Hobart and William Smith Colleges

13 November 2009 Perkins and Craig Deliver Research

This week, Wesley Perkins, professor of sociology, and David Craig, professor of chemistry, along with Jessica Perkins, doctoral student in Health Policy at Harvard, delivered three research presentations at the American Public Health Associations (APHA) Annual Meeting in Philadelphia. All three studies are based on their extensive survey research of thousands of students in middle schools and high schools in the U.S.

The presentations were: Misperceptions of Bullying Norms as a Risk Factor Associated with Violence among Middle School Students, Misperceptions of Weight Norms as a Risk Factor for Overweight and Underweight Status among Secondary School Students, and Where Does Bullying Take Place among Adolescents When They are at School? The third presentation was highlighted by APHA in a press release.

Results of this last study were also the subject of a brief news report on CBS World News radio report aired nationally on Wednesday. A quote by Perkins provided in a CBS telephone interview was included in the story.

Perkins is a graduate of Purdue University, and he received his M.A., M. Div., M. Phil. and Ph.D. from Yale University. He is the author of dozens of journal articles about substance abuse prevention and has been honored with national awards for his work in preventing alcohol and drug abuse in colleges and universities.

In addition to his teaching duties, Craig is the director of the Hobart and William Smith Colleges Alcohol Education Project and is principle investigator of a program of BAC research at HWS. He is a leader in interdisciplinary program development particularly in the integration of the sciences into programs focusing on health and wellness at both the college and secondary school levels and has published numerous publications and a recent film on this subject.

Perkins and Craig are also the developers of Campus Factoids^TM electronic media resources for social norms prevention campaigns, as well as the Social Norm Surveys Online from HWS, and have promoted these strategies nationally at workshops for secondary schools and higher education nationwide.

Their Alcohol Education Project has received two Model Program grant recognition awards from the U. S. Department of Education for success in preventing alcohol abuse in a college-wide population and for one focusing on intercollegiate athletes. Their work is also recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a premiere model for substance abuse prevention.