Clementi Family, Rutgers Officially Announce New Center

Clementi Family, Rutgers Officially Announce New Center

A new center at Rutgers University aims to help and support young adults faced with the challenges of transitioning from home to college.

Plans for the new "Tyler Clementi Center at Rutgers" were unveiled Monday by members of the Clementi family and administrators of Rutgers University in New Brunswick.

"This center will embody our shared commitment to breaking new ground to study the rapidly changing world our young adults live in and to lend them support, especially as they transition into adulthood, the Clementi family said in a statement.

The center is part of a collaboration between Rutgers and the Clementi Foundation. School administrators say the center will offer lectures, symposia and training on a wide range of topics, including the use and misuse of new technologies and social media, youth suicide and the adjustment and assimilation into college life.

"Tyler's death deeply touched the Rutgers community and brought the issues of cyberbullying and the suicide of gay youth to the attention of the word," Richard L. Edwards, Rutgers of University executive vice president for academic affairs said in a statement.

Clementi killed himself in September 2010 during his first year at Rutgers after he was the victim of cyberbullying.