Rebekah Lewis

“I am thrilled to begin the director position and look forward to collaborating with center staff and faculty affiliates to expand its crucial work,” says Lewis, who has more than 15 years of experience in health and higher education settings.

In her previous role at the Ottawa University Heart Institute, Lewis provided program evaluation and qualitative research expertise for a variety of women’s cardiovascular disease prevention projects at the Canadian Women’s Heart Health Centre. Her current evaluation research focuses on improving primary prevention of cardiovascular disease among high-risk women. She received a master of public health from Boston University School of Public Health in 2001.

“We are pleased to welcome Rebekah Lewis to the Lerner Center as its new director,” says , Lerner Chair in Public Health Promotion and Population Health, director of the and professor of sociology. “Rebekah brings a wealth of expertise in health education, program evaluation and research. Her forward-thinking orientation and ideas for program development align perfectly with the Lerner Center’s mission.”

The Lerner Center was established in 2011 with an endowment from Sidney Lerner ’53, a marketing executive and public health advocate, and his wife, Helaine. Its mission is to improve population and community health through research, education, advocacy and programming focused on the social and structural determinants of health and health disparities. It supports numerous programs, assistantships and training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, including the popular DeStress for Success course, an undergraduate social impact competition and internships.

The center recently announced that it will host national Healthy Monday programming, a signature public health campaign that aims to reduce the risk of chronic disease by offering prompts about healthier habits. Hosting the national Healthy Monday campaign was made possible by an organizational restructuring and a $2.52 million gift to the Lerner Center and ���ϲ�����’s Forever Orange Campaign by Helaine Lerner in 2023.

Story by Michael Kelly

The “Picturing the Pandemic” exhibition can be found in the first floor foyer of Maxwell Hall until May 15.

For the next month the Maxwell School’s Qualitative Data Repository (QDR) will help us remember this time by hosting a traveling version of an exhibition titled “Picturing the Pandemic: Images from the Pandemic Journaling Project.”

The exhibition is drawn from a collection of images and audio files contributed to the Pandemic Journaling Project (PJP), which was started in May 2020 by a team of researchers from the University of Connecticut and Brown University. Their goal was to create an online archive of COVID-19 stories, described as a “grassroots collaborative ethnography.” By May 2022, over 1,800 people from 55 countries had shared nearly 27,000 online journal entries of text, images and audio—including almost 3,000 photos.

Maxwell is the seventh stop for “Picturing the Pandemic,” following exhibitions in Heidelberg, Mexico City and Toronto, as well as Hartford, Connecticut, where the show was first launched in 2022.�� The from phase one of the wider PJP early in 2024, making it a natural stop for the traveling exhibition. The exhibition can be found in the first floor foyer of Maxwell Hall until May 15.

The kickoff of the exhibition included a panel discussion featuring PJP co-founders Associate Professor Sarah S. Willen of the University of Connecticut and Associate Professor Katherine A. Mason of Brown University, as well as University Professor Amy Fairchild and Maxwell Associate Dean for Research Shana Gadarian. The talk was moderated by Sebastian Karcher, associate director of QDR.

The full PJP data maintained by QDR is currently available for use and re-use by researchers. Though, to protect privacy, access requires prior approval, with requests submitted from the dataset’s page on the��. A significant subset of more than 2,000 entries are also publicly available for searching and browsing by anyone on the��.

Long lines of families turned out for support and shared their heartbreaking stories of evacuations and lost homes. Amid the sorrowful scene, Aga recalls watching a group of children playing tag and laughing in the parking lot while their mother waited in line for food and other provisions.

“It was just such a human moment in such a tragic, apocalyptic scenario that it just really struck me that this is something people are going to have to deal with for years, and it’s real people just trying to get through it,” says Aga, who has worked as a field representative in Chu’s Pasadena office for three years.

On the first day of the Eaton fire, Jan. 7, Aga fielded calls from residents who had evacuated, who had lost their homes, and who couldn’t find family members. Some had lost loved ones in the flames. Chu’s district, which covers most of northeastern Los Angeles county and serves nearly 750,000 residents, was heavily impacted by the Eaton Fire; it destroyed nearly 9,500 structures, scorched over 14,000 acres and claimed 17 lives before it was fully contained.

Maxwell alumnus Zayn Aga (pictured center, wearing a tie) is shown with colleagues during a visit to fire-ravaged Altadena, California, by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (left) and other lawmakers.

Aga was part of a team advocating for federal aid to support the affected community. They also assisted residents in receiving medical equipment and in recovering lost mail and other critical documents.

“It’s our job and our responsibility to make government work for people,” Aga says, adding that he strives to “make government work for somebody just a little bit better and be a little bit more accessible.”

Aga said he finds purpose in making a difference in small, meaningful ways. Despite evacuating his own home, he gathered supplies and drove across the city, visiting four different centers in search of one still accepting donations. One day he rounded up a lost dog and located its worried owner who had been searching since the fires.

“Helping people in a crisis, and exercising initiative and going the extra mile even when his own safety and property are being threatened, sounds so much like Zayn,” says , professor of political science. “He’s the complete Maxwell package—empathy, dedication to service and determination to improve government. I’m very proud of him.”

Aga says his Maxwell schooling helped prepare him to support others in times of need, reinforcing the importance of solving problems one step at a time. He said he gained especially valuable experience interning for U.S. Sen. Charles “Chuck” Schumer and U.S. Rep. Anthony Brindisi.

“At its core, this was all just people doing their best and trying to be there for one another,” says Aga of his experience.

Story by Mikayla Melo

Haowei Wang

Wang’s research focuses on understanding the social determinants of healthy aging in a global context. In particular, she investigates the transformation of family networks, how multiple dimensions of family relationships impact well-being and caregiving in later life, and how demographic shifts and social policies shape physical and mental health across the life course.

The APC Fellowship program is designed to help early-career population researchers network, increase their profile and develop skills for disseminating research. Fellows are invited to give a talk at an APC research center, present at an APC virtual event and receive support in preparing a policy brief. Founded in 1991, the APC is an independent group of over 40 research institutions in the U.S. that brings together scholars across disciplines to educate policymakers and collaborate on research related to demographics and population change.

“Professor Wang is doing important policy-relevant work on healthy aging and family structures that impact not just individuals but whole communities,” says Shana Kushner Gadarian, associate dean for research. “We are so happy to see this recognition of her research and her strong trajectory.”

Wang is a research affiliate at the Center for Aging and Policy Studies, a faculty associate at the Aging Studies Institute and a research affiliate at the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health. Her areas of expertise are in social gerontology, family demography, aging and population health. She has contributed to many articles in interdisciplinary journals on topics including population aging, health disparities, family structure changes, intergenerational relationships, and COVID-19 experiences among middle-aged and older adults.

Story by Michael Kelly

Haeberly worked at the facility in the ���ϲ����� area as part of her “supervised experiential learning” (SEL) requirement needed to receive her master’s degree from the��. Haeberly emerged from her long-term care experience recognizing that the lessons she learned there will translate to any work environment she chooses.

Isabelle Haeberly

“This rotation emphasized learning agility—the ability to take knowledge from one setting and apply it to another,” Haeberly says. “While long-term care may not be my ideal work environment, the critical thinking, attention to detail, individualization of interventions and interdisciplinary collaboration I developed will translate into any area of dietetics.”

In SEL settings, students work under the supervision of a preceptor, who is generally a registered dietitian. In a reflection that Haeberly wrote following her long-term care facility SEL, it was clear how deeply Haeberly was impacted by her preceptor and other healthcare professionals at the facility.

“The language of passion is universal regardless of profession with the commonality of wanting to get better at your craft,” Haeberly wrote.

We asked Haeberly, who received a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Falk College in 2023, to reflect on her experience this winter.

“During my seven-week rotation at the long-term care facility, I gained valuable insight into the complexities of geriatric nutrition. This experience greatly deepened my appreciation for life in a way I don’t think any other experience could have. It brought to light the fact that health can decline rapidly. In this setting in particular, it highlighted how social isolation plays a major role in the health of residents and how family support makes a huge difference. I also observed firsthand how chronic pain contributes to behavioral changes, often mistaken for personality traits such as the stereotypical ‘old people are cranky.’ Overall, this rotation added a new perspective to how I view the world, and it made me realize just how short life is.

“Working with my preceptor, I strengthened my nutrition assessment skills and competence in reading medical records and learned to apply my medical nutrition therapy coursework in a clinical setting. I also witnessed how dietitians function as detectives, collaborating with speech-language pathologists, nurses and social workers to piece together accurate information and develop appropriate individualized interventions.

Working closely with her preceptor, Isabelle Haeberly says she strengthened her nutrition assessment skills and competence in reading medical records.

“One exceptional nurse manager’s attention to detail and passion for her profession set a high standard for patient care–one which everyone should strive for regardless of which healthcare profession they are in. This was one of my main takeaways. The qualities this nurse manager demonstrated showed me how much you can learn from professions other than your own.

“This experience provided me with valuable skills that will benefit me in my future as a dietitian, regardless of the setting I choose. It helped me gain confidence in my ability to learn quickly through hands-on experience and in my ability to adapt and even excel when thrown into a situation or position. It also greatly improved my confidence in my skills writing nutrition assessments and I got to see how my attention to detail helped me do well with the responsibilities in this type of dietetic role. This is a skill that will serve me in any area of dietetics.”

This academic year, Haeberly, Greta Smith and Cassidy Mosher were recipients of the Ann Selkowitz Litt Memorial Scholarship from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation. The annual was held April 1 in Falk College.

The Path to RD/RDN

As of January 2024, dietitians are required to hold a master’s degree, so Falk College’s modified its program into a two-year graduate level program where students complete the requirements for their degree in nutrition science and all of the SEL requirements in a comprehensive program.

The program’s accreditation standards require that students gain experience with patients/clients who require certain medical nutrition therapy, range across the lifespan and are from diverse backgrounds. The program provides students with four rotations in different settings: acute care, long-term care, community education and counseling and food service management.

, director of the master of arts in nutrition science program, served as a preceptor for the program for 13 years and says the support the program receives from preceptors–many of whom are ���ϲ����� and Falk College alumni–is integral to its success. April is , and in Falk’s program, Beckwith says preceptors provide 8,000 hours of mentorship during an academic year for a fully enrolled class of 12 students.

“The importance of preceptors who are willing to welcome students into their workspace to provide mentorship is critical to our profession,” Beckwith says. “We seek to build strong relationships with our preceptors and support them through training opportunities, frequent communication, and appreciation gestures. Without preceptors, we have no programs and no profession.”

Once master’s students meet their SEL requirements, they are eligible to take the credentialing exam to become a registered dietitian/registered dietitian nutritionist (RD/RDN). They must pass the exam to become an RD/RDN, which can be used interchangeably. Visit the to learn more about academic programs and career opportunities.

According to national surveys conducted by the , close to half of U.S. adults say politics are a significant stress point. Respondents listed problems such as lost sleep, shortened tempers and obsessive thoughts. What steps can people take to protect their health, maintain relationships with those they may disagree with and address their anxiety?

Afton Kapuscinski

, associate professor of psychology and director of the Psychological Services Center in the College of Arts and Sciences, says being present in the moment, regulating your body and focusing on your gratitude list can help combat negative emotions. Kapuscinski’s research relates to the treatment and prevention of mental health issues in adults.

Professor Kapuscinski has talked extensively about navigating family conflict and mental health as it relates to political discourse. She sat down with SU News to provide practical strategies to protect mental and physical health and build bridges with those we disagree with.

Professor Kapuscincki is available for interviews.

What are the differences between healthy political concern and anxiety that could negatively impact your health?

All emotions, including uncomfortable ones like anxiety, have the potential to serve adaptive functions. Fear helps us to stay alert for threats, avoid danger and mobilize to action. Anxiety also serves as a critical reminder of what is most meaningful to us. However, distress also has the potential to impede us from taking constructive action and fully participating in our lives, which may be a sign it has crossed the line into a mental health concern. However, it is important to emphasize that high levels of distress and disruption can be normative under very stressful conditions such as grief and trauma, which is important to remember in a political climate where certain groups may experience greater vulnerability. Not all strong reactions are pathological, and self-reflection can often help us identify when our response to stress has become problematic.

What are the best ways to set healthy boundaries with your news and social media consumption to avoid feeling overwhelmed or helpless by political information?

The constant barrage of political headlines we encounter on a daily basis leaves people of all political leanings feeling hopeless and powerless. If we accept that our influence as an individual person is indeed limited, and level with ourselves that the costs of “doomscrolling” outweigh the benefits, then choosing to narrow the focus��our energy may be an empowering option. Identifying a few issues to follow closely frees up time and energy to engage in political activism and advocacy in those areas, which in turn may buffer against feelings of helplessness. Alternatively, we might consider shrinking the time available for getting sucked into social media by purposefully filling our schedule with valued activities, such as sports, socialization and volunteer work.

How can people navigate difficult conversations about politics with friends and family?

If your aim in the conversation is solely to change another person’s viewpoint, then you may want to consider that most people’s beliefs only become more entrenched through argumentative exchanges.�� Therefore, some people find that avoiding political topics or agreeing not to discuss them leads to less conflict with their loved ones. That being said, I believe that having more conversations across the political divide also has the potential to strengthen individual relationships as well as our own capacity for complex thinking, empathy and self-reflection. ��Conversations work better when both parties are genuinely open to learning about what underlies the other’s beliefs and noticing points of overlap. Even if these conversations do not result in agreement, they may lead to other valuable outcomes like increased intimacy with a loved one. A compelling example of this type of dialogue was featured on a recent podcast episode of “This American Life” (Episode 854:��Ten Things I Don’t Want to Hate About You).

What are some healthy ways to process and cope with feelings of grief, anger, or hopelessness related to political events?

• Avoid fixating on uncertainty and concerns that you cannot change. Make a commitment to being more present in your life through meaningful engagement with people and activities that leave less time for rumination.
• Regulate your body. Emotions are often referred to as feelings because they are deeply connected to our physical state; we experience them in our bodies. When our heart is pounding and our muscles are tense, we’re more likely to perceive threats around us. By calming our bodies, we can help ease our minds. This can be achieved through activities like exercise, guided meditation, physical touch or any method you know helps your body relax.
• Use gratitude to balance negativity during stressful times. Make an effort to reflect on positive experiences, thank others, and lean in to aspects of your life that make you feel grateful. A parallel idea involves seeking news outlets that specifically publish good news or frequenting sections of media websites devoted to inspiring and uplifting stories.

You provided excellent recommendations��back in 2020 about managing your mental health around election season. Based on today’s political climate, is there anything you would change or add to those recommendations?

Addressing the polarization that contributes to the heated political climate and our own individual stress levels is complex, but we can each control how much we contribute to that dynamic in our relationships and communities. I am not suggesting we compromise our beliefs, but instead consider that, from a psychological perspective, polarized groups tend to characterize each other in stereotypes and view the opposing group as more threatening, which results in reduced willingness to have meaningful dialogue and lower expectation of finding any common ground. Research suggests that the more news and social media we consume (which has become highly polarized), the more likely we are to hold stereotyped views of others and to inaccurately estimate the percentage of people who hold both moderate and more extreme views on political issues. Thus, seeking out varied news sources and conversations across the political divide has the potential to reduce harmful bias and promote more productive dialogue.

To request interviews or get more information:

Daryl Lovell
Associate Director of Media Relations
Division of Communications
M��315.380.0206
dalovell@syr.edu |

A warmer future could lead to less salty rivers by reducing the need for road salting. (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

The chemistry of U.S. rivers is changing—and will change further in complex ways in different regions of the country. Scientists are exploring ways to predict future changes in watershed chemistry, which could improve managing them for climate change and community health.

University researchers are combining traditional geochemistry with artificial intelligence to predict how alkalinity—a measure of a solution’s ability to neutralize acids—and salts in rivers around the country could be affected by further climate warming and population growth, according to a study published in .

Tao Wen

The research team was led by��, assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Wen also directs the���������Dz���dz���𳾾����ٰ�����And eN�������DzԳ���Գٲ�����D���ٲ���Sciences (HANDS) and��Noble Gases in��E�����ٳ���S����ٱ𳾲���Tracing (NEST) research laboratories.

An excess of salt can make water undrinkable, increase the cost of treating water and harm freshwater fish and wildlife.

Past research shows that as salt levels in U.S. rivers have gone up, these waters have also become more alkaline, which can damage water, wastewater treatment and aquatic life. Increased alkalinity is occurring because of rising temperatures and more rainfall. Human activities, such as more people living in certain areas, might also contribute to it.

Yet alkalinity is also beneficial. When river waters are more alkaline, they help draw carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and limit climate warming over time. However, before rivers can be harnessed for this purpose, researchers must first understand the basic chemistry at play.

Using machine learning models, the Wen team projected how salinity—measured through sodium levels—and alkalinity will change in 226 U.S. rivers between 2040 and 2100 under different climate and human population scenarios.

In northern states, rivers would become less salty because warmer winters mean less salt will be applied on icy roads. However, in the South and West, where people don’t use much road salt, river salinity will likely stay the same. But as these areas get hotter and drier, more salt from the soil might accumulate and wash into waterways.

The study also found that rising temperature can affect alkalinity. In watersheds rich in carbonate rocks, such as limestone, researchers found that alkalinity flux—the product of the natural breakdown of rock minerals—declines when temperatures surpass 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit). This finding suggests that warming past a certain temperature level could suppress alkalinity in rivers.

Researchers from the College of Arts and Sciences are integrating traditional geochemistry with artificial intelligence to forecast the impact of climate warming and population growth on the alkalinity and salt levels in rivers nationwide.

However, in watersheds dominated by silicate rocks or organic carbon, higher temperatures accelerate silicate weathering and the decomposition of organic material, leading to increased alkalinity levels. More rainfall can also increase the amount of these chemicals in rivers, but only up to a certain point.

In the future, some watersheds with lower alkalinity could be manipulated to take up additional alkaline from watersheds, allowing rivers to sequester more carbon from the atmosphere.

For this and other multidisciplinary research, Wen received a 2025��. The award highlights excellent work by independent researchers in their early career that bring new insights into the field of geochemistry or to promote geochemical applications.

Visit the ��to read the full story.

Story by John H. Tibbetts

Arts and Sciences alumna Phyllis Greenberger ’64 (right) with President Bill Clinton at the White House in the early 1990s. During the Clinton presidency, Greenberger was a key lobbyist for women’s health issues. (Photo courtesy of Phyllis Greenberger)

When Phyllis E. Greenberger ’64 walked the campus of ���ϲ����� as a student, she could never have imagined that nearly three decades later, she would be in the Oval Office, advocating for women’s health with United States President Bill Clinton. After graduating from SU, her career led her from social work to federal lobbyist. Greenberger eventually became a leading voice for women’s health while serving as President and CEO of the����(���±��).

Greenberger credits her time on the SU Hill for her success on Capitol Hill. Armed with her liberal arts education, which honed her critical thinking, adaptability and cultural awareness, she developed a “never take no for an answer” attitude that would ultimately transform the landscape of women’s health research.

During her time leading SWHR, Greenberger continually fought for equal attention to women in healthcare. This was necessary because, before SWHR was founded in 1990, medical research predominantly focused on men, resulting in significant gaps in understanding how illnesses manifest in women as compared to men. Thanks to her passionate and steadfast advocacy, Greenberger and others with SWHR helped pass legislation that advanced patient-specific treatment with an emphasis on addressing sex differences, ensuring that both men and women benefit equally from scientific advancements.

Phyllis Greenberger (Photo by Geoff Livingston)

Shining the light on women’s health is a fight that Greenberger helped to start, but a fight she says is far from over. According to a recent report from the��, the cancer incidence rate for women younger than 50 has increased from 51% higher than men in 2002 to 82% higher in 2021. Additionally, heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and autoimmune disorders including lupus, celiac disease, thyroid disease, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and multiple sclerosis continue to occur more commonly in women than in men, as reported by��. Greenberger stresses the need for researchers and advocates to persist in integrating sex differences into medical and pharmaceutical studies, as this will lead to better health outcomes for all.

Phyllis Greenberger Career Snapshot:

• 1943-1960: Grew up in Brooklyn, NY
• 1964: Graduated from ���ϲ����� with a degree in liberal arts
• 1975: Received a master’s degree in social work from The Catholic University of America
• Mid-1970s: Interned with the American Psychiatric Association (APA), where her interest in women’s health advocacy was ignited
• 1980-1993: Worked at the APA as an Assistant Director of Government Relations and was Director of the Political Action Committee
• 1990: Served on the board for the Society for Women’s Health Research
• 1992: Leading voice for women’s health during Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign
• 1993: President Clinton addresses women’s health in his acceptance speech, for which Hillary Clinton acknowledges Phyllis Greenberger’s contributions
• 1993-2016: Served as President and CEO of the Society for Women’s Health Research
• 2016-present: Served as Senior Vice President of Science and Health Policy for HealthyWomen and is currently a consultant

We recently sat down with Greenberger to learn more about her ���ϲ����� experience, her role as a champion of women’s health and her views on the current state of women’s health.

Take us back to your time at ���ϲ�����. Why did you choose SU and what do you remember most fondly from your time as a student?

Being a native of Brooklyn, I fell in love with the Central New York region while taking summer courses at Cornell University as a high school student. Those experiences motivated me to apply to ���ϲ�����.

I really enjoyed my time at ���ϲ�����. I was in a sorority, Sigma Delta Tau, and I still have many friends that I keep in touch with. One of my most memorable experiences, though, was my time abroad in Florence. Having the opportunity to study abroad was very unusual at that time, and it was very transformative.

What did you enjoy about studying abroad?

Living with two separate Italian families was an incredibly enlightening experience and allowed me to become fluent in Italian. Immersing yourself in a new culture broadens your perspective and I highly recommend that students study abroad if they have the opportunity.

How would you describe the significance of a liberal arts education, study abroad programs and experiential learning opportunities?

Having an academically and experientially diverse education is critically important. It’s unfortunate that many universities are focusing too much on technology, with students attending college solely to secure a specific job upon graduation.

While employment is essential, we should also understand history, read literature and develop strong writing skills. With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), the world is changing rapidly. Students need to explore various classes and experiences to discover what truly interests and excites them.

Shifting to your career as a women’s health advocate, what inspired you to become involved in that field?

