Faculty experts from the CU Boulder and the CU Anschutz Medical campuses will join together from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in a June 28 webinar via Zoom moderated by CU Boulder Chancellor Philip DiStefano and focused on the public health impacts of gun violence.
Zoom Details
“Addressing Gun Violence Within a Health-Grounded Approach: Advice from Practitioners and Researchers” is co-sponsored by CU Boulder Provost Russell Moore and CU Anschutz Provost Roderick Nairn. The program will feature four CU Boulder and two CU Anschutz experts:
- Sona Dimidjian, professor of psychology and neuroscience and director of CU Boulder’s Renée Crown Wellness Institute
- Beverly Kingston, director of CU Boulder’s Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence
- Jonathan McMillan, director of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention for the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment and a research affiliate at CU Boulder’s Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence
- Donna Mejia, faculty fellow and inaugural Chancellor’s Health and Wellness Scholar in Residence, Renée Crown Wellness Institute; associate professor, Department of Theatre and Dance, CU Boulder
- Dr. Emmy Betz, professor of Emergency Medicine at the Anschutz Medical Campus’s School of Medicine; and director for the CU Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative, a CU Anschutz program based in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the School of Medicine in collaboration with the Colorado School of Public Health
- Dr. Steven Berkowitz, professor of child psychiatry and medical director of the Stress, Trauma, Adversity, Research and Treatment (START) Center at CU’s Anschutz Medical Campus
“A key role that universities play in supporting our democracy is applying data and lessons learned from research to solving our nation’s most pressing problems,” said DiStefano. “Gun violence is clearly one of those problems, and I am gratified that these outstanding faculty from the Boulder and Anschutz Medical campuses are able to share their important work as a way to improve the health and safety of our communities.”
The format of the webinar will be a question-and-answer session moderated by DiStefano and convened by Michele Moses, vice provost and associate vice chancellor for Faculty Affairs at CU Boulder. Participants can expect topics that include:
- Understanding gun violence as a public health and safety issue
- Decoupling emotions and beliefs in dealing with gun violence to enable effective action
- Ensuring an inclusive and respectful approach to averting gun violence
- Bringing compassion and care in addressing the ongoing issues of gun violence
- Talking to children about gun violence and how generations are affected by large-scale traumatic events
- How CU researchers are working with each other, school and community partners, and the state of Colorado, to address gun violence
