The co-founder of a national organization committed to ending violence against women will visit the University in April to give a presentation on domestic violence and community strategies for addressing it.

Ted Bunch, an educator, activist, lecturer, and co-founder of A Call to Men: The National Association of Men and Women Committed to Ending Violence Against Women, will deliver a presentation entitled How Can You Stop Domestic Violence in Aroostook County? on Tuesday, April 28 at 7 p.m. in the Campus Center. The community is invited to attend this free presentation.

Bunch is recognized both nationally and internationally for his expertise in organizing and educating men in the effort to end violence against women. He is dedicated to strengthening community accountability to end all forms of violence against women.

According to the organization’s website, Bunch previously served as the Senior Director and Co-creator of Safe Horizon’s Domestic Violence Accountability Program, the largest program for domestic violence offenders in America. He is a recognized trainer, lecturer and consultant on male accountability. A committed ally for more than a dozen years, Bunch has gained leadership status in the domestic violence, rape and sexual assault prevention communities across the country.

Bunch is an Advisory Board Member to the New York State Integrated Domestic Violence Court and a founding member of the New York City Batterer Task Force. He brings a great enthusiasm and a wealth of knowledge to his work, having trained at colleges and universities throughout the United States, including Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth and the University of California. In addition, he has had guest appearances on numerous television and radio programs. He has traveled abroad speaking in places such as Israel, Suriname, Ghana and Puerto Rico, as well as being an invited guest presenter for the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women.

A Call to Men is a leading national men’s organization addressing men’s violence against women, and the eradication of sexism, while maintaining strong coalitions with women’s organizations already doing this important work. The organization, a Tides Center project, facilitates seminars, workshops and other educational vehicles that challenge men to reconsider their long held beliefs about women, in an effort to create a more just society.

The presentation is sponsored by the Honors Domestic Violence class taught by Dr. Lisa Leduc in the Criminal Justice program. The class is organizing Bunch’s visit as its service learning project. Students in the class stress the relevance of this presentation for everyone in the community: “This isn’t just for men, or for victims. This presentation can show all of us what our role should be in ending domestic violence in our community,” said Ryan Eagles, a Criminal Justice senior.

A Call to Men has been to Maine before, giving similar presentations downstate but despite several attempts, Aroostook County has not been able to organize a local appearance.

“This just came together at the right time; the founders of A Call to Men want to increase collaborations with college campuses and asked me to serve as their faculty consultant on service learning. So their visit up here helps them as well as us,” Leduc said.

As well as the presentation on Tuesday evening, Bunch will be meeting with classes and other community groups during his three-day stay.

For more information about this presentation, contact Lisa Leduc at 768-9436 or lisa.leduc@maine.edu. For more information about A Call to Men, visit www.acalltomen.org.