While interning with the American Psychiatric Association, I met several female psychiatrists who were concerned that women weren’t included in clinical trials, even though women suffered more from depression and anxiety than men.

That internship led to your job with the APA, where you served as��Assistant Director of Government Relations��and Director of the Political Action Committee. After that role, how did you transition to the Society for Women’s Health Research?

While with the APA, I met an OBGYN by the name of Florence Haseltine, who was founding the society. I suggested that in addition to having researchers and scientists on the board, the society also needed someone that knows Washington. With the APA I ran their Political Action Committee, so I knew many women members in Congress and my husband was in the media, so I knew the journalists, so they asked me to be on the volunteer board.

Greenberger with Connecticut Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro at a political function in Washington, D.C. during the early 1990s. (Photo courtesy of Phyllis Greenberger)

Can you explain your role in advancing women’s health advocacy at the presidential level?

Phyllis Greenberger (right) with Hillary Clinton at a women’s health research dinner in the early 1990s. (Photo courtesy of Phyllis Greenberger)

In the early 1990s, while I was with the APA, I began working with the staff of (former second lady) Tipper Gore, who was interested in mental health issues. Later, a friend asked me to organize a group of women for an event during President Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign, where Hillary Clinton was speaking. After the event, I suggested to Hillary, ‘If you’re going to be speaking to women across the country, you might want to talk about women’s health.’

When I arrived at my office the following day, Hillary had left a message asking me to join their campaign as an advocate for women’s health. During Bill’s acceptance speech the following January, he made a reference to women’s health. After the speech, Hillary came over to me and said, ‘that was because of you,’ so that was really nice. That was sort of where it all started.

How did your experience as a lobbyist with the Clinton campaign lead to your leadership role with the Society for Women’s Health Research?

After Bill Clinton talked about women’s health in his inauguration speech, I went back to the board of the society the next meeting, and I said, ‘Now that the President is talking about women’s health, I think we have to become a real organization, not just volunteer.’ They spent six months looking for a CEO. During that time, I thought I might want to work for the Clintons in the White House, but then I decided it would be more fun and interesting to help start an organization. I put my resume in, and I ended up being selected to head the society.

Phyllis Greenberger (left of center) with President Bill Clinton at the White House after Clinton signed an appropriations bill in support of women’s health. (Photo courtesy of Phyllis Greenberger)

Can you talk about some of the issues women faced from a healthcare standpoint when you started with the Society for Women’s Health Research?

In the early 1990s, medical devices such as pacemakers, joint replacements and stents were designed based on male anatomy, ignoring the differences between men’s and women’s bodies. Now we know medications and devices work differently for each gender. However, issues like undiagnosed cardiovascular conditions persist because some physicians lack familiarity with the different symptoms, so the fight for women’s health rights isn’t over yet.

How have you seen the scope of women’s health organizations change during your career?

When I started with the society, we were the only organization dedicated to women’s health. Now, there are several. I also played a role in convincing the American Heart Association to recognize that women have heart attacks, which they hadn’t considered before due to the lack of women in clinical trials. Similarly, the National Osteoporosis Foundation was initially focused on men. Thankfully, a lot has changed for the better.

Greenberger’s book,��, chronicles the fight to overcome bias and discrimination in women’s healthcare. It emphasizes the ways in which biological sex significantly impacts both health and the quality of healthcare received. Although conditions like heart and autoimmune diseases, migraines and others manifest differently in individuals with XX chromosomes, Greenberger argues that many patients do not receive the appropriate attention or care due to sex bias present in clinics, laboratories and clinical studies.

Your acclaimed book,��Sex Cells,��outlines the historical context of women’s health. What was the motivation to write it and bring this story to the public?

I think it’s important for people to understand the history of women’s health, not only because of the progress, but also because of the fact that we’re not there yet. The beginning of the book focuses on the history and the end is patient stories and quotes from researchers. The quotes from the researchers make it obvious that there’s still a lot of ignorance, a lot of denial and a lot of research that is not being taken into consideration. The patient stories bring attention to women who have been turned away because their symptoms are different, or they’re not taken seriously.

Can you provide an example?

Doctors often dismiss women’s complaints about pain. There are numerous stories of women experiencing indigestion, stomach pains, or chest pains, only to be ignored in hospitals and then later on discover that they were having a heart attack. The last part of the book is really a statement about how much ignorance and denial still exists.

How do you hope your book informs future healthcare professionals?

I hope medical students will read the book, especially those at universities where sex differences aren’t part of the curriculum. By doing so, they can advocate for their medical schools to include this important topic. The goal is to educate future doctors about sex differences and the various ways men and women differ. This knowledge will improve patient care, enhance treatment effectiveness and ensure that medical research is comprehensive and inclusive.

For her contributions to the field of women’s health, Greenberger has been honored with numerous awards and recognitions:

• Medical Herald’s 20 Most Influential Women in Medicine Today
• Perennial Hero Award from the Alliance for Aging Research
• Women in Government Relations Lifetime Achievement Award
• Washingtonian Magazine’s 100 Most Powerful Women
• Woman’s Day magazine “Red Dress Award”
• Woman’s Day magazine’s 50 Women Who Are Changing the World
• Trailblazer Award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Throughout your career, you consistently challenged the status quo to advocate for others. What’s your secret to achieving success in this endeavor?

I’ve been asked so many times how I managed to do what I did. It really had to do with me having, as they say in Yiddish, “chutzpah.” I just never took no for an answer. When heads of major health organizations ignored what we were trying to do for women’s health advocacy, I just kept on going. Don’t take no for an answer. If you really feel strongly about something, then you need to really push it.

My advice to students: Hopefully you can find something that’s not just a job, but a vocation. Something that you really care about and that you can really pursue. If it’s something that you can do that is going to help individuals or help your community, that’s what’s important.

The move is part of a wider reorganization announced by the Lerner Center and The Monday Campaigns.

The Lerner Center, which was established at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs in 2011��with a gift��from alumnus Sidney “Sid” Lerner ’53 and his wife, Helaine, now houses Healthy Monday digital materials and programming on a newly designed��. It will also initiate a broad campaign through social media, newsletters and other platforms, and implement signature programs that leverage ���ϲ�����’s expertise in health promotion. Students will continue to be involved in developing and implementing programming aimed at improving population health.

The restructuring follows����to the Lerner Center and ���ϲ�����’s Forever Orange Campaign by Helaine Lerner in 2023 and ensures the future of The Monday Campaigns’ beloved global health campaigns. While the Lerner Center will now own Healthy Monday, the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future at the Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore will launch a new��. In addition, New York University Langone Health will launch��.

This��marks a new phase of growth for The Monday Campaigns and its programs, founded in 2003 by Lerner, an advertising and marketing innovator who died in 2021 at the age of 90. A legend in the advertising business, he helped create the “Please Don’t Squeeze the Charmin” campaign featuring Mr. Whipple for his client, Procter & Gamble. He applied his gift for developing a simple and compelling message to improving public health after a conversation he had with physicians about the need to cut back on dietary saturated fats. His Meatless Monday campaign became a global health phenomenon, reportedly convincing two-thirds of Americans to reduce meat consumption. In 2006, it morphed into the Healthy Monday movement in partnership with universities, workplaces, schools and communities.

“Sid’s original vision was to create initiatives that anyone could pick up and shape for their own institutions and lives, or as Sid said, ‘take my campaign please,’” said Dana Smith, campaign director for The Monday Campaigns. “Twenty-two years later, institutional partners and advocates worldwide have embraced Monday as—also in Sid’s words—‘the day all health breaks loose.’ We’re excited for the next chapter of this movement, anchored to trusted and leading academic partners.”

Through Healthy Monday, individuals and organizations use turnkey program guides or design their own programs to commit to better health every Monday.��Research shows that healthy thinking and behavior are synchronized with the week, with Monday being the day people are most open to positive changes.

“Healthy Monday is a dynamic, adaptable campaign that helps people start their week off right,” said Casey Collins, digital specialist for the Lerner Center. “As everyone from students to health professionals look for ways to achieve better health and well-being for themselves and the population as a whole, Healthy Monday has tremendous potential. We’re excited to move this important public health initiative forward.”

Guided by the principles of scientific rigor, equity, justice, community engagement, and multidisciplinary and multi-institution collaboration, the Lerner Center’s mission is to improve population and community health through research, education, outreach and health promotion programming focused on the social, spatial and structural determinants of physical, mental, and behavioral health and health disparities.

Over the past several years, the Lerner Center has launched numerous health promotion programs and community partnerships, including the Monday Mile walking routes developed in partnership with the City of ���ϲ�����, Onondaga County, local hospitals and the Madison County Rural Health Council. In 2019, the Center launched��—a six-week workshop series for undergraduate students that offers evidence-based tools to help students manage their stress and thrive while in college.

���ϲ����� has entered a partnership with the Caring Gene (CPT) to address health care workforce shortages in the hardest-hit areas of New York state, reduce barriers to career advancement and support individuals seeking to become compassionate professionals in the health care industry.

Through this partnership, eligible New York state residents and residents of certain bordering states receive full coverage of tuition, books and academic fees while pursuing education in 13 health care fields, including the program in the School of Education and the and programs in the School of Social Work.

The program, administered by the Iroquois Healthcare Association and funded by the New York State Department of Health, supports both new health care workers and current professionals seeking career advancement.

To qualify for the program, students must commit to a three-year service commitment with a health care, behavioral health or social care network provider in New York state that serves a patient population of at least 30 percent Medicaid-reliant or uninsured individuals. Additionally, students must complete their degree by spring 2027 and fulfill the service requirement by March 31, 2031.

Carrie Smith Jefferson

Visit the Caring Gene webpages for the and for more information and to apply.

Application assistance is available, and career specialists are available to help students navigate their educational options, identify the health care field that aligns with their strengths and interests, secure the financial support they need and assist students with their job search upon completion of their degree.

“Human services providers—including mental health counselors and social workers—are needed more than ever to respond to the growing demand for human services and mental health professionals,” says School of Social Work Chair and Professor . “This program provides a unique opportunity for students to fulfill their passion for helping others while alleviating part of the financial burden.”

Yanhong Liu

“We deeply value this opportunity to partner with CPT to prepare high-quality emerging social workers and clinical mental health counselors to meet critical workforce needs,” says School of Education Counseling and Counselor Education Professor . “Our award-winning faculty brings diverse research expertise and clinical experiences. Incoming students will engage in highly experiential learning and rigorous clinical training in a supportive and welcoming community.”

“���ϲ����� shares our commitment to investing in the next generation of New York state health care workers,” says Kevin M. Kerwin, Esq., acting president and CEO of Iroquois Healthcare Association. “This program is an important step toward strengthening our health care workforce and expanding access to quality care in the communities that need it most. We look forward to working with ���ϲ����� to recruit and guide candidates through the Caring Gene’s CPT program.”

Here are the eligibility requirements for the Caring Gene Career Pathways Training Program:

• Residency: A student must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen residing in New York state. Applications are accepted by a student’s county of residence.
• Enrollment: Students must be enrolled or planning to enroll in an education program in one of the 13 health, behavioral health, or social care titles approved by the Caring Gene® Career Pathways Training Program. These titles include an M.S.W., Advanced Standing M.S.W., and M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
• Other Financial Assistance: A student must complete FAFSA and TAP applications and accept all grants offered through these programs.
• Service commitment: A student must commit to a three-year service requirement working for a health care, behavioral health, or social care network provider in New York state that serves a patient population that is at least 30 percent Medicaid-reliant or uninsured.
• Completion commitment: Support through the program will be provided until spring 2027, and all participants must fulfill their service commitment by March 31, 2031.

In order to be assigned a career specialist, applicants should apply at the to be considered for funding and either the M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling through the School of Education or the M.S.W. programs through the School of Social Work.

For assistance and additional information, contact Breana Nieves Vergara, assistant director of graduate admissions in the School of Education, at bknieves@syr.edu, or 315.443.2505; or Adrienne Renfroe, coordinator of graduate admissions in the School of Social Work, at alrenfro@syr.edu or 315.443.1443.

Wilson is an associate professor of exercise science at Old Dominion University, where he directs the and conducts research. Wilson has published 80 peer-reviewed scientific articles related to nutrition, exercise performance and health.

In 2020, Wilson published “,” a book that garnered national and international attention. The Athlete’s Gut��offers athletes and practitioners a window into gut functioning and provides tips to help them prevent and manage gastrointestinal problems, ultimately allowing athletes to feel and perform at their best.

Patrick Wilson

“We are excited to have Dr. Wilson share his expertise in gut health and athlete performance, which is a novel topic for the Ann Selkowitz Litt Distinguished Speaker Series,” says , chair of the in Falk College. “His background in both nutrition and exercise science highlights the important connections between these two disciplines.”

Wilson’s work has focused on the causes of gut troubles in athletes, as well as interventions aimed at alleviating such problems. In addition, his research has explored the utility of common hydration biomarkers used in sport and the impact that various factors can have on their validity.

A national thought leader in sport nutrition, Wilson has served as a featured interviewee for numerous news outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Runner’s World, and The Globe and Mail (Canada).

Outside of his work, Wilson is a committed distance runner. He enjoys the process of applying what he’s learned over the years to optimize his own performance.

Wilson earned a Ph.D. in Kinesiology from the University of Minnesota in 2014, where he also took substantial coursework and received training in the areas of public health and epidemiology. Prior to earning his doctorate, he spent a year at the Mayo Clinic gaining expertise in the realms of clinical and community nutrition. He has a Bachelor’s degree in dietetics and is credentialed as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.

Wilson’s lecture in person or virtually. For more information about the Ann Litt Lecture, accommodations and parking requests, please contact Amy Edmond-Drapas at aledmond@syr.edu or 315.443.8989.

About the Ann Selkowitz Litt Distinguished Speaker Series

Ann Selkowitz Litt ’75 (1953-2007) was a nationally known nutritionist who helped children and adolescents with eating disorders and assisted developing athletes in reaching their full potential. The nutrition consultant to CosmoGirl magazine, Litt was the author of “The College Students’ Guide to Eating Well on Campus,” “Fuel for Young Athletes,” and the “American Dietetic Association Guide to Private Practice.” She was the nutritionist for the NFL’s Washington Commanders and served as spokesperson for several media campaigns during her career, including the “Got Milk” campaign. After her death, the Ann S. Litt Foundation, Inc., was created to support nutrition education. Through a generous gift from this foundation to Falk College, the Ann Selkowitz Litt Distinguished Speaker Series was created at ���ϲ����� in 2015.

A delegation of 12 students from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs recently returned from Washington, D.C., where they participated in the International Model NATO under the guidance of Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs and director of the master of arts in international relations program.

Pictured from left to right are Col. Ben Schneller, Associate Professor Michael Williams, and students Joseph Reed, Casimir Wypyski, Angelica Molina, Austen Canal, Armita Hooman, Jake DeCarli, Megan Whipple, Caleb Mimms, Bella Biorac Haaja, Leah Harding, Ethan Engelhart. Not pictured is Ella Rozas.

The students represented Türkiye and Romania in the three-day simulation of the proceedings of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The events, held at Howard University, are augmented by pre-conference study sessions and briefings at embassies.

“Model NATO provides a unique opportunity for students to develop and refine a professional skillset,” says Williams. “It’s no easy task to work under pressure to advance a common NATO agenda against the disparate national interests of each state. But every year, the students come back with the same comments: ‘that was hard, but awesome.’ Watching them learn in real time, and helping them along the way, is immensely rewarding.”

Howard University has hosted Model NATO for the past 40 years, in collaboration with Converse University, Northeastern University and the embassies of NATO member states. This year, 23 universities participated, with students attending from Sweden, Belgium, Canada and the United Kingdom.

This was the third time the Maxwell School participated. The trip was sponsored by Maxwell’s public administration and international affairs department and the Moynihan Institute’s Center for European Studies.

Alongside Williams, Lt. Col. Ben Scheller advised the Model NATO team on military matters, as he previously commanded a NATO battalion with service members from nine allied nations. He is a visiting scholar through the U.S. Army War College, studying at ���ϲ�����’s Institute for Security, Policy and Law for a year. As part of his professional development through the Army, Scheller takes courses through Maxwell and the College of Law and will return to command this August.

The student participants included:

• Joseph Reed, Caleb Mimms, Jake DeCarli, Meghan Whipple and Ethan Engelhart, all of whom are pursuing master’s degrees in international relations.
• Casimir Wypyski, Austen Canal, Armita Hooman, Ela Rozas and Angelica Molina, all of whom are pursuing master’s degrees in public administration and international relations.
• Leah Harding and Isabella Biorac Haaja, who are pursuing master’s degrees in public diplomacy and global communications through Maxwell and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Hooman was honored with the “Superior Delegation in Committee” award for her work on the

Armita Hooman was honored with the “Superior Delegation in Committee” award for her work on the Partnerships and Cooperative Security Committee

Partnerships and Cooperative Security Committee.

A highlight of Harding’s experience was speaking with a diplomat at the Turkish embassy in Washington, D.C. Even with her background covering NATO as a journalistfor Al Jazeera, Harding says that Model NATO gave her a fresh perspective on being part of the decision-making process.

“International Model NATO is all about role-playing,” says Harding. “You have to understand how your country operates and make decisions based on its historical positions, all while responding to real-time scenarios. But it meant more than just knowing its policies—it required interacting with other member states as if I were actually a Turkish diplomat.”

Through this experience, Harding learned to balance diplomacy with national interest, recognizing that decisions for a nation go beyond just policies—they also involve considering its presence, alliances and priorities.

Story by Mikayla Melo

A team of researchers from ���ϲ����� and Michigan State University recently explored the personal characteristics that help people handle prolonged stressors, such as the pandemic. Led by , assistant professor of psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences, the group delved into optimism and pessimism and how those mindsets influence well-being.

The group utilized data from the Health and Retirement Study, a large-scale panel study that gathers a nationally representative sample of Americans aged 50 and older (Sonnega et al., 2014). In 2016, participants responded to questions assessing their levels of optimism, such as “In uncertain times, I usually expect the best,” and pessimism, such as “I hardly ever expect things to go my way.” During the COVID-19 pandemic (between March and May 2020), respondents answered questions on health-related behaviors that either increased or reduced the risk of COVID transmission, including masking frequency, travel habits and the likelihood of staying home.

The team used this data to explore how people’s mindsets affected their psychological and physical well-being during challenging times. Among their findings, they found that greater optimism promotes resilience and well-being when faced with stressors like the pandemic, while lower pessimism is linked to safer health behaviors. Their findings appeared in the .

In the following Q&A, Oh shares some key insights from their research.

What was the motivation for this study?

Jeewon Oh

The pandemic introduced many changes, and we wanted to know more about personality traits that can help people cope with enduring and uncontrollable stressors like the pandemic. We examined optimism, because it motivates action. Since optimists view stressful situations positively, they are more likely to directly address the issue or try to adapt when things are uncontrollable.

What were the benefits for those who were more optimistic? How did optimism/pessimism correlate with well-being during the pandemic?

Both optimism and pessimism had independent associations with psychological well-being. So, people who are more optimistic and less pessimistic worried less, were less stressed and lonely and were more resilient. This was partly because these people engaged in more physical activity and perceived more social support and less strain from their relationships.

Interestingly, when it came to COVID/health-relevant behaviors, pessimism played a significant role, but optimism didn’t. In other words, individuals with a less pessimistic mindset (but not a more optimistic mindset), who have weaker negative expectations tended to engage in less risky behaviors, such as traveling, and more activities at home ranging from watching TV and gardening to meditating.

How does optimism or pessimism influence the way people approach challenges and setbacks?

In general, regular optimism/pessimism isn’t about thinking they wouldn’t get sick, or they will be more likely to get sick (compared to others), but about knowing the reality and still thinking that things will eventually work out. This positive mindset helps people to problem-solve and cope. After all, if you think things would never work out, why would you even try?

Is there a way to boost one’s optimism during times when they may be more anxious, like during the pandemic?

It can be easier to think about doing what optimists do rather than trying to think differently (or change your optimism). So, people with lower pessimism mentioned changing their behaviors to adapt to the situation, meeting with people on Zoom more frequently and exercising at home (vs. going to the gym and meeting up with people in person). It was these changes in behaviors like exercising more that partly helped people’s well-being.

What does this study reveal about health and psychological well-being in the post-pandemic world? What factors can we consider for maintaining and improving mental health?

There has been evidence before the pandemic that optimistic people fare well in many situations. Even though more research is needed to understand why, our study found that optimists fared better even during new difficulties. Therefore, developing optimism and learning how to flexibly cope can help maintain and improve mental health in diverse situations.

Read the team’s full study in the .

In appreciation of Genovese’s contributions to the field of social work, an anonymous donor made a historic gift of $300,000 to the School of Social Work to create the Genovese Scholars Program designed to attract and support exceptional residential (M.S.W.) students.

The $300,000 gift for this year will be divided among multiple high-achieving students, says School of Social Work Chair and Professor .

“The Genovese Scholars Program represents a transformative opportunity for high-achieving individuals to pursue their academic and professional aspirations in social work, regardless of their financial situation,” Smith says. “The program will seek candidates who exemplify academic excellence, human service experience and a deep passion for social work.”

Jennifer C. Genovese

The School of Social Work was founded in 1955 and opened in 1956 after the University received a major grant from the Rosamond Gifford Charitable Corporation. In 2024, the School of Social Work was ranked by U.S. News and World Report as among the “” in the country, and its national profile will continue to rise with the prestigious scholars program created by the $300,000 gift.

The benefits to students of the Genovese Scholars Program include a substantial scholarship covering a significant portion of tuition throughout the M.S.W. program; membership in a distinguished cohort of scholars, offering networking, mentorship, and professional development opportunities; and individualized guidance from dedicated Genovese Scholar advisors.

As part of the program, Genovese Scholars will engage in at least one community service activity each semester, with advisors helping to identify opportunities aligned with their interests and goals.

“This extraordinary generosity has given us the ability to recruit and support top-tier students who are dedicated to becoming agents of change during a critical time of need,” Smith says. “We are confident that the future social workers nurtured through this program will embody the values of compassion, resilience and leadership, making a meaningful difference in countless lives.”

M.S.W. candidates can express their interest in participating in the program through an online form available on the .

