Pathbreaking Hazing Prevention Consortium Makes History
May 2024 | StopHazing Contributors | Hazing Prevention Consortium
Continuing its pathbreaking work, the Hazing Prevention Consortium (HPC) makes history as the most comprehensive and enduring hazing prevention initiative. Last month, the HPC hosted its largest ever Summit. Film crews and journalists caught a glimpse of how StopHazing is leading the nation and guiding the HPC’s work to transform campus hazing cultures. The Summit, held at the University of Maine June 3-5 adds to an expanding list of StopHazing contributions to preventing hazing and promoting student well-being through innovative research-to-practice leadership and collaboration.
The Hazing Prevention Consortium (HPC), a three-year, research-to-practice initiative, led by Dr. Elizabeth Allan, supports colleges and universities in implementing a research-based and comprehensive approach to hazing prevention. Initially launched in 2013, key activities of the HPC include collecting campus data with rigorous assessments, developing customized recommendations, and evaluating the efficacy of prevention strategies. Monthly consulting calls, cohort-wide webinars and roundtables, and opportunities for peer-to-peer learning are several features of the HPC designed to strengthen commitment and capacity for hazing prevention. Simultaneously, the StopHazing team gathers and analyzes data that contributes to the research base for primary hazing prevention.
Participants gathered at the Summit to culminate the year, network with peers, gain insights from mentors, and learn about new, sustainable strategies for comprehensive hazing prevention.
“The Summit provided carved out time to focus solely on learning, collaboration, and overall planning for hazing prevention for the upcoming years,” shared HPC Cohort 5 liaison.
This year’s Summit attendees included representatives from the University of Missouri, Tarleton State University, the University of California Santa Barbara, the University of California San Diego, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Princeton University, Arizona State University, Harvard University, Indiana University, Rhodes College, the University of Mississippi, Southern Methodist University, New Mexico State University, University of San Diego, and William & Mary.
Two HPC mentors joined the Summit: Laura Santacrose, DrPH, MPH, Associate Director of Skorton Center for Health Initiatives at Cornell University, and Tanya Purdy, MPH, MCHES, Director of BWell Health Promotion at Brown University. Laura and Tanya previously served as liaisons to their respective institutions while they participated in the HPC. As part of their mentor role, they hosted educational sessions on topics such as social norms campaigns for hazing prevention, creating an educational scaffolding plan for hazing prevention, and the intersections of hazing prevention with other college health topics.
“Having HPC Mentors present was incredibly helpful! I think that their involvement in conversations, sessions, and their presentations were insightful given that they have already gone through their cohort experience and could share more about their experiences,” shared HPC Cohort 6 liaison.
John Diamond, the former President/CEO of the University of Maine Alumni Association, joined the Summit to give a presentation on how to communicate with and engage stakeholders for hazing prevention, and Dr. Kathleen Gillon, Assistant Professor of Higher Education at the University of Maine, presented with StopHazing colleagues on their recent publication about the intersections of hazing and white supremacy.
Dr. Joan Ferrini-Mundy– President of both the University of Maine and the University of Maine at Machias and Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation of the University of Maine System– and Dr. Ezekiel Kimball, Interim Dean for the College of Education and Human Development, offered remarks to Summit attendees across the three days, highlighting the significance of the work they do on their respective campuses and reiterating the importance of senior leader commitment to hazing prevention.
Additional content covered at the summit included sessions on:
- Strengthening campus hazing prevention coalitions
- Using data and campus culture to strategically plan for hazing prevention
- Pending federal anti-hazing legislation update
- Showcasing HazingInfo.org, the new database for tracking hazing incidents and reports
- Providing support for developing and strengthening hazing incident transparency reports
- Facilitating (ready-to-use) hazing prevention workshops
- Providing an update on StopHazing researchers and colleagues’ recent publications produced over the last year
Participants in the Summit also enjoyed the perks of being in Maine, staying at Hotel Ursa, the University of Maine’s new campus hotel, seeing author Stephen King’s home in Bangor, and sampling lobster rolls at local restaurants!
“It’s inspiring to see the growth of the Hazing Prevention Consortium and the annual Summit as indicators of a stronger and broader commitment to solving the problem of hazing in effective and sustainable ways,”
Dr. Elizabeth Allan, Principal of StopHazing and Professor of Higher Education at the University of Maine
Another HPC Cohort 6 liaison shared that “It was so fulfilling to be in the same room with so many colleagues who care as much as I do and are doing the work. I feel so much more connected to a community of hazing prevention practitioners now and am eager to continue to build those relationships!”
“We look forward to the Summit every year as it’s always an incredible opportunity to provide the space for building deeper connections across the cohorts, to share insights, build momentum for the work, and generally celebrate each other and enjoy Maine at the end of the academic year,” said Meredith Stewart, Operations Manager at StopHazing.
To learn more about the Consortium, research, and resources produced as a result of the HPC or next steps to join the research-to-practice hazing prevention program, reach out to Meredith Stewart at meredith@stophazing.org.