Title: Henry Wechsler, PhD, Recognized for 40 Years of Membership within APHA
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Section/SPIG: Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs
Issue Date:
Henry Wechsler, PhD, is the director of the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Studies Program, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He is a lecturer in the Department of Society, Human Development and Health at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Dr. Wechsler is a social psychologist with a long-term commitment to research on alcohol and drug abuse among young people. He also has a strong interest in the evaluation of programs and policies to reduce the harms that are produced by these high-risk behaviors.
At a time when most attention was placed on marijuana and other illicit drug use, Dr. Wechsler's research pointed to the greater prevalence and harm resulting from alcohol abuse. Currently he is examining the relationship of college, state, and local alcohol control policies on binge drinking and related problems. His research has pointed to the important role that the alcohol environment plays in student problem drinking, including the availability, marketing and low cost of alcohol, as well as the heavy drinking traditions of many colleges, especially those found in fraternities, sororities, and intercollegiate sports.
In addition to alcohol, Dr. Wechsler has studied tobacco use among college students, and the role of price, and smoke-free areas in prevention of use. He has taught courses on alcohol use and abuse, and on high-risk behaviors at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Dr. Wechsler is the author of 17 books and monographs and more than 150 articles in professional journals on alcohol abuse and other high risk behaviors. He lectures nationally about college student binge drinking and other forms of substance abuse. He is the recipient of the APHA ATOD Section's College-Based Leadership Award (2001), and the American College Health Association's Clifford B. Reifler Award (2001).