Excellence in Higher Education Prevention
Baxter Award
The annual Baxter Award recognizes the extraordinary contributions of CHASCo members who have gone above and beyond their everyday work to achieve excellence in higher education prevention programming.
2025 Baxter Award Recipient
2025 Baxter Award Recipient
Congratulations Claudia Alonzo for being the 2025 Baxter Award Recipient!
CLAUDIA aLONZO
Director of COMMUNITY CARE & STANDARDS at AUSTIN PEAY STATE UNIVERSITYMs. Alonzo serves as the Director of Community Care and Standards for Austin Peay State University. She was nominated for the award by a member of the CHASCo community.
Ms. Alonzo has proven to be particularly involved in and engaged as a CHASCo member and liaison. She regularly attends CHASCo meetings and has served on the CHASCo Executive Committee for the last two years. She is fostering cross-campus collaboration and relationships at the local, state, and national level to promote prevention efforts.
“Claudia consistently goes above and beyond her role by ensuring that prevention programs are inclusive, accessible, and tailored to APSU’s diverse student population, particularly for nontraditional students, first-generation students, and those in need of additional support.
Her ability to build strong partnerships with local, state, and national organizations ensures that APSU remains at the forefront of best practices in prevention and student support. Claudia’s leadership, dedication, and unwavering advocacy for student health and safety make her an exceptional candidate for this award.”
Previous Award Recipients
2024 AWARD
NANCY TRUETT
Pellissippi State Community College
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“If she is able to attend a meeting, you can expect her to be there. PiP Conference? She will happily drive 5 hours to attend and never once complain. Nancy fosters really important relationships with her peers by being a constant supportive presence. I think she truly loves being surrounded by people and her colleagues. She will be the first to share things that have worked for her staff and students, the first to share psychoeducational materials she has learned of, and the first to listen sincerely about what others have tried in the prevention realm and is quick to think of ways it might work at her institution.”
2022 AWARD
Dr. SYLVIA GRAY
University of the South (Sewanee)
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“When Dr. Gray arrived at Sewanee over five years ago, there was no structure or operational plan for prevention, education, Title IX, or other matters of equity and discrimination. She spent working days, nights, and weekends building policies, procedures, plans and structure around prevention and support for the entire campus community while also mentoring colleagues on DEI and Title IX, around her state and region."
2023 AWARD
Melissa Febbroriello
Columbia State Community College
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“Ms. Febbroriello is seen as a leader among peers. All mental health counselors for the College System of Tennessee get together regularly for meetings and in-services. This collaboration is something she was influential in establishing. Ms. Febbroriello is often the first to take initiative in suggesting opportunities for professional development as she stays well-informed of current and emerging trends and issues in the field.”
Nomination Requirements
Any individual from a CHASCo member institution may nominate themselves or any other individual from a CHASCo member institution:The nominee must be from a CHASCo member institution that is in good standing.
Factors for nominating should be specific to events, activities, or actions that go beyond the scope of the nominee’s normal duties and address the prevention of issues including, but not limited to:
Substance use prevention
Mental health promotion
Sexual and interpersonal violence
Other intersecting issues
Nominees should be known for striving to foster cross-campus collaborations and relationships at the local, state, and/or national level.
Nominees should embody the vision of CHASCo by “empowering our campuses and communities to engage in positive health and safety behaviors.”
The nominee has not been a recipient of the Baxter Award in the past five years.
Dr. Susanna L. Baxter joined the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association (TICUA) in 2000 and became its Chief Operating Officer in 2007. During this time, she networked with a multitude of Institutions of Higher Education in Tennessee and identified a need for providing additional support and resources related to substance use and misuse on campus.
Through her passion for substance abuse prevention in higher education, she helped coordinate the formation of the Coalition for Healthy and Safe Campus Communities (CHASCo) and is celebrated as one of its founders. When she left TICUA, the Susanna L. Baxter Award was created in honor of her and her work.
AWARD HISTORY
Member Institutions
We are proud to collaborate with 46 institutions dedicated to enhancing campus health and safety.
By uniting our efforts, we can create a safer, healthier educational environment for all students. Join CHASCo today and be part of the solution! Join Us
Download our membership application and email it to our Director at matthews@ticua.org.