In response to a recent report in The Pace Chronicle pertaining to drug usage on campus, I’d like to take this opportunity to clarify our department position on this topic.

As an NCAA Division II member, Pace University student-athletes are subjected to year round drug testing. To supplement the NCAA testing program, Pace has implemented its own drug education and testing program that is administered by The National Center for Drug Free Sport. In the rare case of a failed test, counseling and medical support are provided to ensure the student’s safety as well as a disciplinary component, that is above and beyond the university policy.

Our recent data shows that virtually all of our student-athletes are choosing a safe and healthy lifestyle. Our institutional policy is designed to encourage safe, well-informed, and healthy decision-making. We feel that frequent education and testing is a pro-active approach to help keep our student-athletes safe.

I do however want to take this opportunity to remind the campus community about our wonderful group of committed student-athletes who represent our institution. Our 2014 graduating class has contributed to the following over the past four years

• Academics: 1,104 Academic Award honorees; six team academic winners; two Academic All-District recipients; one Scholar All-American; 3.04 average GPA

• Athletically: Five NCAA tournament appearances; 11 individual conference titles; one NCAA tournament Regional Final appearance; 58 All-Conference players; 22 All-Region players; three All-Americans; three Conference Players of the Year

• Community Service: Over 2,000 hours of community service performed and over $18,000 raised for charitable organizations.

Our department will continue to work with our Student Athlete Advisory Committee and Captains Council to address any of the concerns put forth by The Chronicle. Our top priority is to provide an effective education component for our student-athletes that is enforced through a stringent testing system.