Experts in the Field of Schools

Bio

Mario Scalora is the director of the Public Policy Center and professor of psychology with the Clinical Training and Law-Psychology Programs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, as well as coordinating an active academic research program engaging in collaborative research in targeted violence. His research interests address various types of targeted violence issues including threats to public institutions and infrastructure/threat assessment, sexual offending, stalking, and workplace violence. Scalora has extensive relationships with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies related to threat assessment research and consultation assessing predictive risk factors and management strategies concerning targeted threatening, and violent activity. In addition to his role as director, Scalora also serves as a consulting psychologist with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Police regarding campus safety, threat management, and emergency preparedness.

Bio

Reece L. Peterson is an Emeritus Professor of Special Education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln specializing in the education of students with emotional or behavioral disorders. His interests include intervention for students with behavioral needs, student discipline in school, school violence prevention, as well as special education policy. He is an author of a book and several articles on the use of physical restraint and seclusion procedures in schools, and has served as an expert witness on this topic. He testified before the US House of Representatives hearing on this topic in 2009. He has also directed a national research project on school violence prevention, and directed the Nebraska Department of Education funded “Student Engagement Project,” assisting educators to identify strategies for improving student behavior and graduation rates. He has served as president and governmental relations chair for the International Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders and as the president of the Midwest Symposium for Leadership in Behavior Disorders.