Donald McPherson will serve as the Keynote speaker Friday night.
Empire 8 Summit to Take Place This Weekend
ROCHESTER, NY – The seventh annual Empire 8 Student-Athlete Summit is being held at the Woodcliff Hotel and Spa in Fairport, NY. The event will run Friday evening, January 25th through Saturday afternoon, January 26th.
This year’s Summit is focused on bringing together members of the higher education community from all nine conference institutions (student-athletes, Administrators, Coaches and Vice-Presidents of Student Affairs) to identify collaborative strategies to address interpersonal violence.
“Interpersonal violence on college campuses is a concerning issue,” stated Empire 8 Commissioner Chuck Mitrano. “The Summit will raise level of awareness, and educate our student-athletes on the topic. We then equip them with the leadership skills and resources to make a difference on their campus. It’s a very intense, fun, and productive event.”
The Empire 8 is pleased that former Syracuse All-American, Donald G. McPherson, will be delivering a powerful message against violence and abusive relationships to the participants Friday night.
For more than 25 years, McPherson has used the power and appeal of sport to address complex social justice issues. He has created innovative programs, supported community service providers and has provided educational seminars and lectures throughout North America.
The participants will also be hearing from two Assistant Professors of Counseling at Alfred University, Dr. Steve Byrne and Dr. Hannah Young, on Saturday morning. They are both licensed psychologists with interests in interpersonal relationships, partner violence and prevention programming and will be able to offer insight into the resources available for campus-based collaboration.
Programming for the Summit is made possible through the NCAA Strategic Initiative Grant Tier II funds.