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VUB is Firmly Committed to AI Literacy and Authentic Education
BRUSSELS, Belgium, Sept. 24 -- Free University of Brussels-VUB issued the following news release:
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VUB is firmly committed to AI literacy and authentic education
Thinking must not be subordinated to AI.
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Brussels, 22 September 2026 - What does university education look like in an age when artificial intelligence can write texts, programme software and analyse complex data in a matter of seconds? At the start of the new academic year, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) is making a firm commitment to an educational policy in which AI is given a fully-fledged role, but in which students
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BRUSSELS, Belgium, Sept. 24 -- Free University of Brussels-VUB issued the following news release:
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VUB is firmly committed to AI literacy and authentic education
Thinking must not be subordinated to AI.
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Brussels, 22 September 2026 - What does university education look like in an age when artificial intelligence can write texts, programme software and analyse complex data in a matter of seconds? At the start of the new academic year, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) is making a firm commitment to an educational policy in which AI is given a fully-fledged role, but in which studentsremain in control of their own thinking and learning process.
This was announced today by Rector Jan Danckaert during the VUB's Academic Opening. In his opening address , 'Artificial Age. Authentic Education', he sets out four commitments for the education of the future: every VUB graduate will be AI-literate; degree programmes will be critically redesigned; assessments will be adapted to the AI era; and the VUB aims to prevent access to powerful AI from creating new educational inequalities.
"The opposite of authentic education is not artificial intelligence. The opposite of authentic education is artificial learning: producing a convincing result without having learnt anything," says Rector Jan Danckaert. "AI may take over cognitive work from us. But never our intellectual responsibility."
Every graduate AI-literate
The VUB wants every student, regardless of their degree programme, to graduate with sufficient AI literacy. According to the rector, this goes far beyond learning to work with a chatbot or writing effective prompts. Students must understand what AI systems are capable of, what their results are based on, where they fail, and what interests may lie behind them. They must be able to recognise hallucinations, distortions and false certainty, and know when AI is and is not suitable.
According to the VUB, this AI literacy must become part of the academic training in every degree programme. A doctor will therefore acquire different AI skills to a lawyer, engineer, historian or philosopher.
Rethinking curricula, not simply adding AI
The VUB does not want to simply superimpose AI onto existing degree programmes and curricula. Programmes must reassess which knowledge students themselves need to master, which tasks can be supported by AI, and which human competences will actually become more important as technology becomes more powerful.
According to the rector, this evolution does not make in-depth subject knowledge any less important; on the contrary, it makes it even more important. After all, those with insufficient knowledge will find it difficult to assess whether an AI-generated answer is correct, relevant or complete.
In addition to subject-specific knowledge, skills such as problem formulation, experimentation, interdisciplinary thinking, creativity, ethical considerations and responsibility are becoming increasingly important. An entrepreneurial mindset - in the broadest sense of the word - is also becoming more important in a labour market that is constantly changing. Graduates will need to be creative and innovative, but also socially minded and responsible.
From AI detection to demonstrable learning
The way in which students are assessed must also change. The VUB does not wish to assess solely the end product, but also to make the learning and research process transparent. Students must be able to demonstrate the choices they made, the sources and resources they used, how they verified their results, and what their own intellectual contribution was. Transparency regarding the use of AI will thus become part of academic integrity.
The rector does not want AI detection software to form the basis of the assessment policy. The debate regarding the reliability and capabilities of such systems is still in full swing. According to the Vice-Chancellor, the central issue is therefore not the extent to which AI has generated content, but rather what a student has learnt and whether they can demonstrate this.
The VUB has already systematically incorporated the impact of generative AI into its educational policy. For example, more than 4,600 course module descriptions were screened and the assessment methods for all courses analysed for their risk of AI-related fraud. The next step is to bring these initiatives together into a single coherent policy on generative AI within the university's future overall strategic plan.
AI must not become a new social privilege
At the same time, the VUB wishes to avoid AI creating new inequalities among students. After all, powerful AI applications can offer a significant individual advantage if only those students who can afford them have access to the best models and applications. Some students would thus have access to a high-performance personal tutor, language or research assistant, whilst others would have to make do with less powerful systems.
The VUB has therefore decided to set up an AI cafe in the Learning and Innovation Centre (LIC) where students can work with high-performance AI models.
According to the rector, AI can also be used to provide individual support to students, for example as a personal tutor that tailors exercises and feedback to individual strengths and weaknesses. However, this should never replace human guidance.
