Media Advisory: 'Bullying' Symposium to Launch New UB Center for Bullying Prevention

The University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education will announce a major alumni gift to establish the Jean M. Alberti Center for the Prevention of Bullying, Abuse and School Violence during an anti- bullying symposium from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. tomorrow (Tuesday, April 27) in Slee Hall on UB's North Campus.

More than 400 teachers, administrators, child psychologists and law enforcement officials have registered to attend the symposium. Dorothy Espelage, a national expert on the prevention of bullying from the University at Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will give the keynote speech at 9:30 a.m.

Also featured will be Jean M. Alberti, PhD, a clinical and educational psychologist based in Chicago and UB Graduate School of Education alumna, who will announce her major gift, which is intended to make UB a national center for the prevention of bullying and other antisocial behavior among school children.

The bullying symposium -- the first activity of the new UB center to be located in the university's Graduate School of Education -- includes sessions on cyberbullying, examples of successful interventions from local schools and law enforcement agencies, and panel discussions. Bullying and its consequences have been topics of ongoing national and local news stories about school violence. National celebrities such as Bill Cosby, Larry King and Tyra Banks have recently discussed bullying and its consequences on national talk shows.

Alberti, Espelage and Mary Gresham, dean of the Graduate School of Education, will be available for interviews throughout the day, depending on the program schedule. To arrange interviews, contact Charles Anzalone in UB's Office of Communications at 716-645-4600 or 716-440-8824 onsite the day of the symposium.

The full schedule for the daylong symposium is available at http://gse.buffalo.edu/news-and-events/alberti-symposium.