Education (Colleges & Universities)
Education (Colleges & Universities)
Here's a look at documents from public, private and community colleges in the U.S.
Featured Stories
Yale University: On 'An Emotional Adventure' to Unite Music and Anthropology
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, April 7 -- Yale University issued the following Q&A on April 6, 2026, by Lisa Prevost with violinist Maiani da Silva: * * *
On 'an emotional adventure' to unite music and anthropology
In a Q&A, violinist Maiani da Silva explains how including anthropological themes in her debut solo album helped her "dig deeper" into questions of the human condition.
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For her debut solo album, violinist Maiani da Silva wanted to find a way to intertwine her art with a perhaps unexpected interest: anthropology.
A lecturer in the Department of Music, in Yale's Faculty of Arts and Sciences ... Show Full Article NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, April 7 -- Yale University issued the following Q&A on April 6, 2026, by Lisa Prevost with violinist Maiani da Silva: * * * On 'an emotional adventure' to unite music and anthropology In a Q&A, violinist Maiani da Silva explains how including anthropological themes in her debut solo album helped her "dig deeper" into questions of the human condition. * For her debut solo album, violinist Maiani da Silva wanted to find a way to intertwine her art with a perhaps unexpected interest: anthropology. A lecturer in the Department of Music, in Yale's Faculty of Arts and Sciences(FAS), da Silva asked six composers to consider an anthropological theme of their own choosing and write a work inspired by that theme.
Some of the composers even consulted with two Yale anthropological experts: Jessica Thompson, an assistant professor of anthropology, and Catherine Panter-Brick, the Bruce A. and Davi-Ellen Chabner Professor of Anthropology, Health, and Global Affairs, both in FAS.
The result is "Brouhaha: Shaped by Fire," to be released on April 17 in both compact disc and digital formats. The CD features extensive liner notes that include descriptions, written by the composers, of each of the six thematic works. (Two of the composers -- Ian Gottlieb '15 M.M. and Fjola Evans '18 M.M.A.-- are Yale School of Music alums.)
"I created 'Brouhaha' essentially as an opportunity to talk to these composers about what interests them in anthropology, which is my interest," da Silva said. "Anthropology is such a broad umbrella, and these composers were like, 'I guess I've always wondered about X, I'd love to learn more about that.' And that little nugget of curiosity became the inspiration for each of these works."
A member of the four-time Grammy-winning sextet Eighth Blackbird, da Silva is a frequent collaborator with contemporary composers. At Yale she teaches a course in the performance of contemporary music. She sat down with Yale News to talk about how "Brouhaha" came together, the collaborative aspect of her solo performances, and the joy of playing contemporary music. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Why did you want to link this album to anthropological questions?
Maiani da Silva: Musicians are always trying to dig deeper into the human condition. And I think anthropology and the sciences in general do the same thing but in a different way. I wanted an opportunity to dig deeper from a different angle. Creating "Brouhaha" gave me, as well as my composers, that opportunity.
How did you select the composers?
da Silva: I wanted an album that is very varied. I didn't want it to be cohesive in the sense that it all sounds similar. I wanted the composers to be eclectic, because when you're talking about a celebration of diverse life forms and humanity, it's got to be a colorful experience. Also, I picked musicians whom I like and whom I know are very curious and want to do more than write notes.
What are some of the themes they explore?
da Silva: There is fire -- the use of fire, our relationship to fire, how we use fire to change our landscape for better or for worse. Another is artifacts -- specifically, our use of tools over time. There is our relationship to flowering plants. There is migration, whether it was driven by curiosity or by necessity. There's our perception of time. And the last piece is about human relations and connections.
How did the composers research their selected themes?
da Silva: All, for the most part, sought inspiration on their own. And then I would exchange papers or articles, books even, with them and we would talk about them. Some of them spoke with Yale anthropologists whose work they had been reading. Composer Ian Gottlieb, who lives in L.A., met with Jessica Thompson via Zoom. And composer Viet Cuong was visiting Yale and got to talk with Catherine Panter-Brick about migration.
After they passed along their compositions to you, did the pieces continue to evolve as you played them?
da Silva: Pieces change even if you don't want them to change! At first, it's making sure that it translates idiomatically to the instrument, that musically I'm doing what they want and I'm not getting in the way with technique. There's that understanding of the piece from within. But then the more you play it and the more you play it for others, you may do something unexpected, and then think, what if I explore that a little bit more in my next performance?
