History
In 1986, the Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery was created to help students interested in becoming addiction counselors to gain an education. An 18-hour minor curriculum in Substance Abuse Studies was developed. The minor program proved to be of interest to persons in recovery from varying addictive disorders, and a cohort of individuals in recovery was formed. The Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery began developing specific programming to support the population of students in recovery on the Texas Tech University campus. From this population, the Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery formed the Collegiate Recovery Community – a comprehensive education, support, and service network for students struggling with recovery issues.
The Collegiate Recovery Community (CRC) is designed to expose participants to a holistic approach to recovery in which students can experience a full range of sober life experiences. The Collegiate Recovery Community provides students in recovery with an opportunity to learn and grow in an environment free of the stigma often attached to addiction/recovery. The Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery has been able to nurture this community of students in recovery through programming which includes: Twelve Step meetings and other support groups, relapse prevention techniques and strategies, academic support, education about the disease of addiction and addiction’s impact on social systems, and scholarships for recovering students. This unique relapse prevention program has enrolled students in recovery from 20 states and 3 foreign countries.
Recently, the Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery received a federal earmark grant from the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment to begin replicating the Collegiate Recovery Community at other college campuses around the country. Additionally, the Center has renewed its commitment to quality research and is in the process of further developing its Substance Abuse Studies minor curriculum into a university major program and into a degree at the graduate level.