Expert Advisory: Keeping Our Kids Safe after Parkland

UAlbany Faculty Researchers Available to Share Insights Following Community Forum

California high school students hold a vigil for the victims of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Fla.

ALBANY, N.Y. (March 9, 2018) – Three weeks ago Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School lost 17 classmates and teachers in the deadliest school shooting since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012.

The names are different, but the narrative is the same. The shooter showed early warning signs that were ignored; he took advantage of Florida’s gun laws; the school was not secure enough.

But, what can actually be done differently?

Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy has invited members of law enforcement, school administrators, the mental health community and municipal leaders to a special forum to talk about just that. The discussion will explore the critical issues of safety in our schools and address the challenges ahead. It is co-sponsored by UAlbany and will be held in the Campus Center West Boardroom today.

UAlbany faculty experts can also speak with media about the various forum discussion topics:

• Eric Stern is a professor at the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity. He has published extensively in the fields of crisis and emergency management, crisis communication, resilience, security studies, executive leadership, foreign policy analysis and political psychology.
• M. Dolores Cimini, who will serve as part of the forum panel, is a New York State licensed psychologist and director of the University’s new Center for Behavioral Health Promotion and Applied Research. Her research focuses on mental health issues, suicide prevention, counseling, alcohol and other drug prevention and student hotline programs.
• David Miller is an associate professor in the School of Education. His research and clinical interests focus primarily on suicidal behavior and related internalizing problems in children and adolescents, particularly issues in school-based suicide prevention.
• Eunju Lee is an assistant professor in the School of Social Welfare. Her research focuses on improving child welfare practice and policy for vulnerable children. She works closely with the Center for Human Services Research and teaches courses in child welfare policy and social welfare in the U.S.

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