I think the joy of playing contemporary music is that you can ask the composers what they think about how you're playing a piece, and they can be like, 'I really like that, I hadn't considered that.' They're very aware that nobody is going to play it exactly the way that they wrote it. It's like the different ways in which we interpret text. That's why even though this is a solo album, I think of it as a collaborative project because everyone was involved in a way. All these pieces were written by people who are still alive, and I got to collaborate with them on it. And then we got to collaborate with and learn from the anthropologists.
How would you describe the album as a listening experience?
da Silva: The album is an experience through time and through different environments. We have fire, and you hear the embers, the crackling. The flower piece unfolds kind of like petals on a peony. The traveler piece turns and swivels. The time piece is meditative and still. The album really is an emotional adventure, and it's on land, it's in the sea, and it's out in space. I wanted to explore the Earth as much as possible, but then also reach for the stars.
Lastly, you shared with me that you underwent treatment for cancer during this project. Did that influence the work in any way?
da Silva: Life, as you can imagine, halted suddenly. Because I was the driver of the project, "Brouhaha" was something that I could slow down or speed up, whichever I needed from it. It did give me something else to think about. Also, if you're having existential thoughts all the time, that's going to drastically change the way that you see the world. Going through the cancer treatment certainly gave me a different perspective on the theme of the project: human experience and our place in nature. What is it to be a human and have these feelings that are universal or scary or uplifting? I certainly saw life in technicolor. I don't want to silver-line anything, but I am grateful for that perspective.
A release party for "Brouhaha: Shaped by Fire" will be held on Tuesday, April 14 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at The Well, on the lower level of the Yale Schwarzman Center. The party will feature a performance by da Silva, as well as conversation with some of the composers and Yale paleoanthropologist Jessica Thompson. The event is free and open to the public; registration is required.
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Original text here: https://news.yale.edu/2026/04/06/emotional-adventure-unite-music-and-anthropology
Virginia Tech: Researchers Find the 'Switch' Behind Flash Drought in Puerto Rico
BLACKSBURG, Virginia, April 7 (TNSjou) -- Virginia Tech issued the following news:* * *
Researchers find the 'switch' behind flash drought in Puerto Rico
The work uncovers how sudden changes in air movement can quickly dry soils in Puerto Rico, creating new opportunities for early warning systems and enhanced preparation.
By Max Esterhuizen
In Puerto Rico, drought doesn't always arrive slowly. Sometimes, it appears in days.
That speed can leave producers scrambling, reservoirs dropping, and communities facing water restrictions before they can react. In a place often associated with heavy ... Show Full Article BLACKSBURG, Virginia, April 7 (TNSjou) -- Virginia Tech issued the following news: * * * Researchers find the 'switch' behind flash drought in Puerto Rico The work uncovers how sudden changes in air movement can quickly dry soils in Puerto Rico, creating new opportunities for early warning systems and enhanced preparation. By Max Esterhuizen In Puerto Rico, drought doesn't always arrive slowly. Sometimes, it appears in days. That speed can leave producers scrambling, reservoirs dropping, and communities facing water restrictions before they can react. In a place often associated with heavyrain and hurricanes, drought is often overlooked, but very much a reality.
New research from Virginia Tech is helping explain why.
Scientists in the College of Natural Resources and Environment have identified a key atmospheric shift that can trigger "flash droughts" across Puerto Rico. Their findings show how conditions can flip rapidly from wet to dry, offering new insight that could improve early warning systems and help communities prepare.
The research was recently published in Geophysical Research Letters.
"Flash droughts" are exactly what they sound like. Unlike traditional droughts that develop over weeks or months, these events can take hold in as little as five to 10 days.
That short timeline makes them especially disruptive. Agriculture, drinking water systems, and ecosystems have little time to adjust, increasing the risk of crop loss, water shortages, and environmental stress.
At the center of the discovery is a change in how air moves in the atmosphere.
A simple way to picture it is a ceiling fan.
"When air is rising, it helps clouds form and brings rainfall," said Craig Ramseyer, associate professor in the Department of Geography. "But when that motion suddenly switches and the air starts sinking, it shuts that process down very quickly."
When the air is rising, it's like a fan pushing air upward. That upward motion helps form clouds and rain, keeping soils moist and water supplies stable. But when the system flips, the fan reverses - very much a switch between the summer and winter modes on that ceiling fan that change the dimension the air moves.
