Education (Colleges & Universities)
Here's a look at documents from public, private and community colleges in the U.S.
Featured Stories
University of Pennsylvania: Why are Icy Surfaces Slippery?
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, Jan. 25 -- The University of Pennsylvania issued the following Q&A on Jan. 23, 2026, with Robert W. Carpick, John Henry Towne Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics and Materials Science and Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science:
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Why are icy surfaces slippery?
Winter Storm Fern brought icy and snowy conditions to the Northeast and other parts of the country over the weekend. Penn Today asks physicist Robert Carpick about the unique properties of ice, the science of curling, and how close we are to 'nonslip' ice.
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Winter
... Show Full Article
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, Jan. 25 -- The University of Pennsylvania issued the following Q&A on Jan. 23, 2026, with Robert W. Carpick, John Henry Towne Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics and Materials Science and Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science:
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Why are icy surfaces slippery?
Winter Storm Fern brought icy and snowy conditions to the Northeast and other parts of the country over the weekend. Penn Today asks physicist Robert Carpick about the unique properties of ice, the science of curling, and how close we are to 'nonslip' ice.
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WinterStorm Fern, a rare convergence of Arctic cold and Southwest moisture, seems set to bring arctic weather to many parts of the U.S. this weekend. With it, storm warnings included familiar messages: slow down, watch for black ice, and assume the sidewalk is plotting against you.
But the true issue isn't the storm itself: it's the molecular "deal" ice strikes with everything it touches. Unlike most solids, ice refuses to act like a rigid crystal. Instead, it behaves as a self-made lubricant--especially as temperatures hover near freezing.
To help us understand why we lose our grip in icy conditions, Penn Today sat down with Robert Carpick, the John Henry Towne Professor in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. An expert in tribology--the study of friction, wear, and lubrication--Carpick analyzes what happens when surfaces meet at the atomic scale. He also happens to be an avid curler, a sport where mastering the "slip" is the difference between a win and a wipeout.
Why is ice slippery?
Ice has an unusual property: it can melt when you apply pressure to it, whereas most materials behave the other way around--pressure usually makes liquids become solid. For a long time, people thought pressure caused slipperiness. But pressure-induced melting only happens in a very narrow temperature range, while ice remains slippery well outside those limits.
Others suggested friction from sliding--think rubbing your hands in the cold to stay warm or a shoe making contact with ice--heated the ice enough to create a melt layer. But that's sort of a chicken-and-egg problem: generating enough heat requires some extended sliding with high friction--ice is slippery without having to slide hardly at all.
Eventually researchers realized that ice has another funny property: its surface can pre-melt, meaning it naturally has a thin layer of water on top of it, well below the melting temperature. The layer gets thicker as the temperature gets closer to the melting temperature.
However, this idea--based on ice being self-lubricated--doesn't explain why some materials have lower friction against ice than others; if the water layer is always there, everything should be equally slippery. It's an oversimplification, but that's the basic argument.
Recently, researchers in Germany used simulations to show that when something touches ice, the water molecules at the surface rearrange from an ordered crystal into a disordered, amorphous structure. This isn't caused by pressure or friction, but by microscopic electrical charges. Water molecules have positive and negative ends, and when they touch another surface, they react to the atoms in that material. They believe this electrical 'push and pull' disrupts the ice's rigid structure, creating that slippery, disordered layer, which would explain why ice is slippery across different temperatures and why some materials slide on it better than others.
But in short, we don't yet know for sure. As many have observed, despite the commonality of water and ice, their physical properties are remarkably unique.
Your research focus is tribology. Could you explain what that means, and has how it's made you think differently about curling?
Tribology comes from the Greek tribos (rubbing or sliding) and is the study of interacting surfaces in motion: adhesion, friction, lubrication, and wear.
Ice friction is complex, but with curling, you add a spin on the material: a granite rock sliding over it. The spin causes the rock to 'curl'--to follow a path that's not straight.
Adding to the fun, the ice is deliberately textured (pebbled), and this helps the rock curl even more. Sweeping in front of the ice makes it curl less, to let players 'steer' the curling rock a bit, ultimately getting the rock to be exactly where you want it to be to score points.
There's still a debate over this too: science doesn't have a unified understanding of why curling rocks curl, why pebbling promotes it, and why sweeping inhibits it. Perhaps the amorphization model could help explain it. I might think about it more during the snowstorm.
