The Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery at Texas Tech will receive the Mission Accomplished Award from the Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse in Houston.
The award will be presented April 1 at a spring luncheon at Houston's Westin Galleria Hotel.
Mandy Baker, assistant director of the center, said the Mission Accomplished Award is given to organizations or institutions that show innovative programming related to dealing with alcohol and drug addiction.
Baker said Tech has a collegiate recovery community that started in 1986.
"We provide community support and relapse prevention for college students who are in recovery from alcohol and drug addiction and eating disorders," she said.
Only three other such programs exist, she said, including one at Rutgers University in New Jersey and one at the University of Texas-San Antonio.
Baker said the center offers peer-to-peer mentoring, 12-step meetings and other support groups.
The center also provides scholarships of $500 to $2,000 per semester to recovering students based on their GPA.
Baker said people who will attend the spring luncheon include Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery staff, students from the Houston area, representatives from the offices of Tech Chancellor Dr. David Smith and Tech President Jon Whitmore's, members of the advisory board and Linda Hoover dean of the College of Human Sciences.
Center Director Kitty Harris will be accepting the Mission Accomplished Award.
"The award is to recognize the Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery for its innovative work with recovering college students," Baker said.
Hoover, said she believes the center receiving the Mission Accomplished Award will bring positive attention to Tech.
"Houston Council is a real leader at recognizing individuals and organizations in the field of addiction and recovery," she said, "The center does a good job."
The Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery, Hoover said, enables students in recovery to gain an education.
Students who come to the center are affiliated with the center throughout their academic career, not only the College of Human Sciences, she said.
This is the first time the center has received this award, she said.
"I'm really proud for the center faculty and staff," she said.
According to the council on alcohol and drugs Houston Web site, www.council-houston.org/Public/index.asp?page_ID=387, Lou Gossett, Jr. will share his story of recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction at the spring luncheon.
This luncheon is one of two annual luncheons comprising The Waggoners Foundation Speaker Series, according to the Web site.
"Texas Tech stands out over any other university in terms of their commitment to students in recovery," William M. Taylor, president and CEO for the Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse in Houston, said.
"The Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery provides a positive environment for students in recovery during one of the most critical periods in a young adult's life, and we want to recognize its efforts and the impact it makes on our future leaders," he said.
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