The 2010 Richard M. Fairbanks Circle of Hope Award, given annually in recognition of outstanding contributions to research, education or treatment of drug and alcohol abuse and addiction, was presented to Indiana Wesleyan University for exceptional contributions related to preparing a new generation of counselors and leaders in the field of addiction.
The national honor, directed at the IWU addictions counselor programs, was presented Tuesday, June 22, at the hospital’s ninth annual Circle of Hope Dinner at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown. Indianapolis. Mayor Greg Ballard served as the honorary chairman of the event.
“No one else is doing the total work that Indiana Wesleyan is doing in addictions counseling, education and research,” said Helene Cross, Fairbanks president. “The university is a special place in the world.”
IWU offers a traditional undergraduate bachelor’s degree in addiction counseling and now offers the entire bachelor’s program online. At the graduate level, IWU offers a traditional master’s degree in addiction counseling and an online graduate certificate in addictions. Each program meets all state and national certification and licensure requirements.
As the first university in the world to offer a master’s degree specializing in addictions counseling, with a content area of substance abuse and behavioral syndromes which included eating, gambling and sexual addiction. IWU is leading the way for other educational facilities and professionals around the world.
IWU also has an Addictions Studies Center that was established as a place where education, research and treatment merge to study the problems of addiction. The Center is located in a clinic setting on the main IWU campus in Marion.
Through its undergraduate and graduate addictions counseling programs, IWU is an Approved Education Provider of the Virginia-based National Association for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors.
“To receive the prestigious Fairbanks award distinguishes Indiana Wesleyan University's Addictions Counseling programs as one without equal in preparing students in scholarship, practice and professionalism,” says Donald Osborn, Director and Professor of Graduate Addictions Counseling and Executive Director of the Addiction Studies Center.
Singer and songwriter Judy Collins, a recovering alcoholic, spoke at the Circle of Hope dinner. Collins’ 33-year-old son committed suicide in 1992 after a long struggle with alcoholism.
Fairbanks began in 1945 as Indiana Home, a 12-bed detoxification unit in downtown Indianapolis. In 1992, after several moves, Fairbanks opened its doors at a 96-bed facility near Community North Hospital in Indianapolis.
Fairbanks offers treatment for adolescents, treatment for people addicted to drugs in addition to alcohol, and expanded family and outpatient services.