UB Alberti Center Newsletter

News & Updates

December 2024 | Volume 13: Issue 4

Upcoming Events

Check out all upcoming events hosted by both the UB Alberti Center and Graduate School of Education!

Out and About in the Community & Beyond

The Alberti Center team offers in-person, virtual, and hybrid events upon request. These are just some of the events we have participated in or provided over the past few months:

September

Cyberbullying and digital media use: What educators need to know presentation for Buffalo Public Schools - Buffalo, NY

Promises and pitfalls of social media: Supporting your children in their digital worlds presentation for Mount St. Mary Academy - Kenmore, NY

October

Bullying among school-age youth: An overview of research and practical implications presentation for Department of Pediatrics - University at Buffalo

Leadership in school crisis prevention and intervention virtual presentation for North Carolina State University - Raleigh, NC

November

PREPaRE workshop 1: Comprehensive school safety planning: Prevention through recovery presented virtually for National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)

Helping students at risk for suicide virtual presentation for New York State Office of Mental Health

NYSED Dignity for All Students Act Training

Updated session dates for the New York State Education Department Dignity for All Students Act (NYSED DASA) training workshop for teacher certification are now available through February 2025 on our website here.

The course is offered fully online in two parts. Part One is asynchronous, while Part Two is "live" with interactive instruction via Zoom. Here is feedback from one of our recent participants:

This was an excellent course, appropriate length and was very engaging. Thank you so much!

Link to DASA training workshop information.

Alberti Center Annual Conference Recap

Group photo of Dr. Stephanie Fredrick, Kira Wong O'Connor, Dr. Catherine Bradshaw, and Dr. Amanda Nickerson

The 2024 Alberti Center Conference, Current practices for preventing bullying and promoting safety in schools and online, took place fully in person this year on October 23 at Classics V Banquet Center. Photos from the day can be found here on our Flickr page. You can also find a recording of our morning keynote presenter, Dr. Catherine Bradshaw, on our YouTube page here.

Our afternoon speaker, Kira Wong O’Connor, head of youth well-being and creator safety policy engagement at Meta shared some online resources for youth that you can find here on our website. Thank you again to our Presenting Sponsor this year, Spectrum Health, and all of our other sponsors as well! We would also like to extend our sincere appreciation to all of our exhibitors and their donations to a raffle for our attendees. We had many very grateful winners! Some of the prizes included three books (Spectrum Health), a swag bag and $25 gift certificate (Cleveland Play House), a $50 Amazon gift card (BryLin Hospital), and 20 copies of E xpress It! a therapeutic activity and journaling book (Free2Luv). Stay tuned as we begin planning for next year!!

Image of header on November 2024 virtual colloquium flyer

2024-25 Virtual Colloquium Series

The 2024 portion of the Alberti Center Virtual Colloquium Series continued on November 21 with a presentation by Marla Eisenberg, ScD, MPH. Dr. Eisenberg presented on Bias-based bullying and emotional distress among marginalized adolescents: Taking an intersectional approach. The presentation recording and slides are available here on our website.

We will take a brief pause over winter break and continue our series on Tuesday, February 11, 2025 with a presentation on Knowledge and skills of public elementary school teachers on bullying prevention and management in Puerto Rico by Dr. Francisco Xavier San Miguel Torres. Registration for this event will open in January 2025 on our website.

Our 2024-2025 series will conclude on April 11, 2025, with a presentation (title TBD) from Rebecca Schwartz-Mette, Phd, associate professor in the Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo.

Preview image for Alberti Center 2024 highlight reel

Video Resource Spotlight

For our video spotlight this month, we thought it would be fun to share this photo album, looking back on some of the most memorable moments of the Alberti Center team in 2024!

Some of the highlights in the video include a few photos from student poster presentations, dissertation proposals and defenses, commencement day, our annual conference, and several of the community events we have participated in over the past year!

You can find this video along with a variety of others on our YouTube channel.

2025 Brings a Big Move for the Center

Over the winter break, and into the spring semester, the Alberti Center team will be packing up our office suite for a big move from the University at Buffalo's North Campus to the South Campus on Main Street in Buffalo. Although change always brings a little bit of anxiety and challenges, we are excited to embrace this new chapter!

A fun fact to share is that the building we are moving into, Foster Hall, was the original home of the University at Buffalo's Graduate School of Education (GSE) and with this move, we will be returning to our roots! Stay tuned for more information in our next issue and learn more about the history of Foster Hall here on the GSE website!

Welcome to the Student Team!

Jake Lis, research assistant, has two bachelor’s degrees. One in psychology and one in Health and Human Services from SUNY University at Buffalo. He is currently a student in the School Psychology MA/AC program at the University at Buffalo. Jake's research interests involve bullying and bullying interventions.

Sarah Woyken, Research Assistant, has her bachelor's degree from Simon Fraser University, Canada. She is currently a master's student in the School Psychology MA/AC program at the University at Buffalo. Sarah's research interests involve school cellphone policies.

You can read about other members of the Alberti Center team on our website here!

End of Semester Holiday Celebration!

The Alberti Center administrative and student team gathered on December 19, at the Rec Room in downtown Buffalo, to celebrate the end of the fall semester and the holiday season. Food, beverages and a Dueling Pianos show were enjoyed by everyone! You can view more photos from the evening here on our Instagram page. Some of the students will now return home for winter break until classes resume for the spring semester. We wish all of our student team, as well as our friends and colleagues, abundant happiness, health, hope, and harmony in 2025!!

Photo from end of semester gathering of students embracing in a group hug

Join our mailing list to stay updated!

2025 Brings a Big Move for the Center

Sarah Woyken, Research Assistant, has her bachelor's degree from Simon Fraser University, Canada. She is currently a master's student in the School Psychology MA/AC program at the University at Buffalo. Sarah's research interests involve school cellphone policies.

﻿End of Semester Holiday Celebration!

End of Semester Holiday Celebration!