How far away are scientists from engineering a 'nonslip' ice?
I recently went skating at an indoor rink made of 'glice,' which are slabs of a polymer whose friction is so low that it almost feels like skating on ice--but not quite. You get a lot of little shavings that scrape off from the contact of the skates that stick to your clothes and are annoying, but overall, it's not bad, especially given that it works at room temperature. So, an interesting challenge would be to engineer synthetic 'ice,' meaning a material that has friction as low as ice but without needing any cooling.
As far as nonslip ice goes, I don't know if we can ever tame water and ice to do what we want.
However, ice friction increases if you move slowly or stand still. Cross-country skiers know that while waxed skis are slippery, standing still provides initial traction. Recent curling research shows this increase in friction at low speeds is very strong. So, the best way to avoid slipping is to be patient. On an icy sidewalk, we walk slowly partly for balance, but also to avoid the drop in friction that occurs as soon as you start to slide.
So be careful in the storm--don't rush, if you can stand the cold that long.
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Original text here: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/penn-engineering-why-are-icy-surfaces-slippery
University of Pennsylvania: Model Could Help Police Departments Reduce Excessive Force Incidents
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, Jan. 25 -- The University of Pennsylvania issued the following news:
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New model could help police departments reduce excessive force incidents
Criminology professor Greg Ridgeway has developed a model that estimates an officer's likelihood of using a higher level of force than peers in similar situations--an improvement on existing early-intervention systems that don't account for differences in time and location.
Key Takeaways
* Current systems can miss the bigger picture, and do not consider context.
* Greg Ridgeway's new context-aware statistical model
... Show Full Article
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, Jan. 25 -- The University of Pennsylvania issued the following news:
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New model could help police departments reduce excessive force incidents
Criminology professor Greg Ridgeway has developed a model that estimates an officer's likelihood of using a higher level of force than peers in similar situations--an improvement on existing early-intervention systems that don't account for differences in time and location.
Key Takeaways
* Current systems can miss the bigger picture, and do not consider context.
* Greg Ridgeway's new context-aware statistical modelhighlights patterns that warrant closer review.
* Departments can act on insights from the model, such as by training or reassigning officers.
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After an incident where a police officer uses excessive force, investigators typically review whether there were any warning signs, such as a history of using serious force, says criminology professor Greg Ridgeway. Many police departments in the United States use commercial or in-house systems to flag warnings signs and identify officers whose use of force--ranging from restraining to potentially deadly force--exceeds a set threshold, such as two incidents in a given period.
However, Ridgeway notes that these methods don't account for key differences in time and place. For example, two incidents might be reasonable for an officer working nights in the nightlife district but worrying for an officer working mornings in the business district, yet both would be flagged.
To address these limitations, Ridgeway developed a statistical model that estimates an officer's likelihood of using a higher level of force than peer officers in the same circumstance. He did this by comparing only data from use-of-force incidents with multiple officers on scene and using a mathematical equation that cancels out time, location, and other situational factors. His findings are published in the Journal of the American Statistical Association.
"Importantly, flagging an officer as a statistical outlier does not prove that they are problematic since it could also signal that their peers are too passive or too risk averse or the officer is designated to be the officer to go hands-on first as part of a predetermined plan," the paper states. Instead, the model "provides a principled approach for identifying elevated risk that should prompt a department to audit the officer's force incidents, interview force subjects, and prioritize review of the officer's body-worn camera videos."
Ridgeway says once officers are identified, departments have a variety of remedies, such as training, basic admonition, reassignment to lower-risk positions, or punitive actions, such as suspension or termination.
He gives the example of an interaction involving three officers where one officer doesn't take any action, another restrains a civilian, and a third uses pepper spray--respectively known as level 0, 1, and 2 force. (Level 3 force is deadly or potentially deadly). It's possible everything in this encounter unfolded appropriately for the circumstance, says Ridgeway, "but if it's always the same person going for the higher level or always the same person just being a witness, you start thinking, 'Maybe there's a real pattern here, and these are the officers that need closer scrutiny.'"
Collaborating with the Seattle Police Department, Ridgeway tested the model on their use-of-force data from April 2014 to March 2021. Ridgeway says he used this data because of the rigor and oversight SPD applies to their data collection--meaning that use of force gets documented appropriately. The individual identities of officers were anonymized when Ridgeway received the data.