Technology as a tool, people as a compass
Beyond these four commitments, the VUB faces a broader question: which human competencies are becoming even more important in an AI-driven world?
The rector identifies five essential human competencies: critical thinking and judgement, creativity and imagination, collaboration and dialogue, ethics and the search for meaning, and the courage to examine a conviction and, if necessary, to revise it.
The humanities and social sciences also have a crucial role to play in this, not as an afterthought to technological innovation, but as full partners in shaping a world in which technology is ubiquitous.
"Thinking must not be subsumed by AI," emphasises Danckaert. "Free thinking today means that we do not automatically believe what AI articulates with great persuasiveness. It means asking further questions. Checking sources. Exposing assumptions. And ultimately taking a stand ourselves."
The VUB therefore does not wish to return to a world without artificial intelligence. On the contrary: the university wants to experiment and pioneer, whilst at the same time setting higher standards for human knowledge, judgement and responsibility.
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Original text here: https://press.vub.ac.be/academic-opening-22-september-2026
University of Notre Dame Law School: Professor Stephen Tierney Elected Fellow of British Academy
SOUTH BEND, Indiana, Sept. 24 -- The University of Notre Dame Law School issued the following news:
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Professor Stephen Tierney elected fellow of British Academy
September 23, 2026
Author: Annika Johnson
Professor Stephen Tierney KC (Hon) FRSE, global distinguished professor of law at the Notre Dame London Law Programme, has been elected a fellow of the British Academy.
Founded in 1902, the British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences. Its Fellowship consists of more than 1,800 scholars recognized for outstanding contributions to the
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SOUTH BEND, Indiana, Sept. 24 -- The University of Notre Dame Law School issued the following news:
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Professor Stephen Tierney elected fellow of British Academy
September 23, 2026
Author: Annika Johnson
Professor Stephen Tierney KC (Hon) FRSE, global distinguished professor of law at the Notre Dame London Law Programme, has been elected a fellow of the British Academy.
Founded in 1902, the British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences. Its Fellowship consists of more than 1,800 scholars recognized for outstanding contributions to thehumanities and social sciences. Fellows actively support the Academy's work by evaluating research grant applications, contributing to policy research initiatives, and representing their fields both nationally and internationally.
Fellows are nominated and elected based on exceptional academic achievement. Each year, a select number of new Fellows are elected through a rigorous selection process.
Professor Tierney is one of 58 UK scholars elected to the Fellowship this year, joining just one other scholar from the University of Edinburgh. The new Fellows represent 28 universities across the United Kingdom.
Tierney's scholarship examines constitutional theory and the role of the state, with particular attention to how constitutions respond to evolving political and social conditions. His work has explored the constitutional implications of nationalism, referendums, and federalism, including through three monographs published by Oxford University Press over the past two decades.
He is also a professor of constitutional theory at the University of Edinburgh Law School. He was appointed Honorary King's Counsel in 2024 and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His academic career includes senior research fellowships with both the British Academy and the Economic and Social Research Council.
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Original text here: https://law.nd.edu/news-events/news/professor-stephen-tierney-elected-fellow-of-british-academy/
U-M Chemists Develop Method to Break Down Stubborn Pollutant
ANN ARBOR, Michigan, Sept. 24 (TNSjou) -- The University of Michigan issued the following news:
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U-M chemists develop method to break down stubborn pollutant
September 22, 2026
The molecular culprit behind harmful algal blooms and some contamination in groundwater is the same thing that's kept civilization fed for millennia: a stable form of nitrogen called nitrate.
Nitrates are necessary components of fertilizer, but because they are so stable, the molecules are difficult to reduce and remove from the environment. Now, University of Michigan researchers have developed a method that can
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ANN ARBOR, Michigan, Sept. 24 (TNSjou) -- The University of Michigan issued the following news:
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U-M chemists develop method to break down stubborn pollutant
September 22, 2026
The molecular culprit behind harmful algal blooms and some contamination in groundwater is the same thing that's kept civilization fed for millennia: a stable form of nitrogen called nitrate.
Nitrates are necessary components of fertilizer, but because they are so stable, the molecules are difficult to reduce and remove from the environment. Now, University of Michigan researchers have developed a method that canreduce nitrates into compounds that could be reused as fertilizer or otherwise recycled.
The study, led by U-M chemist Nathaniel Szymczak, is published in Nature Chemistry and was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. National Science Foundation.