Here are more details about the Genovese Scholars Program:

Eligibility: The Genovese Scholars Program is open to all residential M.S.W. applicants pursuing either the traditional or advanced standing tracks. Candidates must apply through the standard ���ϲ����� School of Social Work admissions process and express their interest in the Genovese Scholars Program through the online form or by contacting Adrienne Renfroe, LMSW, Coordinator of Graduate Admissions, Recruitment, and Student Services, School of Social Work, Office of Admissions, 268 White Hall, ���ϲ�����, NY 13244, or email alrenfro@syr.edu.

Ideal Candidate Profile: The admissions committee seeks candidates who embody the following qualities:

Academic Excellence: Demonstrated by a strong undergraduate GPA.

Human Service Experience: Proven commitment to social work or related fields through internships, volunteer work, or professional experience.

Passion for Social Work: Evident through a compelling personal statement highlighting the applicant’s dedication to the field.

Strong Recommendations: Letters from mentors, supervisors, or educators attesting to the applicant’s character and potential.

Selection Process: Genovese Scholars are selected through the standard admissions committee process, ensuring a fair and comprehensive evaluation of all applicants. This rigorous selection process ensures that only the most qualified and committed candidates are chosen.

Program Requirements: To maintain their status in the program, Genovese Scholars must:

Participate in at least one community service activity per semester. The Genovese Scholar advisor will assist in identifying suitable opportunities that align with the scholar’s interests and goals.

Maintain a high level of academic performance and uphold the values of the social work profession.

Contact Information: For more information about the Genovese Scholars Program and application details, contact Adrienne Renfroe, LMSW, Coordinator of Graduate Admissions, Recruitment, and Student Services, School of Social Work, Office of Admissions 268 White Hall, ���ϲ�����, NY 13244, or email alrenfro@syr.edu.

About the Genovese Scholars Program

The Genovese Scholars Program represents a significant investment in the next generation of social work leaders. By fostering academic excellence, community engagement, and professional development, the program aligns with the ���ϲ����� School of Social Work’s mission to prepare innovative, compassionate, and skilled social workers dedicated to serving diverse communities.

Responsive to the MLBPA’s desire to expand opportunities for career growth to its thousands of players, the new cross-campus collaboration taps into the expertise of several of the University’s schools and colleges, including the new , the , the and the .

“My fellow deans and I are excited to partner with the Major League Baseball Players Association to provide the ���ϲ����� experience to those interested in pursuing our vast academic offerings,” says Falk College Dean Jeremy Jordan, whose initial discussions with the MLBPA inspired the creation of this new initiative. “This partnership reflects our collectively held value that higher education should be achievable for everyone, regardless of the demands of their profession or personal circumstances. For athletes and professionals with unpredictable schedules, our online programs offer the perfect balance of flexibility, robust academic support and real-world applicability—all without compromising their careers.”

“The Major League Baseball Players Association is thrilled to partner with ���ϲ����� to provide our members with exceptional educational opportunities,” says Chris Singleton, MLBPA special assistant for player resource programs and a former major league outfielder. “This collaboration underscores our commitment to supporting players both on and off the field, ensuring they have access to world-class academic resources that empower their personal and professional growth.”

The MLBPA represents the 1,200 players on major league 40-man rosters, as well as approximately 5,500 minor league players. This new partnership creates opportunities for these players to pursue several noteworthy objectives, including the following:

• Skill Development and Post-Career Readiness: The partnership will align market-relevant curricula and programming with players’ post-career aspirations and needs, ensuring they acquire meaningful skills and knowledge.
• Research and Innovation: The MLBPA and ���ϲ����� will collaborate on research projects that inform progressive and advanced programming for professional athletes. These efforts may lead to the development of new technologies, products or processes, benefiting the MLBPA and other professional athletic organizations.
• Practical Experience: The partnership will provide ���ϲ����� students with opportunities for internships, co-op programs and hands-on projects with the MLBPA. This practical experience will enhance learning, make students more competitive and serve as a potential pipeline for talent to the MLBPA and other professional athlete associations.
• Networking Opportunities: Players will gain access to professional mentors associated with ���ϲ����� in sports, broadcasting and business, to aid them in post-playing career development and job opportunities.

Dedicated admission specialists and academic advisors will tailor academic pathways in support of the unique needs of each participant. These educational opportunities will be accessible through a number of formats, including online, on campus and at ���ϲ�����’s sites in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. The University will also offer an online academic English program to prepare non-native English speakers for success in their non-credit programs, courses and workshops.

Visit the ���ϲ����� website to learn more about this innovative partnership.

Seventeen students from the University were selected for Fulbright research, study and teaching awards for academic year 2024-25 to Andorra, Argentina, Germany, India, Italy, Kenya, Korea, Mexico, Poland, Spain, Tajikistan and the United Kingdom.

The Fulbright competition is administered at��. This is the fifth time—and third year in a row—the University was named a Fulbright Top Producing Institution. The University was previously recognized for the 2012-13 cohort (under campus Fulbright advisor and professor emerita Susan Wadley) and the 2019-20, 2022-23 and 2023-24 cohorts (under CFSA).

Thirty-eight faculty and staff members from across the University served on the campus Fulbright committee supporting the 2024-25 applicants. The committee is convened by CFSA; members interview applicants, provide feedback and complete a campus endorsement for each applicant. “Preparing our students to be strong Fulbright applicants, and supporting them through the application process, is an all-campus effort. Faculty and staff are crucial,” says Jolynn Parker, director of CFSA.

Alec Rovensky ’21, a School of Architecture alumnus, received a research/study grant to Germany. He has been pursuing a master’s degree in architecture typology at the Technische Universität Berlin. There, he is researching Berlin’s urban restructuring efforts through the adaptive reuse of buildings as a strategy to address the city’s housing crisis, with a focus on housing migrants and refugees. He is working with the Habitat Unit, a research center developing new approaches for urban change processes.

Alec Rovensky ’21, an alumnus of the School of Architecture, received a research/study grant to Germany in the 2024-25 Fulbright cycle.

Rovensky’s architecture cohort consists of students from all over the world, and his school offers courses that explore urban issues in a variety of global locations, including courses focused on Arab urbanisms and hand-crafting techniques in China. Next week, Rovensky will participate in a seminar hosted by Fulbright in Luxembourg and Brussels, where he and his cohort will visit the headquarters of the European Union and NATO.

He is also embracing life in Berlin. “I have been using the past seven months to explore my new home city’s museums, cafes and cultural centers. Berlin is one of the most bikeable cities I’ve ever visited, and I’ve been using my bike as much as I can to explore around. I’ve also been learning more about the many layers of history in Berlin, and visiting sites like the Berlin Wall Memorial to get a glimpse into what life was like in a formerly divided city.”

Rovensky says his Fulbright experience has also been a time of much personal growth.“By challenging myself to move to an unfamiliar place, meeting people with diverse perspectives, and embracing the differences in culture and attitude, I’ve placed myself in a position where I am learning and growing every day,” he says. “This experience has been eye-opening and will help me become a more well-rounded and globally aware designer and researcher in the future.”

Students apply for Fulbright awards in the fall and awards are made in the spring. In the current competition for the 2025-26 cohort, 29 of the University’s 44 applicants have been named as semifinalists. Awards will be announced this spring.

Fulbright is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. It is also among the largest and most diverse exchange programs in the world. Since its inception in 1946, more than 400,000 participants from all backgrounds and fields—including recent university graduates, teachers, scientists, researchers, artists and others, from the United States and over 160 other countries—have participated in the Fulbright Program. Fulbright alumni have returned to their home countries to make an impact on their communities thanks to their expanded worldview, a deep appreciation for their host country and its people, and a larger network of colleagues and friends.

Fulbright alumni work to make a positive impact on their communities, sectors and the world and have included 41 heads of state or government, 62 Nobel Laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, 78 MacArthur Fellows and countless leaders and changemakers who carry forward the Fulbright mission of enhancing mutual understanding.

More information about the��.�� Students and alumni interested in applying for a Fulbright award in the next cycle should contact CFSA at cfsa.syr.edu.

In the United States, unemployment rates skyrocketed, housing prices and stock portfolios plummeted, and the lives of millions were disrupted. More than 30 million individuals lost their jobs, and the rate of long-term unemployment doubled its historical high.

This past summer, , an assistant professor in the in the , received a (NIH) grant to conduct a two-year study on the effect of the Great Recession on older adults.

Specifically, the project aims to assess the combined impact of pre-recession and Great Recession precarity (uncertainty/insecurity) on employment and working conditions for older workers. In addition, the study is investigating how these economic factors–together with psychosocial working conditions–have differently influenced health biomarker trajectories and mortality outcomes by race, potentially shedding light on the disproportionately adverse outcomes observed among Black adults post-recession.

Miriam Mutambudzi

This study builds on Mutambudzi’s established research program, which views work as an important structural determinant of health. She will publish the findings of this NIH-funded study, and examples of her past publications can be found on her .

The impact of Mutambudzi’s research on the social determinants of health is felt throughout the campus as she is a Faculty Affiliate of the , the , and the in the .

This past fall, Mutambudzi was selected as the 2024-26 ��Faculty Fellow. In that role, Mutambudzi and Lender Student Fellows are exploring how Black adults who reside in historically redlined neighborhoods can experience a disadvantaged occupational life course and subsequent health consequences.

We reached out to Mutambudzi to learn more about her current research project.

Why is this research important to you?

This area of research highlights how structural inequities, particularly in the labor market, perpetuate health disparities. By examining the cumulative impact of work-related disadvantages, i.e., precarity and poor working conditions, I aim to show the pathways through which these factors exacerbate racial and gender-based health inequities��among older adults.

Understanding these mechanisms aligns with my broader commitment to addressing health inequities as structural issues rooted in systemic injustice.

What is the scope of your current study and how are you collecting your data?

The study focuses on older adults aged 50 and above. Data are drawn from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) from 2006-2020, supplemented with HRS-linked Occupational Information Network Data (O*NET).

What are you looking for when you examine this data?

I am looking to better understand how pre-recession and Great Recession precarity independently and cumulatively affect health biomarker trajectories such as hbA1c, cholesterol, C-reactive protein and systolic blood pressure, as well as all-cause mortality. I am particularly interested in identifying racial and gender disparities in these effects and understanding how job strain and cumulative precarity interact to influence health outcomes.

How can your findings be used to help mitigate the impact of economic factors on older and Black adults?

The findings can be leveraged to inform policy interventions that address the structural barriers that perpetuate health disparities among older��vulnerable populations. For example, policies aimed at improving working conditions and strengthening social safety nets during economic downturns.

How does this research tie in with your role as the Lender Center for Social Justice Faculty Fellow and your project with Student Fellows?

Both projects underscore the long-term health consequences of structural racism and economic marginalization. Insights from this R03 can improve our understanding of how occupational inequities compound the challenges faced by residents of historically redlined neighborhoods (a R03 grant is an NIH-funded program that supports smaller-scale research projects over a two-year period).

A College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) professor recently received the highest recognition for his exceptional contributions to communication sciences and disorders from the field’s leading professional organization.

, a professor in the����at ���ϲ�����, has been named an (ASHA) Fellow, one of the organization’s most prestigious honors. ASHA reserves this lifetime distinction for members who have demonstrated outstanding professional, clinical or scientific achievements that make significant impacts beyond their state and local communities.

As director of the ��at ���ϲ�����’s��, Preston leads research focused on developing and evaluating evidence-based assessments and treatments for speech sound disorders. A certified speech-language pathologist, his research specializes in treating persistent articulation difficulties and childhood apraxia of speech, while exploring the neurobiological foundations of speech sound disorders in children.

Jonathan Preston receives the ASHA Fellow honor.

The School of Education’s freshman class being welcomed to campus during orientation in August 2024.

The School of Education will celebrate Alumni Week 2025 in February by launching EdMentor Connect, a pilot student-alumni mentoring program. EdMentor Connect will pair current undergraduate students with alumni to foster professional growth, enhance career readiness and provide students with insight into their future professions.

The program’s launch begins with —on Feb. 19 and 20—and culminates with a on Feb.y 21 at 5 p.m. in Huntington Hall’s Sharon H. Jacquet ’72 Education Commons. The invites School of Education undergraduates to build a profile to make the best match with an alum.

EdMentor Connect was developed by student leaders in the Deans’ Undergraduate Advisory Panel, with help from Assistant Dean for Student Success and Career and Certification Counselor and with support from Assistant Dean for Advancement and the School of Education .

“Everyone can benefit from a mentor, but those students who are in a teacher program and maybe realize they don’t want to only work in the classroom—and specifically our students—can learn about other real-world experiences,” says Gill, who will be the program’s point of contact and pair alumni with undergraduates. “A lot of students don’t realize the opportunities available for an education degree graduate, and our alumni have such a wide variety of backgrounds.”

“We have an extensive Orange network, and we help each other like a family,” says Hsiao, referring to the school’s more than 23,500 alumni, and especially Advisory Board members and School of Education , who have signed up to advise undergraduates. “Any and all students can benefit from EdMentor Connect, and mentors can offer students different perspectives on their futures.”

As she prepares to graduate, selected studies in education student Sofia DaCruz ’25, a member of the Undergraduate Advisory Panel, says she is “excited to connect with someone in the field for career advice.”

“As a senior, I think this program will be especially useful for students like me who are trying to figure out what they can do with the major after graduation,” DaCruz says.

Advisory Board Member Emily R. Ades ’89, P’21, P’23 says she is excited for the launch of the pilot program, ready to take on a mentee, and believes that mentoring programs can help students of any age.

Ades, currently director of The Kinnect Foundation, the nonprofit arm of fashion brand Kith, recalls how informal advisers have helped her throughout her career. “I started as an elementary school teacher had a mentor for nine years,” Ades says. “I then worked for the New York City Department of Education for Mayor Michael Bloomberg and found someone there, and for the past 12 years a mentor has helped me work in the nonprofit sector.”

Like Ades, Gill says mentors helped her early in her career. In fact, her host teacher from when she was a student teacher became her coach when she was hired into her placement school. “She stayed with me into my post-graduate life and shared teaching practices that I also used,” Gill says.

Madison Zeltzer ’25 contributed to this story.

The grant is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through its Computer and Information Science and Engineering directorate and more specifically, the Human-Centered Computing funding arm. It is for research into the project, “Mind Perception in AI Companionship: Testing the Assumptions of Social Theories.”

Jaime Banks

As principal investigator, Banks, who in April 2024 was named the , will lead an investigation into how language and social cognition shape the understanding of artificial intelligence. She will work with Caleb Carr, a professor of communications at Illinois State University, as co-principal investigator. iSchool Ph.D. student Zhixin Li will support their work.

The funding marks a significant milestone after two years of dedicated work in securing the grant, paving the way for a deep dive into social AI’s role in human lives. Over the next four years, Banks and her interdisciplinary team will explore the psychological and social dimensions of AI, addressing pressing questions about how people humanize and relate to the technologies.

Companies like����and�� are relatively new technologies, designed to stave off loneliness in people through the development of AI companions. Recent news regarding AI has been about internet tools that students and workers can use to help lighten their workloads or how they optimize algorithms to capture attention in all kinds of insidious ways. Less attention is given to Social AI—machines designed to quench humans’ inherent need to connect with others. That is a critical gap in scientific knowledge and technology literacy because social AI are increasingly integrated into everyday social media use, and, as thought to have been driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, adopted as standalone technologies to help with loneliness.

The study looks at the social-cognitive processes involved in companion machines, from the way they are even referred to as “companions,” to the way they are designed to interact with users, to how they make users feel, Banks says. “We want to understand the subjective experience of seeing an AI companion as someone, and how that experience links to the positive or negative effects,” she says.

As Banks embarks on this research project, her work promises to contribute insights into the . By investigating the psychological and social factors that influence interactions with these technologies, Banks and her team aim to conduct rigorous scientific work—insights that may inform future developments in AI design as well as policy, practice, and ethics.

Students in the Deconstructing Food class display the dishes they made as part of a project to create healthier versions of game-day foods. Bill Collins, assistant teaching professor of nutrition and food studies in the Falk College, leads the class. (Photo by Cathleen O’Hare)

A Super Bowl celebration deserves a super feast of party snacks. Pizza, wings, chips, dip. But how do you indulge, without overindulging?

Bill Collins, assistant teaching professor of nutrition and food studies in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, advises a gameday plan: hydrate, try to make good choices and cook up some healthy substitutes.

Traditional game-day snacks

Ahead of this weekend’s football showdown, Collins’ students in his Deconstructing Food class are exploring that topic this week—how to take your favorite ultimate indulgent snacks from high-calorie to healthy—or healthier.

In this SU News Q&A, Collins shared some tips for Super Bowl cooks and snack planners ahead of the big game. For any media who wish to schedule an interview with Collins, please contact Keith Kobland, associate director of media relations, at kkobland@syr.edu.

What can people do to pace themselves if there are a lot of overindulgent foods at a Super Bowl gathering?

Bill Collins

Drink plenty of water. You’ll stay hydrated and suppress your appetite. Then think about what you may be eating. A percentage of items offered will be healthier than the others. Figure out which ones and stick to those. But it’s the Super Bowl so indulge responsibly.

If you are preparing food, what are some good substitutes (or healthier versions) for some of the high-calorie foods like chicken wings, chips and pizza?

Think about what you are going to make and where is it coming from. If you can make it from scratch, you have control of the ingredients.

• Gently poach some skinless chicken breasts, toss them with Buffalo sauce and serve them in a unique way like on a piece of lettuce or on a pita chip. It has the same flavor profile as the chicken wing.
• Spread hummus on a pizza dough and sprinkle brightly colored vegetables over the top.
• Make your own baked vegetable chips with beets, sweet potato and taro root. If a recipe calls for mayonnaise, use half non-fat Greek yogurt. The flavor profile will change but it’s a healthier alternative.

What if you do overindulge? How might you compensate the following day or week with your diet?

Get in front of the mirror and ask yourself why. You control what enters your body so make good decisions. If you overindulged just try to be smart the next few days, eat healthier and stay hydrated.

The Deconstructing Food class, led by Assistant Teaching Professor Bill Collins in the Falk College, created dishes that elevated favorite game-day snacks from high-calorie to healthy. (Photo by Cathleen O’Hare)

What’s your favorite game-day food and substitute?

I really love a barbequed pulled pork sandwich with a slaw of some sort. In class this week we are trying to take a small amount of pulled pork with a homemade sauce and some fresh Asian slaw and wrap it in a bao bun and put it in a bamboo steamer. The homemade sauce will reduce added sugars and sodium by over 70%. The portion size of the pork—and it’s saturated fats—will also be reduced significantly.

What is your course Deconstructing Food about?

It’s the first semester we are running the class. Prerequisites are that you have taken a class in the Falk kitchens. What we try to do each week is to think about food differently. What’s in it? What is the nutritional analysis? How can we make it healthier and taste above expectations?

The students are dictating what categories of food we are exploring as they are the demographic consuming the food. This week, as requested, we are executing a fresh look at Super Bowl food. We’ll see how we do…

For inclusive childhood education first-year student Taylor Ratliff�� ’28, that moment came as she prepared materials for her Girl Scout Gold Award “Take Action” project, the Meaningful Mentors Club at Eagle Hill Middle School in the Fayetteville-Manlius (NY) Central School District. Ratliff and 24 fellow Girl Scout Ambassadors received their awards from the Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways Council in a November 2024 ceremony in ���ϲ�����.

Taylor Ratliff ’28 (right) and fellow Girl Scout Ambassador Olivia Barnhart table during Parents Curriculum Night at Fayetteville-Manlius (NY) High School.

“I realized I had chosen the right major while I was doing the project,” says Ratliff. “Whenever I was working on my presentations or in front of the middle schoolers, I was in my happy place. It was cool to see my plans come to fruition.”

For those not familiar with scouting, the Gold Award is the Girl Scout’s highest award. It is equivalent to the Eagle Scout Award for boys, although arguably more difficult to achieve. A Girl Scout must set up and deliver an 80-hour, sustainable community service project. Ratliff was one of two Ambassadors—the girls’ highest rank—in Troop 10494 to earn the award.

“I wanted to prove to myself that I could finish Girl Scouts,” says Ratliff, who joined her troop in kindergarten as a Daisy, those adorable cookie entrepreneurs in the blue vests. “I had an idea from the beginning of my project that I wanted to give back to my school and show that I have learned something from being a Girl Scout.”

For her project, Ratliff chose to focus on “Mental Health and Wellbeing in Schools.” “The idea to focus on mental health came from my experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic,” she explains. “I knew I was not alone in experiencing hard times mentally. I wanted to do something with what I was feeling and share that with others.”

Meaningful Mentors Club participants work on their “What’s on Your Plate?” exercise, writing down everything they feel adds to their “full plate” in life.

Ratliff was in 8th grade during the nationwide shutdown of schools in March 2020 and experienced both the isolation of enforced home and online schooling and, when schools tentatively re-opened, the effects of long-term masking to prevent the spread of the virus. “The physical barrier of a mask became like a mental barrier, as if people weren’t seeing the full you and the mask was a way to hide your feelings,” she says.

The Take Action project began as an after-school yoga club for boys and girls, as a way to address mental health through physical activity. Ratliff then evolved the idea after she sought the advice of her high school mental health educator William DeSantis and Eagle Hill math teacher Meghan Pomeroy ’15.

The result was the Meaningful Mentors Club, a once-a-month, school-year-long meetup through which Fayetteville-Manlius high schoolers interacted with Eagle Hill middle schoolers and provided advice and camaraderie as they begin their transition to high school.

Planning the monthly events kicked Ratliff’s teacherly instincts into overdrive. Starting in September with the new school year, each meeting was focused around a mental health topic (such as anxiety and stress, mindfulness or healthy relationships).

After learning some facts about the topic, participants then did an activity to reinforce the lesson—such as the “What’s on Your Plate?” activity to identify and recognize stressors—followed by a group team-building activity, such as crafts and games. Along the way, the middle schoolers also received advice on how to prepare for high school.

How popular was the club at Eagle Hill? “Twenty to 30 showed up at the first meeting,” says Ratliff, and a high level of participation continued through the school year. Plus, she could rely on about a dozen high school friends to help out as mentors: “My friends said it was good to return to middle school after the disruptions of COVID-19 and find commonalities with current middle-schoolers.”