By using a rule that flags officers likely to rank in the highest 5%, Ridgeway identified nine officers at the highest risk of escalating force more than their peers. For example, one officer used a more serious form of force than other officers in eight of the nine use-of-force incidents for which they were on scene, and in seven of those situations, they were the only officer to use force.
His analysis also identified 13 officers with a high probability of being in the bottom 5% of force escalation.
"There are some benign explanations, such as these officers having supervisory roles on site or being particularly skillful at de-escalating," Ridgeway writes. "These officers may be well-positioned to model de-escalation strategies for others. However, police managers also need to review these officers to ensure they will act when the situation demands it, as the tragedies in Charlottesville, Parkland, and Uvalde underscore the consequences of inaction."
In the future, Ridgeway hopes to work with other police departments to analyze their data, allowing him to compare findings across departments.
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Greg Ridgeway is the Rebecca W. Bushnell Professor of Criminology, professor of statistics and data science, and faculty co-director of the Data Driven Discovery Initiative in the School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania.
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Original text here: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/criminology-greg-ridgeway-model-police-use-of-force
UWG's Ingram Library Advances Information Literacy From Georgia to the Globe
CARROLLTON, Georgia, Jan. 25 -- The University of West Georgia issued the following news:
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UWG's Ingram Library Advances Information Literacy from Georgia to the Globe
The University of West Georgia's Ingram Library is advancing its commitment to accessible, high quality learning materials through two major initiatives that broaden the reach of open educational resources (OER) locally and internationally.
In Fall 2020, Ingram Library launched LibraryDen, an online, asynchronous tutorial series created by Anne C. Barnhart, professor and head of UWG outreach and assessment, to strengthen
... Show Full Article
CARROLLTON, Georgia, Jan. 25 -- The University of West Georgia issued the following news:
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UWG's Ingram Library Advances Information Literacy from Georgia to the Globe
The University of West Georgia's Ingram Library is advancing its commitment to accessible, high quality learning materials through two major initiatives that broaden the reach of open educational resources (OER) locally and internationally.
In Fall 2020, Ingram Library launched LibraryDen, an online, asynchronous tutorial series created by Anne C. Barnhart, professor and head of UWG outreach and assessment, to strengthenstudents' research and information literacy skills. More than 5,000 UWG students have completed the program, which earned the 2021 American Library Association Library Instruction Roundtable Innovation in Instruction Award.
That recognition sparked international interest, leading to a four year collaboration between Barnhart and librarians from four Mexican institutions to adapt the program for Spanish speaking learners. The resulting project, ALFIN sin fronteras ("InfoLit Without Borders"), debuted on Dec. 1, 2025, at the XXXIX Coloquio Internacional de Bibliotecarios before an audience of more than 200 librarians. The Spanish language course, ALFIN: tu puerta al conocimiento, is now freely available through Canvas and Moodle, and within its first week, more than 20 libraries across eight countries requested access. Additional information is available at alfinsinfronteras.org.
At the same time, Ingram Library has strengthened statewide access to OERs through a comprehensive cataloging project led by senior cataloger Shelley Rogers. Rogers completed catalog records for 344 OER created by University System of Georgia (USG) faculty and staff from 2020 to 2025. These records, added to OCLC and the USG universal catalog, allow students and faculty across Georgia to easily discover no cost and low cost course materials - resources that can significantly reduce textbook expenses and support student retention. Materials range from core undergraduate texts to specialized graduate resources, including UWG authored works such as "First-Year Writing Toolkit."
As new OERs continue to be developed, Ingram Library will maintain and expand this growing collection. For more information, contact Blynne Olivieri Parker, dean, at bolivier@westga.edu.
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Original text here: https://www.westga.edu/news/around-campus/library-advances-information-literacy.php
Michigan Medicine: Private Equity Investment Into IVF
ANN ARBOR, Michigan, Jan. 25 -- Michigan Medicine, the academic medical center of the University of Michigan, issued the following news release:
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Private Equity Investment into IVF
Examining private equity's role in fertility care
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In a recent paper published in JAMA, researchers find that over 50% of IVF cycles in the United States are now done at fertility clinics affiliated with private equity firms. Read the full article here (https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/examining-private-equitys-role-fertility-care).
