Chicago office hosts Tobacco-Free Campus Workshop

(April 17, 2012)—

On Friday, April 13, our American Lung Association in Greater Chicago office hosted a Tobacco-Free Campus Workshop open to all post-secondary institutions in Illinois. Fifty representatives attended from 15 enthusiastic schools and county health departments to learn why tobacco-free campuses benefit students, faculty and staff and how to go about creating a tobacco-free campus task force and policy.

The workshop kicked off with a warm welcome and opening remark from Illinois Senate President John Cullerton. Al Rowe, Executive Director of Institutional Effectiveness at Kirkwood Community College, spoke on the importance of a tobacco-free campus in the creation of a healthier future for all. He enriched his talk with personal details about his own campus’ transition and how it encouraged better relationships between students and staff.

Each attendee at the workshop received a Tobacco-Free Campus Toolkit with everything needed to get started. This included the latest research on why tobacco-free campuses promote healthy decision making, sample policies and task-force structure from other schools, campus outreach & policy communication materials, and free cessation resources like our Illinois Tobacco Quitline.

Nearing the end of the workshop, a volunteer panel, comprised of representatives from existing Tobacco-Free institutions, fielded questions and invited in-depth discussion about how their campuses went tobacco-free. This panel was made-up of Christina Haggerty, Director of Marketing and Public Relations at McHenry County College, Lena Kalemba, Wellness Director at McHenry County College, Lisa Yang, Director, Employee Relations at Rush University Medical Center, and Michelle Bertucci, Student Intern of SPARK and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

The American Lung Association in Illinois extends its sincerest gratitude to President Cullerton, Al Rowe, panel members and workshop attendees for helping to create tobacco-free campuses across Illinois. We had a great day and look forward to working with everyone in the future!

For more information on tobacco-free campuses and how to get involved, please visit our website at www.lungil.org/campus.