New Award for College Tobacco Control

Posted by on February 21, 2003

[CCPH]

New Award for College Tobacco Control

The BACCHUS & GAMMA Peer Education Network has announced its plans for the Henry W. DeJong Award for Vision and Leadership in College Tobacco Control, a new award to recognize an individual working on a college or university campus who has taken a leadership role in combating tobacco use on campus and in the larger
community. The first annual award will be presented at the organization’s Second National Collegiate Tobacco Symposium in Providence, Rhode Island, May 1-2, 2003.

“This award, the first of its kind, will recognize a visionary leader who is pioneering efforts to further the cause of tobacco prevention and cessation on college and university campuses,” states Drew Hunter, Executive Director of BACCHUS & GAMMA. “Our hope is that this award will help bring attention to the innovative work that so many health educators and administrators are doing now to help students reject tobacco use and embrace good health.”

The DeJong Award was established in 2002 to honor the memory of Henry W. DeJong of Littleton, Colorado, who died from lung cancer on August 6, 2000. Mr. DeJong’s son, William DeJong, is Director of the U.S. Department of Education’s Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention, in Newton, Massachusetts, the nation’s primary resource center for assisting colleges and universities as they develop, implement, and evaluate new programs and policies to reduce substance use problems on campus.

The DeJong Award will be presented to a college or university administrator, faculty member, or student who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership by developing and implementing either a comprehensive tobacco control effort on campus or a highly innovative strategy for promoting smoking prevention or cessation among college students. The winner will receive a $1,000 cash award to be used for professional development in tobacco control or to help launch a new
smoking prevention or cessation initiative.

BACCHUS & GAMMA will accept applications for the DeJong Award until Friday, March 7, 2003. All award applications need to be received on or before March 7, 2003. The application packet should be mailed to: The BACCHUS & GAMMA Peer Education Network, ATTN: Jan Gascoigne, The Henry W. DeJong Award, P.O. Box 100430, Denver, Colorado 80250-0430. Faxed or E-mailed applications will not be accepted.

Based in Denver, Colorado, the BACCHUS & GAMMA Peer Education Network is an international association of college and university based peer education programs focusing on alcohol abuse prevention and other related student health and safety issues. It is the mission of the association to actively promote peer education as a useful element of campus health education and wellness efforts.

There is more information about the Second National Collegiate Tobacco Symposium at the BACCHUS & GAMMA website:
http://www.bacchusgamma.org/tobsym02.asp.