Transcript
Host:
Welcome to Health Lab, your destination for
... Show Full Article
ANN ARBOR, Michigan, Jan. 25 -- Michigan Medicine, the academic medical center of the University of Michigan, issued the following news release:
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Private Equity Investment into IVF
Examining private equity's role in fertility care
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In a recent paper published in JAMA, researchers find that over 50% of IVF cycles in the United States are now done at fertility clinics affiliated with private equity firms. Read the full article here (https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/examining-private-equitys-role-fertility-care).
Transcript
Host:
Welcome to Health Lab, your destination fornews and stories about the future of healthcare.
Today: We're looking at when private equity invests in IVF, and examining private equity's role in fertility care.
Researchers find over 50% of IVF cycles are now done at fertility clinics affiliated with private equity firms.
Over the past decade, the rise of private equity firms investing in health care facilities across the United States has been exploding, and because of that rapid growth, researchers have begun digging into what this could mean for health care and patients in the long term.
In recent years, private equity firms have become much more active in the fertility space, where many patients seek care for reproductive issues and pursue in vitro fertilization, or IVF, which costs thousands of dollars, and usually isn't covered by insurance.
James Dupree, M.D., M.P.H., and his colleagues wanted to explore what these changes could mean for patients with infertility.
Dr. Dupree is a professor of urology and obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Michigan Medical School, who directs U-M Health's Male Fertility Preservation Program and studies fertility care.
In their recent paper, published in JAMA, the team shows that since 2013, expansive growth has been seen in affiliations between fertility clinics and private equity firms.
They also find that over half of the IVF cycles in the country in 2023 were done at clinics affiliated with private equity firms.
Further examination of the links between IVF clinics and private equity show that a federal law requires every fertility clinic to report data about their IVF cycles to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The team used those reports from 2013 to 2022 to examine every IVF clinic in the country, which includes private practices and hospital-based clinics, and they used other databases and online searches to identify which clinics were affiliated with private equity firms.
What they found was exponential, dramatic growth. To put it in context, in 2013, only 4% of fertility clinics in the United States were affiliated with private equity firms. But since then, the number has grown to be eight times as big.
"As of 2023, we estimate that 32% of IVF clinics were affiliated with private equity firms," explains Dupree. He goes on, "And these clinics affiliated with these private equity firms are performing over half of the IVF cycles in the country."
So what does that mean?
Dr. Dupree says, "There's a lot we don't know yet. It might be good for patients; it costs a lot of money to modernize IVF laboratory equipment and perform outreach to patients and private equity firms can provide capital to hopefully improve quality and patient care."
He also explains that in other health care settings outside fertility care, there is data to suggest quality could decline while costs increase.
"We don't know yet in the fertility world whether this is a net gain for patients or net loss," he said.
Dr. Dupree emphasizes how private equity-supported fertility care will be a crucial business model to continue examining, especially with the government's recent interest in making IVF care more accessible to Americans with infertility.
He said, "Given how prevalent the business model is, we need to do more research and understand the benefits and risks -- like the quality of care, cost of care, access to care -- are they better or are they worse?"
As a top researcher in the area, Dr. Dupree and his team will continue his work looking into fertility care across the United States, including how IVF is covered by insurance companies, to help hopefully inform future health policies and help patients in the long run.
A reminder that all Health Lab content including health news, best practices and research insights are for informational purposes only, and are not a substitute for professional medical guidance. Always seek the advice of a health care provider for questions about your health and treatment options.
For more on this story and for others like it, visit michiganmedicine.org/health-lab where you can also subscribe to our Health Lab newsletters to receive the latest in health, wellness and medical research information to your inbox each week. Health Lab is a part of the Michigan Medicine Podcast Network, and is produced by the Michigan Medicine Department of Communication. You can subscribe to Health Lab wherever you listen to podcasts.
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View link to podcast here: https://open.acast.com/public/streams/5ae17fc367bbd246234ef1f5/episodes/6973b371283ec80e15f98b82.mp3
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Original text here: https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-lab-podcast/private-equity-investment-ivf
Michigan Medicine: IVF Insurance Coverage Varies Greatly Among Larger Employers
ANN ARBOR, Michigan, Jan. 25 (TNSjou) -- Michigan Medicine, the academic medical center of the University of Michigan, issued the following news release:
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IVF insurance coverage varies greatly among larger employers
Analysis of in vitro fertilization policy plans offers a better picture of what kind of access patients actually have
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With President Trump's executive order to expand access to families for in vitro fertilization, or IVF, the federal government has been giving special attention to insurance coverage of this important infertility treatment.