Air begins to sink instead.
That sinking motion warms and dries the atmosphere, breaks up clouds, and allows more sunlight to reach the surface. The result is a rapid loss of moisture from the soil, setting the stage for drought conditions to develop quickly.
Researchers found that this switch from rising to sinking air can happen abruptly, acting like a trigger that initiates flash drought across the island.
"It's really like a switch gets flipped in the atmosphere," Ramseyer said. "You go from conditions that support rainfall to conditions that actively dry things out, and that can happen on the order of just a few days."
That discovery helps answer a question communities in Puerto Rico have been raising for years.
Farmers and water managers have long observed how quickly conditions can change, shifting from heavy rain to dry soils in a matter of days. In some cases, those changes have led to water rationing and strained agricultural production, particularly in areas already facing infrastructure challenges and limited water storage capacity.
"Stakeholders have been telling us for a while that these rapid changes are possible," Ramseyer said. "This research shows that they are correct and helps explain why."
Until now, the science behind those rapid shifts has been less clear.
By identifying this atmospheric "switch," researchers are beginning to trace the early stages of flash drought before its impacts are fully felt at the surface. That opens the door to earlier warnings and more proactive decision-making.
"If we can identify these signals in advance, there's potential to give communities a heads-up before drought conditions fully develop," Ramseyer said.
That could mean adjusting irrigation plans, preparing water conservation measures, or giving local agencies time to manage supply more effectively.
The implications extend beyond Puerto Rico.
Flash drought has been widely studied in the continental United States, where it typically develops over several weeks. But in tropical regions, the process can move much faster, driven by intense sunlight and strong atmospheric dynamics.
This research shows that those rapid shifts are not random. They follow identifiable patterns in the atmosphere that scientists can track and study.
Puerto Rico, with its combination of complex terrain, ocean influence, and vulnerable water systems, offers a critical case study. But similar conditions exist across the Caribbean and other tropical regions, where communities may face the same fast-moving risks.
By improving understanding of how flash drought begins, Virginia Tech researchers are helping build a foundation for better forecasting tools and improving community resilience. As weather patterns continue to challenge water systems around the world, the ability to anticipate rapid drought could make a meaningful difference for agriculture, ecosystems, and everyday life. In Puerto Rico, that difference could come down to just a few days.
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Original text here: https://news.vt.edu/articles/2026/04/cnre-research-flash-drought.html
University of Hawaii Manoa 4-H Program Teaches Oahu Youth the Art of Food Preservation
MANOA, Hawaii, April 7 -- The University of Hawaii Manoa campus issued the following news release:* * *
New UH 4-H program teaches Oahu youth the art of food preservation
In a state where almost 90% of our food is imported, teaching young people how to safely preserve locally grown fruits and vegetables plays an important role in strengthening Hawaii's food security.
This summer, Oahu youth will explore how science, agriculture and entrepreneurship come together in the kitchen through a new pilot program from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The Junior Master Food Preserver Program--offered ... Show Full Article MANOA, Hawaii, April 7 -- The University of Hawaii Manoa campus issued the following news release: * * * New UH 4-H program teaches Oahu youth the art of food preservation In a state where almost 90% of our food is imported, teaching young people how to safely preserve locally grown fruits and vegetables plays an important role in strengthening Hawaii's food security. This summer, Oahu youth will explore how science, agriculture and entrepreneurship come together in the kitchen through a new pilot program from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The Junior Master Food Preserver Program--offeredby the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience's 4-H Youth Development Program in partnership with the Hawaii Master Food Preservers--will run July 13-24.
Designed for students entering grades 7-12, the initiative introduces essential food preservation techniques while providing the tools to create their own food products using Hawaii-grown ingredients. Students will learn how to transform local harvests into sustainable business opportunities through dehydration, canning, pickling and creating jams and jellies.
"These hands-on agricultural experiences are critical for Hawaii's youth," said Christine Hanakawa, Oahu County extension agent, 4-H Youth Development. "Young people gain practical life skills while learning how local food systems work and how they can contribute to them."
"Food preservation connects people to their food in a deeper way," said Tina Mueller, Hawaii Master Food Preserver instructor and Hawaii State 4-H Military program coordinator. "When young people learn how to safely preserve local produce, they begin to understand seasonality, food safety and the value of supporting Hawaii agriculture."
