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.

The nomination window is currently closed for the 2025 recipient.

2024 Baxter Award Recipient

2024 Baxter Award Recipient

Congratulations Nancy Truett for being the 2024 Baxter Award Recipient!

Nancy Truett

Director of Counseling Services at Pellissippi State Community College

Nancy Truett is the Director of Counseling Services at Pellissippi State Community College and, as her nominator, Melissa Febbroriello, put it, she has been a "constant" in the CHASCo prevention world for many years. Even though she is not required to do prevention work as the Director of Counseling Services, "she continually chooses to do so" because "Nancy does not see her role as limited, but as an advocate for everyone."

“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.”
— Melissa Febbroriello

Previous Award Recipients

Sylvia Gray

2022 AWARD

Dr. Sylvia Gray

University of the South (Sewanee) 

  • “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."

melissa febbroriello

2023 AWARD

Melissa Febbroriello

Columbia State Community College

  • “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.