University Expands Collegiate Recovery Community Efforts

The Dr. and Mrs. R. Faser Triplett Foundation, of Jackson, has provided $250,000 to match an anonymous gift of the same amount to hire a Collegiate Recovery Community coordinator for Ole Miss. The gifts are part of a drive to raise $2 million to endow the program.

The CRC establishes an academic and social support system to address challenges recovering students face. Participating students provide peer support, and together, they are more likely to excel academically, maintain long-term recovery and graduate, said Nick McAfee, director of the university's William Magee Center for AOD and Wellness Education.

"We will be able to take our level of support for students in recovery to the next level," he said. "This position will oversee wellness programming, educational support and student recruitment for those who are looking for a supportive recovery community.

"Decades of research on CRCs have shown the enormous positive impact they have on their members. We know students who are part of these programs are far less likely to relapse than non-members but are more likely to earn high GPAs and provide mentorship and support to students even after they graduate."

Mason Glaze has been hired for the full-time position and will support students recovering from alcohol and other drug addictions.

"We want every student in recovery to know this community exists for them and that they have a safe place to connect and find support," Glaze said. "Our goal is to help them succeed in their recovery journeys now and feel ready to continue that recovery long after they graduate."

The family foundation is a longtime supporter of the university and is overseen by the Triplett siblings: Chip Triplett, of Ridgeland; Diane Holloway, of Nashville, Tennessee; Suzy Fuller, of Greenwood, South Carolina; Liz Walker, of Jackson; and Lou Ann Woidtke, of Madison.

Fuller, who earned an undergraduate degree in business and an MBA from Ole Miss, secured the original gift from an anonymous donor and presented the idea for matching it to the Triplett Foundation.

The Ole Miss CRC was founded in 2010, and Fuller joined its board in 2014. Over the years, Fuller has attended several collegiate recovery conferences at other universities and witnessed students thriving in CRCs.

"I've been pushing for a full-time coordinator for a very long time," she said. "My passion is for students who have returned to school to complete their degrees when they are in recovery. It's something that has been on my heart."

When Fuller was an Ole Miss student, one of her family members had received treatment for alcoholism. Her godfather suggested she meet with a law student who had been sober for three years to learn what the family member was experiencing. She attended an open Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in the Student Union and met the law student Jim Fuller, whom she later married.

After graduating from the School of Law, he went on to become a cardiologist, earning a degree from the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

"Little did I know that in 2011, our son, Jay, suffering from the disease of alcoholism, would fail out of Ole Miss his first semester, lose his scholarships, lose his self-esteem, lose everything – and then go to rehab to get sober," Fuller said.

"When he was ready to return to Ole Miss, he was afraid. He really didn't have sober peers and the support he needed."

But her son did return, graduated and became a founding partner in an outpatient treatment center in Oxford, helping students who want to remain enrolled in the university while being treated for their addictions.

Fuller pitched the idea of helping build a $2 million endowment for the CRC coordinator's position to another foundation after talking with a friend about the need. That foundation's board members were so impressed with the potential that they agreed to proceed immediately and provide $250,000 if she could find a matching gift. That's when she turned to her siblings.

"From the bottom of my heart and on behalf of the William Magee Center, I want to express my thanks to the Triplett Foundation and our anonymous donor," McAfee said. "These individuals saw what we have accomplished with the CRC and chose to support our vision for what it can become."

A CRC provides lifelines to students who are seeking recovery. On average, a typical college campus may have as many as 20% of its student body living with an alcohol or substance use disorder, but less than 5% of those individuals will seek treatment or other forms of help, he said.

"Having a well-resourced CRC with visibility on campus means being able to help more of these students by offering a free, low-barrier option for support," McAfee said. "More students participating in the CRC means more lifelines for students who need it, and the students can earn scholarships."

The benefits can be lifelong, Glaze said.

"The CRC succeeds in supporting students when those students graduate and continue their recovery journey into the rest of their lives," he said.

To support the Collegiate Recovery Community, send a check, with the fund noted in the memo line, to the University of Mississippi Foundation, 406 University Ave., Oxford, MS 38655, or give online here. To learn more about contributing to the CRC or the Magee Center, contact Brett Barefoot, executive director of central development, at bmbarefo@olemiss.edu or 662-915-2711.

Top: Students stop by booths at the Passport to Wellness-Student Wellness Fair hosted by the William Magee Center for AOD and Wellness Education at the South Campus Recreation Center. Two recent $250,000 gifts are helping the Magee Center expand its wellness services for all Ole Miss students. Photo by Hunt Mercier/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services