After the summer session, students will return monthly for a studio day from August through November to continue developing products. In December, they will participate in a Keiki Open Market to sell the products they have developed.
Programs like this also help address local food security and food waste by extending the life of seasonal crops and giving youth the knowledge to preserve, share and sell local foods. Funding for the pilot program comes from the Hawaii 4-H Foundation, the Hawaii 4-H Alumni Association and private donors. Find more information online (https://manoa.hawaii.edu/ctahr/getlocal/ctahr-food-preserver-program/).
Key dates:
* Applications open: April 15
* Application deadline: May 15
* Participants notified: June 1
* Complete DOH Food Handler's Certificate: July 1
* Program dates: July 13-24
* Monthly studio days: August-November
* Keiki Open Market: December
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About 4-H Youth Development
The 4-H Youth Development Program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience provides youth programs across the state focused on healthy living, agriculture and STEM education, leadership development, and civic engagement.
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Original text here: http://www.uhm.hawaii.edu/news/article.php?aId=14473
Syracuse University: Maxwell Fireside Chat Examines AI's Role in Government and Higher Education
SYRACUSE, New York, April 7 -- Syracuse University issued the following news:* * *
Maxwell Fireside Chat Examines AI's Role in Government and Higher Education
Two leaders in digital strategy discussed the policy, ethical and practical challenges of bringing AI into government operations and campus life.
Jessica Youngman
Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping how governments operate, how universities teach and how public institutions make decisions.
That was the central message of a recent fireside chat hosted by the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Dean David M. Van Slyke ... Show Full Article SYRACUSE, New York, April 7 -- Syracuse University issued the following news: * * * Maxwell Fireside Chat Examines AI's Role in Government and Higher Education Two leaders in digital strategy discussed the policy, ethical and practical challenges of bringing AI into government operations and campus life. Jessica Youngman Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping how governments operate, how universities teach and how public institutions make decisions. That was the central message of a recent fireside chat hosted by the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Dean David M. Van Slykemoderated the conversation which brought together two leaders working at the forefront of AI adoption: Jeanette Moy, commissioner of the New York State Office of General Services (OGS), and Jeff Rubin, Syracuse University's senior vice president for digital transformation and chief digital officer.
"The question before us is not whether AI will transform public life," Van Slyke said. "It's whether our institutions are ready to lead that transformation thoughtfully, equitably and effectively."
Personalizing Learning and Expanding Access
Rubin opened the March 26 event with a claim about the stakes for higher education: AI, he said, has the potential to transform how universities teach in ways not seen in 200 years. "The idea of a professor standing in front of a room, lecturing--and students taking notes and then being assessed through projects, papers and exams--that model has not shifted," he said. "What AI allows you to do is personalize learning."
Personalization at scale has long been a challenge because no instructor can simultaneously tailor a course to every student's pace and needs, he said. AI changes that equation.
Rubin shared how Syracuse has deployed more than 30,000 AI licenses across campus to drive equitable access and data security. Some students had already purchased AI tools on their own, while others could not afford them, he pointed out. Faculty and staff also needed a secure environment for uploading sensitive documents without routing data through commercial platforms.
Rubin also highlighted a less-discussed dimension of the University's AI work: a private wireless network, built in partnership with JMA Wireless, that supports thermal sensors in academic buildings across campus. The sensors detect occupancy without capturing identifying information, allowing the University to optimize janitorial services, plan building capacity and, eventually, adjust heating and cooling based on actual use patterns.
A Measured Approach to Government AI
Moy noted that the state's deliberate pace of technology adoption is a necessary safeguard rather than a liability. "I would contend that it's important that government is risk-averse," she said. "The information that we hold is really important--Medicaid data, health data, testing information. The importance of that stewardship becomes paramount."
Her office oversees roughly 30 million square feet of state real estate, manages 1,500 procurement contracts valued at $44 billion and administers a design and construction portfolio of approximately $5.7 billion. Moy described the agency's AI strategy as a measured approach. It involves first identifying low-risk, high-value applications, then building the data infrastructure to support them, and ensuring legal and operational frameworks are in place before scaling.
Moy said one of OGS's most tangible AI investments is in procurement search. Agencies and municipalities navigating the state's contract catalog often struggle to find what they need, undermining the efficiency those contracts are designed to provide. Moy said AI-assisted search is a logical starting point: low risk, no job displacement and an immediate opportunity to test what the technology can do.