Gold Award rules explain that the Take Action project must be sustainable, and Ratliff is happy to report that the club continues, now under the leadership of a current Fayetteville-Manlius senior. “I hope this pattern continues,” Ratliff adds.

As for her future goals, Ratliff says she would love to return to her school district as a teacher. “My goal is to teach kindergarten, but wherever they put me in elementary school would be a blast,” she says. And as for the Girl Scouts, if she one day has a daughter, Ratliff says she would consider being a Girl Scout leader—or perhaps help out the Boy Scouts if she has a son.

Lamis Abdelaaty

The research team for the project titled “RefLex: Is International Refugee Law Effective?” includes principal investigator Cathryn Costello, a professor of global refugee and migration law at University College Dublin Sutherland School of Law, and fellow co-principal investigator Ashwini Vasanthakumar, an associate professor and Queen’s National Scholar in Legal and Political Philosophy at Queen’s University Law School in Canada. The research team will also include two post-doctoral researchers and two Ph.D. students.

The team will use statistical analysis, qualitative methods, case studies and conceptual analysis for their comparative study. They hope to create a new dataset—the Refugee Protection Index—to explore the effectiveness of international refugee law in terms of delivering protection for refugees, changing states’ behavior and motivating social, political or legal mobilizations by refugees themselves.

“Whether and how international refugee law can be effective are pressing questions for scholars of international refugee politics,” says Abdelaaty. “I am looking forward to collaborating with this stellar research team and to extending my previous work on refugee rights and policies through this project.”

The funding is a consolidator grant, which supports scientists and scholars with seven to 12 years of experience as they establish independent research teams. The European Research Council, a public body that funds scientific and technological research, awarded over $700 million to 328 researchers across Europe under the European Union’s Horizon Europe program.

“This project will answer important questions about what types of laws can protect some of the most vulnerable people—refugees,” says Shana Kushner Gadarian, associate dean for research and professor of political science. “During a time of significant change to the international community, Professor Abdelaaty is helping to illuminate where refugees are safe, integrated and adding to their new home countries.”

Previously, Abdelaaty has received support from the Gerda Henkel Foundation for her second book project, “Refugees in Crisis,” which analyzes the designation of situations as “refugee crises.” Her first book, “Discrimination and Delegation: Explaining State Responses to Refugees” (Oxford University Press, 2021), received the Distinguished Book Award from the International Studies Association’s Ethnicity, Nationalism and Migration Studies section and the Best Book Award from the American Political Science Association’s Migration and Citizenship section.

At the Maxwell School, Abdelaaty is a senior research associate at the Campbell Public Affairs Institute, the Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration and the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs. She teaches courses on refugees in international politics, humanitarian action in world politics, international law and human rights.

Story by Michael Kelly

For millions around the world, degradation of their land due to factors like climate change, deforestation, overgrazing and unsustainable farming practices have caused harm to both human health and the environment. Desertification, which is when fertile land turns into desert because of natural and human factors, can lead to food and water scarcity, loss of biodiversity and forced migration. In December 2024, the United Nations hosted a conference in Saudi Arabia, bringing together leading environmental experts and policymakers from around the globe to discuss strategies for combating desertification and safeguarding both the environment and human well-being.

Mariaelena Huambachano (second from left) speaking during one of the panel presentations at the UN Desertification Conference High-Level Interactive Dialogue

(Quechua, Peru), an Indigenous scholar and assistant professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, gave three talks during the 11-day United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Huambachano is among the faculty in A&S’ . She teaches courses that include Food Fights and Treaty Rights, Indigenous Food Cosmologies and Reclaiming Indigenous Intellectual Sovereignty.

Huambachano’s talks came during the UNCCD’s . An internationally recognized scholar of Indigenous food sovereignty, Huambachano researches and advocates for Indigenous peoples’ rights to control their own food systems. In August 2024, she published “” (University of California Press), based on 10 years of fieldwork with the Quechua of Peru and Māori of New Zealand. The book explores their philosophies on well-being, food sovereignty, traditional ecological knowledge and sustainable food systems.

A&S Professor Mariaelena Huambachano (second from left) was a panelist at the UN Desertification Conference High-Level Interactive Dialogue along with (from left to right) Nichole Barger (University of Colorado), Michael Obersteiner (Oxford University) and Becky Chaplin-Kramer (World Wildlife Fund for Nature).

During the conference, she spoke on the importance of recognizing and integrating Indigenous knowledge into climate change policy development. She also highlighted how Indigenous values foster healthy land, safeguard biodiversity and enhance climate resilience.

“I provided examples drawn from my years of work on the value of integrating Indigenous science in improving sustainable food systems,” Huambachano says. “We have been informed that the policy recommendation we presented has been endorsed by the host country, Saudi Arabia. I am particularly happy to see that Indigenous science, innovation and practices are being recognized internationally.”

This is Huambachano’s fifth distinguished appointment to a United Nations High-Level Panel, showcasing her expertise and commitment to global issues. .

With the arrival of the new year, many people view this as the ideal time to figure out the changes they’d like to make in themselves as part of a new year, new you mentality.

Instead of making huge, sweeping goals, , a professor of practice in the School of Social Work in the , says focus on a few small, implementable changes.

Tracey Marchese

Marchese, a licensed clinical social worker, is a big proponent of the benefits of small tweaks leading to sustainable change when it comes to successfully following through on resolutions.

“If you are looking to who you want to be, that’s great, but you need to consider who you are and where you are,” says Marchese, whose research explores mind-body wellness. “Realize that you’re a work in progress who is going to be a work in progress your entire life.”

The challenge is not to compare ourselves to others and accept who we are right now. Marchese encourages people to figure out “what you would want to change about yourself and how can you begin that change?”

On this “’Cuse Conversation,” Marchese offers tips and best practices for sticking to those New Year’s Resolutions, provides tips to help achieve the change you want to see and examines how mental health and well-being impacts overall well-being.

Check out featuring Marchese. A transcript [PDF]��is also available.

What pointers can you offer up to help people stick with their resolutions?

A lot of us enter the new year with high expectations, and oftentimes we’re setting ourselves up for failure. It’s really the small changes that are more attainable.

There’s an old saying that says three weeks is a habit. Many people have weight loss goals. Instead of saying ‘I need to lose this much weight by this time,’ what about my eating could I change? And it can’t be I need to restrict everything that I eat. Let me start with one thing I am going to change. Perhaps it’s what I have for breakfast. Let me focus on that for three weeks or a month, changing the types of food I’m eating and not necessarily the amount of food I’m eating. Maybe it’s snacking throughout the day. What snacks can I change up instead of just trying to diet?

Being able to set smaller, more attainable goals and then tweak the goal moving forward leads to more satisfaction, and a greater ability to feel proud of an accomplishment because you set a smaller goal instead of this long-term, unattainable goal.

What are some accountability recommendations to help people reach their goals?

Because everything is electronic, we can constantly be tracking our goals, and sometimes trackers can be extremely helpful. Other times, they can be harmful. If people are looking at their fitness tracker and thinking they’re a failure because they didn’t get in their 10,000 steps today, that’s not going to be helpful because all it will do is serve to defeat you. What are the things that can serve to motivate you versus defeat you?

Having a buddy, someone to work on your goals with, is great. It helps keep you accountable and it makes pursuing your goals more fun. Journaling can be super helpful if it’s done in the right context of tracking your progress.

But you need to cut yourself some slack because there are going to be days where you aren’t able to work on your goals because you weren’t feeling well. And that’s okay.

How you would define self-care, and what are the different kinds of self-care?

Self-care can show up in a lot of different ways. Do you feed yourself nutritious food? Do you have a regular sleep routine? Do you exercise your body if you’re able to do so? When we talk about holistic health, there are five parts that make us whole: our physical, mental, social, emotional and spiritual parts of self. When there’s a disruption or a problem in one area, it’s going to permeate all of those other areas.

When it comes to the social piece, do you make time to call or spend time with the people that you care about? Do you do things in your life that give you meaning and purpose? Can you find a work-life balance? For a lot of folks, that’s hard, but not all of this has to be on you. In workplace settings, could we have shared care or communal care that’s going to help everyone’s wellbeing?

Yes, there are ways that we’re responsible for our self-care, but there are also ways our friends, the agencies and organizations that we work for and our communities can help with our self-care too.

Doyle and his fellow researchers have since worked on refining the compounds, GEP44 and KCEM1, and have undertaken lab-animal testing, filed patents, spoken with investors and explored market placement. They believe these drugs, ultimately intended for use in humans, will offer significant advances in how obesity and diabetes are treated in the U.S. and around the world. The researchers have also discovered another highly promising weight-loss compound and new outgrowths that have potential to treat opioid addiction through similar neuroendocrine pathways.

Doyle is also a professor of pharmacology and medicine at . He is working with two primary collaborators on the compounds: , Albert J. Stunkard Professor in Psychiatry at the , and , an endocrinologist at .

Doyle, a medicinal chemist, teaches at ���ϲ����� and is also on the faculty at SUNY-Upstate Medical University.

Multiple Receptors

GEP44 consists of 44 amino acids that target receptors in the brain, pancreas and liver simultaneously, uncoupling the connection between food intake and nausea and vomiting. “It’s sort of a reboot of the body’s computer. It’s the sum of those receptors communicating with each other that is facilitating changes to metabolic behavior like what you’d see in a lean person or someone post bariatric surgery,” Doyle says.

GEP44 works very well and is a significant improvement over GLP1-based drugs; however, it requires daily injections—a regimen Doyle acknowledges would be challenging for many patients. That’s why the researchers are working to reformulate the compound as a long-acting version.

“Now, we’re looking at how proteins are changing, what neurons are firing and which genes are changing in response to our drug that aren’t changing in response to the current therapies,” Doyle explains. “We can definitely do a once-a-week injectable, control weight loss, control tolerability as measured by pica (a craving to eat things having no nutritional value). However, we want to create a formulation that has the best tolerability and the highest efficacy before we move into licensing. After all, it is not a trivial thing to take something you’ve optimized to work beautifully well, then go ahead and make it long acting.”

The second compound, KCEM1, was formulated to treat hypothalamic obesity in children, a genetic (as opposed to calorie intake-related) condition. Roth is testing the drug in lab animals and the team is working with the German researchers who discovered the causative gene.

Doyle and Hayes recently produced another “extraordinary compound” that Doyle says is “very exciting and really, really positive for the future.” DG260 targets different mechanisms in the body. In addition to producing weight loss with high drug tolerability and no adverse side effects, it has added health benefits: higher caloric burn and the ability to flush glucose from the blood without needing to increase insulin secretion.

An unexpected outgrowth of this effort has been the team’s discovery that GEP44 reduces cravings in opioid-addicted lab animals, extending the intervals between periods of drug-seeking behavior. This “pleasant surprise” may lead to new therapies to help reduce human cravings for drugs such as fentanyl, Doyle believes. , a neuropharmacologist and associate professor of psychiatry at��the , is collaborating with Doyle on this work.

On-Site Lab

All compounds are produced in a campus lab at ���ϲ�����’s Center for Science and Technology equipped as a sort of mini pharmaceutical design and manufacturing center. It houses three state-of-the-art, microwave-assisted peptide synthesizers and a fourth robotic system, which allows high throughput peptide synthesis of up to 1,200 peptides in the span of three to four days.

Manufacturing of the peptide compounds is done in the University’s state-of-the-art lab, located on campus in the Center for Science and Technology. The facilities allow rapid pivoting based on ongoing test findings.

“We can get data back, turn it around in days and turn that into a genuine lead in the space of a few weeks. Our setup also lets us manufacture and purify at large scales. That lets us pivot quickly, screen quickly and get back into an in vivo (testing on whole living organisms) setup again quickly. We’re able to operate at a real cutting-edge, rapid-pivoting capability,” Doyle says.

The sophisticated machinery was acquired in part through a $3 million grant awarded in 2019 by the (DoD) . The team’s work holds particular promise for military personnel and veterans, for whom obesity and weight-related diabetes rates have steadily increased, according to a from the . Those conditions cost the government $135 billion annually and have negative implications for U.S. military readiness, the report states.

“We couldn’t have gotten anywhere near where we are now without that initial DoD grant,” Doyle says. “It’s fantastic that we’ve been able to take this all the way through to patentability, have active engagement with investors, get licensed to an existing company and work this as far forward as we have with hopes of seeing its use in people.”

Doyle’s peptides investigation provides robust research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral scholars, such as Nick Najjar, left, a third-year graduate student and Lucy Olcott, a senior.

More recently, the researchers’ work has been awarded four additional National Institutes of Health grants totaling more than $6 million. The projects also provide important experiential laboratory learning for undergraduate and graduate students and cutting-edge research opportunities for postdoctoral associates.

Looking Ahead

When their work began eight years ago, the researchers aimed to make safety and tolerability a front-and-center focus, Doyle says. “We were adamant that nausea, vomiting and indigestion were more of an issue than had previously been put forward. Now, everyone knows that these side effects are a problem and that the existing drugs need to be replaced with ones that are better tolerated. So, the race is on to find new pathways to achieve what we’ve all gotten a taste for—these miraculous weight-loss drugs—and make them effective in the long term.”

Accordingly, Doyle sees a coming explosion in the development of “super safe, super effective weight-loss medicines.”

“The market’s only going to double and triple over the next 20 years. In the next five to 10 years, we may see six, seven, eight new drugs that are well tolerated without the current side effects and that are super long acting. Now, everyone’s racing toward that. We’re trying to drive that forward from ���ϲ����� and Central New York, and we’ve had a good start.”

The ���ϲ����� contingent at the Gerontological Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting in November included Marjorie Cantor Professor of Aging Studies Merril Silverstein (second from left) and Human Development and Family Science doctoral students, from left to right, Xiaoyu Fu, Bo Jian and Ying Xu.

In mid-November, as part of the for the human dynamics programs in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, ���ϲ����� announced that Falk’s departments of (MFT) and (HDFS) would merge and become one department within ���ϲ�����’s starting July 1, 2025.

Within one week, the synergies between the two departments became apparent at the prestigious (NCFR) from Nov. 20-23 in Bellevue, Washington.

Eman Tadros

At the NCFR, MFT Assistant Professor was honored with both the Olson Grant and Advancing Family Science Emerging Mentor/Teacher Award. In addition, several HDFS faculty and doctoral students presented their research, including Marjorie Cantor Professor of Aging Studies , who was a keynote speaker.

“Dr. Tadros’ involvement with NCFR highlights the interconnection between the HDFS and MFT departments,” says MFT chair and Professor of Practice . “NCFR and many other professional organizations support both departments’ focus on expanding scholarship on human systems and development, and relational wellbeing.

“Our mutual emphasis on families and systems sets the stage for increased scholarship and service for individuals and systems in our community and around the world,” Watson adds.

The , which is available to NCFR members who contribute to the discipline of family science by bridging research, theory and practice, was previously awarded to Silverstein and former HDFS doctoral student , who is now an assistant professor at Texas Tech University.

“Dr. Hwang and Dr. Silverstein gave a keynote talk on their work with the award focusing on the impact of digital communication in maintaining intergenerational relationships during the pandemic,” says HDFS chair and Associate Professor . “Dr. Tadros will similarly present her work as a keynote next year. Through their important work, these faculty represent the shared values of research in the two departments, which will soon join and continue to do high-level research on family processes that has significant implications for the wellbeing of families.”

Watson says Tadros will use the Olson Grant to fund her scholarship on racially and ethnically minoritized individuals’ online dating behaviors. The highlights “Dr. Tadros’ exemplary mentorship, particularly in providing research opportunities for underrepresented students,” Watson says.

In addition to the NCFR, HDFS faculty and doctoral students recently presented at another prominent national conference: the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) Nov. 13-16 in Seattle, Washington. At both the NCFR and GSA events, HDFS faculty and doctoral students presented on a wide array of topics related to important questions of well-being for families and older adults (the complete list of HDFS presenters is below).

Human Development and Family Science doctoral student Bo Jian with her poster presentation at the National Council on Family Relations 2024 Annual Conference.

“The presentations at the GSA included original research on dementia care, mortality patterns, mental health and intergenerational relationships in older adults,” Mulvaney says. “Much of the research was focused on examining key processes of aging and relationships across diverse contexts, including Mexican, Puerto Rican and Chinese communities. As a whole, the presentations represented cutting-edge research that adds to the scientific literature that highlight the experiences of diverse older adults.”

At the NCFR, Mulvaney says, the presentations focused on key features of family relationships and developmental processes, including biased-based harassment of adolescents, child maltreatment, intergenerational relationships and the impact of poverty on children’s self-regulation.

“All of the research utilized high-level and cutting-edge methodologies to inform our understanding of these critical family processes,” Mulvaney says.

Visit the for a complete list of the HDFS presenters at the GSA and NCFR conferences and the research they shared.

Department of Exercise Science Assistant Professor Kylie Harmon (right) and exercise science student Rylie DiMaio review a sonogram of DiMaio’s leg muscles to provide a baseline for Harmon’s research on preserving muscle strength during immobilization.

Mind over matter.

, an assistant professor in the in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, has always been fascinated by this deep-rooted idea that a person could control a physical condition with their mind.

More specifically, she wondered if a person could use their mind to preserve muscle mass and strength during a prolonged period of immobilization. For Harmon, turning this idea into actual research was sparked by where researchers used neuromuscular electrical stimulation on muscles immobilized in a cast to preserve leg strength and mass. Surprisingly, mass was preserved, but strength was not.

Harmon’s research found that given the role of the nervous system in immobilization-induced weakness, targeted interventions may be able to preserve muscle strength but not mass, and vice versa. Though preliminary, her findings highlight the specific nature of clinical interventions and suggest that muscle strength can be independently targeted during rehabilitation.

Harmon’s innovative research, which was conducted over several months and with nearly 40 participants, was by the peer-reviewed scientific journal Experimental Physiology.

We sat down with Harmon to learn more about her research, most surprising findings, and next steps. Here’s that discussion:

Kylie Harmon

Q: What did you learn from the previous research on this topic, and how did that frame what you wanted to accomplish with your research?

A: Those researchers saw that daily muscle stimulation helped to maintain muscle size, but didn’t impact muscle strength. In much of my work, I was using interventions that improved muscle strength but had no impact on muscle size. I had some experience with action observation and mental imagery, which are neural intervention techniques in which a person observes muscular contractions or thinks about performing muscular contractions without actually doing so. These have been shown to be effective for strength gain or preservation, as they activate the neuromuscular pathways responsible for strength production. However, they don’t impact muscle size.

So, I thought it would be interesting to directly compare these two interventions–neuromuscular electrical stimulation versus action observation + mental imagery–to see if previous findings held up. We decided to design a lower-limb immobilization study with one group performing daily action observation + mental imagery to preserve strength, and another group performing daily electrical stimulation to preserve muscle size. The goals were twofold: 1) To further demonstrate that strength and size are distinct qualities and need to be addressed with specific interventions and 2) To hopefully improve rehabilitation outcomes by preserving size and strength during immobilization.

Q: Once you established your goals, how did you determine your research methods?

A: It took several months and a lot of teamwork to determine our methods. I relied heavily on existing literature to determine how to best implement lower-limb immobilization, what leg braces to use, what joint angle to immobilize at, and how long immobilization was needed before we would observe decreases in strength and size. I reached out to authors of my favorite papers to ask them about their methodologies, such as how to design an appropriate action observation + mental imagery intervention and what stimulation devices to buy.

Once I had a good idea of the game plan, I presented the idea to my mentors and collaborators to get their feedback. Finally, we developed a sizable research team to help with the project: three Ph.D. students, three M.S. students, four physical therapy students, and five undergraduate students. It was very much a team effort!

As demonstrated by exercise science student Lydia Van Boxtel, the subjects in Kylie Harmon’s study need to learn how to use crutches after being fitted with the leg brace.

Q: Can you describe the process of gathering your data?

A: We screened 117 interested people, and when all was said and done, we had 39 individuals fully participate in the study. Prior to the immobilization week, we tested muscle strength, muscle size and the ability of their brain to activate their muscles. We then had physical therapy students fit participants with a leg brace and crutches and show them how to navigate a variety of obstacles–opening doors, using stairs, sitting and standing.

During their week on crutches, participants had to wear accelerometers around both ankles so we could ensure that they were actually using the brace and crutches when away from the lab. We gave them a shower chair to assist in bathing, as they had to keep the brace on at all times except during sleep. We asked them to track the food that they ate. We also had a member of the research team call and check in on each participant every day during the immobilization week to make sure they were complying with study protocols and weren’t running into any issues.

In addition to immobilization, one group performed daily action observation + mental imagery using a guided video and audio recording, and another group performed daily neuromuscular electrical stimulation on their thigh muscles with a stimulation device we gave them.

We had participants return to the lab for a post-testing visit and again re-tested their muscle strength, size and neuromuscular function. If they lost strength (which almost everyone did), we had them come back to the lab twice a week for lower body resistance training until they regained their strength. We didn’t want them to leave the lab with weak, small muscles because of our experiment. Not very ethical. We ensured they were recovered and as well. Amazingly, no one dropped out during the leg immobilization, and we had 100% compliance.

To read the full Q&A with Harmon, visit the .

The ���ϲ����� contingent at the American College of Sports Medicine annual conference included, from left to right, Andrew Heckel, Assistant Professor Joon Young Kim, Alaina Glasgow, Wonhee Cho and Tara Cuddihee from the Department of Exercise Science.

Four students in the in the were recognized for their exceptional research at the recent Mid-Atlantic Regional Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine (MARC-ACSM) annual conference in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Doctoral students Alaina Glasgow and Andrew Heckel and undergraduate student Tara Cuddihee presented their research at the conference, while doctoral student Wonhee Cho presented for undergraduate student Eleanor Kwacz, who was unable to attend. (Read more about Cho and his research later in this story).

Heckel’s study was selected as a top five doctoral abstract, and Kwacz’s research was chosen as a top five undergraduate abstract. Exercise Science Assistant Professor works with all four students on their research and says they “demonstrate an impressive level of scientific understanding, critical thinking, hard work and dedication.”

“The students’ curiosity, intellectual rigor and resilience in tackling complex challenges reflect not only their individual talents but also the supportive academic environment that fosters their growth,” Kim says. “These students represent the next generation of researchers, innovators and problem-solvers.”

is comprised of a diverse group of professionals and students dedicated to the advancement of sports medicine and exercise science. The Mid-Atlantic Chapter represents Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Washington, D.C., and “the chapter seeks to communicate scientific information, provide a forum for research, foster professional peer interaction and support career growth,” according to its website.

