COBE programming unites researchers, professionals and members of the community to translate research findings and promote health and wellness at VCU and beyond.
COBE Connect lunches have brought together Academic and Student Affairs faculty and Staff on a monthly basis to hear talks from researchers and professionals about health and wellness in young people. Since 2015, the series has featured 19 presenters across 9 departments and 3 divisions of VCU.
COBE hosts a yearly town hall meeting called From Research to Recovery which brings hundreds of community members, professionals and VCU faculty, staff and students to campus to hear a variety of University and Community speakers on the topic of substance use and young people.
The COBE-sponsored Family Education Program is a collaborative program that acts as a resource for family members who have a loved one struggling with a substance use disorder. The 2016 series hosted over 1,000 guests 49 presentations representing 25 organizations with 14 talks given by VCU Faculty or doctoral students.
In partnership with Residential Life and Housing, COBE launched the Thrive residence hall which focuses on integrating behavioral and emotional health research into coursework and programming for freshmen students. As part of the project, students in Thrive and other Living Learning Programs (LLPs) will be able to participate in a research project based on Spit for Science that will evaluate the effectiveness of the LLPs.