Last week, I had the honor and privilege of recognizing the new cohort of grantees from the Models of Exemplary, Effective, and Promising Alcohol or Other Drug Abuse Prevention Programs on College Campuses grant competition.
President Obama has set an ambitious goal as part of his recently announced American Graduation Initiative that by 2020 America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. We know that high-risk drinking and drug use by college students contribute to numerous academic, social, and health-related problems. These problems must be addressed if we are to achieve the President’s goal.
The goals of the “Models” program, administered by the Department’s Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, are to identify and disseminate information about exemplary, effective, and promising alcohol or other drug abuse prevention programs on college campuses.
In 1998, Congress authorized the Department to identify and promote effective alcohol and other drug prevention programs on college campuses. In 1999 we held our first grant competition. Our publication Experiences in Effective Prevention distills the lessons learned from previous “Models” grantees. And now, a decade later, we are pleased to recognize, and learn from, a new cohort of “Models” programs.
Kevin Jennings
Assistant Deputy Secretary, Office of Safe & Drug Free Schools