The agency is also piloting AI-powered document summarization tools for bid documents and contract histories which are reported to save up to three hours per day.
Moy noted that backlogs present another opportunity, as they are a universal challenge across the public sector. She explained that while AI could help alleviate some of those challenges, agencies must be cautious; they cannot hand out productivity tools to every worker without first creating the right frameworks.
Jobs, Regulation and What Comes Next
Both speakers addressed audience concerns about AI's impact on jobs--a topic that has gained urgency in New York following Governor Kathy Hochul's recent launch of the FutureWorks Commission, which is tasked with studying AI's effects on the labor market.
Rubin cited research suggesting that less than 1% of the 1.2 million layoffs recorded in 2025 were directly attributable to AI, arguing that economic factors and structural business decisions are doing more to reshape the workforce than the technology itself. He expressed confidence that AI will ultimately create more jobs than it displaces, though he acknowledged that every job will change.
"If you don't know how to incorporate AI into your domain and discipline, you will be at a disadvantage," he said. "Students need to have the tools and the classes."
Moy recalled the dot-com era and the transformation of publishing that upended models at institutions like the Brooklyn Public Library, where she once served as chief strategy officer. The fear and exuberance that accompanied those transitions, she said, mirrors what society is experiencing today.
"We want to make sure that we're thinking about it ethically, that we're balancing it according to public need," she said. "And we're having active conversations about those trade-offs."
Both panelists returned repeatedly to the theme of transparency in AI systems, government data and institutional communications.
Rubin pointed to Anthropic's practice of publishing system prompts as a model for responsible AI deployment and noted that Syracuse recently launched an AI-powered course search tool, called Clementine, that similarly makes its operating parameters visible. He also raised the challenge of AI-generated media and the difficulty of distinguishing real content from fabricated content online.
An Open and Ongoing Dialogue
The conversation drew questions from the audience.
A first-year Maxwell student and member of the University's United AI club asked what precedent a recent court ruling holding social media platforms liable for algorithmic harm to minors sets for the future of AI regulation and whether platforms like ChatGPT should face similar oversight.
Rubin was direct: "We made the mistake with social media. These companies should have an obligation to have guardrails."
Moy pointed to Hochul's recent policy proposals targeting addictive technology, including requirements for more restrictive default settings on children's accounts. She acknowledged that government is often a step behind rapid technological change, but argued that intervention becomes necessary when innovation results in public harm.
A second student raised concerns about AI's potential to enable fraud, including falsified documents and biased algorithms.
"These are very real questions," she said, emphasizing that OGS is working to understand its uses and risks. She argued that the answer isn't avoiding AI but understanding it well enough to spot its misuse. "If we don't understand it, we will fall behind."
Rubin agreed, framing the detection challenge as both technological and philosophical: As AI becomes embedded in everything from autocomplete to document editing, defining what counts as "AI-generated" becomes increasingly difficult. "My gut is almost every piece of content out there will have some AI piece to it, assisting us," he said. "So, it's a technology challenge and a societal challenge."
Van Slyke closed by noting that Maxwell's role in preparing students for public service has always meant equipping them not just with technical knowledge, but with the ability to navigate the policy, governance and ethical dimensions that accompany it.
"The question is not what will AI do to our institutions," he said. "It's what will we choose to do with it."
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Original text here: https://news.syr.edu/2026/04/06/maxwell-fireside-chat-examines-ais-role-in-government-and-higher-education/
Public Health Education in an Uncertain World: Training Leaders Guided by Evidence and Empathy
MIAMI, Florida, April 7 -- The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine posted the following news:* * *
Public Health Education in an Uncertain World: Training Leaders Guided by Evidence and Empathy
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Dr. Elahe Nezami, a University of Miami Miller School of Medicine professor of professional practice in public health sciences and director of the school's online M.P.H. program, asserts that, i n public health, success is often measured not in visible victories, but in the crises that never happen, the diseases that never spread and the lives that are quietly improved.
Public health education ... Show Full Article MIAMI, Florida, April 7 -- The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine posted the following news: * * * Public Health Education in an Uncertain World: Training Leaders Guided by Evidence and Empathy * Dr. Elahe Nezami, a University of Miami Miller School of Medicine professor of professional practice in public health sciences and director of the school's online M.P.H. program, asserts that, i n public health, success is often measured not in visible victories, but in the crises that never happen, the diseases that never spread and the lives that are quietly improved. Public health educationis, at its core, an exercise in learning how to think under uncertainty. It prepares students to lead in environments defined by complexity and constant change.
