MICHAEL YOUNG HONORED AS NATIONAL HEALTH EDUCATION SCHOLAR

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Dr. Michael E. Young, University Professor of health science, has been selected by the American Association for Health Education to receive its Scholar Award for 2004. The association will present the award during the national convention of the American Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.

"We are proud that once again Michael Young is being honored by his peers for his contributions to health education," said Reed Greenwood, dean of the College of Education and Health Professions. "He is known nationally for developing model programs that effectively address some of the most challenging health behavior issues facing youth and their families."

The American Association for Health Education presents the Scholar Award to an individual with extensive scholarly achievement in health education. The award recognizes Young’s contributions to health education, his decades of scholarship, and his ability to communicate ideas and information to groups with diverse memberships.

Young’s national contributions include his work in drug education, sexuality and abstinence education, and other research related to sexual behavior. A founding member and fellow of the American Academy of Health Behavior, he is currently secretary to the board of directors of the academy. In addition, he recently completed service as a member of the executive committee and board of directors of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality and is a past president of the society’s mid-continent region.

Young is founder and director of the Health Education Projects Office, one of two organizations named by the American Association for Health Education and Metropolitan Life to serve as a model for teacher training. Among its projects are tobacco, drug and alcohol prevention programs and an abstinence education curriculum.

The office’s drug prevention program, Keep a Clear Mind, is one of only 19 model programs in the United States to be named to the National Registry of Effective Programs by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Keep a Clear Mind has also received the center’s Exemplary Program Award and is listed as a model program by both the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Sex Can Wait, the abstinence education curriculum series developed by the Health Education Projects Office, has received the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Award for Outstanding Work in Community Health Promotion five times. In a recent study, follow-up tests in 15 school systems that used Sex Can Wait showed significant differences in sexual behavior and attitudes by participants both upon completion of the program and 18 months later.

Young is co-author of the Sex Can Wait series, along with curriculum developers and trainers Sue Hart, Pennie Core and Tamara Young. Michael and Tamara Young are also authors of the book Abstinence: Pick & Choose Activities, which is used in schools and community-based programs across the country.

Under Young’s leadership, the Health Education Projects Office faculty and staff have worked with schools and community groups throughout Arkansas and in 14 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. They have also conducted numerous training sessions and made presentations internationally.