Hobart and William Smith Colleges

28 April 2014 Perkins Speaks at Meeting of Minds

Wesley Perkins, professor of sociology, was recently an invited guest speaker at the 2014 Meeting of the Minds Conference, an annual meeting of Midwest higher education professionals working in the fields of advising, counseling, residence and student life, health promotion and substance abuse prevention. The conference spanned three days and was held in Kansas City, Mo.

Perkins was asked to speak on four different topics that have been long term subjects of his research: What Do Heavy Drinking and Misperceived Norms Have to Do with Student Retention: Uncovering the Connections; Using Social Norms to Promote Health and Well-Being Among Student-Athletes; Student Alcohol Abuse: Whats Gender Got to Do with It? and Best Practices and Current Issues for Successful Social Norms Interventions Among College Students.

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

Perkins and David Craig, professor of chemistry, direct the Hobart and William Smith Colleges Alcohol Education Project that has received multiple awards from the U.S. Department of Education and they are currently conducting a social norms project to reduce alcohol abuse among young Airmen at selected bases in the U.S. and abroad.