Alberti Center to host annual bullying conference

Bullying, harassment and intimidation in schools takes center stage at this year’s annual conference hosted by UB’s Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention, to be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 19 at Classics V Banquet Center.

The conference features keynote speaker Maurice Elias, professor of psychology and director of the Rutgers Social-Emotional Learning Lab at Rutgers University. Elias will speak on “Ending Bullying, Harassment and Intimidation in Our Schools: The Hard Steps Not Yet Taken.”

The conference’s other featured speaker is Jennifer Greif Green, assistant professor of special education in the Boston University School of Education, who will discuss “Transitioning to College: The Experience of First-Year Students with a History of Childhood Bullying.” Green received the Alberti Center’s Early Career Award in 2014.

“Although public attention to the issue of bullying has increased remarkably in recent years, there is hard work to be done to end bullying and related issues of harassment and intimidation,” says Amanda B. Nickerson, director of the Alberti Center and professor in the Department of Counseling, School and Educational Psychology, UB Graduate School of Education.

“We are excited that this year’s conference will focus on important issues of social-emotional learning in schools and will include information relevant for individuals working in early-childhood through college settings.”

Elias will review the core tenets of universal bullying-prevention approaches and selected/indicated prevention approaches, the social-emotional and character development underpinnings, and essential school-wide organizational considerations required for effective implementation.

Conference participants also will view “Ripple Effect,” a new video considered a powerful tool toward addressing the moral/philosophical dimension. Elias will conclude with the development of multiyear action plans that address the hard steps not taken.

In her presentation, Green will discuss the results of a cross-site study of college transition among previously bullied students. Using data from students at four universities, Green’s team tracked patterns of both challenging and successful college adjustment experiences.

Her presentation will focus on factors associated with positive college transitions for students who were bullied in their K-12 settings and specifically describe the experiences of LGBTQ youth, for whom a new college environment might be particularly important. She also will discuss implications for both college settings and high schools preparing students for the college transition.

The conference aims to serve and inform educators, mental health professionals, faculty, students and other individuals interested in these topics. There also will be a panel discussion in the afternoon featuring both main speakers, who will be joined by Tracey Banks from the Early Childhood Direction Center of Women’s & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, Leslie Barr from Windermere Elementary School in Amherst and Robert Coniglio from Clarence High School.

Register online by Oct. 16 at the conference website.

Registration fee is $75 for professionals and $35 for students. For more information, contact Brie Kishel at 716-645-1532 or alberticenter@buffalo.edu.