B.A. (Anthropology), Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 1977
M.A. (Applied Social Research/Sociology), The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, 1985
Ph.D. (Sociology), The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, 1988
Postdoctoral (Organizations and Mental Health), Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 1988-1989
Postdoctoral (Social Epidemiology of Alcohol Use), Alcohol Research Group, University of California - Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 1990
RESEARCH:
Dr. Wolfson’s research focuses on (1) the forces shaping public policy on alcohol and tobacco use,
and (2) the
implementation and impact of alcohol, tobacco, and (3) illicit drug policy and prevention
programs.
Currently, Dr. Wolfson directs the following studies:
The National Evaluation of the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Program: A Randomized
Community Trial.
This project is a comprehensive, rigorous evaluation of the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws
(EUDL)
Community Trials Initiative. Under this initiative, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention
(OJJDP) is coordinating FY 2003 discretionary grant funding to the States, technical assistance,
and
evaluation efforts to support a randomized community trial. OJJDP has funded five states
(California,
Connecticut, Florida, Missouri, and New York) to support the implementation of best or most
promising
practices for increasing the enforcement of underage drinking laws and or preventing and
reducing underage
drinking in 35 local communities (seven in each state). The initiative is being evaluated using a
randomized
community trial design.
The Study to Prevent Alcohol Related
Consequences: Using a
Community Organizing Approach to Implement Environmental Strategies in and around the
College
Campus . This five-year randomized trial will implement and evaluate a comprehensive
intervention designed to effect environmental changes on the campus and in the community to
reduce the
incidence of alcohol-related problems among college students. The trial is funded by the
National Institute
on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human
Services.
Measuring Student Exposure to ETS and College Receptivity to Environmental Change. This grant is sponsored by the
National Cancer Institute. The goal of this study is to conduct pilot research that will inform the development of a
randomized campus/community trial to reduce college student smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke. The trial
will build on the success of the approach used in the Study to Prevent Alcohol-Related Consequences (SPARC), a 10-
school randomized trial to change the culture and environment on the college campus and surrounding community to
reduce high-risk drinking and alcohol-related consequences among college students.
Community Capacity for Substance Abuse Prevention Coalitions Division of Mental Health Department of Disabilities
and Substance Abuse Community Management Section. In this study, Dr. Wolfson and his team serves as the
administrative agency to provide support to eight local community substance abuse prevention coalitions. The work of
the administrative
agency can be broken down into five broad functions: 1) development and implementation of a process for selecting
communities to participate, 2) development of a plan for the coalition process, 3) provision of technical assistance and
training, 4) provision of financial and programmatic oversight and monitoring, and 5) implementation of an evaluation
process. There is supplemental funding awarded to this study under the Cross Area Services Programs (CASP)
project.
Dr. Wolfson also serves as Section Head of the Section on Society and Health within the
Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy. Follow this link for more information:
Section on Society and
Health
