Dr. Daniel A. Trujillo, coordinator of alcohol and substance abuse prevention at the State University of New York at Albany since 1999, has been named MIT's associate dean for alcohol education and community development, effective Jan. 2.
"After a lengthy national search, we are absolutely delighted to have someone joining us with the outstanding skills and experiences which Dr. Trujillo brings to MIT," said Dean for Student Life Larry G. Benedict. "He is going to be an outstanding addition to the Office of the Dean for Student Life and also for our entire MIT community. We are really delighted he will be joining us."
"I look forward to an active collaboration with all facets of the MIT community, students, faculty, administration and professional staff as we work in partnership to enhance the quality of campus life and the MIT standards of academic excellence," Trujillo said.
NATIONAL ATTENTION
While working toward his doctorate in counseling psychology from the University of Missouri at Columbia, he joined Kim Dude, a leader in the field of alcohol andother drug education, on Project ADAPT in 1994.
Project ADAPT evolved into the university's Wellness Resource Center, with Dude as its project director. Trujillo was the center's training coordinator in 1996 and research coordinator in 1997. He also served as a research analyst on the pilot study for "Alcohol 101," a CD-ROM designed to help college students examine their attitudes about drinking, which is used at many universities.
During his tenure at SUNY-Albany, the comprehensive alcohol and drug prevention program was selected as one of six awarded by the Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Models on College Campuses grant in 2000 by the US Department of Education and the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention.
Trujillo's work in university alcohol and drug policy evaluation and implementation has also received national recognition. "Discussing Our Choices," developed in collaboration with several other university departments, was recognized in 2000 as one of 12 exemplary substance abuse prevention programs in the country by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, the National Prevention Network and the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America.
Trujillo received the Ph.D. from Missouri in 1999 and joined SUNY-Albany as a prevention specialist and faculty member. He earned the B.A. in psychology and philosophy in 1991 from the University of Redlands in California. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and the Mortar Board national honor society for service to the university, academic achievement and research excellence.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on October 24, 2001.
