Addictions Poster Presentations to Advance Conversation About Substance Use on College Campuses

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The College of Education and Health Professions Dean's Seminar is focused on addiction this semester. The course is co-taught by college faculty from both education and health. Kara Lasater (left) and Erin Popejoy (right) teach with Bart Hammig (not pictured).

The College of Education and Health Professions initiated a Dean's Seminar about addiction this semester, open to students from any major.

Students enrolled in the class will present posters on Thursday, May 4, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in the Cordia Harrington Center for Excellence, classroom 215. "We want to extend an invitation to the community and to students and faculty from across campus to join us as students share their work and we advance conversations about problematic substance use within our campus community," said Kara Lasater, an assistant professor of educational leadership.

Student Charlotte Cleckler said the seminar has broadened her knowledge and understanding of addiction, prevention and harm reduction strategies. "It is necessary for our campus community to be given the opportunity to be educated about what addiction looks like, how it is experienced and how or why drugs may be used, as many were not given that information in our secondary education," she said. "Drugs are commonly used on college campuses, and being informed on what you may be taking, how it could affect you and what to look out for will greatly increase the safety and health of students on campus."

Charlie McCormick, a public health major, said the course deepened her understanding of the complexities of substance use and created a personal upheaval regarding how she thinks about solving substance use disorders.

"I have had such a positive and fulfilling experience in the addictions course," she said. "Community involvement, education and connection are at the center of the course curriculum. Creating a positive dialogue for change requires a campus community to come together and learn about substance use prevention and intervention. With our upcoming poster presentation, this dialogue is at the center. By engaging with our projects, asking questions and challenging personal views on substance use, we can begin a change in substance use prevention and intervention in NWA."

The addictions seminar is co-taught by College of Education and Health Professions faculty from both education and health. Erin Popejoy, associate professor of counselor education, and Bart Hammig, professor of public health, join Lasater in leading classes.

"Students' poster presentations will focus on a prevention or intervention plan they developed for use within diverse professional contexts, such as hospitals, schools and community health organizations," Lasater said. "Students are developing their plans based on knowledge gained from the course content and ongoing class discussions."

Addiction is a crucial area of study. In the course, students discuss and analyze leading perspectives on the etiology of substance use and addiction; stigma, shame, secrecy and isolation associated with substance use; protective and risk factors which influence use; structural barriers that interfere with treatment and recovery; and best practices related to prevention and early intervention efforts.

The seminar was created as part of the College of Education and Health Professions' WE CARE initiative. WE CARE is an acronym for Wellness and Education Commitment to Arkansas Excellence. Each semester, the seminar will focus on a different complex societal challenge at the intersection of education and health.