Two finalists have been named for the position of director of the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center. Both will interview, give presentations and host open forums in early May.
The finalists are Kirk Dombrowski, professor of sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and Mario Scalora, professor of psychology at UNL.
Each finalist will meet with a variety of Public Policy Center constituents and spend time in the center. Those attending the presentations and open forums, both of which will be in the fifth-floor conference room of the Lincoln Community Foundation Building at 215 Centennial Mall South, are asked to provide feedback on Dombrowski and Scalora by no later than 5 p.m. May 12.
Dombrowski’s public presentation and open forum is 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. May 9. Feedback on Dombrowski’s presentation can be provided here.
Scalora’s public presentation and open forum is 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. May 11. Feedback on Scalor’s presentation can be provided here.
Dombrowski, the John G. Bruhn Professor of Sociology and faculty coordinator for UNL’s Minority Health Disparities Initiative, has been at UNL since 2013. He was on faculty at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and an associate director at New York University’s Center on Drug Use and HIV Research. At UNL, Dombrowski founded the Research, Evaluation, and Analysis for Community Health Lab, whose research ranges from substance use, to health disparities, to suicide prevention and network epidemiology.
The results of Dombrowski’s work on American Indian/Alaska native suicide, HIV harm reduction in minority communities, Hepatitis C epidemiology and the sexual trafficking of underage boys and girls have been incorporated into state laws and court decisions from Alaska to New York, and Nevada to Puerto Rico. He also has served or currently serves on funding panels for the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and social and behavioral science foundations.
Scalora is a professor of psychology with UNL’s clinical training and law-psychology programs. He performs and supervises research on various aspects of targeted violence including threat assessment and management, counterterrorism, school violence and workplace violence. He also studies psychological factors relevant to national security-related deterrence and intelligence analysis.
Scalora collaborates with federal, state and local agencies. His research portfolio has leveraged a range of federal and state funding sources to facilitate research, training and program development activities in areas of violence assessment and prevention. He also is a consultant to law enforcement agencies and universities regarding threat assessment and safety issues.