For as long as plants have had the ability to turn sunlight into food, nitrogen has been a critical part of that cycle. As it exists in our atmosphere, nitrogen is inert: it doesn't typically react with other elements. But through a chemical process sparked by lightning in the atmosphere or through biological processes by bacteria in soil, nitrogen can be triggered to bond with hydrogen to become ammonia, or with oxygen to form nitrates, which then can be taken up by plants and other organisms.
"Now we tend to overfertilize crops, and a huge majority of the fertilizer we apply actually leaches off with runoff into streams, groundwater, lakes and oceans," Szymczak said. "Human impacts have basically caused an imbalance, and it's impossible for biological systems to compensate for as much nitrate as we're dumping into them."
To tackle the nitrate problem, Szymczak and his team looked at how nature deals with nitrates. They found that nitrate transporter proteins--proteins that help plants use nitrates--bind to nitrates using hydrogen bonds. These hydrogen bonds are found in a halo of surrounding molecules called the "secondary sphere."
"When we look at this problem of how we actually tackle nitrate reduction, we look to the enzymes, we look to biology, and what we've found is nature has provided cues about how to bind and reduce nitrate," he said. "We found that just by having well-positioned hydrogen bonds, you can actually change the bonding structure in nitrate and force a subsequent reduction step."
The research team started with an iron complex surrounded by a secondary sphere of hydrogen bonds. They then tuned the hydrogen bonds to selectively grab onto binding sites on nitrates, priming it for the next chemical reaction.
When the researchers used heat to drive the chemical reaction, the iron complex was able to grab oxygen atoms from nitrate, reducing it to nitric oxide. When the researchers used light, the iron complex was able to remove oxygen atoms from nitrate altogether, converting it to ammonia. Nitric oxide is used in medical therapies to reduce blood pressure, along with other applications, and ammonia can be reused as fertilizer.
Szymczak says their finding lays the foundation for scientists to develop methods of removing nitrates from the environment. Scientists need to understand how a molecule like nitrate behaves and how it can be reduced before they can develop devices that can be used to remediate them from sites like wastewater treatment plants.
"The timeframe for development of solutions to big picture problems has a large time horizon, and they require fundamental studies to develop principles and invent new ways to do molecular transformations that are societally important," Szymczak said. "We are giving people a roadmap of how to achieve the difficult reduction step that we hope could be translated to engineered systems that might be used down the road."
Study: Secondary-sphere hydrogen bonding promotes catalytic nitrate reduction at iron (DOI: 10.1038/s41557-026-02235-1)
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Original text here: https://news.umich.edu/u-m-chemists-develop-method-to-break-down-stubborn-pollutant/
TAMUK Ranked in Top Five Percent Nationwide for Social Mobility in 2027 U.S. News and World Report College Rankings
KINGSVILLE, Texas, Sept. 24 -- Texas A&M University Kingsville campus issued the following news:
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TAMUK ranked in top five percent nationwide for Social Mobility in 2027 U.S. News and World Report College Rankings
KINGSVILLE (Sept. 22, 2026) -- The U.S. News and World Report released its 2027 Best Colleges rankings this morning, where Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) was ranked in the top five percent for Social Mobility among 1,700 universities assessed in a data-driven comparison. The university was ranked No. 86 nationwide in Social Mobility and No. 10 in Texas among public universities
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KINGSVILLE, Texas, Sept. 24 -- Texas A&M University Kingsville campus issued the following news:
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TAMUK ranked in top five percent nationwide for Social Mobility in 2027 U.S. News and World Report College Rankings
KINGSVILLE (Sept. 22, 2026) -- The U.S. News and World Report released its 2027 Best Colleges rankings this morning, where Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) was ranked in the top five percent for Social Mobility among 1,700 universities assessed in a data-driven comparison. The university was ranked No. 86 nationwide in Social Mobility and No. 10 in Texas among public universities(No. 12 overall).
Social Mobility is assessed by how successful universities were in enrolling disadvantaged students who were awarded Pell Grants of which a vast majority are awarded to students whose gross family incomes are less than $50,000.
Universities were evaluated on two factors: a university's Pell recipient graduation rate and Pell graduation performance, which assesses success at achieving equitable outcomes for students from underserved backgrounds.
