Former Addicts Donate $2 Million for Opioid Research Center

A $2 million gift from Topeka native, and University of Kansas alumnus, Daniel Logan and his wife, Gladys Cofrin, will help establish the Cofrin-Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment within the Department of Psychology at KU.  Both Logan and Cofrin are recovering addicts themselves, and “know firsthand the importance of fighting the stigma associated with addiction and making effective treatment options more available and accessible.” They partnered with Carl Lejuez, KU’s interim provost and executive vice chancellor, who shares their interests in addiction research.

“The essence of treating addiction is about giving people hope,” Logan said. “Part of what having a center like this does is give the opportunity to have hope that things can be different and you don’t have to be stuck in that place.”

“Personally,  through group therapy, I was able to see that I had similar issues to others in the program, and individually I got to really zero in on my specific issues,” Cofrin said. “From a professional perspective, I’ve seen what both modalities can do for patients. When I first started practicing I was skeptical about the necessity of group work, thinking individual therapy would cover all the bases. As I became more confident and skilled, I saw just how powerful a tool group therapy really is. There’s nothing like having your peers challenge you to heal.”

The main inspiration for the establishment of this center was the opioid crisis in America, however, this center will help give therapy, support and do community outreach for a number of addiction issues including alcohol, gambling and eating disorders.