LORMAN — Alcorn State University is continuing its push to make the University a tobacco-free campus.

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation awarded Alcorn a $10,000 grant to begin Tier 2 of the university’s efforts to ban the use of tobacco products on campus. The grant is designed to facilitate the development, implementation and maintenance of a smoke-free campus. The total funding is $50,000 and is provided in three tiers.

Dr. Wanda Fleming, Assistant Vice President for Human Resources at Alcorn, detailed the steps the university will take next, now that Tier 2 is underway.

“Under Tier 2, Alcorn will develop implementation, enforcement, and evaluation plans and will develop a communications plan designed to disseminate information and share the proponents and value of the adopted smoke-free polity to students, faculty, staff and the campus community,” said Fleming.

Fleming said the funds will be used to provide education to the campus community on how to successfully stop the use of tobacco on campus.

“The provided funds are used to strategically promote a tobacco-free culture at Alcorn, encourage cessation of current tobacco use, and infuse the campus with training and educational resources,” she said.

Alcorn received $10,000 under Tier 1 last year for a comprehensive tobacco-free policy aligned with the model policy for a tobacco-free college/university, as published by the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation.

“The Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation is proud to partner with Alcorn State University to create a sustainable healthy campus culture,” said Sheila Grogan, Foundation President. “University and college campuses are ideal for promoting nicotine-free lifestyles to the benefit of everyone’s health, from students to personnel to visitors.”

The Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation has a vision for a healthy Mississippi and provides targeted grants to fund initiatives and programs to improve the health and well-being of Mississippians. To learn more about the foundation, visit www.healthiermississippi.org.