"This type of national recognition affirms our commitment to affordability, access and student success and the power of higher education to transform lives," said Texas A&M University-Kingsville president Dr. Robert Vela. "When our students graduate from Texas A&M-Kingsville, they are not only earning a degree, they are elevating their sights on something greater and their successes become the foundation for multigenerational prosperity, while creating new opportunities for their communities."
The rankings also place A&M-Kingsville as a Top 15 public school in Texas, coming in at No. 14, the third-highest ranking in the Texas A&M University System behind Texas A&M (No. 2) and Prairie View A&M (No. 12).
The U.S. News evaluated more than 1,700 U.S. four-year bachelor's degree-granting institutions across the nation in five different categories that include National Universities, National Liberal Arts Colleges, Regional Universities, Regional Colleges, and Arts & Faith.
U.S. News used the 2025 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, produced by the American Council on Education (ACE) to determine its categories for the 2027 rankings, where a mix of ACE's institutional classifications and research activity designations were collapsed into ranking categories.
Schools in each category are scored on up to 17 academic quality factors. The raw data is first transformed into calculated values, which is then converted to a scale, allowing fair comparisons across different measures.
Factors include indicators that emphasize student outcomes such as graduation rates, first-year retention rates, graduation rate performance, Pell graduation rates, Pell Graduation performance, earnings by major, student-faculty ratio, and peer assessment.
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Original text here: https://www.tamuk.edu/news/2026/09/TAMUK-ranked-in-top-five-percent-nationwide-for-Social-Mobility-in-2027-U.S-News-and-World-Report-College-Rankings.html
New Mosaic in the Princeton University Chapel Honors Native and Indigenous Stories
PRINCETON, New Jersey, Sept. 24 -- Princeton University issued the following news:
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New mosaic in the Princeton University Chapel honors Native and Indigenous stories
By Emily Aronson, Office of Communications
Sept. 23, 2026
A colorful stone mosaic honoring Native and Indigenous stories has been installed in the Princeton University Chapel as part of efforts to expand the representations of faiths and belief systems in the communal space where the University community and public are welcome.
Ahead of the Chapel's centennial in 2028, the mosaic adds to the rich tapestry of art and imagery
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PRINCETON, New Jersey, Sept. 24 -- Princeton University issued the following news:
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New mosaic in the Princeton University Chapel honors Native and Indigenous stories
By Emily Aronson, Office of Communications
Sept. 23, 2026
A colorful stone mosaic honoring Native and Indigenous stories has been installed in the Princeton University Chapel as part of efforts to expand the representations of faiths and belief systems in the communal space where the University community and public are welcome.
Ahead of the Chapel's centennial in 2028, the mosaic adds to the rich tapestry of art and imagerythat has been thoughtfully woven into the space throughout its history, from the depictions of scholars, scientists and poets in the stained-glass windows to the abstract 25-foot silk paintings that hang from the ceiling.
The 50-foot-wide mosaic titled "Presence," which is integrated into the floor along the first row of pews, was created by the artist Marianne Nicolson (Musgamakw Dzawada'enuxw). The intricate piece features imagery from Native and Indigenous groups across North America, inspired in part by the Lenape and Delaware peoples, and highlights the connection between humans, plants, animals, the sky, the earth and the water.
"To welcome this poignant work into the Chapel -- a cornerstone of our University and central to the fabric of our community -- is to invite students, alumni, neighbors and visitors to reflect on what we believe and how we celebrate the richness of Princeton," said Rev. Theresa Thames, dean of Religious Life and of the Chapel. "It is already enriching conversations across campus and expanding my own thinking as a theologian. My hope is that it will continue to move us to ask harder questions and deeply consider our responsibilities to each other."
Rachael DeLue, the Christopher Binyon Sarofim '86 Professor in American Art and a member of the Campus Art Steering Committee, said the mosaic helps tell a robust and complex narrative. "The Chapel is a key place in Princeton's story," she said. "The mosaic is a way to speak to the communities that have been part of this landscape for centuries."
A collaborative, creative and community-engaged process
The mosaic was installed in the Chapel this summer after a more than four-year development process organized by the Office of Religious Life in collaboration with the Campus Art Steering Committee, Princeton University Art Museum and Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity.
As part of the creative process, Nicolson collaborated with Princeton's Native and Indigenous student groups and community members during a residency on campus in 2022. She said she hopes when Indigenous students and visitors see the mosaic, "they will see a part of themselves and feel welcome."
Nicolson said the mosaic's design was inspired by the traditions of the Lenape and Delaware peoples, on whose ancestral lands Princeton is located.