Through training grounded in epidemiology, data analysis, systems thinking, policy and advocacy, learners develop skills to assess evolving evidence, weigh competing priorities and make decisions that balance individual needs with population-level impact.
Adaptability, critical thinking and preparedness are not abstract ideals in our field. They are practiced skills, sharpened through real-world application and interdisciplinary problem-solving.
In an era marked by global health threats, technological disruption and shifting societal needs, this ability to operate thoughtfully in ambiguity is critical. Public health graduates are uniquely equipped to anticipate challenges, respond with agility and design solutions that are both evidence-based and scalable. They are trained not just to react to crises but to prevent them, to identify patterns early, address root causes and build systems that promote long-term health and resilience.
Interested in our Online M.P.H. Program?
Learn more and connect with our faculty.
More Information
Interested in our Online M.P.H. Program?
Learn more and connect with our faculty.
More Information
But to understand public health education solely through its technical rigor is to miss its most defining feature: its humanity.
At its heart, public health is about people. It is about creating spaces where future leaders are encouraged to reflect on their responsibility to others, to confront inequities and to develop a genuine desire to improve the conditions in which communities live and thrive. While students are taught how to analyze data and design interventions, they are also invited to cultivate empathy, listen deeply and recognize the dignity inherent in every population they serve.
This human dimension transforms knowledge into purpose. It is what drives a student to move beyond identifying a problem to feeling compelled to solve it. It fosters the quiet yet powerful satisfaction of contributing to something larger than oneself, of preventing illness before it occurs, of advocating for vulnerable populations and of shaping healthier futures for entire communities. In public health, success is often measured not in visible victories, but in the crises that never happen, the diseases that never spread and the lives that are quietly improved.
This dual foundation, intellectual rigor paired with human commitment, is what makes public health education uniquely suited for an unpredictable world. It produces thoughtful leaders who are guided by both evidence and empathy.
At a time when the challenges we face are increasingly complex and interconnected, we need professionals who can navigate uncertainty without losing sight of humanity.
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Original text here: https://news.med.miami.edu/public-health-education-humanity/
Michigan Medicine: Convoys of Caregiving - Arab American Families Living With Dementia
ANN ARBOR, Michigan, April 7 -- Michigan Medicine, the academic medical center of the University of Michigan, issued the following Q&A on April 6, 2026, by Lauren Gerlach and Matt Davis with Kristine Ajrouch, research professor in the Institute for Social Research:* * *
Convoys of Caregiving: Arab American Families Living with Dementia
An Interview with Kristine Ajrouch, PhD
In this episode, Matt & Lauren speak with Kristine Ajrouch, PhD - a new member of our CAPRA leadership team. Kristine is a Research Professor at the Institute for Social Research whose work focuses on aging, health, immigration ... Show Full Article ANN ARBOR, Michigan, April 7 -- Michigan Medicine, the academic medical center of the University of Michigan, issued the following Q&A on April 6, 2026, by Lauren Gerlach and Matt Davis with Kristine Ajrouch, research professor in the Institute for Social Research: * * * Convoys of Caregiving: Arab American Families Living with Dementia An Interview with Kristine Ajrouch, PhD In this episode, Matt & Lauren speak with Kristine Ajrouch, PhD - a new member of our CAPRA leadership team. Kristine is a Research Professor at the Institute for Social Research whose work focuses on aging, health, immigrationand family in the United Statues and the Middle East; social networks over the life course; and Arab American identity and well-being.
Kristine discusses a recent article that examined an intervention to improve outcomes among Arab American caregivers who provide care to a family member living with dementia. She also shares what this work teaches us about caregiving as a family system rather than the responsibility of a single individual.
More resources
Kristine Ajrouch Faculty Profile (https://isr.umich.edu/about/faculty-profiles/ajrouchkristine-j/)
Article referenced in podcast:
Ajrouch KJ, Barada FM, Janevic MR, Antonucci TC. Supporting Arab-American Families Living With Dementia: Testing a Culturally Adapted Program. J Appl Gerontol. 2025 Apr;44(4):515-519. doi: 10.1177/07334648241281153. Epub 2024 Sep 23. PMID: 39313309.