Doctoral student Wonhee Cho presents at the conference for Eleanor Kwacz, whose research was chosen as a top five undergraduate abstract.

Two Falk College faculty members also presented at the conference: Exercise Science Associate Professor (Measuring Sleep with Wearable Devices) and Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Assistant Professor (Moving Beyond Female Athlete Triad: Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport).

“This recognition strengthens ���ϲ�����’s reputation, opening doors to further collaborations, future funding opportunities and increased visibility within the academic community,” Kim says. “It highlights the faculty’s mentorship, the quality of resources available to students through their mentor, department, college and university, and the university’s role in advancing knowledge in their fields.”

To learn more about their research journey in Falk College, we asked doctoral student Heckel G’25 and Kwacz ’27, a health and exercise science major on the pre-med track, to tell us about the MARC-ACSM conference, their presentations and their mentors. Visit the to read their answers.

Stronger as a Team

Cho, who presented for Kwacz at the MARC-ACSM conference, is another student who has made a significant impact the Department of Exercise Science.

Cho’s most recently, co-authored by Kim and his team members, appeared in Science Direct, one of the world’s leading sources for scientific, technical and medical research. He recently presented his abstract at annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, where he received $1,500 for being selected as a finalist for the 2024 Ethan Sims Young Investigator Award.

Cho’s abstract presentation, “Relative Fat Mass as an Estimator of Abdominal Adiposity in Youth Across the BMI Spectrum,” was the result of a collaboration between Kim’s lab and UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, where Kim did his postdoctoral training before joining ���ϲ�����.

Heckel says he would have not been recognized by MARC-ACSM without the support and teamwork of his fellow lab mates, Cho and doctoral student Alaina Glasgow.

“Dr. Kim encourages us all to work together as a team, and I’m a better student and researcher today because of the people I get to surround myself with,” Heckel says. “I’m very thankful to have been able to work alongside Wonhee and Lainie during this project, and I’m excited for the future research we’ll all be able to do together.”

Visit the Department of Exercise Science website to learn more about Kim’s and exercise science , and . If you’d like to participate in research being conducted by the lab, contact Kim at jkim291@syr.edu.

Chef Madhu Gadia (left) was the featured speaker for the annual Joan Christy Lecture on Food and Culture.

Renowned says her passions are cooking and nutrition, and the way she shares her fondness for cooking and nutrition is through teaching.

In late October, students from the in the were able to witness Gadia’s enthusiasm firsthand and benefit from her teaching lessons as she was the featured speaker for the Joan Christy Lecture Series on Food and Culture.

The lecture series is made possible by the Christy Food and Culture Fund, which was established in 2005 through the generosity of ���ϲ����� nutrition alumna Joan Christy ’78, G’81 to provide support for a lecture series in the nutrition program. The annual event involves a discussion of the cultural foodways and a demonstration and tasting of select dishes from the cultural cuisine.

“These lecture series give students the opportunity to learn more outside the classroom and get exposed to new cultures and cuisines,” says nutrition science master’s student Kirsten Gunderson ’23. “I try to attend at least one lecture a semester through the nutrition department’s different lecture series because it allows me to gain a deeper insight on the many paths nutrition can take us. With Chef Gadia’s knowledge, students had the opportunity to learn how cooking can be joyous, healthy and nurturing.”

Working with students from Teaching Professor and Chef Mary Kiernan’s Food Service Operations class, Chef Madhu Gadia helped students create an Indian menu of basmati rice, chickpea curry, spicy new potatoes and Cream of Wheat halwa for dessert.

Gadia, a registered dietitian nutritionist and certified diabetes educator, is known for her homestyle, healthy and authentic Indian cooking. The author of two popular books, “” and “,” Gadia has more than 25 years of experience as a nutrition counselor, diabetes educator, writer and speaker. Her areas of expertise include healthy eating, weight loss, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other health/nutrition-related topics.

Before becoming a best-selling author, Gadia worked as a clinical dietician and diabetes educator. That led to invitations to conduct cooking classes in her hometown of Ames, Iowa, and as she started to accumulate recipes, she decided to write her first book, which eventually was purchased and distributed by the Penguin Publishing Group.

“During the first few years (after the success of ‘Indian Home Cooking’), I did a lot of cooking demos around the country,” Gadia says. “I’ve done them for chefs, communities and cooking schools, and then I wrote ‘The Indian Vegan Kitchen’ and that led to more cooking demos and sharing my passion through teaching.”

Gadia spent several hours in the morning of her day in ���ϲ����� with students from Teaching Professor and Chef ’s Food Service Operations class. During the class, the students created an Indian menu of basmati rice, chickpea curry, spicy new potatoes and Cream of Wheat halwa for dessert.

“During prep, I admired her meticulous approach to layering flavors; she emphasized that spices should not blend too early and provided specific instructions on when to add each one to enhance the aroma,” says nutrition major Daphnee Chu ’27, who oversaw the preparation of the chickpea curry. “I enjoyed discussing Indian cuisine with her, particularly the distinctions between North and South Indian dishes, which I find intriguing.”

Chu says learning from Gadia was a “fascinating experience,” and Gadia says she is always excited to impart her knowledge on a younger generation.

“The most important thing is that the teacher (Kiernan) is giving them exposure to other cuisines and expanding their repertoire and interests,” Gadia says. “Maybe 10 years down the road they’ll say, ‘The first time I had Indian cuisine was when this teacher came in and told us how it all works.’”

In the evening, Falk College students, faculty and staff packed Room 204 for Gadia’s demonstration, where she explained in detail how she cooked each of the dishes that the students helped make in the morning.

Nutrition Science major Daphnee Chu ’27 (left) and Nutrition Science master’s student Kirsten Gunderson ’23.

“Having tasted authentic Indian food before, I noticed that some of the spices Chef Gadia used were different from what I was accustomed to, despite both being labeled as ‘chickpea curry,’” Chu says. “During her lecture, she explained how ‘spiced’ Indian cuisine is, mentioning that 95 percent of Indian households don’t use curry powder.

“This insight surprised me, as I had never considered it before, and it made me realize that I had never encountered two Indian dishes that tasted exactly the same,” Chu adds. “This experience deepened my understanding of Indian food culture, and I’m grateful to Falk for the chance to work closely with Chef Gadia.”

As Gadia described her preparation and cooking methods during the demonstration, she emphasized that Indian foods are relatively easy to make, and they don’t have to be spicy. At the end of the demonstration, all attendees enjoyed samples of the food that Gadia and the students had prepared in the morning.

“My cooking mantra would be Indian cuisine is simple and easy, and people think it’s so complicated,” Gadia says. “I disagree with that, and my job is to show them how it’s simple and easy.”

Gadia says her nutrition mantra is that all foods, even some of the ones we consider unhealthy, can fit into a healthy diet. Gunderson says she appreciated the opportunity to spend time with a well-known chef and dietician who is equally focused on cooking and nutrition.

“Between her expertise in Indian cuisine and my novice understanding of it, I was able to take away so much,” Gunderson says. “Her comforting nature in the kitchen and the joy she got from cooking was evident throughout her presentation.

“I had not had a prior experience learning about Indian cuisine, but I was most interested in learning about the different spices and how they truly add to a dish,” Gunderson says. “Getting the opportunity to smell and try some spices that I never had before was exciting.”

Please visit the webpage to learn more about academic programs, facilities and career opportunities.

Morgan Foss

Growing up on a cattle farm in Alden, New York, a rural community 30 minutes east of Buffalo, gave Morgan Foss G’20 an understanding of agriculture, food production and life on a farm.

The master’s degree in��public relations Foss graduated with from the gave her a strong foundation of communication, writing, relationship-building and strategic thinking.

Today, she puts it all together as program manager for the Buffalo Bills Foundation, the nonprofit arm of her hometown football franchise. The foundation supports a wide breadth of initiatives dedicated to improving the quality of life in the Western New York region, but its primary focus is addressing child hunger, food access and supporting healthy eating.

“Buffalo is the sixth most segregated metropolitan region in the country and 1 in 5 children—1 in 8 people overall—are food insecure,” Foss says, illuminating the importance of her work with the foundation. “There are many food deserts within the city and in surrounding communities, despite there being many agricultural areas, like where I grew up.”

The supports several nonprofit organizations and programs that uplift the food system and provide healthy foods to underserved families. Foss is one of three employees who liaise with the foundation’s board of directors to respond to funding requests and direct resources to the many hunger-fighting organizations doing the work.

“The Bills organization has such a large platform and influence in the Western New York region. So in this position, I can connect the community’s needs with resources and bring awareness to specific causes.”

A Pandemic-Inspired Pivot

While Foss was always drawn to nonprofit and community-based work, she went to Newhouse intent on entering entertainment public relations after completing an undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama.

In the spring of 2020, she was planning to visit Los Angeles for the entertainment immersion experience and was pursuing an internship in Nashville with Sony Music Entertainment, and then … we all know what happened next.

Foss (left) and Buffalo Bills Foundation president Thomasina Stenhouse, Ph.D., visit the Providence Farm Collective, an Orchard Park-based organization that cultivates farmer-led and community-rooted agriculture and food systems.

“All of a sudden I was finishing up my master’s degree, teaching undergraduate courses online and doing a virtual internship all from my childhood bedroom while simultaneously working on my family farm,” Foss says.

Not only were her personal plans put on hold, but the entire PR and entertainment industry was a question mark as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. With so much uncertainty, Foss began looking for opportunities closer to home, ultimately leading to her dream career with the Bills.

“It was a crazy time and while many businesses closed, my family farm and the agriculture industry trudged forward to ensure food was produced and stocked on shelves,” says Foss. “The pandemic certainly changed the trajectory of my career, but I’m grateful for it.” She emphasizes that her experience in 2020 built life skills that have wildly benefited her career—including adaptability, organization, being innovative with her time and space and the ability to build relationships through a screen.

Giving Back and Living the Dream

Foss was named community relations coordinator with the Bills in 2022. Now in her third season with the organization, she has been promoted to Bills Foundation program manager, overseeing the distribution of foundation grants to nonprofits across the community.

Foss has also worked on initiatives promoting cancer awareness, military appreciation and social justice (in partnership with the National Football League’s Crucial Catch, Salute to Service and Inspire Change initiatives), as well as CPR education and AED awareness, youth sports and physical fitness and numerous other causes championed by players.

The Bills recently wrapped up their annual Huddle of Hunger Initiative, which collected over 31,000 pounds of food and raised more than $150,000 to support 20 local charities, including FeedMore WNY and its 400 hunger-relief agencies serving the four counties surrounding Highmark Stadium. “For this year’s food drive, we had 16 rookie players and six veteran players participate and a massive turnout,” Foss says. “The Buffalo Bills players are amazing and very dedicated to the community where they play.”

Foss with her partner, Tre, and son, Tino, at Bills training camp this summer

Besides the technical and interpersonal skills she developed at Newhouse, Foss says one of the best takeaways has been the group of friends and fellow alumni she connected with during the master’s program.

“I have a group chat with my best friends from the program,” Foss says. “Going through this experience together of graduating during the pandemic was unique, and we know we can count on each other to discuss our careers—areas we might want to grow in and navigating challenges or transitions. I love having peers who are on the same wavelength and seeing my friends growing and doing amazing work in their industries and their fields.”

Earlier this year, Foss had her first baby, a son named Valentino—Tino for short—and returned to her role part-time for the 2024 season. She is thrilled to be back in the business of connecting the foundation’s resources and the Bills players with the people and organizations in her community doing incredible work.

“Just so far this season [in addition to Huddle for Hunger], we’ve brought players to Dave and Buster’s to hang out with families affected by cancer, we’ve made sandwiches and handed out food with players at St. Luke’s Missionary Church, we’re getting ready for Veterans and Native Heritage Month celebrations in November. We do a lot with different youth organizations and that’s probably my favorite part of the job—just seeing kids light up after meeting their idol,” Foss says.

To learn more about the work of Foss and the Buffalo Bills Foundation, visit .

Sudha Raj (right) accepts her Lifetime Achievement Award from Manju Karkare, a registered dietitian nutritionist and nutrition coach who nominated Raj for the award.

In early October, Raj was recognized for her impactful career in dietetics when she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from (DIFM), a subgroup of the .

“Sudha brings a whole-person approach to her teaching and mentoring of students and colleagues,” says , associate professor and chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies. “She willingly shares her time and knowledge with anyone who is curious to learn more about the benefits of nutrition.”

Raj, a fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, received the award during the in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

“I am honored and humbled to receive the DIFM Lifetime Achievement award,” Raj says. “My deepest gratitude to those who nominated me, my colleagues, students who continue to inspire me every day and my family who have always supported me in all my endeavors.

“This incredible honor as a recognition of my work is inspiring and motivating to me,” she says. “It encourages me to continue making a positive impact in the field of nutrition and dietetics.”

According to the DIFM website, the purpose of the Lifetime Achievement Award is to “recognize a DIFM member whose contributions over their lifetime have advanced the principles and practices of integrative and functional medicine and nutrition. This award will honor one who has ‘made a difference’ in education and professional development, furthered professional opportunities and advancement for nutrition and dietetics practitioners, and has demonstrated excellence as evidenced by work that is innovative, creative and recognized as exemplary by professional peers.”

Raj has been a difference-maker on the ���ϲ����� campus and worldwide. She was instrumental in developing and implementing one of the first pilot studies to investigate dietary acculturation patterns in Asian Indian immigrants in the United States, and more recently she was one of two Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics members responsible for the inception of the member interest group for Asian Indians in Dietetics.

“Sudha has been a leader in the department and the nutrition and dietetics profession around integrative and functional nutrition for many years,” Brann says. “Due to her leadership and encouragement, several faculty attended a multi-day training to integrate these concepts into our courses and curriculum.

“Sudha has continuously supported the advancement of dietetic professionals practicing integrative and functional medical nutrition therapy by acting as an educator, scholar and through her public service,” Brann says.

The eligibility criteria for the Lifetime Achievement Award included two letters of recommendation. Brann wrote one letter, and the other came from Monique Richard, MS, RDN, LDN, FAND, IFNCP, RYT, owner of in Johnson City, Tennessee.

Sudha Raj

Richard says Raj’s vast and varied portfolio showcases her generous contributions to the profession, her students, and all those who benefit from her service.

“Sudha’s skills and attributes are not only admirable, but the lives she has touched with her contributions, advocacy, wisdom and dedication to the profession are immeasurable,” Richard says. “She teaches with thoughtfulness, depth and precision while using the Nutrition Care Process in addition to applying integrative and functional nutrition principles.

“In addition, her work ethic and commitment are further illustrated by her roles in her family and community, all while advocating for nutrition as an RDN, researcher, author, educator, leader and contributor in a variety of settings,” Richard says. “It is an honor and pleasure to call her colleague, mentor and friend and to serve our profession alongside her.”

While the Lifetime Achievement Award signals a milestone in Raj’s career, it does not mark the end of it as she continues her mentorship of students and unique contributions to the practice of integrative and functional nutrition.

“My deepest thank you to my nutrition colleagues for their unwavering support and encouragement as I navigated the field of integrative and functional medicine as a specialty within the broad nutrition space over two decades,” Raj says. “They have helped me develop professional resources and curriculum for education and training.

“My DIFM colleagues have been wonderful mentors; they have educated and provided me several opportunities to share my knowledge in the form of professional development offerings for dietetic professionals,” she says. “I also want to acknowledge ���ϲ����� and Falk College for supporting my teaching and research interests and fostering my academic interests. I hope I can continue to provide support and inspiration for the next generation of dietetic professionals.”

Tina Nabatchi

The annual conference connects scholars and practitioners from all over the world to discuss pressing topics and share insights and strategies for building partnerships. This year’s theme focused on collaboration as well as accountability, transparency and trust in cross-sector partnerships.

In her keynote speech, Nabatchi distinguished between “clock problems”—those that are regular, well-defined and solvable with disciplinary knowledge—and “cloud problems,” which are complex, ever-changing and involving different expertise and ideologies. Tackling cloud problems, she argued, requires participatory, collaborative, dynamic and creative approaches beyond traditional, managerial and expert-driven ones.

“Collaboration is no longer optional, it is obligatory,” she said. “We must work across our boundaries, whether those are organizational, jurisdictional, sectoral or otherwise, to produce outcomes that make the world a better place.”

In her speech, she outlined 10 principles for pursuing collaboration, including embracing diverse knowledge and participation and input from multiple actors. “I have seen these principles not only build accountability, trust and transparency,” she said. “I’ve seen them help us improve our social outcomes and, frankly, make the world a better place.”

Nabatchi is the Joseph A. Strasser Endowed Professor in Public Administration and director of the Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration. Her research focuses on citizen participation, collaborative governance, conflict resolution and challenges in public administration. She is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and recipient of the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professorship of Teaching Excellence (2021-24).

This story was written by Michael Kelly

The iconic statue of the first president in Maxwell’s first-floor foyer is flanked by a new collection of portraits from Robert Shetterly’s “Americans Who Tell the Truth” series. It is part of the the school’s wide-ranging effort to make its physical space more representative of its diverse community.

For nearly a century, in the north entrance to the , a lone statue of President George Washington greeted all who entered the school. A former farmer, land surveyor, American Revolutionary War hero and first president who presided over the Constitutional Convention, his presence stood as an important reminder of the duties and responsibilities of Maxwell students as citizens.

Two years ago, other voices and individuals joined the first president in the building foyer with the installment of a collection of portraits from Robert Shetterly’s “Americans Who Tell the Truth” series, part of the Maxwell School’s wide-ranging effort to make its physical space more representative of its diverse community. Now in its second installment, the exhibition of portraits flanking the famous founder—titled “A Conversation with George Washington”— is designed to further contemplation and discussion around the topic of citizenship.

A portrait of Emma Tenayuca is among those included in the latest installation of Robert Shetterly’s series. At age 16, Tenayuca became a vocal advocate for Mexican American and other workers in her home state of Texas.

Some might be surprised to see contrasting figures like gold-medal Olympian and world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, who was stripped of his titles and sentenced to five years in prison for refusing to serve in the Vietnam War, amid his fight for civil rights for Black Americans. “We wanted to get viewers to want to learn more about how and why someone like Muhammad Ali has something to say about citizenship,” says historian , who spearheads the effort as the school’s associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion.

The surprise is intentional, but not intended to be confrontational. According to the artist’s website, “The portraits are the opposite of hot takes or quick opinions. They invite you to ponder a person, their words, the issues that inspire their life’s journey, work, activism and imagination. And then they welcome you into that vital conversation—across time and space—about what it means to be an American citizen.”

The update also includes portraits of famous and lesser-known activists working in the areas of disability rights, environmental sustainability, rural issues and voting rights, among others.

“The latest batch of portraits emerged out of ones the school considered from the first iteration of the collection,” says , who works alongside McCormick as the school’s strategic initiatives specialist for diversity, equity and inclusion. “We wanted to include folks who represented issues we felt were important to members of our community.”

“We also always have two portraits that put accountability on the table, in this case from the military for veterans and from an investigative journalist,” adds McCormick, referring to Paul Chappell and Ida Tarbell, respectively.

McCormick and Williams are in discussions with Maxwell colleagues to organize a series of events that relate to the new installation. On Oct. 8, Professor , director of the Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration, led a workshop on Civic Skills for Civic Life that modeled the objectives of the conversation with Washington. In the spring they will host additional workshops guiding conversations around challenging topics like equity and responsibility.

In addition to , the second collection includes:

• 
  Diagnosed with ALS in 2016, Barkan shifted his activism from economic and labor reform to America’s health care system; he spent the last seven years of his life advocating for Medicare for all.
• 
  A prolific writer, Berry raises awareness of the destructive effects of large factory farming on rural communities, among other issues. A fifth generation Kentucky farmer, he cultivates his land with horses and organic methods of fertilization.
• 
  After leaving active duty, the former Army captain became focused on the idea that society should train individuals to wage peace like they train soldiers for war. He has authored six books and is founder of the Peace Literacy Institute.
• 
  As the first Black woman in Congress, “Fighting Shirley” introduced more than 50 pieces of legislation and fought for racial, gender and economic equality. She was the first Black woman to seek the Democratic nomination for president, winning 28 delegates despite being barred from televised debates.
• 
  A biologist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Kimmerer blends science and Indigenous wisdom to advocate for a deeper relationship to the land and legal recognition of��Rights of Nature. A Distinguished Teaching Professor at the State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry, she works with the Haudenosaunee people of Central New York on land rights actions and restoration.
• 
  A chief strategist of the campaign for the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote, Paul employed “deeds not words,” like pickets and hunger strikes, to promote Federal reform. Subjected to arrests, beatings and forced feedings, she and other members of the National Women’s Party continued to fight until its passage.
• 
  Stanton helped organize the first U.S. women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York, drafted the women’s bill of rights and championed women’s suffrage. She also worked to reform laws governing marriage and property, as well as education and religious issues.
• 
  Among many influential works, Tarbell’s 19-part series for McClure’s “The History of the Standard Oil Company,” an expose on how the business monopoly exploited the public, is known as one of the 20th century’s most important works of journalism.
• 
  Tenayuca became a vocal advocate for Mexican American and other workers in her home state of Texas at age 16. Blacklisted following the largest riot in San Antonio’s history, Tenayuca left the state, returning 20 years later as a teacher for migrants.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) detailing the agreement signed this past May was celebrated at a ceremony during the ICMA’s annual conference held in Pittsburgh from Sept. 21-25. ICMA President Lon Pluckhahn, past President Jeff Towery and past Executive Director Bob O’Neill were in attendance, along with Maxwell School Dean David M. Van Slyke.

Dean Van Slyke receives a proclamation from ICMA’s Lynn Phillips honoring the school’s commitment to training local government public servants.

At the conference, Van Slyke was also presented with a resolution from ICMA recognizing the school’s longstanding commitment to investing in the next generation of local government public servants and strengthening democratic governance, with a special focus on supporting veterans transitioning into public service and on global engagement activities.

“It was an honor to receive this recognition and to formally announce and celebrate our expanded partnership,” said Van Slyke. “We have long found a strong partner in ICMA, and we are proud of the many Maxwell alumni who served as members and leaders of this important organization. This memorandum of understanding further strengthens that relationship and sets the school on a course for continued collaboration, in the name of good governance.”

