The College Behavioral and Emotional Health Institute (COBE) grew out of the Spit for Science study, a university wide research project focused on substance use and emotional health outcomes in college populations.
COBE’s mission is to promote behavioral and emotional health among young people through the integration of research with coursework, programming, and policy.
Our goals are to:
- Create collaborative interdisciplinary opportunities to continue to grow the research basis on substance use and emotional health in young people, and to support faculty who work in these areas
- Take advantage of our faculty expertise to create innovative coursework opportunities for our students, to both engage in the research process, and to learn about the research findings
- Grow collaborations with other divisions across the university where our research can be used to develop programming to support student success.
- Bring research to the public in engaging and accessible ways
- Build collaborations with the community to use our VCU expertise to support and promote well-being in young people
On the COBE website, you will find information about how to get involved in the research, enroll in COBE coursework or participate in COBE activities. We have also created a number of resources available through the website from blogs to podcasts, videos and more to help convey the research in ways that we hope you will find user-friendly and engaging. Please feel free to use, share, or distribute any of the materials on our website.
At COBE, we believe that it takes all of us – researchers, students, parents and community members – to combat substance use and emotional health challenges in young people. We always welcome ideas for new partnerships to grow research, education and outreach related to behavioral and emotional health.