Sandra L. Caron

Biography: Dr. Sandra L. Caron is Professor of Family Relations/Human Sexuality at the University of Maine. She is the founder & director of three nationally recognized peer education programs: “Athletes for Sexual Responsibility,” "Male Athletes Against Violence," and “The Greek Peer Educator Program.” She also writes a weekly column on sexuality for the campus newspaper entitled, Sex Matters, hosts a radio show by that same name on the campus radio station, and hosts a national website for college students entitled [ http://collegesextalk.com/ ]collegesextalk.com. In the summers, Dr. Caron teaches a study abroad course each summer; her course, Human Sexuality: Europe versus the United States, takes students to England, The Netherlands, and Sweden to examine firsthand how other countries deal with sexuality issues. In addition to her faculty position, she works is a licensed counselor and works as a sex therapist; she is the co-director of the Human Sexuality Clinic in Orono, Maine. She has received numerous recognitions for her work. In 2002, she received the Presidential Public Service Achievement Award for the University of Maine. In 1999 she received the Margaret Vaughan Award from the Family Planning Association of Maine for her outstanding contribution to sexuality education. She is the 1998 recipient of the Presidential Outstanding Teaching Award for the University of Maine. In 1997, she became Maine’s first recipient of the Faculty-Student Centered Award. She has been an active member of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists, and the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality for over 20 years. Her research and publications have focused on the social-sexual development of young people, with an emphasis on sexual decision-making, contraceptive use, safer sex, sexual assault, sexuality education, and cross-cultural perspectives.She has authored two books, Sex Around the World: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Human Sexuality (published in 2003 by Prentice Hall), and Sex Matters for College Students, 2nd edition (publication in 2007, Prentice Hall).