To tackle Ky. woes, we need dreamers, graduate students

The scourge of opioid abuse and addiction is wreaking havoc on Kentucky. Addiction is a disease of despair, victimizing individuals and communities when they are most vulnerable. It does not discriminate by neighborhood, race or ethnicity.

Universities across the country are locked in a fight against opioid abuse. The University of Kentucky is among the leaders, working in partnership with local, state and federal stakeholders to stem the tide of this insidious menace.

Recently, I traveled with a team of UK faculty and clinicians to Washington, D.C., to outline our multi-faceted response to this challenge and the support we need to continue our work and progress.

UK’s team included faculty from seven different colleges and UK HealthCare who are engaged in substance abuse and addiction research, supported by $22.5 million in research funding. This research agenda is part of the university’s $350 million research enterprise, which now places us 41st among all public research universities in the country. Our team included:

▪ Carrie Oser, sociology professor examining health service utilization, drug treatment outcomes and infectious disease prevention among rural residents and minorities.

▪ Kristin Ashford, nursing professor and co-creator of Perinatal Assistance and Treatment Home, which helps pregnant women who use opioids. Since its launch in 2014, more than 150 women have received treatment; of those, 77 percent who were admitted to labor and delivery tested negative for illicit drug use.

▪ April Young, public-health professor who works with our Center on Drug and Alcohol Research and helps lead a $1.16-million research effort to build community-grounded health responses to combat opioid abuse in Appalachia.

Their work is making a difference. But they will be the first to tell you that progress is not possible without our committed graduate students.

Consider, for example, the $11.2 million in funding the university received from the National Institute on Drug Abuse last year. That work was made possible by 22 graduate students on the front lines of research in our labs and in the field. They are in our classrooms, learning effective instructional techniques as they build careers as tomorrow’s teachers and scholars. Their futures hold the potential for leadership of major academic, governmental and corporate organizations.

Without our more than 7,100 graduate students, UK’s capacity to provide high-quality undergraduate education and conduct key research would be significantly diminished.

But their access to an affordable education could be at risk. Fortunately, recent reports about tax reform negotiations give hope about the death of a proposal to repeal tax benefits for graduate students who serve as teaching or research assistants. Many who want to pursue graduate education would not be able to afford it.

Finally, we shared with our delegation the importance of a diverse campus community. College campuses thrive because of different perspectives, experiences, identities and backgrounds that come together. That diverse community provides all of our students with a broader understanding of the world and global economy in which they must all compete.

Students on our campus and in this country because of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program also want to contribute and serve their communities upon graduation. They, too, are gaining skills that employers want.

It is critical that Congress act soon to strengthen our nation’s commitment to these students. We share challenges. We also share a future.

We are working in labs, clinics, classrooms and communities to address critical challenges across health care, economic development and education. It is work that is done together — professors, working with graduate students, amidst a diverse community of talent. We believe — we know — that the answers will be found together, as well.

This story was originally published December 15, 2017 at 3:11 PM with the headline "To tackle Ky. woes, we need dreamers, graduate students."