No Magic Bullet, But a Comprehensive Approach

The issue of student alcohol abuse is always on my mind when I think about our college students and what I want to accomplish for FSU. I had an opportunity to focus on the issue of binge drinking when I recently attended a meeting of the Presidential Leadership Group on Alcohol. This group unites university presidents in taking action against the problem of student alcohol abuse. As part of the program, I presented FSU’s findings on how we’re addressing binge drinking during a nationally broadcast Webinar that was shown to select audiences throughout the country.

I’d like to share some highlights from that Webinar with you because I think it’s important that everyone is informed of how seriously FSU has taken on the issue alcohol abuse. While there is no magic solution – something I emphasized during my presentation—with a comprehensive approach, progress is possible.

FSU recognizes that binge drinking among college students is a multi-faceted issue, and as a result we’re addressing it from many different angles. Students, faculty, staff members representing FSU’s counseling center, activities and athletics, law enforcement, alcohol servers, parents landlords and local residents all have a part to play.

FSU students have been extremely proactive in helping the University address binge drinking. They created and provide the staffing for a SafeRide program that offers free transportation for students on weekend nights. Last year, SafeRide provided over 5,000 rides. Students also are involved in efforts such as the BURG Peer Education Network, whose members encourage healthy choices through educational programming.

The University has implemented 9 out of the 11 alcohol prevention strategies that are shown to be most effective in national data. They include AlcoholEdu, an online education program; social norms and social marketing, substance-free housing, peer engagement and even parental notification of alcohol-related infractions. We also support responsible beverage service training—in fact, we even paid for local bar owners and their servers to have this training.

FSU also created an Alcohol Task Force in 2006, which brings together students, faculty, staff and people from the local community to take a collaborative, community-based approach to binge drinking. This helped us identify key groups we need to interface with, like the Liquor Control Board and local law enforcement agencies, neighborhood groups and bar owners.

As president of FSU, I also believe that presidential leadership is a key part of the multi-faceted approach to dealing with binge drinking. I am very public and very open about my concern by writing letters to parents, publishing my thoughts in the student newspaper, and meeting with our students. In fact, last September I was awarded the very first Presidential Leadership Award from Outside the Classroom and six other higher education organizations for my success in promoting a vibrant intellectual and social campus climate that de-emphasizes the role of alcohol.

Addressing alcohol abuse is an ongoing process, and I am glad we’ve inroads in providing resources and programming and by encouraging dialogue with our community (check out charts documenting FSU's progress, above). I’d like to invite all of you to share your thoughts with me on this issue by posting comments on Blog From the ‘BURG. I will also provide a link to the Webinar at a later date, so you can learn more about this significant part of how we intend to help our students lead healthier lives. Additionally, you can listen to my President's Dispatch broadcast about alcohol abuse here.

411 on Online Q&A Tonight

Here is some info about our student leaders who are participating in tonight's online Q&A session:

Joelle Rodriguez is a senior who hails from North Potomac, Md. She is majoring in Business Management, with a concentration in Small Business Management/Entrepreneurship. Her activities at FSU include the President's Leadership Circle and serving as president of the Entrepreneurship Club at FSU. This is her third semester at FSU; she transferred from Montgomery College.

Zachary Bensley is a senior majoring in Urban and Regional Planning at FSU. He is president of Phi Mu Delta fraternity, a columnist with The Bottom Line and a member of several other organizations.

Go to the FrostBURG Forum message board (on the righthand side of this Blog, below) to watch the online Q&A. After Joelle and Zachary are done asking Dr. Gibralter their questions, we'll open this up to the FSU community. You can officially log in with your FSU username and password to post your follow-up comments and questions here or post anonymously directly on the Blog. Please remember that the focus of this effort is idea-sharing and dialogue, and civility is really important for clear communication. Thanks!

How the FSU Foundation Helps the University

At a dinner and program honoring leading donors during the recent Leadership and Homecoming Weekend, Frostburg State University and the FSU Foundation Inc. celebrated raising nearly $3 million since Staking Our Claim: The Campaign for Frostburg launched its public phase one year ago.

If you read the local paper, you’ve probably seen stories about how Frostburg State University is making progress with Staking Our Claim: The Campaign for Frostburg. Staking Our Claim aims to raise $15 million for FSU to support student enrichment, academic enrichment and regional and cultural enrichment. In the past 12 months since our campaign’s public launch, we have raised nearly $3 million dollars. Altogether, we have raised around $10.8 million dollars through our fundraising efforts, which is truly extraordinary given the state of the economy.

The FSU Foundation plays an important role in not only the Staking Our Claim campaign, but in the overall growth and general welfare of FSU. I think it’s important that the campus and the local community understand how much the FSU Foundation does on behalf of Frostburg.

The FSU Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that administers private support for Frostburg State University through gifts and donations. The community of support for the FSU Foundation is wide ranging and includes alumni, faculty, staff, students, friends, businesses and organizations. Supporting programs that directly benefit students has been the underlying theme of the Foundation since its inception in the early 1970s.

Thanks to the Foundation’s success in reaching out to donors and supporters, so far, Staking Our Claim has raised over $3.7 million dollars for student scholarships. And the time for finding scholarship money for our students has never been more significant. Over the past 18 months, cuts to FSU’s state funding have resulted in a loss of over $5.1 million. Due to these budget cuts, the University was unable to increase institutional grant funding to help our students cover educational costs as we’ve done in previous years. This funding shortage forced our Financial Aid office to cut off the awarding of institutional grants early for this fall semester, and basically not offer any institutional grants to students admitted for the spring semester. So the FSU Foundation’s continued commitment to raising funds for scholarships is truly a noble endeavor. The fact that the Foundation has already raised almost $4 million dollars for scholarships through the campaign is outstanding.

