COLLEGE DIRECTORY       :      VISIT ELLER      :      LOG IN 

Press Release

UCLA and The University of Arizona partner to expand addiction treatment education and training centers

October 8, 2002

Media Contacts: Michael Shafer, PhD, The University of Arizona, 520-917-0841 or 1-800-724-2855 or Thomas Freese, PhD, UCLA, (866) 892-3724.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has awarded $550,000 t o UCLA's Integrated Substance Abuse Programs (ISAP) and The University of Arizona's Community Rehabilitation Division to expand the Pacific Southwest Addiction Technology Transfer Center (PSATTC).

The Pacific Southwest Addiction Technology Transfer Center will serve Arizona, California, Colorado and New Mexico. This partnership of the ISAP and The University of Arizona will create state-of-the-art education and training programs and promote substance abuse treatment practices to local treatment agencies, health care professionals, and state and local government officials. Principal Investigator is Richard Rawson, PhD, of UCLA ISAP; co-directors are Thomas Freese, PhD, of UCLA ISAP, and Michael S. Shafer, PhD, director of the UA Community Rehabilitation Division.

Drawing on current health services research from such sources as the National Institutes of Health, the Pacific Southwest ATTC will help upgrade standards of professional practice for treatment providers, prepare practitioners to function in managed care settings, and promote the inclusion of addiction treatment training in academic programs.

"Through training and education, these centers help bring the benefits of research findings to addiction treatment programs in communities across the country," said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson, when the awards were announced. "They play a critical role in building our capacity to treat substance abuse with the most powerful weapons we have available."

PSATTC director Richard Rawson, PhD, said, "The PSATTC must reach across the geographic, ethnic, and cultural boundaries of the southwest and meet the issues of staff training and development, information dissemination, and organizational technical assistance for drug and alcohol treatment agencies head on-not only here in California, but also in our neighboring states of Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. Equally important, we must recognize the unique needs and challenges confronting treatment programs in the rural and isolated communities found throughout this region, while attending to the important and powerful influences of strong cultural and ethnic communities that we serve. The partnership of UCLA and the UA will ensure that the needs of the entire region are met and in so doing, we will work to improve the quality and caliber of professionals and programs treating persons with addictive disorders throughout our region."

The UCLA/UA center completes the national network of 14 ATTCs, a program of SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT). Other centers are located in Kansas City, Chicago, Iowa City, Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Atlanta, Tallahassee, and a national coordinating center in Kansas City. Seven regional centers, in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, Texas, Nevada, and Oregon, were named in September 2001.

For additional information about the PSATTC, visit its website at www.PSATTC.org.

The Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona is internationally recognized for pioneering research, innovative curriculum, distinguished faculty, excellence in management information systems, entrepreneurship, and social responsibility. U.S. News & World Report ranks the Eller undergraduate program #14 among public business schools and three of its programs are among the top 20 — Entrepreneurship, MIS, and Management. U.S. News & World Report ranks the Eller MBA Full-Time program #44 in the U.S. and #21 among public business schools. The College leads the nation’s business schools in generating grant funds for research. In addition to a Full-Time MBA program, the Eller College offers an Evening MBA program and the Eller Executive MBA. The Eller College of Management supports approximately 5,700 undergraduate and 700 graduate students on the UA campus in beautiful Tucson, Arizona.

Press Contact:
Liz Warren-Pederson, Eller College of Management
520.626.9547, news@eller.arizona.edu

For additional information, please contact us.