In the article, Salmeri explained that while she’ll miss daily interaction with StepUP students, she is truly “looking forward to focusing more attention on the alumni and the value they bring to our community as well as advocating on local, regional and national levels.”

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(MINNEAPOLIS)—Students across the nation who seek to live in recovery from substance use disorders will have greater opportunities for success thanks to the generosity of donors to the Augsburg College .

“This is a pivotal moment for students in recovery across the nation and how we serve them,” said Augsburg College President Paul C. Pribbenow. “We are poised to leverage our 20-year national reputation as the gold standard in collegiate recovery in enhanced ways: to encourage and shape how other colleges and universities throughout the nation support young people in championing lives of recovery, to work to effect policies and programs that will staunch the opioid epidemic gripping our nation, and to reduce the stigma associated with addiction so that young people can lead lives of meaning.”

The College appointed Patrice Salmeri to the donor-endowed position as Executive Director for Recovery Advancement of StepUP to bring to fruition the strategic priorities of the StepUP Advisory Board and College. In her new role, effective June 2017, Salmeri will work to:

• Reduce stigma associated with substance use disorder recovery by advising on and shaping policy issues among state and federal government agencies and offices, nonprofits and community organizations, and professional associations.
• Advise the Augsburg College president on issues and resources related to support for student recovery.
• Support and inspire other colleges and universities across the nation to provide recovery programs modeled after Augsburg’s successful, 20-year-old StepUP Program.
• Develop and pilot programs for students who have graduated from or left the StepUP Program but still have coursework to complete.
• Work with StepUP Program alumni to understand long-term positive effects of living in a recovery community during college and connect soon-to-graduate students with program alumni.

A search is underway to fill the position of Director of StepUP, previously held by Salmeri.

About Patrice Salmeri: The StepUP Program director since 2002, Salmeri has led StepUP Program growth from 30 students per year to over 100. Salmeri is recognized nationally as a leader and champion of recovery, is an expert on residential collegiate recovery, and is a sought-out national speaker on substance use disorder issues related to young people.

About Augsburg College and the StepUP Program: Augsburg’s StepUP Program, founded in 1997, helps students sustain their recovery, achieve academic success, and reach a level of thriving as a community. This successful program has been generously supported by donors who are alumni, parents and friends of Augsburg and who provide annual support through a gala and other donations and by creating endowed funds to support students.

Augsburg College offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and nine graduate degrees to nearly 3,600 students of diverse backgrounds at its campus in the vibrant center of the Twin Cities and its site in Rochester, Minn. Augsburg educates students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders. An Augsburg education is defined by excellence in the liberal arts and professional studies, guided by the faith and values of the Lutheran church, and shaped by its urban and global settings.

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MINNEAPOLIS — Patrice Salmeri, director of Augsburg College’s for students in recovery and President of the Association of Recovery in Higher Education, is a national expert available to talk to media about President Barack Obama’s announcement to bolster medial services for persons in recovery from substance abuse disorders.

When: Salmeri is available until 6:30 p.m., beginning immediately following President Barack Obama’s announcement. (Watch President Obama on the White House live stream at 2:15 p.m. EST at .)

What: Salmeri can address the importance of eliminating stigma by:

• Shifting language used to describe these disorders. For instance, rather than using the term “addiction,” shifting to “substance abuse disorders” to recognize that addiction is a medical issue.
• Treating substance abuse disorders as medical issues, not unlike society responds to diabetes or other chronic medical illnesses.
• Ensuring those with substance abuse disorders can access mental health and substance use services as readily as other medical services.

How: Call Stephanie Weiss, director of news and media services, at 612.330.1476.

Full Bio: Patrice Salmeri is the Director of the StepUP® Program at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the largest residential collegiate recovery programs in the nation. She also serves as the President of the Association of Recovery in Higher Education.

She is a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor, holds a Master’s Degree in Human Development specializing in leadership and spirituality, and also serves as an adjunct faculty member at Augsburg teaching courses related to chemical dependency. During Salmeri’s tenure as Director of StepUP, the program has experienced a 250 percent increase in the quantity of young people in recovery pursuing a college education.

In 2011, The U.S. Department of Education appointed Salmeri a Fellow for the United States Department of Education’s Higher Education Center for Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Violence Prevention. In 2013, The Association for Recovery in Higher Education presented Patrice with The Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contribution to Collegiate Recovery.

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Kitty Harris, the associate dean of outreach and engagement in the College of Human Sciences at Texas Tech University, was the keynote speaker at last weekend’s StepUP Gala. Harris and Augsburg’s StepUP Program director, Patrice Salmeri, are not only colleagues but also friends who have led their respective collegiate recovery programs since they filled the “big shoes” of their predecessors nine years ago.

Harris addressed the crowd of nearly 400 gala attendees on the subject of belief. She said, “Recovery calls us to become who we are meant to be and to do what we were called to do.” She added, “To believe in yourself means believing in the miracle of second chances,” and she encouraged students to believe that they could be a beacon of light for others.

Since it was founded in 1997, Augsburg’s StepUP program has given a second chance to young people, helping them find success in college and become who they were meant to be. The program has grown from 23 students in 1997 to 74 students, and in the fall of 2010, StepUP welcomed 25 new students and 49 returning students.

The annual gala, which includes silent and live auctions, raised more than $100,000 to support the StepUP program and endowment. This year Wheelock Whitney was honored at the gala with the presentation of theToby LaBelle Award.

Augsburg’s program is serving as a model for two other Minnesota colleges. Both the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth and St. Cloud State University are considering the creation of a collegiate recovery community.

Want to see more? Check out the photos on flickr.

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Interviews with StepUP student Anne Thompson and director Patrice Salmeri highlight how Augsburg’s 10-year-old program supports students in recovery from chemical addiction. Setting Augsburg’s program apart from recovery programs in other colleges are the successes of the residential program on campus; the extent of counselor and peer support; and the academic support services available, such as tutoring, that continually provide support to students.

Augsburg’s StepUP program has grown from 23 to its current 64 students. In September, StepUP moved into the new Oren Gateway Center, which houses both the residence for StepUP students and the program offices. StepUP now has the capacity to expand to more than 100 students.

To read the Inside Higher Ed story, go to

To learn more about StepUP, go to

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