KENNESAW, Ga. | Jan 31, 2025

Kennesaw State associate professor Evelina Sterling has received a grant from the Georgia Opioid Crisis Abatement Trust to take a preventative approach to addressing the opioid abuse crisis.

The grant, totaling $240,000 over two years, will go toward creating programs that empower faculty, staff, students, and the broader university community to recognize the signs of opioid use disorder and possibly intervene.

“While the grant will predominantly focus on the campus community, it will expand to include the communities, especially rural communities, that surround the KSU campus,” said Sterling, who teaches sociology in the Norman J. Radow College of the Humanities and Social Sciences. “I'm looking at it from an ecosystem approach about how we can enhance things at KSU to highlight the opioid crisis and to highlight prevention and resources for recovery and treatment.”

Sterling has proposed educational programs that focus on the risks of opioid misuse, evidence-informed prevention strategies, and the destigmatization of addiction. The proposal suggests increased access to treatment and recovery services, which means expanding access to counseling, support groups, and medical interventions as necessary. Under the initiative, students, faculty, staff, and community members will receive training in naloxone use and other emergency responses to overdoses.

“We want to educate the student as a young adult who might come into contact with opioids, but also as a pre-professional that might go into a workforce where they might encounter the opioid epidemic,” Sterling said. “I want to work with faculty to integrate some of these topic areas related to the opioid epidemic into their classes, provide them resources, and provide the students with opportunities to expand their knowledge outside the classroom about opioid use or misuse.”

Sterling, who holds a master’s degree in public health, previously served as interim chair of the Department of Health Promotion and Physical Education in the Wellstar College of Health and Human Services. She seeks collaborative efforts within the university and beyond, calling for partnerships with local health agencies, governing bodies and nonprofit organizations.

“Dr. Sterling’s proposal will elevate KSU to being a leader among institutes of higher education in confronting the opioid epidemic,” said Catherine Kaukinen, dean of the Radow College. “At KSU, we seek to have an impact beyond our campus, and this grant will help us achieve that goal by improving public health outcomes for the citizens of the state and region through extensive external collaborations.”

Kennesaw State is one of two USG institutions to receive more than $1 million in grants from the GOCAT fund. Sterling’s project joins a training program in the Wellstar School of Nursing, which received $1.2 million to train student nurses in working with patients suffering from substance use disorders.

 – Story by Dave Shelles

File photo

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 47,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.