Angela Fournier to deliver Feb. 23 Honors Council Lecture

BEMIDJI, Minn. (Feb. 9, 2011) — Alcohol abuse and its negative outcomes are among the greatest challenges facing colleges and universities.  Angela Fournier, assistant professor of psychology at Bemidji State University, will explore social factors that can contribute to student alcohol abuse and how social networking sites impact the views of drinking norms and behavoir as part of the University’s Honors Council Lecture Series.

Fournier’s lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8, in Hagg-Sauer Hall 107 on the Bemidji State campus.

Fournier will provide a brief introduction on the psychological literature focused on alcohol abuse on college campuses and also review data from research on alcohol abuse done at Bemidji State. She will then explore a variety of social factors that can contribute to student alcohol use, including student perceptions of the “drinking culture” on campus and of alcohol use being normal behavior.

Fournier has been an assistant professor of psychology at Bemidji State since 2008. She holds a doctorate in clinical psychology and her research interests are in applied community research to understand and prevent college alcohol abuse.

Fournier is delivering the third of six Honors Council lectures offered as part of the Spring 2011 schedule. The Honors Council Lecture Series is hosted by the Bemidji State University Honors Council. The council is the advisory group to the Honors Program comprised of 12 faculty members from all three of the University’s colleges. Student representatives also are elected to the council by their cohorts for one-year terms.

2011 Spring Honors Council Lecture Series schedule
Feb. 23 – 7 p.m. – Angela Fournier, psychology, “Alchohol and the Social Network: The Psychology of College Alcohol Use and Modern Technology.” Hagg-Sauer 102.
March 15 – 7 p.m. – Susan Cook, English, “Naming Places and Displacing Names: The Counter-Imperialism of Thomas Hardy’s Wessex and Charlotte Brönte’s Villette.” Hagg-Sauer 107.
March 30 – 7 p.m. – Brian Donovan, English, “Platonic Solid: Plato’s Gorgias – 464b-465c, as a Cube.” Bridgeman 100.
April 12 – 7 p.m. – Chris Robertson, English, “Managing Apocalypse: A Cultural History of the Mormon Cricket.” Hagg-Sauer 107.
April 19 – 7 p.m. – Colleen Greer & Deb Peterson, sociology, “Caregiving ‘Talk’ and the Reproduction of Caregiving Inequalities.” Hagg-Sauer 107.

For more information about the Honors Council Lecture Series, please contact the honors program at (218) 755-3984.

FOR YOUR CALENDAR
Feb. 23
– 7 p.m. – Honors Council Lecture Series: Angela Fournier, assistant professor of psychology, presents “Alchohol and the Social Network: The Psychology of College Alcohol Use and Modern Technology.” Location: Hagg-Sauer 107. Admission: free. Information: (218) 755-3984.

About the Honors Council
The Bemidji State University Honors Council selects participants on a competitive basis for the University’s honors program. Honors program participants have the ability and desire to engage in academic challenges extending beyond their majors and the University’s liberal education requirements. These students can participate in the Honors Program, an interdisciplinary program of study culminating in an Honors thesis or project. As members of this community, honors students collaborate with a faculty advisor and the Honors Council to plan their studies and manage the responsibilities that correspond with the program’s freedoms.