John Clapp, professor of social work at San Diego State University, has been named director of the U.S. Department of Education’s Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention.

He will serve a minimum four-year term overseeing a group of fellows, expert researchers and practitioners with a focus on environmental prevention research.  

“I am honored to have the opportunity to work on behalf of SDSU in this new and important role with the federal government,” said Clapp.

“For a scientist, the most frustrating thing is to see your research sit on a shelf in a journal and not go any further.  What’s exciting about this position is that it gives me the opportunity to take the good work being done on alcohol and drug abuse prevention and put it into action in real world settings.”

Center's focus

Under Clapp’s leadership, the center will focus on successful prevention strategies that can help universities reduce dangerous alcohol and other drug problems. The center will also examine the use of illegal and prescription drugs by college students, as well as alcohol-related sexual violence.  

“Alcohol- and drug-related problems still remain the most important health problems on college campuses and lead to a number of negative economic and social outcomes,” said Clapp, who is also director of SDSU’s Center for Alcohol and Drug Studies. 

“Campuses don’t have the resources to devote to fully address these problems so the center is critical in helping schools identify and implement strategies.”

Clapp said that as director, he hopes to find programs, policies and activities that are both science based, effective and affordable.

SDSU, a research leader

San Diego State University has long been a leader in environmental preventive research, specifically as it relates to the social and physical environmental impacts on college student’s alcohol and drug abuse.  

SDSU’s E-Chug program is used by colleges nationwide and its Aztec Nights program has been recognized as a model program by the U.S. Department of Education’s Center for Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention in Higher Education.

About John Clapp

Clapp received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work from SDSU and his Ph.D. from Ohio State University, with a specialization in health and social science research methods. 

With more than a decade of experience working as a researcher in the alcohol and other drugs field, Clapp has been awarded more than $16 million in research grants and contracts from the National Institute for Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, The California Department of Alcohol Beverage Control, University of California Tobacco Related Disease Research Program, the County of San Diego and the U.S. Department of Education.