The University of South Carolina has approved the creation of a new initiative that aims to connect K-12 schools nationwide with research-based bullying prevention strategies while expanding hands-on learning opportunities for its own students.

The new Bullying Prevention Center will be led by School of Education professor Chad Rose.

Rose said the center was part of his vision before he arrived at USC in fall 2025 and played a role in his hiring discussions. Now. he’s hiring.

“I wanted to establish the premier bullying prevention center in this country,” Rose said. “But what I wanted to do is make that more forward-facing, and that … required me to recruit folks who had the same vision and passion as I do.”

Before joining USC, Rose spent 12 years at the University of Missouri, where he founded the Mizzou Education Bullying Prevention Lab. He said that experience helped shape a model focused on both research and direct support for schools. The USC Board of Trustees approved the new center in December 2025. It’s expected to begin operations in fall 2026.

The Bullying Prevention Center will work with schools, districts and state agencies to tailor policies and teacher instruction programs to individual schools and districts. It will review existing policies, provide professional development and implement evidence-based interventions designed to reduce bullying and improve school climate.

“What I want to be able to do is make that more cost-effective for schools, to be able to provide them with professional development that is useful and up to date, but isn’t consuming large amounts of their budget,” Rose said.

Jane Roberts, executive director of the Carolina Autism and Neurodevelopment Center and a Carolina distinguished psychology professor, said Rose’s work addresses a need for students with autism, who face increased vulnerability to bullying. 

“That’s how this hire came about,” Roberts said. “The president set aside funds for certain faculty, and we advocated that that happened in (the) education (department).”

Roberts said the work is “critical” because bullying can significantly affect a student’s academic performance, whether as a perpetrator or a victim. 

The center represents a new type of initiative for the college, according to Interim College of Education Dean Angela Baum.

“There’s a strong research arm of the center, and Dr. Rose is a leader nationally and internationally already in that area,” Baum said. “That’s very good for USC to be able to be part of the expansion of that research and really just inform the field broadly, not just in South Carolina, but beyond.”

Baum said the center supports the college’s mission of preparing teachers.

“One of the goals we have in our teacher preparation programs is … to prepare excellent teachers,” she said. “And we want all children to have schools that they feel safe in – that they’re healthy, that they’re happy.”

The center also will provide applied learning opportunities for USC’s undergraduate and graduate students.

“I want to be able to provide our pre-service educators with a mechanism to go in and implement interventions in schools and get on the ground in school hours to perfect their craft of teaching,” Rose said.

While the center plans to continue working with districts nationwide, Rose said South Carolina schools will be a primary focus.

“We are going to have a direct emphasis on what we’re doing here in the local community and statewide,” he said.

Rose said interest from schools and community members underscores the need for the center.

“I don’t think kids should be afraid to go to school,” he said. “I think all kids should enjoy going to school. That’s their social space. That’s where they learn to be themselves. So let’s let that happen.”