The FSU Foundation also recognizes the need to support the programs and initiatives of our faculty and staff. The Foundation recently awarded a total of $85,000 in grants in support of 23 different projects. Programs that were funded included undergraduate research opportunity stipends, a campus bike-sharing program, a new GPS to enhance FSU cartography courses and support for the University’s popular annual Appalachian Festival. And these are a just a few of the many needs that were recognized and met by the Foundation. It’s so important that everyone at FSU develop a sense of ownership and investment in how our University will grow. These Foundation grants really uphold that idea.

If you’re interested in helping the FSU Foundation with its ongoing fundraising effort, I strongly encourage you to visit foundation.frostburg.edu to learn about the different ways to support the University’s growth. You can ensure FSU remains a strong educational, cultural and economic resource for Western Maryland and the surrounding region by working with the FSU Foundation and helping us reach our goal of $15 million. To listen to my "President's Dispatch" broadcast that talks about the FSU Foundation, click here.

Online Q&A with Student Leaders Set for Nov. 3

Hi there,

I want to invite everyone to learn more about what's on our students' minds next week when Blog From the 'BURG hosts its first-ever online Q&A session with several Frostburg State University student leaders.

To watch the online Q&A session, go to blogfromtheburg.blogspot.com at 7 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and locate the message board, FrostBURG Forum, on the righthand side of the Blog. To participate in the online discussion following the Q&A session with students, members of the FSU community can go to http://www.frostburg.edu/facebook/blogger/forum-board/ and log in with your FSU username and password. Participants may also post comments anonymously directly on the message board itself.

Please keep in mind that the goal of this effort is to encourage dialogue and idea-sharing. Becca Ramspott, FSU's Public Information Specialist in Technology and New Media, will be moderating the Q&A session. You can read more about this event here.

Thanks everyone, and hope you can join us next week.

Leadership & Homecoming Weekend 2009!

Take some time to enjoy a little camaraderie, catch up with old friends and show your Bobcat spirit during Leadership & Homecoming Weekend this weekend! Please join us in celebrating our student-athletes and our former athletes, enjoying the talents of our students and learning more about how Frostburg State University is heading into an exciting future.

Sure, the weather is probably going to be a bit cold and wet, but hey, doesn't that just add to the nostalgia for all our alums who had the best time of their lives here, whether it was raining, snowing, or all of the above? It's all part of the unique FROSTburg experience you know and remember so well. And students, your contributions to this weekend, whether it's a performance or a football game, really make FSU a unique and wonderful University. I hope all of you will come out and enjoy the fun and support your fellow Bobcats as well. The whole campus community brings so much to how FSU is growing and changing, and this weekend is about celebrating what makes Frostburg special.

There are fun events happening throughout the weekend. Click here to learn more.

GO BOBCATS!

Fall Convocation

I want to thank everyone for coming to Fall Convocation this past week. I appreciate all of you taking the time out of your busy days to stay informed and show your commitment to Frostburg State University.

Fall Convocation was an opportunity to give the campus community some important updates on pressing issues such as FSU’s temporary salary reduction plan and how the state budget is affecting our institution. But it was also a chance to look back at the extraordinary progress we’ve made in areas such as enrollment, fundraising and sustainability. We have a lot to feel proud of and to celebrate! And as you can see from the pictures, we did take it up a notch with the special effects, ending the event with a bang—er, a puff of smoke! Not to mention dancing by our mascot, music by our fantastic Marching Band and special guest appearances by Bob E. Cat and Kitty. Many thanks to everyone involved in organizing this event, and my personal thanks to Phil Klickman and the FSU Marching Band and to Conrad Maust for his special effects.

And congratulations to our Staff Awards for Excellence winners, featured in the top photo here, from left, Beth Andrews, Michael Beeman and Colleen Stump.

If you missed Fall Convocation, you can read my remarks and view a PowerPoint presentation here. I will also be sending out additional online resources that relate to issues I discussed during my speech.

GO BOBCATS!

Limited Entertainment/Transportation for Students on the Weekends?

I recently received an e-mail from a concerned parent who was upset about how the buses that run between Frostburg and the Country Club Mall no longer run on the weekends. To address this issue, I wanted to share the explanation below from Dr. Tom Bowling, vice president for Student and Educational Services:

I certainly understand concern regarding the lack of transportation for our students on the weekend. Let me provide some information now, and perhaps more later (when the individual who has been our primary contact with Allegany County on this issue returns to campus).

The bus service that was provided to students on the weekends was through the Allegany Transit Authority. County officials informed us last spring that they would be discontinuing the weekend runs as part of their cost containment efforts to respond to declining revenues for the county. Unfortunately, the University is not in a position in terms of our own budget to pick up the costs of this service. The action taken by Allegany County was communicated to the students last spring.

I have talked with a number of my staff and we are certainly prepared to explore some other options for students. There may be a way that, by working with our Student Government Association, we can assess what kind of bus service students are most interested in (e.g. bus service only to the mall) and how to most effectively provide this service in a cost-effective manner.

Students, if you are without a car and in Frostburg on the weekends, I would also like to remind you of ways you can find out about different things going on right here in town. By now, hopefully many of you have seen the new version of Spotlight, created by Student & Community Involvement. In addition to Spotlight, if you are on Facebook, be sure to become a fan of “Cultural Events Series” and “University Programming Council” to get regular updates on various events happening in Frostburg. You may also want to check out the great season of productions available through FSU’s Theatre & Dance and also see what's on view at the Stephanie Ann Roper Gallery.

And if you have other ideas about entertainment in Frostburg on the weekends, please feel free to post a comment here or send me an e-mail at burgblog@frostburg.edu. This Blog is about having a conversation about different issues, and I want to know what you think.