, and counseling for students with substance abuse problems and those dealing with the problems associated with alcoholic parents will be provided.

The center coordinator will have an office in the University Center.

Funds from the grant, which takes effect in July, also will be used to disseminate the substance abuse program to other campuses in the Bootheel Educational Consortium, primarily to Three Rivers Community College.

The spark for the program came last September, when the university was accepted as a participant in the University of Iowa's Foundation for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education grant.

As part of the participation agreement, Southeast this spring established a university-wide coalition which conducted an in-depth assessment of perceptions and use of alcohol and drugs by Southeast's student body. The coalition identified the need for a comprehensive, institutionwide prevention program at Southeast and other consortium campuses.