Mr. Patterson,
I met you a number of years ago at a NASPA conference where you were presenting on becoming a smoke free campus. I am pleased to report that your guidelines and suggestions were most helpful and as a result, our campus has become the first four year public institution in Maryland to become smoke free.
Deb Moriarty, PhD.-Vice President for Student Affairs
Towson University, Towson, Maryland
To Whom it May Concern,
As of July 2010, five of Oregon’s community colleges (representing 50% of community college students statewide) have adopted 100% tobacco-free campus policies. The foundation for much of the success in Oregon as well as in other states is the pioneering work of Ty Patterson and his Center of Excellence for Tobacco-Free Campus Policy at Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC). Ty has visited Oregon twice over the past few years, presenting his story of OTC going tobacco free in 2003 to statewide groups of administrators, as well as offering consultation on policy adoption and implementation to individual college campuses and public health partners. As a retired student services administrator with over 30 years experience, Ty brings a wealth of experience and a passion for student success. While serving as an amazing cheerleader for the idea of tobacco-free campuses, Ty also contributes an important understanding of the practical challenges and solutions involved in implementing and enforcing this type of policy. Here in Oregon we remain grateful for Ty’s assistance and wish him all the best in his continued efforts to help other colleges create healthier campus environments, tobacco-free!
Andrew Epstein, MPH – Community Programs Liaison
Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention, Oregon Public Health Division
I wanted to thank you for providing much of the inspiration to move my college to a 100% tobacco-free environment. When we made the announcement last month, our local agencies told us we were the first public college campus in Florida to adopt the policy. The resources on your website were extremely helpful, and a personal desire to achieve this goal to honor my mother who died of lung cancer 16 years ago gave me the courage to move forward. As you and others encouraged, in a very short time we made the decision, inspired our student leadership and took the plunge. Now, our other campuses are taking steps to join us no later than 2010. Again, we have never met, but your life’s work through the website is to be commended. Thank you, and thank you for the future health of our students and staff. In today’s newspaper, our neighboring city manager indicated he was moving along with us to isolate portions of the city’s public areas as tobacco-free zones.
Thank you!
Dr. Patricia Land, President
Edison College, Charlotte Campus
At Lane Community College, we have been working towards becoming a tobacco-free campus for over two years now. After a presentation by and discussion with Ty Patterson, from the Center of Excellence for Tobacco-Free Campus Policy, we have seen a renewed interest in our quest to make Lane a tobacco-free campus. Ty brought a refreshing, new perspective to a discussion around tobacco-free campus policy. He discussed reasons for adopting a 100% Tobacco-Free Policy and clarified facts about going tobacco-free, for example, enrollment will not decline, employees who use tobacco will not resign, and that these policies are more enforceable than limited restrictions. He also reviewed steps to successful implementation of tobacco-free campus policy such as emphasizing compliance rather than enforcement, creating awareness around the movement to make public places tobacco-free and focusing on the importance of the institution’s role as a community leader. The presentation opened a very respectful yet passionate discussion from those wanting to see the college become tobacco-free and from those adamantly opposed. Ty’s presentation and the following discussion brought us all together and created a dialogue of cooperation. As we continue to pursue the path of a tobacco-free campus policy, we will continue to follow Ty’s guidelines and recommendations.
Wendy Simmons – Employee Wellness Coordinator
Lane Community College – Eugene, Oregon
As Stanly Community College began preparation to become a tobacco-free institution, we were pleased to receive great insight from Ty Patterson of Ozarks Technical Community College. Ty was extremely generous with his expertise in the process and preparation necessary for a smooth transition to a tobacco-free campus. Ty shared his program with us and many of our North Carolina College System officials at a drive-in program hosted at SCC. During this program Ty gave us tips on how to involve the entire campus for a seamless process. We are pleased to say that the policy change has been well-received by our students, faculty and staff. Thanks so much to Ty and his team at Ozarks Technical Community College. We are grateful for the support, guidance and experience they have shared with SCC.
Michael R. Taylor, Ed.D. – President
Stanly Community College – Albemarle, North Carolina
In preparing for our tobacco-free initiative at St. Charles Community College, we received invaluable information, leadership, and support from Ozarks Technical Community College. OTC lent their considerable experience and expertise to help us harmoniously plan and implement our policy. Through their examples of operational and communications processes, we learned how to engage our entire campus and introduce the new policy in a focused and logical manner. I am pleased to report that our policy has been well accepted and highly successful due in no small part to the leadership that OTC provided.
OTC has been a true pioneer in assisting other colleges to adopt tobaccofree policies. Spokesperson Ty Patterson and his trendsetting team of educators offer stepbystep guidance through written materials and seminars that give examples of what worked and what didn’t work for them and for others. Their Center of Excellence and their TobaccoFree Campus Workshops are well organized to teach through experience. OTC continues to pave the way to a healthy and safe learning and working environment for students, employees, and citizens throughout our state and nation.
John M. McGuire, Ph.D.
President St. Charles Community College, MO
Mr. Patterson’s insights and experience helped guide our college administration toward a frank and constructive discussion regarding the use of tobacco on campus. By hearing from the experience of others, our college was able to make an informed decision fairly quickly and begin the process to make the campus tobacco-free while being sensitive to concerns of all individuals.
John R. Laws, Ed. D.
Dean of Student Affairs Ivy Tech Community College, Lafayette Lafayette, Indiana
Mr. Patterson,
Thank you so much for your visit earlier this month. Cuyahoga Community College will enter the New Year with discussions on going tobacco free. It was so important for my VP to hear your voice of experience. You gave a very effective presentation and the message was EXACTLY what he needed to hear.
Elovia Peddle
Health and Wellness Center, Cuyahoga Community College