Alcohol is all too often seen as an accepted part of college life, but there are programs that can significantly reduce students' risky drinking, according to a series of studies in a special college drinking supplement of the "Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs." Fourteen studies detail results of projects funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's (NIAAA's) Rapid Response to College Drinking Problems initiative. Between 2004 and 2005, NIAAA selected 15 college campuses with serious student-drinking issues to work with the agency and other experts in developing programs to combat the problem. The work featured in this supplement underscores the value and critical importance of using scientifically sound research to guide the search for effective prevention and treatment strategies to reduce college student alcohol problems. The original premise for establishing the NIAAA Task Force on College Drinking, and then for the Rapid Response to College Drinking Problems initiative, was to solidify the link between research and practice. Two of the Rapid Response projects included in the journal found that community-level efforts to deal with off-campus drinking problems can be effective in reducing consumption and improving community relations.