Luckily, James Dupree, M.D., M.P.H.,
... Show Full Article
ANN ARBOR, Michigan, Jan. 25 (TNSjou) -- Michigan Medicine, the academic medical center of the University of Michigan, issued the following news release:
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IVF insurance coverage varies greatly among larger employers
Analysis of in vitro fertilization policy plans offers a better picture of what kind of access patients actually have
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With President Trump's executive order to expand access to families for in vitro fertilization, or IVF, the federal government has been giving special attention to insurance coverage of this important infertility treatment.
Luckily, James Dupree, M.D., M.P.H.,and Anna Kirkland, J.D., Ph.D., have been working on, and researching, this topic for years.
"The World Health Organization and the American Society of Reproductive Medicine state that infertility is a disease," Dupree explained.
"Much like patients should have access to medicines that treat diabetes and blood pressure, I believe strongly patients should have access to IVF," explained Dupree, a urologist who sees firsthand how patients struggle to pay for these types of fertility treatments; a single round of IVF treatment can range anywhere from $15,000 to $20,000, without a guarantee of a successful pregnancy.
Dupree and Kirkland's recent data, published in the Journal of Assisted Reproductive Genetics, revealed more on the current state of employer insurance plans for IVF.
"One of our previous papers found that patients were willing to pay $5,000 per cycle of IVF, so we started looking at IVF coverage policies at self-insured employers that are able to design their own insurance coverage policies," said Kirkland.
State mandates have begun to pass around the country to try to bring IVF costs for patients down instead of having it be an entirely out-of-pocket cost for those who can afford it.
But it's not that simple, as their findings showed.
"Those state IVF coverage mandates don't apply to every employer, however, and the employers that are exempt, called self-insured employers, in our study, didn't offer any more IVF coverage than the national average," said Kirkland.
"The policy and legal landscape for IVF coverage is highly fragmented," she explained.
More about the paper
Only 15 states and Washington, DC, have passed a law that mandate private insurance coverage of IVF, but each mandate is significantly different.
For instance, Hawaii states that a couple must be infertile for five years before receiving IVF insurance coverage, while Utah offers up to $4,000 towards IVF-related medicines and procedures.
"So, there's coverage, but not great coverage and not the same across the board," said Dupree.
Their team decided to break this down further, in states with mandates IVF coverage, by looking at self-insured companies that don't have to follow the mandates.
Self-insured companies tend to be larger employers, like the University of Michigan, for example, who bear the risk of paying claims for their employees and their dependents out of their own funds.
These companies have to follow federal laws, but not state laws, regarding insurance coverage, and current federal law doesn't include an IVF coverage mandate.
The other kind of employer people can use is a fully insured one, which means an insurance company bears the risk of an employer's plan for its employees, and is paid a set amount by that employer.
These employer plans need to abide by state mandates.
And that's important, says Kirkland, because only 34% of people get insurance from these fully-insured companies, whereas 66% of people get insurance from self-insured employers.
"So what we did in the research is looked at self-insured employers who were headquartered in one of those states with the IVF coverage mandates. We wondered if being in a mandate state would pressure them to match coverage. What we found was that those self-insured employers are not offering any more IVF coverage than the national average in those states," she added.
"Their coverage is low when you compare it to the fully-insured companies in those states that must follow the mandates and offer coverage about 100% of the time. The self-insured employers only provided IVF coverage about 40% of the time."
An additional finding in their study was that, among self-insured companies that offered coverage, the details of the coverage varied widely.
"We found examples of companies covering IVF, but they only cover $5,000 to $10,000, which usually won't even cover one IVF attempt. And then we found others that cover 5 to 6 cycles of IVF."
Coverage by self-insured companies varied by business sector.
Educational service companies, manufacturers, finance and insurance companies were very likely to offer IVF benefits, but industries like health care services, hotel and hospitality companies were less so.
In general, non-union employer plans offered IVF coverage more commonly than union plans did.
What's next?
Dupree and Kirkland's team plans to focus on expanding their review across the country.
They hope to put together prototypes of ideal benefit coverage plans that could be used in a meaningful way as the government examines what IVF coverage is available and what could be available in the future.
For now, Dupree emphasizes the need for employees to understand their insurance plan's IVF benefits before they may actually need to use it.