"I wanted to ground the work in the earth," Nicolson said. "I wanted people to consider what lies beneath us. I wanted people to dig down and acknowledge what was here before Princeton was ever here and the land that continues to exist today."
The mosaic is made up of thousands of painted tiles connected in panels, which Nicolson said aims to reflect Native and Indigenous beadwork.
"I had to consider that I am not from here. Between Indigenous nations, there is always a protocol to recognize who are the true local stewards of the land that you're working on," Nicolson said. "I wanted to create a piece that would recognize the collection of different Indigenous peoples who would be coming to Princeton to teach or to learn and ... one of the common material forms across Indigenous nations in North America is beadwork."
Each mosaic panel features pictograph-styled images of animals, plants, trees and people that reflect the spiritual and historical connections to the land. Nicolson said the work acknowledges Indigenous displacement while expressing the hope of return.
"All of the images in this piece have a specific reference to a being or a plant or a history in this site," she said. "The relationship of all these things to the land underneath is what I was really attempting to sew together."
DeLue said Nicolson's idea to seamlessly embed the mosaic as part of the Chapel floor is particularly noteworthy. "It's now literally part of the fabric of Princeton University," said DeLue, director of the Humanities Initiative and professor of art and archaeology and American studies.
She noted that mosaics are a centuries-old medium that have decorated sanctuaries throughout the world. "It's a wonderful thing for a work of art to reflect the past and also evoke possible futures," DeLue said.
Since the Chapel opened its doors for the academic year, Thames said the art installation has invited conversations about welcome and community. "People are in awe of the new mosaic," she said. "It symbolizes the beauty and importance of representation."
The Chapel is the religious and ceremonial center of the University, including the site of the annual Baccalaureate service for graduating seniors and Service of Remembrance during Alumni Day, and is open to members of the public for interfaith services, concerts, individual prayer and meditation.
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Original text here: https://www.princeton.edu/news/2026/09/23/new-mosaic-princeton-university-chapel-honors-native-and-indigenous-stories
FAU's Michael Twardowski, Ph.D., Named Edwin A. Link Endowed Professor
BOCA RATON, Florida, Sept. 24 -- Florida Atlantic University, a component of the state university system in Florida, issued the following news:
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FAU's Michael Twardowski, Ph.D., Named Edwin A. Link Endowed Professor
By Gisele Galoustian | 9/23/2026
Michael Twardowski, Ph.D., an internationally recognized expert in optical oceanography and marine sensing technologies, has been named the Edwin A. Link Ocean Technology and Defense Endowed Professor at Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. This first endowed professorship at FAU Harbor Branch was made possible
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BOCA RATON, Florida, Sept. 24 -- Florida Atlantic University, a component of the state university system in Florida, issued the following news:
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FAU's Michael Twardowski, Ph.D., Named Edwin A. Link Endowed Professor
By Gisele Galoustian | 9/23/2026
Michael Twardowski, Ph.D., an internationally recognized expert in optical oceanography and marine sensing technologies, has been named the Edwin A. Link Ocean Technology and Defense Endowed Professor at Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. This first endowed professorship at FAU Harbor Branch was made possiblethrough the generous support of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation, Inc., which has helped advance groundbreaking oceanographic research and education at FAU for decades.
Twardowski is a research professor at FAU Harbor Branch and director of the Center for Marine Applied Technology and Engineering, where he leads multidisciplinary research at the intersection of ocean science, engineering and advanced sensing technologies. For more than 30 years, his work has focused on developing innovative optical technologies and applying them to some of the most challenging problems in marine science, environmental monitoring and national defense.
"Endowed professorships are among the most powerful investments the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation can make in the future of ocean science," said Cara Perry, chair of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation, Inc. Board of Directors and vice president of FAU's Division of University Communications. "The foundation is proud to recognize and support Dr. Twardowski, whose pioneering research, collaborative approach and commitment to developing advanced technologies embody Harbor Branch's longstanding legacy of innovation and exploration. His work reflects the same spirit of curiosity and ingenuity that defined Edwin A. Link and continues to inspire Florida Atlantic's Harbor Branch today."
The endowed professorship honors Link - inventor, engineer and ocean explorer - whose technological innovations helped lay the foundation for FAU Harbor Branch's tradition of exploration and discovery. Link is best known for inventing the Link flight simulator, first commercialized in 1929. His invention revolutionized pilot training and was used to train more than 500,000 airmen during World War II. Link ultimately received 27 U.S. patents for his inventions.