Under the MOU, the school and ICMA will explore expanded opportunities for workshops and other training activities to support local governments throughout the world. The partnership will also support veteran and military personnel interested in local government by offering an opportunity to connect ICMA’s Veterans Local Government Management Fellowship with courses at Maxwell.

“ICMA’s core mission is to support the growth and development of public servants who are committed to local government administration,” said Ray Baray, acting CEO/executive director. “We are proud to partner with ���ϲ�����’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs in our shared interest to increase access and participation in the profession of local government management and administration—especially for our U.S. veteran service population, and local government professionals globally.”

Daniel Nelson, director of accelerated learning and global engagement, will serve as a point of contact between the University and ICMA. Nelson received a master of public administration (M.P.A.) from the Maxwell School in 2004 and leads the state and local initiative, frequently collaborating with ICMA for programming and mentorship opportunities for students and alumni.

Originally founded in 1914, ICMA is the world’s leading association of professional city and county managers and other employees who serve local governments. With over 13,000 members, ICMA offers professional development programs, education, data and information, technical assistance, networking opportunities and training to thousands of city, town and county chief administrative officers, their staffs and other organizations around the world. ICMA is based in Washington, D.C., and hosts an annual conference in a different city each year.

The Maxwell School has enjoyed a longtime partnership with ICMA; including the sponsorship of students to attend annual ICMA conferences, where students network with many working in the state and local government sector. Since 2012, M.P.A. students have run the Maxwell ICMA student chapter, which provides programming, information, fundraising and activities on campus and in the local community, and attends the ICMA conference every year.

Story by Michael Kelly

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed behavioral disorder in children, and the numbers are only expected to rise. The CDC reported that in 2022, over 7 million (11.4%) U.S. children aged 3–17 years were diagnosed with ADHD, an increase of 1 million compared to 2016. The elevated numbers aren’t limited to children. According to a����in the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, 8.7 million adults in the U.S. have ADHD.

Kevin Antshel

ADHD is a chronic condition characterized by difficulty focusing, restlessness and impulsive behavior. If untreated, ADHD can have severe negative consequences on physical and mental health throughout a person’s life, including low self-esteem, chronic stress, fatigue and higher risk of substance abuse. That’s why diagnosis during childhood and early intervention are crucial for helping children reach their potential and avoid the potential life-long challenges associated with the disorder. To educate the public with reliable information, reduce stigma and highlight the importance of ADHD diagnosis and treatment, several advocacy groups joined forces to designate October as ADHD Awareness Month.

The College of Arts and Sciences sat down with��, professor of psychology and principal investigator for ���ϲ�����’s��, to discuss the rise in ADHD diagnosis among children and adults, the signs to look out for, and the importance of treatment.

During this prestigious fellowship, Kim will work on her new book “Dignity Archives: Accompanying the Dead and Posthumous Care.”

Eunjun Kim

Kim is among 31 fellows from 492 applicants. In addition to working on her research project, she will have the opportunity to share ideas in seminars, lectures and conferences at the HNC, headquartered at Research Triangle Park in North Carolina.

Kim’s book project asks what kind of political work the dying and the dead are doing and what kind of connections and disconnections are happening around them.

“The collection of cases includes disabled people who were killed in an institution in Japan; factory workers who became disabled and terminally ill from toxic exposure; and people who died from neglect in an AIDS care facility in South Korea,” explains Kim. “By exploring the ways in which mourning and the demand for justice are intertwined in cultural and political discourses, my book aims to encourage others to rethink the primacy of autonomy, ability and health in the understanding of dignity.”

“The National Humanities Center is the world’s only independent institute dedicated exclusively to advanced study in all areas of the humanities,” says , professor and associate dean for research in the School of Education. “NHC is a highly prestigious fellowship and former fellows have gone on win a number of distinguished awards, including the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize.”

Additionally, SOE is represented at NHC by , professor of disability studies and a NHC Resident Fellow, who is researching for , “Fermenting Stories: Exploring Ancestry, Embodiment and Place.”

The NHC is the world’s only independent institute dedicated exclusively to advanced study in all areas of the humanities. Through its fellowships, the center promotes understanding of the humanities and advocates for their foundational role in a democratic society.

Van Skoik and Jiang created “Cyberguard,” an anti-cyberbullying model, for their final project in the School of Education’s IDE 632: Instructional Design and Development II course. This course requires students to develop an instructional design model and appropriate accompanying implementation documentation.

Particularly Vulnerable

Van Skoik’s and Jiang’s model proposes a process for educational institutions to follow that should help to reduce the number of cyberbullying incidents. Currently, it is under review with , with hopes to be published soon in the higher education technology journal and presented at its annual conference in November.

Having taught middle school for six years, and later working as an instructional technology specialist for a school district in South Carolina, Van Skoik saw both the effects of student cyberbullying play out daily in his classroom and how his district tracked students’ use of school-issued computers. His firsthand experience sparked the idea for the model.

“I think middle schoolers are particularly vulnerable as far as emotional intelligence, behavior modification and behavior management are concerned,” says Van Skoik, who believes the model’s interventions implemented at this age would help students learn as they grow. “Then by the time they’re in high school, which this data is from, there would be a reduction in cyberbullying cases.”

The pair used the (NYSED SSEC) incident data to identify the state high school with the highest number of self-reported cyberbullying cases in the state. That school—which the pair are not disclosing—was then used as the focus of their model. The school reported 39 cyberbullying incidents over the 2021-22 school year, which the pair says is a high figure compared to other schools’ average of 0.67 incidents per school.

Based on this data, the pair devised their model as steps school districts can follow to reduce incidents. The model, they say, acts as a positive feedback loop by raising awareness, identifying cyberbullying and preventing further cases. “The point of the model is the awareness of what cyberbullying is,” stresses Van Skoik, who says by bringing the issue to students’ attention, attitudes can be changed and good behavior reinforced as the process is evaluated each school quarter.

When Both Worlds Meet

found that teens use six cyberbullying behaviors: offensive name-calling (most reported), spreading false rumors, receiving explicit images, physical threats, harassment and having explicit images of them shared without their consent.

Online anonymity, 24/7 connectivity, lack of supervision and digital footprints—traces of online activity that can be used to provoke cyberbulling—are among the causes of electronic aggression that the pair identified. “If we can address those potential causes, J.J. and I believe the cases will come down,” Van Skoik says.

Regarding online anonymity, too often people can hide behind a screen, creating a persona that often says or does things a person would never do if face to face. “This model eliminates that possibility,” Van Skoik says. “It has to bridge the gap because the educational training program is the only thing that can happen when both worlds meet.” The model brings these two worlds—digital and real—together by emphasizing the importance of a holistic approach that combines data-driven interventions, educational training programs, and repetitive assessment.

The pair suggest interventions take place in both the digital and real worlds. First, they recommend schools develop an automatic monitoring system by installing software on devices the school loans out.

They note that monitoring is helpful to the entire school community and not only to students because teacher and administrator computers can be monitored to identify any incidents among staff as well. According to the Pew survey, three in 10 teens say school districts monitoring students’ social media activity for bullying or harassment would help.

Software can record and report suspected incidents of cyberbullying, and Jiang suggests AI also could be used in the monitoring program. “A lot of students hide bullying action in the cyberworld,” she says. “AI can recognize and also learn how to make a decision about if there is a risk of cyberbullying or not.”

For in-person intervention, the pair recommends schools collect feedback from students, staff and parents at the beginning of the school year to have a baseline assessment. This can include mental health evaluations when recommended.

Next, an educational training should be implemented during teachers’ professional development sessions, as well as for students and parents. Finally, an avenue to allow staff, students and parents to report incidents of cyberbullying should be created, and all interventions should be reviewed quarterly to track incidents, to see if there is progress or if the process needs to be refined.

Why We’re Not Learning

Both Van Skoik and Jiang strongly believe that in addition to use of monitoring software, schools must provide training and education about online social behavior. “School’s goal is to learn, that’s why we’re in this environment,” says Van Skoik, who often saw cyberbullying interrupt lessons in his classroom. “So, if we can’t learn, we have to find out why we’re not learning.”

Today, he says, society—and schools—are impacted by so many devices causing distractions, and in some cases, harm.

The educational training that the pair recommends can be offered in multiple ways, such as an online training, in-person session or a mixture of both. “The ultimate goal is for the educational training program to address the issue that there is a cyberbullying concern at the school, and—I think—it’s another way to create awareness,” Van Skoik says.

A final goal of Cyberguard is to create a culture of reporting online harassment. While software can help to identify suspected incidents—based on keywords, for example—avenues for self-reporting can also be implemented, either by having students, staff and parents complete a Google form or by encouraging students to raise concerns to guidance counselors and school staff.

“I hope this model can improve everyone’s awareness and help them develop skills on how to report cyberbullying,” Jiang says.

Ultimately, the Cyberguard model serves as a template for schools and, Jiang says, it will evolve after initial implementation. “In the first year, formative evaluations will be conducted every quarter to test our objective,” she says. If incidents of cyberbullying decline, the objective is met.

In year two, objectives can change, with a goal of seeing greater declines. Across years three to five, the pair will evaluate the model’s effectiveness by comparing the number of cases each year, hoping to see a stark decline.

“Our theory is that the prevalence of cyberbullying results from a lack of awareness, education and training,” Van Skoik say. “This is what instructional design tells us—it comes from a lack of knowledge, skills and attitudes.”

Story by Ashley Kang ’04, G’11 (a proud alumna of the M.S. in higher education program)

Researchers increasingly analyze gigantic volumes of digital information to understand how and why individuals and groups of people conduct their lives the way they do, both during ordinary days and under extreme stress such as disease outbreaks or social unrest. A program at the National Science Foundation (NSF) develops and employs methods that could help unearth fundamental principles of human behavior. Now one of ���ϲ�����’s own is providing critical guidance for this federally supported research.

Psychology Professor Amy Criss will serve a year-long appointment as a program director for the NSF’s Human Networks and Data Science Program.

, professor of psychology, recently began a year-long appointment to the NSF as a program director for the (HNDS). She will oversee the merit review process for $8 million in annual federal funding and help to guide the direction of basic research in the social, behavioral and economic sciences across the United States and partner nations.

“The NSF funds research on big theoretical questions, thinking about what’s next for the future of science,” Criss says.

The goal of HNDS is to help future investigators identify human phenomena that have been previously hidden from view, using new hardware, software and investigative approaches to analyze “big data” or vast volumes of digital information from the internet and other resources.

There are two types of HNDS projects. HNDS-I research proposals seek to develop and improve scientific infrastructure and other tools for future big-data studies.

“These proposals aim to maximize all the data available for a research question,” says Criss. “The researcher community may need new hardware, new software or new ways of approaching large, dynamic, complex datasets. These proposals develop and improve supporting data networks and infrastructure that researchers can use in the future to understand human behavior. These innovations could allow scientists to ask questions they could not have asked because they didn’t have the tools to address them.”

HNDS-R proposals are the second type. They aim to answer important theoretical questions with large or highly complex datasets, diverse scales of measurement across time and space and multi-scale, multi-level network data and techniques of network analysis. These projects would make innovative use of NSF-supported data networks, databases, centers and other forms of scientific infrastructure.

“Researchers on these projects seek to understand data that are highly dynamic in time or reflect interconnected systems,” Criss says.

Both types of basic research support conditions for future scientists to generate novel ideas about people and their societies.

According to Criss, the goal is to understand different types of human behavior. “We look under the hood to learn how a person or groups of people operate,” she says. “With that understanding, we could develop better tools to solve practical problems.”

This story was written by John H. Tibbets

, only 2% of school-age students with intellectual disability are likely to attend college after high school. Moreover, of the 472 colleges and universities in New York state, only 24 have inclusive postsecondary education (IPSE) programs.

With more than 435 students with intellectual disability enrolled in these programs and an average of 18 students in each program, the Golisano Foundation recognizes the opportunity for CDI—along with the Lawrence B. Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education, which supports InclusiveU, ���ϲ�����’s inclusive higher education program—to expand on its current technical assistance model to increase and enhance the availability and inclusivity of programs across Western and Central New York.

Led by a new technical assistance director, in the first year CDI will pilot technical assistance in a few select colleges and universities, with a focus on creating or enhancing accessibility, promoting inclusivity and providing support services to empower students with intellectual disability in academic and social success.

“With InclusiveU, ���ϲ����� has a nationally recognized model. Serving more than 100 students, this program aims to fully integrate students into all aspects of campus life including academics, internships, social experiences and residential living,” says , professor and director of CDI. “We are grateful to the Golisano Foundation for this generous grant, which will help us build on our expertise in disability related research and inclusive education, practice and advocacy to remove barriers that exclude people with disabilities from campus life in New York.”

“The Taishoff Center’s approach to inclusive higher education—including utilization of existing campus resources—has fundamentally shifted the way in which schools and universities serve and support students with intellectual disability,” says , Lawrence B. Taishoff Associate Professor of Inclusive Education and executive director of the Taishoff Center. “With this experience, CDI and the Taishoff Center are uniquely positioned to provide technical assistance to support the development and expansion of inclusive college programs.”

“Along with the trustees of the B. Thomas Golisano Foundation, I am thrilled to be able to support the development and expansion of IPSE programs and supportive services,” says , director of the Golisano Foundation. “The trustees and I commend ���ϲ�����’s recognition of the potential throughout New York State, and we look forward to watching CDI and the Taishoff Center build a community of practice and work toward setting a national example and standard for inclusion in the higher education community.”

Among services planned for the project’s first year, CDI and the Taishoff Center will:

• Conduct a comprehensive needs assessment at pilot colleges and universities;
• Increase access to inclusive postsecondary education and participation in the general college curriculum for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities;
• Support improved academic, social, independent living, employment and self-advocacy outcomes;
• Disseminate research and best practices on inclusive postsecondary education;
• Distribute materials to support program development, evaluation and strategic planning; and
• Coordinate data collection with shared outcomes for IPSE programs.

Left to right: Jennifer Karas Montez and Shannon Monnat

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) has renewed two grants, each worth $1.9 million, for research networks led by Maxwell School sociology faculty Jennifer Karas Montez and Shannon Monnat and several external collaborators.

For the first grant, Montez, University Professor and Gerald B. Cramer Faculty Scholar in Aging Studies, is a co-principal investigator and Monnat, professor of sociology and Lerner Chair in Public Health Promotion and Population Health, is a co-investigator.

Monnat is a co-principal investigator on the second grant. The NIA, a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will fund both grants for five years, and the $3.8 million total will be shared across multiple institutions involved in the projects.

The first grant renews funding for the Network on Life Course Health Dynamics and Disparities in 21st Century America, which has been funded for the past 10 years. Montez and Monnat are joined on the network leadership team by Jennifer Ailshire and Julie Zissimopoulos from the University of Southern California, Sarah Burgard and Grace Noppert from the University of Michigan, and Taylor Hargrove and Barbara Entwisle from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The interdisciplinary network of over 100 scholars seeks to accelerate research that will help explain the worrisome trends in U.S. adult health and longevity in recent decades and explain why those trends are most troubling in certain states and local areas.

The second grant will fund the Interdisciplinary Network on Rural Population Health and Aging, which was launched five years ago. Its purpose is to advance research on the factors affecting the health and well-being of rural working-age and older adults within the context of prevailing demographic trends, slow-moving macro-level stressors, and contemporary public health and environmental shocks. Monnat’s collaborators include Carrie Henning-Smith from the University of Minnesota, Leif Jensen from the Pennsylvania State University, John Green from Mississippi State University, and Lori Hunter from the University of Colorado Boulder.

“We are grateful for the National Institute on Aging’s continued support, which not only advances crucial research into U.S. adult health and longevity but also affirms the leadership and scholarship of professors Monnat and Montez,” says Shana Kushner Gadarian, associate dean for research and professor of political science at the Maxwell School. “Their findings will no doubt help inform national and regional population health policy.”

Past research on mortality and health by Montez and Monnat has been supported by the NIA and other organizations. They are principal investigators on the NIA’s , a five-year, $1.8 million award to examine how state policies and counties’ economic conditions since the 1980s have influenced adult psychological well-being, health behaviors and mortality.

Monnat is also principal investigator on a $2 million COVID-related grant funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse with Montez, Douglas A. Wolf and Emily Wiemers as co-investigators. Wolf and Wiemers are professor emeritus and associate professor, respectively, in Maxwell’s Public Administration and International Affairs Department.

Montez is the director of the NIA-funded Center for Aging and Policy Studies (CAPS), co-director of the Policy, Place, and Population Health (P3H) Lab, a faculty associate in the Aging Studies Institute (ASI), and a research affiliate in the Center for Policy Research and the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health.

Monnat is the director of and senior research associate in the Center for Policy Research, co-director of the P3H Lab, Lerner Chair in Public Health Promotion and Population Health, and a research affiliate in ASI and CAPS.

Story by Michael Kelly

“I very much look forward to collaborating with our new faculty members, who help to fulfill the promise of the school’s and University’s academic strategic plans and initiatives,” says Dean Kelly Chandler-Olcott. “As Central New York’s tech sector expands and the University focuses on STEM scholarship, we are adding a K-12 STEM teacher preparation expert, whose research addresses antiracist, inclusive and equitable education. We are also adding capacity to our instructional design and music education teams.”

In addition, “two counseling faculty will help our school meet the growing need to prepare culturally sensitive school counselors, mental health counselors, and counselor educators,” Chandler-Olcott says. “Plus, in Professor Jessamyn Neuhaus, the University welcomes a highly experienced faculty development scholar who will direct the .”

Sabrina M. Butler ’15, G’18

Sabrina Butler

Sabrina Butler joins the school as assistant teaching professor of counseling and counselor education. Before her appointment, she taught mental health counseling ethics, family counseling and group counseling at the University of Central Florida, where she was a doctoral student.

Butler’s research explores counselors-in-training and their clients’ religion and spirituality, feminist ethical decision-making in supervisor-supervisee relationships, trauma-informed approaches to romantic break-ups, and process addictions in children and adolescents.

A member of the American Counseling Association, Association for Specialists in Group Work, Counselors for Social Justice and EMDR International Association, Butler holds a Ph.D. in counselor education and supervision (2024) from the University of Central Florida. A scholar, Butler also has an M.S. in clinical mental health counseling (2018) and a B.S. in psychology (2015), both from ���ϲ�����.

David DeAngelis

David DeAngelis

David DeAngelis joins the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ Setnor School of Music and the School of Education as assistant professor of music education. Before joining the University, DeAngelis served as an instructor and teaching assistant at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music and was the founding music teacher of KIPP San Francisco College Preparatory.

With articles published in the Journal of Music Teacher Education and Update: Applications for Research in Music Education, DeAngelis’s research interests include beginning instrumental instruction and issues of diversity, equity and inclusion in music education, specifically focusing on music teacher preparation.

DeAngelis has served as an advisor for Arts and Music Programs for Education in Detention Centers (AMPED), a music mentorship program offered by the Northwestern Center for Civic Engagement that connects undergraduates with incarcerated youth.

DeAngelis holds a Ph.D. in music education at Northwestern University (2024), as well as an M.A. in music education from the University of Rochester Eastman School of Music and a B.A. in music from Yale University. He earned a certificate in leading equity and inclusion in organizations from Northwestern University.

Heather F. Lavender

Heather Lavender

Heather F. Lavender joins the School of Education as assistant professor of inclusive STEM education. She was most recently a postdoctoral fellow in the mathematics, science and social studies department of the University of Georgia Mary Frances Early College of Education.

Trained as a microbiologist, Lavender moved from the laboratory to the classroom after she began volunteering to educate K-12 schools about activities in her research lab and questioned how children receive science in the classroom.

Lavender’s primary research interests in science education include the awareness and participation of underserved youth—such as Black girls and visually impaired students—in STEM; sociocultural practices in science classrooms; antiracist and equitable science learning; professional development of in-service teachers; the content knowledge of pre-service teachers and women of color in technology.

Holding a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction, science education, from Louisiana State University (2021), Lavender also earned an M.S. in microbiology from UAMS (2012) and a B.S. in microbiology from Louisiana State University (1999).

Ahram Lee G’14, G’19, G’22

Ahram Lee

Now an assistant teaching professor of counseling and counselor education, Ahram Lee was a visiting assistant teaching professor at ���ϲ����� from 2022 to 2024, teaching research, assessment, group counseling and substance abuse courses. Before this appointment, she was a visiting assistant professor at SUNY Oswego.

An expert in multiculturalism and inclusion in counselor education, Lee’s research interests include a Q method analysis of the clinical training experience of bilingual Spanish-speaking counseling students, the clinical training experience of international counseling students and school counselor engagement with students with disabilities.

From ���ϲ�����, Lee earned a Ph.D. in counseling and counselor education (2022), a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling (2014) and a certificate of advanced study in women and gender studies (2019). She earned a bachelor’s degree in counseling psychology from Handong Global University (2011).

Jessamyn Neuhaus

Jessamyn Neuhaus

Jessamyn Neuhaus joins ���ϲ����� as the director of the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE) and as a professor in the School of Education. Before arriving in ���ϲ�����, she was director of the SUNY Plattsburgh Center for Teaching Excellence (2022-2024).

A scholar of cultural studies and teaching and learning excellence, Neuhaus has more than 20 years of classroom experience, teaching courses on U.S. history, gender studies, history of sexuality and popular culture history. As an educational developer, Neuhaus supports and promotes faculty teaching and reflection, effective teaching practices and equitable teaching and learning environments.

Neuhaus is the author of “Snafu EDU: Teaching and Learning When Things Go Wrong in the College Classroom” (University of Oklahoma/Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 2025); “Geeky Pedagogy: A Guide for Intellectuals, Introverts, and Nerds Who Want to be Effective Teachers” (West Virginia, 2019); “Housework and Housewives in American Advertising: Married to the Mop” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011) and “Manly Meals and Mom’s Home Cooking: Cookbooks and Gender in Modern America” (Johns Hopkins, 2003).

Neuhaus holds a Ph.D. (2001) and an M.A. (1997) in history from Claremont Graduate University and a B.A. in religious studies from the College of Wooster (1992).

