Staff Receives Cardinal Achievement Awards for High-Risk Drinking Research

Scott Backer, Jonathan Connary, Rick Culliton, Maureen Isleib, Tanya Purdy, Joyce Walter and Michael Whitcomb were presented recently with Cardinal Achievement Awards for their efforts on the National College Health Improvement Project (NCHIP) Learning Collaborative on High-Risk Drinking. Over the past two years, they led Wesleyan’s participation in this project, which required a significant ongoing commitment above and beyond their usual duties.

Over the course of the project, all the members of the team were constantly designing and conducting tests of different interventions, gathering data in order to assess impact, and refining tests based on what was learned. Because of their participation and research, Wesleyan now knows a lot more about high-risk drinking patterns at Wesleyan, which will help Wesleyan develop strategies to address this problem in the future.

Backer is associate dean of students; Connary is area coordinator in Residential Life; Purdy is director of health education; Isleib is associate director of residential life; Walter is director of the University Health Center; and Whitcomb is director of institutional research.

This special honor comes with a $150 award and reflects the university’s gratitude for those extra efforts. The award recipients are nominated by department chairs and supervisors. Nominations can be made anytime throughout the year.

For more information or to nominate a staff member for the award, visit the Human Resources website and scroll down to Cardinal Achievement Award under “Forms.”

Recipients will continue to be recognized in The Wesleyan Connection.