Later in life, Link turned his attention from the skies to the depths of the ocean, becoming a pioneer in underwater archaeology, submersibles and marine technology. His engineering expertise and passion for exploration complemented the vision of FAU Harbor Branch's founder, J. Seward Johnson, Sr., who established the institute in 1971 to advance understanding of the ocean through scientific exploration.
Among Link's most significant contributions to ocean exploration was the development of advanced submersibles, including the Johnson-Sea-Link. On Jan. 29, 1971, Link and Johnson launched the submersible at the newly established Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, giving scientists a new capability to explore the deep ocean firsthand.
Link also had a longstanding connection to FAU. In 1965, a grant from the Link Foundation helped FAU establish the nation's first undergraduate ocean engineering program, reflecting his commitment to advancing ocean science and engineering education.
"I am deeply grateful to the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation board for this honor and for its investment in the future of ocean technology at Florida Atlantic," said Twardowski. "This professorship will help me expand our applied research efforts, strengthen collaborations and develop new technologies that address some of the most pressing challenges facing our oceans. I am especially proud to carry the Link name forward as we continue building on his legacy of innovation that has defined FAU Harbor Branch."
For more than 30 years, Twardowski has led the development of optical sensing technologies and their application to a wide range of basic and applied research challenges in marine science and national defense. He has authored more than 130 peer-reviewed publications on topics including remote sensing of optical and biogeochemical properties, bioluminescence, holographic imaging microscopy, biological camouflage, underwater imaging and autonomous monitoring.
Twardowski is also a member of the science team for NASA's PACE mission, where he is working to advance ocean-color algorithms used to better understand ocean ecosystems and biogeochemical processes. A key focus of his research is developing partnerships with defense primes and sensor manufacturers to translate innovative ocean-sensing technologies into real-world applications for marine science and national defense.
The appointment strengthens FAU Harbor Branch's longstanding tradition of pairing scientific discovery with technological innovation - a heritage that dates to the institute's founding and the trailblazing work of Johnson and Link.
"Mike Twardowski represents exactly the kind of innovative researcher and scientific leader that an endowed professorship should recognize," said Gregg Fields, Ph.D., FAU vice president for research. "His research is pushing the boundaries of how we observe and understand the ocean while addressing challenges of critical importance to environmental science, climate research, maritime operations and national security. This endowment recognizes his extraordinary accomplishments and contributions to ocean science. As an R1 research institution, Florida Atlantic is committed to investing in world-class researchers whose discoveries and technologies have the potential to make a meaningful impact far beyond our campuses."
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Original text here: https://www.fau.edu/newsdesk/articles/twardowski-endowed-professorship.php
At Logan LIFE Center, K-State Researchers Explore the Benefits of Intergenerational Connection in Rural Kansas
MANHATTAN, Kansas, Sept. 24 -- Kansas State University issued the following news:
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Bridging generations
At Logan LIFE Center, K-State researchers explore the benefits of intergenerational connection in rural Kansas
By Emily Boragine and Rafael Garcia, K-State News and Communications Services
Sept. 23, 2026
It was the first day of school, and the kids at the Logan Intergenerational Family Education Center were not going to wait a second longer.
Normally, the hordes of elementary schoolers would take turns chattering down the hallway to meet and visit their best friends -- the senior-citizen
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MANHATTAN, Kansas, Sept. 24 -- Kansas State University issued the following news:
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Bridging generations
At Logan LIFE Center, K-State researchers explore the benefits of intergenerational connection in rural Kansas
By Emily Boragine and Rafael Garcia, K-State News and Communications Services
Sept. 23, 2026
It was the first day of school, and the kids at the Logan Intergenerational Family Education Center were not going to wait a second longer.
Normally, the hordes of elementary schoolers would take turns chattering down the hallway to meet and visit their best friends -- the senior-citizenresidents of the Logan Manor nursing home -- during their morning breakfast.
But on the first day of school, no kid wanted to be left behind, and no resident could pay any mind to pancakes as the two generations caught each other up on a summer full of memories lived and remembered.
"It's amazing," said Teresa McComb, administrator of Logan Manor. "You can just tell when the kids are around, everybody kind of gets a little bit lighter. They get a little more pep in their step, and they're just excited to talk to the kids, help them with different assignments and classes, and just be able to watch them and interact with them on a daily basis."