Rob Pusch G’03

Rob Pusch

Rob Pusch was named an assistant teaching professor of instructional design, development and evaluation (IDDE). An adjunct professor of IDDE since 2003, Pusch was most recently senior associate director at (SUPA), where he oversaw the design of instructional materials, as well as research and evaluation.

Originally trained as a chemist, Pusch began his career as a chemistry teaching assistant before moving into the field of instructional design. He graduated with a doctorate from the School of Education in 2003, the same year he was named SUPA’s chief instructional designer and joined the school as an adjunct professor.

Pusch is a co-founder of the Transgender Alliance of Central New York and board member for Sage Upstate, a not-for-profit promoting the health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning people in Central New York as they age.

David Van Slyke (left) and Shri Dharmendra Pradhan

David M. Van Slyke, dean of the , met with alumni, partners and dignitaries, including India’s minister of education, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, during a recent visit that celebrated the school’s and its 70-plus-year partnership with the country.

Dean Van Slyke was in India along with Maxwell’s Director of Accelerated Learning and Global Engagement Dan Nelson to celebrate the centennial and highlight the global impact of the school’s students, faculty and alumni. The ��began more than��. That history started soon after India’s independence, grew stronger in the second half of the last century, and has recently focused on Maxwell’s educational expertise in public administration and international affairs. Over the decades, Maxwell has hosted thousands of Indian students, citizens and civil servants.

The meeting with Minister of Education Pradhan was made possible by the long relationship between Maxwell and India, and it represented the hope for even more collaboration and partnership with the world’s largest democracy and most populous country.

“Meeting with Minister of Education Pradhan was truly an honor, and it put an exclamation point on what was a wonderfully productive visit where we spent time with our global partners and accomplished alumni,” says Van Slyke. “I look forward to our continued partnership with India and its people.”

Van Slyke also met with Surendra Nath Tripathi, the director general of the Indian Institute for Public Administration (IIPA), founded upon the recommendation of and in consultation with former Maxwell dean Paul Appleby.�� Van Slyke spoke with faculty, civil servants and military personnel at IIPA, among other institutions, on how governments manage complex partnerships with industry.

Maxwell’s longstanding position to invest in the development and raise awareness of good governance initiatives around the globe is a hallmark of the school and was facilitated through meetings with Dr. R Balasubramaniam at the Government of India’s Capacity Building Commission.

Dean Van Slyke also served as the keynote speaker at the International Conference on Public Policy and Management hosted by the Centre for Public Policy at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. The interdisciplinary conference drew scholars representing diverse perspectives on public policy issues and provided a forum for showcasing the latest developments in policy research and practice.

The visit to India culminated with a centennial gathering at the Delhi Gymkhana Club. There, Van Slyke and Nelson joined over 80 Maxwell alumni, partners and dignitaries to celebrate the global impact of Maxwell and the school’s special relationship with India.

A large group of Maxwell alumni, partners and dignitaries celebrate the school’s centennial with Dean Van Slyke.

The innovative work of implementing and assessing the Barnes Center at The Arch Integrated Health and Wellness Model has earned the team, , School of Education associate professor and Barnes Center Interdisciplinary Health and Wellness Research Consortium faculty affiliate, and campus partners their latest peer-reviewed publication, “,” in the Journal of College Student Mental Health (formerly the Journal of College Student Psychotherapy).

Helping to lead the health and wellness research team and this publication is , Barnes Center at The Arch associate director of health and wellness research, who answers a few questions about the publication.

Pet therapy at the Barnes Center at The Arch (Photo by Amelia Beamish)

What are some exciting highlights about the study discussed within the publication?

“Possibly the first peer-reviewed research on an integrated wellness model in a college setting, our study is participatory in nature, aiming to meet the needs of our university community and the wider academic community across various disciplines. The study presents empirical evidence demonstrating the significant impact of the Barnes Center at The Arch’s Integrated Health and Wellness Model on reducing depressive symptoms among college students. The article revealed that our integrated model encompasses various health and wellness components, such as self-guided mindfulness (), pet therapy (), and .”

You’ve mentioned that this may be the first peer-reviewed research of its kind, how do you anticipate this may further support others on a national and even global level?

“We are proud that our Barnes Center Integrated Health and Wellness Model is unique and successful in college settings. While existing literature has some data on integrated health care in hospital settings, our study is likely the first to demonstrate its significance in college settings. We anticipate conducting more research to support college student well-being based on our model, and to provide more data-driven evidence to impact policies and resources for college student well-being nationally and even globally.”

How do you anticipate these findings will help further enhance the ���ϲ����� student experience?

A student enjoys a massage chair at the MindSpa.

“Our current research underscores the significance of an Integrated Health and Wellness Model in a college setting. This model is a bridge connecting many domains of well-being, including physical, mental, social and spiritual, which allows the Barnes Center at The Arch team to provide holistic care for our students. We found that students seeking mental health services could also benefit greatly from engaging in other wellness activities, such as incorporating physical exercise alongside mindfulness experiences of pet therapy and/or self-guided mindfulness practice through the Crowley Family MindSpa, in addition to counseling to enhance mental health outcomes. Taking these findings further, the Barnes Center has implemented a new referral system based on this model, enabling our counseling and health care providers to recommend students to participate in physical exercises, nutrition services, pet therapy and the MindSpa.”

The University community is invited to explore future opportunities for participating in research and supporting the student experience.

• Interdisciplinary Health and Wellness Research Consortium: Involving faculty, graduate students and those interested in participating in research from various disciplines, the Barnes Center at The Arch is working to establish an Interdisciplinary Wellness Research Consortium. The group’s focus will be evidence-based health and wellness research and practitioner-researcher collaboration efforts, incorporating practices such as counseling, health promotion, physical wellness and more. It will also provide graduate students in training with mentorship opportunities in data analysis, research development and publication. For more information, email Yu at qyu105@syr.edu.
• 

  Shooting hoops at the Barnes Center (Photo by Ross Knight)

  Student Health and Wellness Advisory Committee: This committee is hosted for the 2024-25 academic year and offers leadership opportunities for students to provide feedback on health and wellness initiatives, programming and services to help inform the Barnes Center. The application is open through Friday, Sept. 20. More information and the application is available on the .

Saba Siddiki

The funding is provided by the NSF’s Smart and Connected Community program and aims to foster a Community-Responsive Electrified and Adaptive Transit Ecosystem to tackle challenges that arise in the planning, operations and management of public bus fleet electrification.

According to Siddiki and fellow project researchers, public bus fleets—including transit and school buses—represent a prime opportunity for transportation electrification and associated improvements in environmental quality and health benefits in impacted communities.

The widespread adoption of electric buses has been hindered by an array of complex and interrelated planning, operational and managerial challenges, they say. Among them are range limits, long charging time, expenses, low bus utilization ratios, equipment downtime, an underdeveloped workforce, and diverse stakeholder interests and priorities.

The research team seeks to overcome these hurdles with a holistic approach that includes the integration of intelligent technology development with community needs. Sustainability and transportation access will be focal points in their research and solution design.

The project will involve the development of intelligent tools for effective and data-driven decision-making regarding bus electrification. The project will also assess collaborative governance in public bus fleet electrification planning and policymaking. In addition, in collaboration with industry and community partners, the project will contribute to the development of a workforce to facilitate a sustainable future for electrified public bus transportation.

“Through these various activities, the project aims to support a scalable, transferable and sustainable path for bus electrification,” says Siddiki.

Siddiki co-authored a paper published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Transition in August 2023 that presented findings on research related to the topic of transportation electrification. She and fellow writers examined pathways in American cities with varying degrees of plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) adoption and policy activity took to encourage PEV adoption in the late 2010s. They found that transportation electrification in cities was streamlined through the work of PEV advocates that collaborated across sectors.

This recent work builds on previous projects Siddiki has conducted examining public sector policies to encourage electric vehicle adoption as well as factors informing individual vehicle uptake.

Siddiki is the Chapple Family Professor of Citizenship and Democracy and director of the master of public administration program and the Center for Policy Design and Governance. Her research focuses on policy design, collaborative policymaking, institutional theory and analysis, and regulatory implementation and compliance.

“Professor Siddiki’s leadership of the Center for Policy Design and Governance and her broader interdisciplinary work, collaborations and scholarship elevates the visibility and relevance of the research being done as well as the diverse audiences that are impacted by the outcomes and the external funding being prioritized to support evidence-based policy and implementation,” says Dean David M. Van Slyke.

The project research team is led by principal investigator Jie Xu of George Mason University. In addition to Siddiki, it also includes Wenying Ji, Ran Ji, Vivian Motti, David Wong and Fengxiu Zhang, all of George Mason University, and Jundong Li of the University of Virginia.

Students from the Falk College’s Australia: Sport, History and Culture class this summer

“Falk College is creating exceptional experiential learning opportunities for future sports professionals,” says Falk College Dean Jeremy S. Jordan. “Women’s prominence in sports is growing exponentially as they lead traditional male and female teams, engage larger audiences, earn new sponsorships and gain greater media attention than ever before. This partnership integrates our students and faculty with the outstanding work of Women Leaders in Sports and guides us as we develop programming and curricula to meet the needs of this dynamic field.”

Jordan also noted that the recently concluded Summer Olympics generated tremendous excitement and support for women in a variety of sports. It was the fourth Summer Olympic Games where female U.S. athletes won more medals than their male counterparts. The was evident in Paris, from former student-athletes who competed in various sports, to faculty and students participating in academic opportunities, to those working behind the scenes—many facilitating media coverage of women-dominated and other events.

The novel partnership was inspired after ���ϲ�����’s Women in Leadership (WiL) Initiative hosted Women Leaders in Sports’s Chief Executive Officer Patti Phillips on campus last March for a series of meetings and presentations. The collaborative effort will create mentoring, learning, fellowship, internship and membership opportunities for Falk students, provide access to professional memberships to Falk faculty and support faculty attendance at significant events, such as the Women Leaders in Sports National Convention. The joint agreement names Phillips as special advisor to Jordan and enlists her services as an “executive in residence” at Falk. The partnership also calls for an exchange of relevant University research and co-creates a Women Leaders in Sports Fellowship.

Women Leaders in Sports is a 45-year-old organization dedicated to enhancing women’s influence and transforming leadership in sports. Phillips notes that this new partnership makes great strategic sense given the synergies between her organization and the Falk College.

“We accelerate the potential of women to positively impact sports with year-round, world-class leadership development, career training and networking,” says Phillips. “Our nearly 6,000 members share Falk College’s core commitment to mastering all facets of sports, whether business management and human performance or use of technology and marketing. Our members will gain insights that can make them even more effective administrators and executives.”

According to Women Leaders in Sports, nearly half of the women who attend one of the organization’s leadership experiences advance in their careers within a year. The organization hosted 16 national events in 2023. Beyond training and networking, the group also hosts an exclusive online career platform, celebrates member accomplishments with awards and media recognition, and engages, educates and challenges industry leaders to make more diverse and equitable hiring decisions.

Today’s announcement comes just four months after ���ϲ����� announced it would transform the Falk College into a first-of-its-kind College of Sport. The reimagined David B. Falk College of Sport will be the first standalone college on an R1 campus to focus exclusively on sports-related disciplines, making the University among the leading academic institutions for preparing students to lead and drive innovation in sport-related fields and industries. The transformation follows two decades of recognized excellence in sport management, sport analytics, exercise science and nutrition, and such innovative interdisciplinary majors as esports. The Falk College’s excellence, combined with the high growth of sport in the U.S. and around the world, has created unprecedented demand for talented practitioners and professionals.

About the Reimagined David B. Falk College of Sport

The reimagined Falk College of Sport will house academic programs in sport management, sport analytics, exercise science, nutrition and, jointly with the Newhouse School of Public Communications, esports. It will focus on four areas of academic excellence: Sport Business, Human Performance, Sport Technology and Innovation, and Community Sport and Wellness. The college will also launch a new research institute focused on sport and innovation that will leverage an interdisciplinary, cross-campus approach to drive innovation in sport and health outcomes and integrate expertise in business, digital media and technology, among other areas of academic focus.

About Women Leaders in Sports

Founded in 1979, Women Leaders in Sports is the only nationally recognized professional membership organization whose mission is to develop, connect, advance and champion women leaders working in sports. Women Leaders provides career and leadership training, access to a powerful network and the resources to advance women at every stage of their careers. Learn more about the organization on its and follow Women Leaders on��,��,�� and��.

���ϲ�����’s WiL

Establishing ���ϲ����� as a pacesetter in cultivating women leaders, the Women in Leadership Initiative supports professional development for women on campus through education, awareness and mentorship. Created in 2018, the WiL seeks to catalyze the personal and collective advancement of women on campus. WiL hosts a robust professional development program, with opportunities customized to the needs of faculty and staff. Participants benefit from the real experiences and candid advice offered by panels and solo guest speakers.

“My foundation was built at ���ϲ�����,” McCrudden says from the Team USA High Performance Center (HPC), set up exclusively for Team USA to provide American athletes with a place to eat, train, relax and get a reprieve from the stress and chaos of the games.

“They can do some recovery—whatever that looks like for them—and then we also have a lot of outdoor space, so people are in hammocks or on chairs and there are games. It’s like camp,” McCrudden says.

Falk College alumna Maggie McCrudden worked at her first Olympic Games as a dietitian for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, helping athletes eat right to be able to perform at the highest level.

The HPC is about 20 minutes from the Olympic Village, featuring training facilities, meal options, sports medicine, private meeting spaces, recovery space, video review areas and dorm accommodations. The complex includes pools, indoor and outdoor track and field equipment, strength and conditioning facilities, volleyball and basketball courts, fencing strips and archery targets. McCrudden says the goal of the HPC was to provide a “home away from home” for the athletes.

McCrudden has worked for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee for three years, but this was her first time working at an Olympic Games. She and a food service team from Colorado Springs, Colorado, prepared and packed pallets of USA-branded food tailored to athletes’ preferences that were shipped to Paris before the Olympics.

She says her education at Falk College and her experience as a collegiate athlete on the put her on the path to success.

“Being a part of a major sports school and an athlete has helped me so much in my current role because I feel like I understand what the athletes are going through,” McCrudden says. “I understand the ‘go, go, go’ mentality and sometimes just needing a little help.”

McCrudden ran into other members of the Orange family at the Olympics, including fellow Falk College alumnus and ’17 and her former rowing teammate, Hattie Taylor ’17, who she watched for Great Britain.

“I always say wear red, white, and blue but bleed Orange!” McCrudden says.

McCrudden will return to the U.S. after transitioning responsibilities to a colleague for the Paralympic Games, which run Aug. 28 through Sept. 28.

Story by Cathleen O’Hare

Scott Landes

Earlier this month, Associate Professor of Sociology published a new study entitled “” in the��August edition of Health Affairs journal.

The report is the first of its kind to address the substantial knowledge gap on health disparities in the United States between disabled people and non-disabled people. Landes answered questions from SU News about his latest research.

Tell me about the new research that you just published.

Between 2008 and 2019, all-cause mortality risk was nearly two times higher for disabled than nondisabled adults. This mortality disparity was not just present for some disabled people, but persisted for disabled people across age, gender, race-ethnicity, socioeconomic status and health status groups.

Additionally, a mortality disparity was present for all of the 28 disability status combinations examined in the study (e.g., vision only; vision, hearing and mobility; etc.). While all disability status combinations were associated with a higher mortality risk compared to nondisabled adults, the degree of this disparity was more severe for people with a self-care (activities of daily living) disability.

In finding that disabled adults have a mortality rate that is twice as high as nondisabled adults, what does that tell you about the state of healthcare for people with disabilities?

Research provides substantial evidence that disabled people experience ongoing barriers to accessing quality care, ranging from problems with reliable transportation to challenges accessing often inaccessible physicians’ offices or medical settings. In addition, research from Dr. Lisa Iezzoni reveals that even when disabled people are able to access health care, physicians are biased in thinking that they will necessarily be less healthy than non-disabled people. This bias likely impacts course of treatment and care. So whether via challenges accessing care or challenges receiving the best care once accessed, medical care persists as an area of disparity for disabled people.

This research is the first time that mortality rates of disabled adults as compared to non-disabled was investigated. What led you to explore this issue?

At the 64th Meeting of the National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) on Sept. 1, 2023, a working group examining health disparities recommended that the “entire disabilities population NOT [emphasis added] . Fortunately, and largely in response to continued advocacy from the U.S. disability community, the NIMHD Director did not heed this advice, instead designating disabled people as a health disparities population on Sept. 26, 2023.

When making their recommendation to not designate disabled people as a health disparities population, the working group expressed concern, with no supporting evidence, that disabled people may have higher prevalence of all-cause mortality, but that they were not sure that all disabled people experience this and other health disparities. The dangerous precedent set here is assuming health disparities do not exist among a minority population known to experience a multiplicity of inequities. Fortunately, the Director of the NIMHD did not heed the advice of this working group, .

After hearing the working group’s suggestion to not designate due to insufficient evidence of disparities among disabled people, I decided to examine whether a mortality disparity was present among disabled adults in the U.S., and if present, whether it persisted across the disabled population.

What are the big takeaways from this research, and who needs to know about it (public policy officials, medical professionals, etc.)?

In sum, disabled people experience a substantial mortality disparity that extends across this population. This really needs to be an all-hands-on-deck moment, especially as we know that disabled people were also more likely to experience more severe COVID-19 outcomes during the height of the pandemic. All medical providers need to be aware of the increased risk of mortality among disabled people, but in being aware, should not assume that this is simply an inherent outcome of disability. Instead, it needs to be viewed as a disparity that can likely be reduced with higher quality care, both preventive and emergent care. In addition, policymakers need to continue working to ensure accessibility among medical providers, a goal that will be more enforceable in light of the recent Final Rule Implementing .

What is next? Does this research lead to more questions that need to be investigated?

The most pressing questions that remain are what are the exact mechanisms informing the disability mortality disparity, specifically how much of this disparity is due to health care access, socio-economic status, bias among health care providers as well as structural ableism. We need to know more about these exact mechanisms in order to better target interventions aimed at reducing this disparity.

Tony Callisto

As more than 10,000 athletes have prepared to take part in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, so too have the security personnel tasked with keeping the Olympic Village and athletic venues safe.

Tony Callisto, emergency management instructor and retired ���ϲ����� senior vice president for safety and chief law enforcement officer, has had plenty of experience managing large-scale events, including concerts and athletic events at the JMA Wireless Dome.

SU News sat down with Callisto to ask him for his thoughts on security needs for the Olympics and what it takes to be a good candidate for a career in emergency management.

As someone who has been involved in large-scale event planning, what is the number one thing that keeps you up at night?

Having been involved in many major and large-scale events, the number one thing that would tend to keep me up at night would be the possibility of the need for a mass evacuation or an incident of mass casualties. In planning for these types of events, having a multi-phased evacuation plan with detailed evacuation routes, locations for post-evacuation mustering/areas of refuge and ensuring event staff are fully trained on the evacuation protocols are critical for preparation.

Further, in these types of incidences, it is possible that there would be mass casualties, therefore having a preplan with appropriate medical responder staffing in place is also critical to the success of a large event.

Those in charge of security in Paris have openly discussed their top concern of terrorism. Businesses in the region are worried that tight security will hurt their bottom line. How do you balance the two?

(Credit: Paris 2024/pawel.gaul/Florian Hulleu)

As we think about the Paris Olympics, as with any major international event, the possibility of intentional disruption or even an act of terrorism has to be considered in planning.��There are several key elements in security planning, including full threat assessment and analysis, full vulnerability assessment of the venues and protocols for the event, and development of strategies to limit access to only those authorized to be present, and ensuring each of those who are present undergo security screening at specifically designated access points.

In my experience, the less access points there are the better; however, understanding that there will be a significant number of spectators, there needs to be enough controlled access points to accommodate the volume and account for the possibility of the need for evacuating.

All of this does have to be balanced with the enjoyment of the spectators and participants, the ability of businesses to provide services and support the spectators and participants, and limiting the disruption to unrelated businesses impacted by the significant increase in activity and volume in the area.

Without a doubt, as with any major event, there will be business interruptions associated with traffic, street closures, extraordinary building uses, heavy pedestrian activity and increased security measures. The best plans will include sufficient event staffing and training to make the flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic, spectator access and security processes occur as seamlessly and efficiently as possible.

When an anomaly occurs, there must be a sufficient and swift response from authorities with an immediate focus on protecting life and property, and an urgent secondary focus on recovery and resumption of activities. All of this requires mitigation strategies, preparedness, response capabilities and recovery capacity.

A secondary concern this year is a shortage of security contractors. Is workforce always a concern in public safety?

Of course, in this post-pandemic era, recruitment, training and retention of qualified personnel to provide event-related services and security is a public safety concern. Planners must ensure that there are sufficient financial and benefit incentives to attract qualified and competent event staff. Planners will also have to ensure that training provided to event staff is robust and relevant to the risks, as well as to the services necessary for the success of any major event.

With today’s incredible technology, high resolution video surveillance, paired with behavioral pattern recognition and other analytics, will be a significant force multiplier. Likewise, interoperable radio communications will enable those operating the camera and imaging systems to relay live time critical information to security and law enforcement staff on the ground for rapid response.

All of this requires outstanding leadership and the use of a well-coordinated and integrated “unified command,” including leadership representation from law enforcement, security, event management, fire and emergency medical services organizations.

With regard to the day-to-day staffing needed for general public safety, the same staffing concerns are common around the U.S. and abroad. There are no simple answers, so making these jobs as attractive as possible tend to be the necessary actions to minimize the problem, and ensuring a well-coordinated command structure, using the newest proven security technologies, will help to keep the athletes, fans and community members safe.

You teach classes in emergency management in the College of Professional Studies. What are the qualities of your most successful students?

I find the most successful students in classes about crisis and emergency management tend to be those students who are excellent critical thinkers, have a sense of vision and purpose, and understand the importance of mission.

In the emergency management and crisis management disciplines, mitigation through risk identification and analysis, preparedness through development of protocols and conducting drills and training, response capabilities, and a forward focus on recovery tend to be key components.��Students who can think critically, have excellent writing skills and have efficacy to consider appropriate contingencies, tend to excel in crisis and emergency management studies.

Champions Park Catwalk (Credit: @Paris2024)

The 2024 Paris Olympics is almost underway. The glory for the world-class athletes and the excitement for the spectators make for a riveting Games—crucial for the success of these Olympics and, more importantly, for the longevity of the Games.

