'Escape from Rape' conference
KINGSPORT (Aug. 28, 2018) – East Tennessee State University’s third annual “Escape from Rape: A Cultural Change” conference will be held Friday, Sept. 14, at the Kingsport Center for Higher Education.
The conference aims to further train and educate members of the community in the prevention of and response to sexual assault and in advocacy and treatment for victims. It is intended as an initial effort to eliminate misconceptions and create an environment in which victims/survivors will be better cared for.
The “Escape from Rape” Conference includes presentations designed to show the steps that professional groups have taken to meet the needs of sexual assault survivors and to help change the “culture of rape.”
Nicole N. Collins, ETSU assistant vice president for Public Safety and chief of police, is the keynote speaker. She brings over 30 years of experience, including significant work in law enforcement and the military, to her role at ETSU.
Collins was previously assistant vice president for Public Safety and oversaw field operations at New York University, where her duties included serving as second in command of the field operations division, which has a security team of approximately 350 officers on campuses in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Before that, she served four years at Vanderbilt University as a lieutenant and police executive captain with oversight and responsibilities in the areas of communications, professional standards, internal affairs investigations, Clery Act coordination, accreditation, campus community relations, Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) program and records.
In addition to Collins, session speakers include Dr. C. Wesley Buerkle, associate professor in the ETSU Department of Communication and Performance; Dr. Julia Bernard, assistant professor in the ETSU Department of Counseling and Human Services; Elizabeth McClellan, executive director of the Sexual Assault Legal Department of the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence; and Sarah White, Cindi Huss and Tiffany Sapp of Our Whole Lives Comprehensive Sex Education.
The conference will begin with registration at 8 a.m. at the Kingsport Center for Higher Education, 300 W. Market St. Opening remarks are scheduled for 8:30 a.m.
The registration fee of $75 ($25 for students with ID) includes breakfast and lunch. A group registration rate of $65 per person is available for three or more registering from any organization. Continuing education units (CEUs) and Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) hours will be offered.
The conference is sponsored by the ETSU Women’s Resource Center in partnership with the university’s Office of Professional Development, with additional sponsorship provided by Dr. Anthony DeLucia of the Quillen College of Medicine and GFWC (General Federation of Women’s Clubs) Johnson City Junior Monday Club.
Non-profit exhibitors include the SAFE Houses of Kingsport and Johnson City, ETSU’s Counseling Center and Women’s Studies Program, Sullivan County Family Justice Center, Sexual Assault Center of East Tennessee, Appalachian Mountain Project Access, CHIPS: Change is Possible and Johnson City Downtown Day Center.
For registration or more information, visit www.etsu.edu/professionaldevelopment and click on the “Escape from Rape” image, or call the Office of Professional Development at 1-800-222-3878.
Media Contact:
Jennifer Hill
hill@etsu.edu
423-439-4317