U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today announced the award of 13 grants totaling nearly $2 million to help colleges and universities prevent high-risk (binge) drinking and violent behavior among college students.

"High-risk drinking often leads to violent behavior among young men and women on college campuses and can result in serious and sometimes deadly consequences," Paige said. "In addition to these grants, colleges and universities nationwide have implemented a variety of programs and strategies to reduce high-risk drinking and related behavior in an effort to prevent students from being killed or severely injured."

According to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, approximately 1,400 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related injuries, including motor vehicle crashes. Also, approximately 500,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are unintentionally injured under the influence of alcohol and more than 600,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking.

The goal of this grant program is to provide funds to develop or enhance, implement and evaluate campus- and community-based prevention strategies to reduce high-risk drinking or violent behavior among college students.

The 13 grantees were selected from among 159 proposals that were reviewed by 14 panels of 3 peer reviewers each. All reviewers have expertise in the field of drug abuse and violence prevention. The grantees' proposals were scored and ranked on the following criteria: need for the project, significance of the project and quality of the project design, personnel and evaluation.

Grantees are funded for one year with an option for an additional year, contingent upon substantial progress in meeting proposed goals and objectives and the availability of future funds. The program is authorized under Title IV, Section 4121 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

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NOTE TO EDITORS: Following is a list of grantees, the size of the award and local contact information.

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