That sustained legacy is considered high priority for host countries and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

, associate professor of sport management in the , studies Olympic sport legacy, specifically how young people are drawn into the games as sport participants and viewers.

With the median age of viewers of the Olympics in their 50s, Kim says now is a critical time for the IOC to take opportunities to create excitement around the games for younger people, including adding in new sports, such as this Olympics’ newest event: break dancing.

For the 2018 Games, Kim was awarded funding by the IOC’s Olympic Studies Centre to better understand the impact of the games and develop strategies for drawing in young people, for her project “Building a Sport Participation Legacy Through the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.” Kim found that “social influence” from friends and family played the biggest role for younger people in Asia to be drawn into the Games.

Kim, who worked for the Korean Olympic Committee, assisting in its bid for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, more recently will present in August in Paris at the International Sport Business Symposium on her research on the Youth Olympic Games.

In this Q&A with SU News, Kim shares information about her research and getting youth involved and engaged with the Olympics.

What is the research around the Youth Olympics that you will be presenting at the 11th International Sport Business Symposium in Paris?

It is an abstract titled “Investigating the Legacy Governance Process of YOG (Youth Olympics Games) Organizing Committees for Building a Sustainable YOG Legacy.” It is an interview-based case study (e.g., 2016 Lillehammer, 2018 Buenos Aires, 2024 Gangwon) investigating how Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committees manage its Youth Olympics’ legacy throughout the bidding, planning, execution and post-games phases.

What impact does the Youth Olympic Games have on participation in Olympic sports?

The hope for Olympic sport participation legacy is grounded on the “trickle-down effect” (i.e., watching Olympians compete will inspire youth to participate in sport).��For the Youth Olympics, the event can also be a stepstone for younger athletes to compete at the international stage and grow to become Olympians.

Additionally, the Youth Olympics offer many grassroots-level sport opportunities, such as sport camps and collaboration with local schools, to encourage the general youth to learn about Olympic sport.

How important is it to get and keep youth interested in the Olympics/Olympic sports for the sake of the Games’ longevity?

Medals of the 2024 Paris Games (Credit: @Paris2024)

Not garnering enough attention among the youth has been a critical issue. The median media viewership’s age in the North American market is in the mid-50s. The IOC is very aware of the situation and has been putting in a lot of efforts to tackle the issue (e.g., addition of new sport such as breaking, changing event formats to be more entertaining, incorporating esports).

This is a critical period for the IOC and the games’ longevity, but also with great opportunities as the upcoming games will be hosted in traditionally strong sport markets where there are a lot of room for growth in Olympic interest (2024 Paris, 2026 Milan-Cortina, 2028 Los Angeles).

Could the inclusion of break dancing or other new and upcoming “sports” be seen as a way to be more inclusive, to get younger people’s attention on the Games?

Paris 2024 will be the first Olympics to include breaking in the official program. We will have to see how the event turns out. But, so far, looking at the Olympics qualifiers series and the ticket popularity of breaking (currently, very, very popular), it seems like there is a lot of interest garnered for the sport.

What is your favorite summer Olympic game to watch?

Personally, archery. Korea has been very strong in the sport historically, and it is always fun to watch a sport where my team does well (I will be attending the women’s individual archery finals event at the 2024 Paris Olympics).

Check out a as she answers questions about the Olympics.

Ying Shi

Shi will use the funding over the next five years to pursue a research project titled “School Victimization and Hate Crime Exposure Among Asian Students: An Evidence Base to Reduce Well-Being Inequality.” The project includes two studies that will use administrative data from multiple U.S. cities and states to gather evidence on the prevalence and consequences of exposure to school victimization and hate crimes for Asian students compared with their peers.

This topic is overlooked, Shi says, as research on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders tends to focus on their relative academic success, which can contribute to the “model minority” stereotype and perpetuate harm by homogenizing the group’s experiences. Findings from the project can help inform district- and school-based policies that may alleviate racial inequality in well-being, tailored for Asian students and other marginalized groups, she says.

Funding is provided through the William T. Grant Scholars Program, which funds early-career researchers on topics that relate to racial, ethnic or economic inequality among young people ages 5-25 in the United States. Each year, between four and six scholars are selected. Shi is the first scholar to be awarded from ���ϲ�����.

The award supports mentorship from experts in areas pertinent to scholars’ development. Shi will receive mentorship on the study of Asian Americans by Jennifer Lee at Columbia University and on the social determinants of health and machine learning by her Maxwell School colleague, Michiko Ueda-Ballmer, associate professor of public administration and international affairs.

Shi says Lee and Ueda-Ballmer have been “so supportive and such cheerleaders for this type of work.” She adds, “Having them say ‘this is important’ gives me a lot of energy and validation.”

Past research by Shi on education and racial disparities has been supported by the William T. Grant Foundation as well as other organizations. For instance, she was principal investigator on a William T. Grant Foundation-funded project from 2021-23 titled “Long-Term Consequences of the Voting Rights Act for Black-White Disparities in Children’s Later-Life Outcomes.”

Shi is a senior research associate in the Center for Policy Research. Her areas of expertise are racial inequality and education policy. She received a Ph.D. from Duke University in 2017.

This story was written by Michael Kelley.

A display of helmets designed by Bert Straus ’59

Witnessing a helmet-to-helmet collision sparked an idea for alumnus Bert Straus ’59, setting off a series of evolutions in headwear and protective sports equipment.

Straus remembers watching the collision during a televised sports game. An image of a giant pillow inserted at the helmet’s point of contact sprung into his mind.

The designer began sketching the concept, covering the helmet’s outer surface with a urethane foam shell. After prototyping and testing the concept, the ProCap was born.

A brief look into the designer’s extensive career can now be found at the Nancy Cantor Warehouse.

“The idea that we show just a glimpse of his work in the window vitrine looking out onto West Fayette Street was the impetus for this display,” says Don Carr, professor of industrial and interaction design in the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ School of Design. “As a graduate of the ID [industrial design] program from the class of 1959, he was able to share with us examples of amazing work from each decade, which we’ve displayed as a baseline for the installation.”

A sampling of helmets reveals the evolution of his design. “The first changes were driven by aesthetics,” Straus recalls. “It’s difficult for a designer to admit, but ProCap I was ugly. Working with the [Buffalo] Bills, I came up with ProCap II.”

The product evolved to meet the needs of the industry. When the market asked for a vented version, ProCap III was born. Keeping up with trends required further styling, coupled with the integration of the soft-shell technology into a full helmet design.

“The latest change was … prompted by the need to effectively protect against glancing blows that promote rotational accelerations, recognized as the cause of half the concussions suffered on the field,” says Straus.

More information about his work can be found at the Warehouse window display, 350 W. Fayette St., which will be up through mid-October.

Straus plans to visit ���ϲ����� this fall. He looks forward to meeting the students and hearing about their design aspirations.

“I also look forward to answering whatever questions they might have,” he notes. “Both the students and I have this rare opportunity to collectively look at our profession over a seven-decade span.”

Story by Mikayla Heiss

The three-year grant supports the creation of a unique oral history archive and course development focused on the history and ethics of public health pandemic response and faculty and doctoral student training that centers humanities knowledge and methods.

From left: Marian Moser Jones, Amy Fairchild and Cheryl Healton

The educational and research resource will create “new, urgently needed, accessible opportunities for the humanities to speak to public health and broaden access to humanities higher learning opportunities,” says , professor at the Maxwell School, who is principal investigator (PI). Co-PIs are , associate professor of health services management and policy at The Ohio State University, and , founding dean and professor of public health policy and management at the School of Global Public Health at New York University (NYU).

The research team has already conducted nearly 100 interviews with state and local health officials, delving into their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. A planned third phase of the oral history initiative will result in approximately 150 interviews from 40 states and two territories that will become part of a digital archive, “Stewards in the Storm,” housed at ���ϲ�����’s .

Widespread public and political backlash against protective health measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic—and against those who were trying to implement those measures—has had a lasting impact on public health, including ongoing staff shortages and attempts to sharply curtail public health authorities needed to preserve life. In their initial rounds of interviews, the research team found that 36 percent of health officials reported receiving death threats, and 24 percent reported serious threats to their families—with women and people of color more likely to receive such threats.

The third round of interviews is important, Healton says, “because it ensures a resource with a broad, nationally inclusive sample that both researchers and instructors can use to conduct reliable, valid research and to develop strong humanities content in courses that reach both public health and humanities students.”

In addition to expanding the interviews, the researchers also plan to establish a hands-on “Backlash Lab” that will introduce students to the history and ethics of public health, oral history interviewing techniques, qualitative coding strategies and techniques, and quantitative analysis. The lab, anchored at ���ϲ�����, Ohio State and NYU, will also create partnerships with colleges that have historically served Black, Hispanic or first-generation students. Students will code interviews and write case studies to be used in undergraduate and graduate courses as well as professional settings.

Additionally, a survey course, Pandemics: History, Ethics, Politics and Policy, will be developed collaboratively and offered at ���ϲ�����, Ohio State, NYU and Cornell University, with the aim of extending it to other collaborating institutions and other schools and programs in public health. The course aims to cut across public health, public policy and the humanities with a focus on history, medical sociology and communications.

In years two and three of the project, the team will run two workshops for scholars teaching public health and humanities at community and four-year colleges and universities across the country, with a focus on institutions that have public health schools or programs. The workshops will introduce teachers to the techniques of oral history, suggest ways to work with the archive and extend the reach of the new course.

The project capitalizes on synergies between public health and the humanities and addresses common gaps in knowledge about public health history. “As important as easy access to primary documents related to pandemic responses are, we can further illuminate broader historical themes that enrich both the humanities and the field of public health by providing insight into peoples’ lived experiences of pandemics and pandemic response,” Moser Jones says.

“This rich body of narrative history does more than create qualitative data through oral history methods,” Fairchild adds. “Rather, it uses the experience of the pandemic as a lens that can clarify and contextualize the continuing climate of pandemic-associated backlash that has ongoing repercussions for pragmatic efforts to confront population health challenges, from reproductive rights to climate change. It is primarily the foundation for humanistic investigation into the ways in which governmental responses to crises are social products and reflect the societies in which people live and die.”

Saraswati Dhakal

In that role, Dhakal coordinated the center’s renal transplant services, delivering care and treatment to patients while providing counseling and guidance to both the recipients and the family members of the donors.

Dhakal experienced the challenging hardships of working with patients with terminal illness, and she saw firsthand the psychological impact it can have on a family watching a loved one go through their health battle.

Those interactions reinforced to Dhakal the importance of holistic health care while setting her on a path to become a professional counselor and mental health advocate once she graduates.

“Witnessing the impact of mental health challenges on individuals close to me sparked a desire to understand and support those struggling with such issues. Those experiences as a nurse and transplant coordinator further ignited my curiosity to learn more about mental health, which stems from a desire to better understand individuals’ experiences, motivations and resilience in the face of adversity,” Dhakal says. “I am continuously intrigued by the complexities of human behavior and the role of counseling in promoting well-being.”

Saraswati Dhakal plans to utilize her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling to create a safe, accessible environment for everyone seeking help.

During her time on campus, Dhakal was the graduate assistant at the Center for International Services, working with the staff to offer programming and services that support the well-being and overall success of the international student population while contributing to the center’s diversity and inclusion initiatives. She also was active with the , the counseling academic and professional honor society, serving as secretary during the 2023-24 academic year.

Dhakal will participate in the on Saturday, May 11, in the John A. Lally Athletics Complex.

Leading up to convocation, Dhakal sat down with SU News to discuss the challenges facing mental health care professionals and how she plans to utilize her degree to create a safe, accessible environment for everyone seeking help with their mental health.

In work that was recently published in the ““,�����ϲ����� researchers quantify how much the pandemic measures and economic policies impacted those rates. The findings provide answers to lawmakers and health leaders about future health policies and the unintended consequences that come with certain health measures, even if those measures were intended to save lives.

faculty members and researchers , , , ��and led the study, while former ���ϲ����� postdoctoral student Xue Zhang and National Institute on Drug Abuse program scientist Elyse Grossman also contributed.

Professors Wolf and Monnat sat down to discuss the main findings of the work.

Douglas Wolf

Q: What were the key findings that you discovered in this study?

Douglas Wolf: There are three main conclusions supported by this study:

1. The increases in drug overdose mortality observed in many states during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic appear to have been exacerbated by state policies intended to control the spread of the virus—policies that restricted in-person activities, travel and business;

2. State policies intended to mitigate the economic impacts of the pandemic—for example, expanded unemployment benefits—appear also to have reduced drug overdose mortality; and

3. While the two types of policies had opposite effects, no states imposed economic support policies sufficient to fully offset the harmful consequences of the restrictions on individual and business activity.

Q: Did lockdowns have an unintended consequence of increasing drug overdose deaths?

Wolf: Yes, lockdown policies appear to have contributed to an increase in drug overdose deaths. This could have occurred due to loss of employment and income, adverse mental health outcomes, reduced access to treatment and harm reduction services, an inadequate supply of EMS responders, reductions in interdiction of illicit drugs or an increase in solitary drug use.

Q: Do you find any examples of economic support policies that worked better than others in reducing overdose rates?

Wolf: No, we are unable to separate the effects of expanded unemployment benefits and moratoria on evictions and foreclosures, which were the two main types of economic support policies.

Q: How can public health officials best address the needs of people struggling with addiction during public health emergencies like the pandemic?

Shannon Monnat

Shannon Monnat: Crises in general, not just the COVID-19 pandemic, tend to amplify the risk factors for overdose. In the short term, reducing overdose risk among people who are already struggling with substance use disorders requires ensuring widespread and easy access to Narcan–the overdose reversal drug. However, we can’t Narcan our way out of the drug overdose crisis. The most forward-thinking and effective strategy to reduce overdoses in the long term is to reduce the upstream social and economic factors that lead people to use drugs and become addicted. At its core, this means making sure our society is set up in a way that provides opportunities for people to engage in activities–work, family and community–that bring purpose and meaning to their lives.

Q: Four years later–what are the biggest takeaways from your work that could be applied to the next pandemic response?

Monnat: As with all policies, there are tradeoffs. Our finding that restrictive policies were associated with larger increases in drug overdoses must be considered within a broader context of their reductions in COVID-19 mortality. These policies certainly saved lives. People who would have otherwise contracted and died from COVID lived because these policies reduced disease spread. We should all be grateful for that. But we must also acknowledge that some of these policies had the unintended consequence of cutting other lives short. The challenge for policymakers is to find the ideal balance that will save the most lives possible.

You can view and the .

To get in touch with researchers or to get more information, please contact:

Daryl Lovell
Associate Director of Media Relations
University Communications
315.380.0206
dalovell@syr.edu��|��

Chris Munoz
Media Relations Specialist
University Communications
315.278.5566
cjmunoz@syr.edu

Merril Silverstein

, the inaugural holder of the Marjorie Cantor Endowed Professorship in Aging (a joint appointment in ���ϲ�����’s and ), is an expert on aging in the context of family life who’s uniquely qualified to examine the impact of China’s aging population.

Silverstein, a professor in the at Falk and chair of the in Maxwell, is editor of the 2022 book “,” which was recently released in paperback. The book��focuses on the accelerated social and demographic changes in China and examines their implications for family care and support for older adults.

Combining quantitative data from social surveys in China, comparative surveys in Taiwan and Thailand, and qualitative data from in-depth interviews, “Aging Families in Chinese Society” explores the various challenges facing aging families in China as a result of reduced family size, changing gender expectations, rapid economic development and urbanization, rural-to-urban migration, and an emerging but still underdeveloped long-term care system.

To dive into this topic in more detail, we asked Silverstein to discuss this phenomenon and its impact across the globe. Here’s that conversation:

“Interrogating the Racial Wealth Gap: Thinking Locally,” featured presentations by five faculty teams whose research is supported by 2023 grants. Projects focused on how demographics, situations and policies may create conditions that contribute to—or can help resolve—the existence of a .

The term “” refers to disparities in levels of accumulated wealth for individuals, families and groups and the ability of different racial and ethnic populations to access and accumulate opportunities, means of support and resources.

The symposium’s local focus is especially pertinent because has one of the highest poverty rates () in the U.S. and a child poverty level of close to 50%, according to and . Poverty rates impact such as accessibility to health care, housing, employment and educational opportunities, as well as economic well-being and racial and social equity.

At the symposium, researchers presented their findings and local community leaders spoke about how their organizations are addressing wealth gap issues.

Five Research Teams

“Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Through Environmental Justice and Participatory Design” findings from research of and of the and Daniel Cronan of the were presented.

The researchers reported on how air quality, heat islands, recreational facilities, public infrastructure, shelter and outdoor activity spaces affect the well-being and livelihood of neighborhoods in marginalized communities. Working with community partners and city agencies, they planned a new community space on ���ϲ�����’s south side that features structures, landscaping and programming, with construction to begin this spring. Lender Center postdoctoral researcher J Coley also spoke on “Gentrification and Displacement in the American Rust Belt.” That presentation examined the impact of federal housing policy and gentrification on Black Americans’ ability to build wealth.

“Do Underserved and Underrepresented Communities Pay a Higher Premium in Employer-Sponsored Healthcare Coverage?” was presented by and of the and Patricia Crawford of the University of Rhode Island. They discovered significant socioeconomic disparities in healthcare coverage costs for underserved and underrepresented communities, especially for employer-sponsored health insurance at the state level. They reported that underserved populations, particularly those identifying as Black, allocate a higher percentage of income to employer-sponsored healthcare premiums than white and Hispanic individuals.

University Trustee Gisele Marcus ’89, a Whitman alumna, chaired that discussion session. Marcus is vice dean for the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and a professor of practice for diversity, equity and inclusion at Washington University in St. Louis.

Food Policy, Mental Health Response

“Food Policy Councils as a Vehicle to Address the Racial Wealth Gap in Food System Labor” was presented by of the and of the .

Data from 2016-2022 surveys by The Food Policy Network at the Johns Hopkins University Center for a Livable Future, and labor questions from its 2023 survey, were analyzed to assess tensions between small-scale food business owners and worker advocates. The pair found that while food business owners may be reticent to discuss labor policy, worker advocates want to see improvements in wages and labor conditions. Though both groups have worked with American food policy councils, the researchers said progress toward racial justice for food system workers may be limited due to these divided viewpoints and differing priorities. The researchers are continuing to conduct interviews and focus groups with some of the food policy councils.

“Advancing Mental and Behavioral Health Equity through the Promotion of an Equitable Crisis Response System” was presented by of the Maxwell School. She created two surveys—one for ���ϲ����� students, the other for the general public—to measure attitudes and perceptions about the national 988 suicide and crisis lifeline, particularly among communities of color. The surveys gauge attitudes toward mental health help-seeking; barriers to help-seeking behavior; perceptions and concerns about the service; and experiences of unfair treatment based on race and other identities.

Lender Center Senior Research Associate Kira Reed (right) introduces Maxwell School researcher Michiko Ueda-Ballmer (to her left) and community panelists Ann Rooney (far left) of Onondaga County and Carrie Brown of the University’s Barnes Center at The Arch for a discussion on a 988 suicide and crisis lifeline and community resources.

“K-12 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Policies and Plans” was presented by and of the . They discovered a spotty approach to the development and adoption of DEI policies and program integration in the New York State school districts they studied. While many had a DEI plan or have integrated DEI into their strategic goals, they found that support for the DEI work leaders are doing, and the speed and quality of those program implementations are highly varied. They also noted that several districts experienced community resistance to adopting DEI initiatives, especially around practices concerning LGBTQIA students.

Land and Wealth Loss

Thomas Shapiro, research professor of law and social policy at Brandeis University, also spoke about how the dispossession of lands from Black farmers has contributed to the racial wealth gap in the U.S. Though they collectively owned 16 million acres of land by 1910, Black farmers were dispossessed of 90% of that land over 70 years, extracting $326 billion in wealth (in today’s dollars) from that group, he said. Shapiro cited Pigford v. Glickman, a lawsuit the farmers brought against the U.S. Department of Agriculture alleging systemic racism in the allocation of farm loans and assistance. He called it “an important story…of racialized structures, policies and institutions that might be important to the work…of reparation frameworks and reparative justice.”

Community Participation

The event concluded with a community roundtable featuring local government and organizational leaders and moderated by , associate provost for strategic initiatives. Reporting on how their groups are addressing the racial wealth gap locally were Sharon Owens, ���ϲ����� deputy mayor; Melanie Littlejohn, president and CEO of the Central New York Community Foundation; and Robert Simmons, director of Micron Gives North America at the Micron Foundation.

This was the second annual symposium supported by MetLife Foundation’s $2.7 million award sponsoring three years of inquiry regarding racial wealth gap causes. The funds have also permitted the Lender Center to host community conversations and form new partnerships with leading national civic and academic institutions.

The next conversation, “Closing the Racial Wealth Gap: Public, Private and Philanthropic Collaborations,” takes place June 4 at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta.

Laura Moretti Reece

As a certified specialist in sports dietetics, Reece specializes in sports performance-based nutrition, as well as treating Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S), disordered eating and eating disorders in athletes. She has extensive experience in consulting and collaborating with Olympic and professional athletes, local colleges and universities and professional sport and dance facilities.

“We are thrilled to have Laura Moretti Reece as the featured speaker this year,” says Lynn Brann, chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at Falk. “Laura’s work in sports dietetics and eating disorder treatment strongly aligns with the legacy of Ann Selkowitz Litt and with student interests in nutrition, Falk College and athletics. Her work extends across a variety of athletes and focuses on fueling for health and optimal performance.”

Reece currently serves as a clinical nutrition specialist for Sports Medicine, Orthopedics, and the Female Athlete Program at Boston Children’s Hospital. She is also the consulting dietitian for U.S. Rowing and the Boston Ballet Company and Schools. She was recently appointed to the RED-S Expert Advisory Panel for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic committees. Previously, she served as co-chair of the International Academy of Eating Disorders Sport and Exercise Special Interest Group and co-chair of the 2019 Female Athlete Conference.

Reece is the owner of a Boston-based nutrition private practice group, . She earned a master’s degree in clinical nutrition from New York University.

For information about the Ann Litt Lecture and accommodations or parking requests, please contact Mackenzie Kelly at��mkelly47@syr.edu or call 315.443.2027.