EMERGING ADULTHOOD HAS BEEN LINKED TO DECLINES IN HEALTHY BEHAVIORS AND UNHEALTHY WEIGHT GAIN. THE COLLEGE ENVIRONMENT PRESENTS AS A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO PROMOTE HEALTH AND SHAPE ENVIRONMENTS THAT SUPPORT HEALTHY LIFESTYLES TO PREVENT UNHEALTHY WEIGHT GAIN YET FEW PROFESSIONALS ARE AWARE OF VALIDATED TOOLS AND EVIDENCE-BASED APPROACHES THAT CAN BE USED TO SUPPORT COLLEGE CAMPUS HEALTH PROMOTION EFFORTS. THIS PROJECT IS AN INTEGRATED APPROACH COMBINING RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND EXTENSION IN AN INNOVATIVE AND INTERACTIVE CONFERENCE SETTING. THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED CONFERENCE IS TO DISSEMINATE EDUCATION AND TOOLS THAT WILL HELP PROFESSIONALS MORE EFFECTIVELY ASSESS THEIR COLLEGE ENVIRONMENTS AND DEVELOP RELEVANT HEALTH PROMOTION PROGRAMS. THIS CONFERENCE WILL FACILITATE COMMUNITIES WORKING IN PARTNERSHIPS TO MORE EFFECTIVELY PROMOTE HEALTHY BEHAVIORS AND POSITIVE ENVIRONMENTAL SUPPORTS ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES. THE PROPOSED CONFERENCE WILL SHARE INFORMATION ON INTERVENTIONS THAT SEEK TO IMPROVE BEHAVIORS OF AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT CAN SUPPORT HEALTHY BEHAVIOR ASSOCIATED WITH THE PREVENTION OF UNWANTED WEIGHT GAIN AND SUBSEQUENT RISK OF CHRONIC DISEASES AMONG YOUNG ADULT AUDIENCES. THE SHORT-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO HELP PROFESSIONALS GAIN EVIDENCED-BASED KNOWLEDGE AND TOOLS NEEDED TO MORE EFFECTIVELY DEVELOP AND EVALUATE HEALTH PROMOTION ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES. THE MEDIUM-TERM OBJECTIVE IS FOR CONFERENCE PARTICIPANTS TO IMPLEMENT MORE EFFECTIVE HEALTH PROMOTION STRATEGIES ON THEIR OWN COLLEGE CAMPUSES. THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVES ARE TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF EMERGING ADULTS' HEALTH BEHAVIOR (THEREBY INCREASING DEMAND FOR NUTRIENT DENSE FOODS IN OUR FOOD SYSTEM) AND PREVENT THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUTURE CHRONIC DISEASES.