"You need to really read the details about the IVF coverage, not just hear that it's 'covered'. You may not care about it in that moment, but then when it does matter to you, it really matters."
Funding/disclosures: Funding to support this work came from R01HD113625 from the National Institute of Health, the University of Michigan Medical School Office of the Vice President for Research Pandemic Research Recovery Program, the Kim Lane Scheppele Collegiate Professorship of Women's and Gender Studies, the Institute for Research on Women & Gender (IRWG), and the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.
Paper cited: "When states require fully insured employers to cover in vitro fertilization (IVF), what do self-insured employers provide?," J Assist Reprod Genet. DOI: 10.1007/s10815-025-03756-3
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Original text here: https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-lab/ivf-insurance-coverage-varies-greatly-among-larger-employers
Case Western Reserve: Political Science's Kathryn C. Lavelle Writes Book Chapter on History of Financial Architecture Released in Edited Volume
CLEVELAND, Ohio, Jan. 25 -- Case Western Reserve University issued the following news:
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Political science's Kathryn C. Lavelle writes book chapter on history of financial architecture released in edited volume
In November, Kathryn C. Lavelle, PhD, the Ellen and Dixon Long Professor in World Affairs, published a book chapter on the history of financial architecture released in an edited volume of International Economic and Monetary Architecture at the Crossroads: Bretton Woods at 80.
The chapter, titled "Paths not taken with the American payments imbalance," explores various avenues that
... Show Full Article
CLEVELAND, Ohio, Jan. 25 -- Case Western Reserve University issued the following news:
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Political science's Kathryn C. Lavelle writes book chapter on history of financial architecture released in edited volume
In November, Kathryn C. Lavelle, PhD, the Ellen and Dixon Long Professor in World Affairs, published a book chapter on the history of financial architecture released in an edited volume of International Economic and Monetary Architecture at the Crossroads: Bretton Woods at 80.
The chapter, titled "Paths not taken with the American payments imbalance," explores various avenues thatthe Bretton Woods system could have taken in managing the world's economic system after World War II.
Lavelle's contribution also considers different possibilities in resolving the American imbalance in the 1960s that led to the present-day relationships among the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Group of 10 and other public and private arrangements.
Access the book (https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003546542-7/paths-taken-american-payments-imbalance-kathryn-lavelle?context=ubx&refId=767f77b1-077c-4253-9a6d-02bc8d216222).
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Original text here: https://case.edu/news/political-sciences-kathryn-c-lavelle-writes-book-chapter-history-financial-architecture-released-edited-volume
California State University Sacramento: President Wood Projects Optimistic Future, Emphasizes Arts in '26 Spring Address
SACRAMENTO, California, Jan. 25 -- California State University Sacramento campus issued the following news:
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President Wood projects optimistic future, emphasizes arts in '26 Spring Address
By Jennifer K. Morita
The new year is giving positive vibes for Sacramento State.
President Luke Wood projected another record-breaking enrollment year, teased plans for a landmark downtown campus, a state-of-the-art forensic lab in Placer County, and reported a cautiously optimistic budget outlook during his 2026 Spring Address on Jan. 22.
Wood, who declared 2026 the year of the arts, said Sac
... Show Full Article
SACRAMENTO, California, Jan. 25 -- California State University Sacramento campus issued the following news:
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President Wood projects optimistic future, emphasizes arts in '26 Spring Address
By Jennifer K. Morita
The new year is giving positive vibes for Sacramento State.
President Luke Wood projected another record-breaking enrollment year, teased plans for a landmark downtown campus, a state-of-the-art forensic lab in Placer County, and reported a cautiously optimistic budget outlook during his 2026 Spring Address on Jan. 22.
Wood, who declared 2026 the year of the arts, said SacState made great strides toward his four imperatives for the 2025-26 academic year.
"We have navigated difficult times and more challenges lie ahead," Wood said. "But I can tell you, we're doing well. We're growing, we're thriving.
"... We're the North Star of the West for many reasons. While other universities across the nation and in our own state turned away from the principles of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, we remain steadfast."
The Spring Address, followed by Convocation in the evening, kicked off the start of the Spring Semester.
Wood outlined his four imperatives during his Fall Address in August which include:
* Providing students with an education that leads to greater economic mobility, or a return on their investment (ROI)
* Achieving financial sustainability and independence from state and economic downturns
* Making Sac State a national brand
* Creating an environment of hope and dignity for students, faculty, and staff
Earlier this month, Sacramento State earned the prestigious Carnegie Community Engagement Classification for 2026, the fourth time since 2010, a national designation recognizing the University's long history of providing students with hands-on learning experiences in the community.
