This week, the Rockefeller Institute of Government announced the appointment of SUNY Oswego Associate Professor Dr. Jaclyn Schildkraut as new interim executive director of the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium. Schildkraut will lead the consortium and its more than 50 interdisciplinary gun violence researchers across eight states and territories as the nation confronts a renewed surge in gun violence.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gun deaths in the U.S. jumped 15 percent in 2020 over 2019. While a ban on federal gun violence research funding was recently lifted, state and regional research efforts remain critical to understanding the causes and consequences of firearm-involved homicides, suicides, accidents and injuries, the institute noted in a press release announcing Schildkraut's appointment.

As interim executive director, Schildkraut -- a member of the college's criminal justice faculty -- will continue to expand the consortium’s network of researchers, connecting research from across a range of disciplines to produce actionable policy recommendations for policymakers.

A national expert on school and mass shootings, Schildkraut’s work focuses on the effectiveness of policies aimed at prevention, mitigation, response and recovery. Since 2018, she has conducted the largest study in the nation on the effects of lockdown drills on school participants and skill mastery. Her research and expertise are regularly sought after by local, national and international news outlets, including CNN, Fox News, The New York Times, The Washington Post and others.

"We are enormously excited to invite Jaclyn Schildkraut, a leading example of tireless scholarship within the SUNY system, to lead the consortium," said Rockefeller Institute Executive Director of Research Laura Schultz. "Dr. Schildkraut has been involved in the consortium since day one and no one is better equipped to advance its leading role in providing the research-based insights that form the foundation of good policy."

A widely cited and accomplished gun violence scholar, Schildkraut will lead the consortium's ongoing efforts to uncover and communicate to policymakers and the public evidence-based, data-driven policy recommendations to address gun violence. Schildkraut is the co-author of "Mass Shootings: Media, Myths and Realities" (2016); "Columbine, 20 Years Later and Beyond: Lessons from Tragedy" (2019); and "Lockdown Drills: Connecting Research and Best Practices for School Administrators, Teachers, and Parents" (2022, forthcoming).

She served as the editor on two additional volumes -- "Mass Shootings in America: Understanding the Debate, Causes and Responses" (2018) and "Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture and the Law" (3rd edition; 2022, forthcoming). She has also published more than 30 scholarly articles on topics related to mass and school shootings that appear in journals such as the American Journal of Criminal Justice, Homicide Studies, Journal of School Violence, Victims & Offenders, School Psychology Review, Educational Policy, Security Journal and Crime Prevention and Community Safety

About the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium

The Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium is a coalition of gun violence researchers and practitioners from eight states and territories (Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico and Rhode Island) that aims to inform policymakers and the public by providing evidence-based, data-driven policy recommendations to disrupt the cycle of firearm-involved homicides, suicides and injuries.

The consortium approaches the study of gun violence with the belief that gun violence is a public policy problem, state and local governments are key in the fight to reduce firearm-involved deaths and injuries, and understanding the nuances of state law- and policy-making is central to effectively combat gun violence.

About the Rockefeller Institute of Government

The Rockefeller Institute of Government is the public policy research arm of the State University of New York. The Institute conducts cutting-edge research and analysis to inform lasting solutions to the problems facing New York state and the nation. For more information, visit rockinst.org.