University of Iowa President Sally Mason released this statement on high-risk drinking and the university's alcohol harm reduction efforts:

High-risk drinking poses a risk to the health and safety of college students, and it jeopardizes their academic success.

This is a problem at colleges and universities across the country. Here at Iowa, we take this issue seriously, and we have been working hard to address it.

In 2009, our students, faculty, and staff members developed a plan for reducing high-risk drinking. This plan has guided our efforts. It is comprehensive and based on research. And it’s starting to make an impact.

About a third of our students report having had zero drinks during the previous month. Those who do use alcohol are having fewer drinks per occasion. In the last five years, binge drinking has dropped 23 percent, and instances of frequent drinking (10 days per month) have dropped 31 percent.

I’m glad that more and more of our students are making healthier, safer choices, but I know that there is more work to be done. We will keep up the effort. The success and wellbeing of our students is the top priority at the University of Iowa.