Each year, Sac State students engage in over 914,000 hours of community-engaged research and service projects, a gift of over $36.5 million to the region.
"Our community engagement practices not only contribute to improved retention and graduation rates, but they regularly pave the way for employment post graduation," he said.
Wood also praised the work of the Career Center, which supported more than 13,700 students despite a substantial loss in federal funding, and emphasized the University's commitment to find other ways to finance the center.
The planned Sacramento State Placer Center is another way the University is providing students with experiential learning opportunities, Wood said.
In December, the Placer County Board of Supervisors approved spending $2.5 million to start the design-build phase of a state-of-the-art forensic science lab on the future campus.
Once completed, students will be learning and working in an active crime lab.
"Our students will learn from the front row, simultaneously building career-ready skills and life-changing relationships with influential professionals in the field," Wood said.
Wood reported encouraging budget news. Governor Gavin Newsom's proposed state budget includes $366 million for the California State University system.
"If approved, this funding strengthens our ability to do what we do best. Drive economic mobility, fuel regional growth, and prepare our workforce, particularly for the first generation, low-income, and historically underserved students who are the heart of our mission," Wood said.
But Wood cautioned the proposed budget could still change.
Guest speaker Sacramento Mayor Pro Tem Eric Guerra had a call to action for Hornets.
"Higher education is under attack nationally," said Guerra, a Sac State alumnus. "It's time for us to pull together to remind people so close to our state capital, so close to many of our federal officials, that higher education is critical to not only creating hope and opportunity, but to moving our state forward, to addressing our economic challenges."
Sacramento State's enrollment continues to climb, Wood said.
"We are on track once again to break records for enrollment," Wood said. "We are meeting and exceeding our enrollment goals, which is wonderful since enrollment growth is an indicator of institutional health and progress towards our financial sustainability.
"It's also bucking the trend in terms of what's taking place in Northern California with other universities."
Enrollment growth and making Sac State into a national and international brand are critical to gaining financial independence from the state.
"Name recognition matters," Wood said. "It translates into support for the funding sources that allow us to offer our students our very best across all measures."
Sac State's plan to establish a Downtown Sacramento campus is moving forward. Wood called it a "landmark" project that would include public and private uses for education, housing, workforce development, and hospitality.
Wood cited Sacramento State's Film and Criminal Justice programs, as well as Capital Fellows and Sacramento Semester as draws for prospective students, including alum and filmmaker Joe Carnahan '94 whose latest movie The Rip is the No. 1 movie on Netflix.
Wood also called for a focus on the arts, starting with art-driven discourses on campus and weekly dance and music performances around campus beginning in February.
"Art supercharges creative and critical thinking," he said. "It boosts emotional intelligence. It promotes civic engagement and cultural awareness.
"These are the characteristics we want in our graduates. If we want to create an environment of hope and dignity, we must embrace the arts and the way art absolutely explodes the vocabulary we can use to counter dominant narratives."
Wood pointed to alum Ryan Coogler '07, whose film Sinners made Oscar history with a record-breaking 16 Academy Award nominations this year.
"Sinners is a sermon on cultural appropriation, the forgotten figures of the Jim Crow South, and the transcendent properties of the Juke Joint Blues," Wood said. "It's also a master class on media technology and entertainment industry politics. It's a work of art that sparks discussions ... and uncomfortable truths. At Sacramento State we pride ourselves in our willingness to engage in these conversations to confront falsehoods and to empower truth tellers."s
Wood concluded by announcing that he has a full, permanent cabinet for the first time since becoming president in July 2023.
Later in the day, Sac State held the Spring Convocation, a rite of passage signifying the start of students' academic careers.
Jasmyne Bradford, a transfer student from Folsom Lake Community College, attended the evening ceremony with her mom and 10 year-old brother.
"I'm the first person in my family to go to university, so I thought it would be cool for my mom to see everything that I'm doing and I get to experience," said Bradford, who wants to be a psychologist helping underserved communities.
"I also have a younger brother, and I think it's important that he sees that I'm pursuing my education."
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Original text here: https://www.csus.edu/news/newsroom/stories/2026/1/spring-address-2026.html