It's a phenomenal story of intergenerational connection in rural northwest Kansas, and a full year of research by Kansas State University experts is helping to understand better what happens when children and older adults regularly learn, interact and spend time together.
That interdisciplinary K-State team has completed its first full year of data collection at the Logan Intergenerational Family Education Center, or LIFE Center, where an elementary school and 36-bed nursing home are connected within the same facility.
Preliminary findings show improved mood and greater independence in daily activities among nursing home residents, increased social-emotional development among children and measurable differences in the new nursing home environment that support residents' quality of life.
Researchers in psychological sciences, gerontology and interior design are looking at different parts of life at the center, from residents' health and experiences to children's development and the role the physical environment plays in bringing the generations together.
"This project is highly interdisciplinary, which has made it possible to document outcomes from multiple lenses; the richness of the data is remarkable," said Laci Cornelison, director of K-State's Center on Aging and chair of the gerontology program.
A fuller picture of daily life
Heather Bailey, associate professor of psychological sciences, and researchers in K-State's Memory and Aging Laboratory analyzed data from 30 Logan Manor residents at two points approximately one year apart. Residents' cognitive functioning remained stable during that time, while symptoms of depression decreased and independence in daily activities increased.
Cornelison, Justine Irving, associate teaching professor of gerontology, and undergraduate researcher Michael Glenn have added the residents' own experiences to that data. They interviewed 17 residents about life in their new environment and their participation in intergenerational activities, hearing about the many opportunities to continue doing what matters to them.
Beyond the activities, residents described how simply having more people around has changed their days.
"I'm sure there are people that aren't happy to be here, but I don't feel that way," one resident told the research team. "I was living alone for 21 years. For me, basically, I'm not alone anymore."
The building plays a role in making those connections possible.
Migette Kaup, professor of interior design, and her team evaluated the former Logan Manor before residents relocated and later assessed the new nursing home households at the LIFE Center. Researchers examined 130 design features associated with person-directed quality of life and found measurable differences in areas including building layout, residential character, autonomy and residents' control over their private spaces.
Connecting hallways between the nursing home and the elementary school allows residents to visit the classrooms without going outside. One resident told researchers that they head to the school every Tuesday and Thursday to work on math with the children.
Growing up alongside older neighbors
K-State researchers are also learning from the children who spend their school days alongside Logan Manor residents.
Natalie Barlett, teaching assistant professor of psychological sciences, and undergraduate researchers began collecting data from elementary students in April 2025. They are studying empathy, attitudes toward older adults and feelings of relatedness, autonomy and competence.
So far, the findings have shown increases in social-emotional development as children engage in these intergenerational experiences, as well as significant increases in standardized reading and math scores during the first full year of data collection.
The project has also created research opportunities for K-State undergraduate students through the Chapman Center for Rural Studies. Students have helped develop research instruments, collect and analyze data and manage parts of the project alongside faculty mentors.
Their work has taken them well beyond Logan. Students and faculty have presented findings at the Kansas Governor's Conference on Aging, Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol and several K-State research events, as well as national conferences in Chicago and Atlanta.
In reflections on the project, students said working with people in other disciplines helped them see how different perspectives can come together to address complex problems. They also described how getting to know people in Logan gave them a greater sense of responsibility for their research.
What comes next
The research team recently returned to Logan to share its first-year findings with community members at a town hall and continue collecting data.
In the next phase of the project, researchers plan to track outcomes over time and refine their measures of the frequency and quality of intergenerational interactions. They also want to understand which parts of Logan's approach could be useful in other communities.
That question has particular relevance in rural communities facing challenges around social isolation, childcare access, senior engagement and workforce shortages.
The team hopes its ongoing research can provide communities with more information as they consider intergenerational programs and spaces of their own.
"I'm excited to see how foundational aspects of these intergenerational interactions can be translated to other communities and settings," Cornelison said.
That data and findings will come. But for now, McComb -- the Logan Manor administrator -- said she's excited for more people to see and understand what she and the children and residents at Logan LIFE Center see every day.
"We see the smiles, we hear the laughter, we hear the joy," she said. "But to tell other people who don't necessarily see it or don't have the opportunity to hear it, I think the actual study will be so important to be able to show that there are benefits -- not just in what we see on a daily basis, but in these residents' lives and the kids' lives -- and we are so lucky to have K State believe in this work."
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Original text here: https://www.k-state.edu/news/articles/2026/09/logan-life-center-intergenerational-connection-research.html
