Mitrano to Take Part in NCAA Think Tank on Campus Violence Prevention
ROCHESTER, NY – The NCAA will host a Think Tank-format discussion on campus violence prevention in Washington, D.C., Oct. 3-4, to delve deeper into the issue, including how it relates to higher education and intercollegiate athletics, and to develop best practices and possible preventive solutions.
Empire 8 Commissioner Chuck Mitrano has been selected as a participant due to his extensive athletic background and work in promoting sportsmanship. Other participants will include NCAA staff, NCAA athletics administrators and university officials, subject matter experts and advocacy group representatives.
The NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct has been reviewing the broad topic of campus violence since 2010. The Think Tank will sharpen the focus on interpersonal violence, specifically looking at how athletics plays a role in the campus culture as it relates to violence prevention.
Mitrano has been an influential leader in the areas of sportsmanship, ethics and NCAA leadership. He moderated a hazing summit at the NCAA Convention in 2007 and he was named one of the “100 Most Influential Sports Educators in America” by the Institute of International Sport in November 2007. The Empire 8 was also the first athletics conference in any division or level to be named an “All-American Sportsmanship Conference” by that organization.
Mitrano was selected as the ECAC Josten’s Male Administrator of the Year in 2008 and was recognized as the 2011 recipient of the Bob Fredrick Award, which annually honors an NCAA coach, administrator or staff member who demonstrates a history of sportsmanship. He is currently serving as the President of the Division III Commissioners Association.
“We are engaging a diverse group of experts from research, higher education, athletics, government agencies and advocacy groups to examine this critical issue of campus violence and discuss real solutions to apply at the local and national levels as it relates to athletics. We hope it will advance effective campus engagement to promote the well-being of student-athletes,” said Dr. Deborah Wilson, chair of the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct and associate athletic director at George Mason University.
The viewpoints on the role and place of athletics in the prevention of campus violence is varied, thus the Committee designed the think tank to provide the NCAA membership with resources and best practices that will assist with establishing dialogue with student-athletes and administrators. The Think Tank, designed to further dialogue and create possible solutions in regard to the issue, was not based on any specific topics or incidents involving violent acts.
The goals of the think tank are to:
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frame the issue of campus-based interpersonal violence specifically for the NCAA membership;
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examine how athletics may be positioned locally or nationally to prevent interpersonal violence on campus; and
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develop models of best practices to make available to the NCAA membership to address campus violence.
The Think Tank is the fourth NCAA-sponsored event surrounding the topic of campus violence. The NCAA hosted a presidential session and a panel discussion at its annual convention last year that kept the topic relevant. It also hosted an inaugural Violence Prevention Summit in April 2011 that included subject expert presentations and general education on violence in a broad context.
Participant Biographies