NATIONAL FORUM FOR SENIOR ADMINISTRATORS

Monday, November 17, 2008

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools and The Network Addressing Collegiate Alcohol and Other Drug Issues host this daylong National Forum for campus chief executives and other senior administrators. We welcome presidents, chancellors, trustees, vice presidents, and deans to join in this collegial meeting with peers to consider leadership strategies for promoting safe and healthy learning and living environments.

This year’s National Forum addresses issues associated with alcohol, other drugs, and violence. Topics include legal issues (risk perception and reduction, liability, and compliance with relevant federal mandates), and senior administrators’ perspectives on AODV issues (being proactive vs. reactive, managing AODV related publicity, and how key stakeholders influence responses), and an update from the U.S. Department of Education.

The Network and the Department salute your leadership in creating and sustaining safe, healthy, and learning-conducive environments at your campuses and in the communities in which your campuses are situated.

National Forum Agenda at a Glance

 

National Forum Speakers

	Diane Berty joined East Central University in Ada, Okla., in 2006 as vice president for student development. Before accepting the position at East Central, she served in various roles in student affairs at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee. Diane’s career in student affairs began as director of health services which triggered her interest in and work with alcohol, other drug, and violence prevention programming at the local, state, and national levels. She is one of the original founders of Tennessee’s higher education statewide alcohol and other drug prevention coalition, “Coalition for Healthy and Safe Campus Communities.” She has served as consultant to the U.S. Department of Education in the area of drug and alcohol abuse and is a member of The Network’s executive committee.
	Darby Dickerson, vice president and dean of the College of Law at Stetson University, writes and speaks on topics concerning higher education law and policy, including student conduct and discipline, cyberspace issues, AOD abuse prevention, and risk management. She codirects, with professor Peter Lake, Stetson’s National Conference on Law and Higher Education.
	Frances Harding began her service as director of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in May 2008. Her previous position was as associate commissioner of the division of prevention and recovery, New York state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services. She worked for New York state in positions of increasing responsibility over the past 26 years. During her New York tenure, Harding served as president of the National Prevention Network (NPN), an organization representing all 50 states' alcohol and other drug prevention offices, and as New York state representative to the National Association of State Drug and Alcohol Directors, Inc., where she served on the board of directors. She received the prestigious 2004 Science to Practice Award from the International Society for Prevention Research and currently serves on the Review Group for the Department's Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention.
	Steven Healy is director of public safety at Princeton University. Prior to becoming the chief at Princeton, he was the chief of police at Wellesley College, Massachusetts, and before that was the associate director and director of operations at the Department of Public Safety, Syracuse University, New York. He is past president of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators. He is extremely active with Clery Act issues; in 2006, he joined with Security On Campus, Inc., and other campus administrators to present the first-ever comprehensive Jeanne Clery Act training programs around the country. He also has served on the Review Group for the Department’s Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention.
	Jason Kilmer is acting assistant professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington involved in research evaluating prevention and intervention efforts for substance use by college students. He also is in his 10th year as an addictive behaviors specialist at Evergreen State College, Washington state.
	Carla Lapelle works as associate dean of student affairs at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Prior to accepting that position, she worked for the university as coordinator of Student Health Education Programs and Substance Abuse Prevention Programs for 15 years. After serving as an associate of the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention for four years, she received and provided training in environmental management approaches to substance abuse prevention and in social norms marketing campaign development. She currently serves as the co-coordinator of the West Virginia statewide initiative to prevent substance abuse in higher education. Nationally, she serves as the vice chair of The Network Addressing Collegiate Alcohol and Other Drug Issues and completed her service as co-chair of the Planning Committee for the US Department of Education’s 2006 National Meeting on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention in Higher Education.
	Linda Langford is an associate director of the U.S. Department of Education’s Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention, formerly serving as evaluation director and currently leading the Higher Education Center’s violence prevention initiatives. Her work focuses on strategic planning, evaluation, and health communications.
	Beverly E. Ledbetter is the vice president and general counsel for Brown University. She is on the faculty of the Management Development Program at Harvard University, has taught law and higher education at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, and is on the faculty of the HERS Programs at Wellesley and Bryn Mawr. She also has served as associate judge at the Providence Housing Court in Rhode Island. She recently coauthored the article “When the NCAA Comes Calling” and wrote the chapter on legal issues for College and University Business Administration, sixth edition, published by the National Association of College and University Business Officers.
	Patricia “Pat” Leonard serves as the vice chancellor for the Division of Student Affairs at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She was initially selected as the associate dean of Students and then advanced to the role of dean of students. Named vice chancellor in 1996, she is currently in her 10th year as the chief student affairs officer for the university. She has been an integral part of managing and planning for the dramatic growth and success experienced by UNCW. Ms. Leonard’s passion for education and service is life long, reflected by her involvement with advisory councils and boards at the local, regional and national level. She has served as consultant to the U.S. Department of Education in the area of drug and alcohol abuse. She is currently in her second term as a member of the Board of Trustees for the New Hanover Regional Medical Center and serves as a member of the executive committee.
	Deborah Price was appointed assistant deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools in February 2004. In this role, she oversees the Department’s activities related to safe schools; crisis response; alcohol and other drug abuse prevention; the health and well-being of students; and the building of strong character and the promotion of citizenship. She also leads the Department’s internal homeland security efforts. Prior to this appointment, she served as chief of staff of the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA), where she was responsible for day-to-day FSA operations and for resolving problems that affected student aid delivery or implementation of the FSA performance plan.
	Virginia Mackay-Smith directs the U.S. Department of Education’s Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention. She previously served in several positions in higher education administration, including academic life and advising, and in various student services, including those related to preventing substance abuse ad violence and promoting a healthy campus culture.
	LeRoy Rooker directs the U.S. Department of Education’s Family Policy Compliance Office, which administers FERPA, a comprehensive federal law that provides privacy protections for student education records. Mr. Rooker has served in his current capacity since February 1988.
	Traci Toomey is associate professor in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health and the director of the Alcohol Epidemiology Program at the University of Minnesota. She is currently the principal investigator of four projects assessing environmental strategies to reduce availability of alcohol to prevent alcohol-related problems. Her research interests include policy research; community organizing; prevention of alcohol and tobacco-related problems; and intentional and unintentional injury prevention. She is a consultant to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's college drinking prevention initiative.