USF Conference Takes Aim at Addictions

March 26, 2025 | Sarasota

The Duvall Conference at University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee on April 2 will kick off USF’s effort to help local governments and other organizations develop new ways to fight addictions and substance misuse in Sarasota-Manatee, one of the areas in Florida hardest hit by the opioid epidemic.

More than 200 service providers, law enforcement and elected officials and area residents, as well as USF faculty, staff and students are expected to attend the conference. USF’s goal is to address a lack of sufficient treatment and recovery options and other needs in the area by embedding faculty researchers into the network of behavioral health providers.

“The goal is you shouldn’t be able to attend a lot of local behavioral health system meetings without seeing a strong USF presence,” said conference organizer Dane Minnick, an assistant professor of social work in the USF College of Behavioral and Community Sciences and the Evelyn Duvall Endowed Chair of Family Development and Community Health at USF Sarasota-Manatee.

What to know about the Duvall Conference

• The conference will take place in USF Sarasota-Manatee’s Student Center Ballroom, 8360 N. Tamiami Trail, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 2.
• The conference program will include presentations and panel discussions featuring health and social services providers, law enforcement, university researchers, Manatee County Commissioner Amanda Ballard and Sarasota County Commissioner Tom Knight.
• During a working lunch, attendees will learn how to give Naloxone to someone who has overdosed. They also will judge a Recovery Art Contest and view research posters submitted by USF students

“One of the themes of this conference is how you can leverage university expertise, faculty expertise and other resources to build up local capacities, whether it’s helping to design evidence-based programs or helping local organizations find additional funding or even doing community assessments to figure out where the target populations are and what the needs are,” Minnick said.

Brett Kemker, interim regional chancellor at USF Sarasota-Manatee, said the Duvall Initiative highlights USF Sarasota-Manatee’s ability and willingness to draw on resources from across the university to help address community-wide challenges.

“Part of our mission at USF Sarasota-Manatee is to use our unique position to conduct the research and provide resources to make this a better community for our students, faculty, staff, alumni and other residents,” Kemker said. “The opioid epidemic has had devastating impacts on our community and shown there are many unmet needs in the local health system. I am confident Dr. Minnick and the Duvall Initiative will help Manatee and Sarasota counties develop some powerful, meaningful solutions.”

The Evelyn Duvall Endowed Chair of Family Development and Community Health was established in 1986 through a generous gift from Evelyn Duvall, a pioneer in family development and family functioning research. A primary focus of the chair is the Sarasota-Manatee Duvall Initiative, which focuses on local efforts to enhance family and community health in the region.

To read the online version of this news release, visit the USF Sarasota-Manatee website.