Transcript
Matt Davis:
Older Arab Americans are a rapidly growing population in the United States that often experience limited access to social services due to language and cultural barriers. These issues can greatly magnify the demands of providing care to a loved one with dementia and manifest in a belief that family alone is the only option. In this episode, we'll discuss a recent article that examined an intervention to improve outcomes among Arab American caregivers who provide care to a family member living with dementia. And also, we'll explore what this work teaches us about caregiving as a family system rather than the responsibility of a single individual.
Welcome to Minding Memory, a podcast devoted to exploring research on Alzheimer's disease and other related dementias. Here, we'll discuss some of the most compelling research and talk with leaders in the field about how their work is improving the detection and treatment of dementia. I'm Matt Davis.
Lauren Gerlach:
And I'm Lauren Gerlach.
Matt Davis:
We're both researchers at the University of Michigan. I have a PhD in data science.
Lauren Gerlach:
And I'm a geriatric psychiatrist who specializes in diagnosis and management of dementia.
Matt Davis:
I'll work to minimize the use of medical jargon in our discussions.
Lauren Gerlach:
And I'll make sure that the research we talk about has practical real-world applications to people living with dementia and their care partners.
Matt Davis:
Thanks for joining us, and let's get started.
We're joined today by Dr. Kristine Ajrouch. Dr. Ajrouch is a research professor at the Research Center for Group Dynamics at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research. Her research focuses on aging and health, social networks over the life course, and the health of Arab Americans. She's also recently joined the leadership team of CAPRA. She's here today to speak with us about her recent study. Kristine, welcome to the podcast.
Kristine Ajrouch:
Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here.
Matt Davis:
Dr. Ajrouch was the lead author of the study titled Supporting Arab American Families Living with Dementia: Testing a Culturally Adapted Program, that was published in the Journal of Applied Gerontology. A link to the article can be found attached to this episode. Make sure to check it out. So to start things off, welcome to the CAPRA community. We're thrilled to have you join the leadership team. I was wondering if you could just tell us a little about yourself and your research interests.
Kristine Ajrouch:
Well, first, let me just say what a delight it is to join the CAPRA team. I'm really enjoying my time with the group. And in terms of a little bit about myself, so I am trained as a sociologist. My pathway to sociology was kind of long and winding. I started off as a business major and realized I didn't want to do that as an undergrad and then went into communications as a master's program where I really got interested in cultural issues and learned that communication studies was an offshoot of sociology. So then I got to sociology, which is what I did my PhD in. And I got very interested in culture as an important system for understanding not just what's happening within a group, but to really understand what's happening between groups. And then that brings me to gerontology where I did my postdoc and I came to realize that you can't really be a good sociologist unless you really take into account life course issues.
And you can't take into account life course issues unless you have a real focus on the latter part of the life course in addition to the earlier stages. So that's kind of a little bit about my background and how I got to where I am. The postdoc in aging is really what, I guess, excited me about research more than anything else. I learned the importance of understanding perspectives from various points in the life course, but also from various groups and from various cultural vantage points. And then got interested in Alzheimer's and related dementias from a social and behavioral aspect because I recognized it was growing as a concern in society in general. And I also had some family experiences with it as well. And specifically my father-in-law who had Alzheimer's, he was an immigrant from Lebanon.
And I realized that the understanding of the disease from the perspective of Arab Americans was pretty limited in terms of the community. In terms of my family specifically, but in the community in general. And I realized that we just needed more work to really understand the issue for not just this community, but I think from a social and cultural perspective. Because as I started to do more reading and sort of digging into what existed in terms of the research, I realized we still had a lot to learn, especially when it comes to groups who are underrepresented in research studies.
Matt Davis:
It's interesting, the personal connection. I don't know. It's just interesting how people do have some connections to what they do in terms of research and it's easy to forget that. So on a personal note though, Lauren and I have been experimenting with this "fast friends survey" in terms of getting to know our new colleagues here on the leadership team. Do you want to try doing a fast friends question? Should we do this, Lauren? Okay. I'm going to pick a question and we can all answer just to get to know each other a little better. So here's a question. If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be?
Kristine Ajrouch:
One of the things that I'd like to do is really be able to learn how to see the light in the darkness that sometimes we experience around us. Not just on a personal level, I think on a societal level, trying to see the light as a way to move forward and do things that are positive. There's a great quote and I can't remember. I can't remember what it... Oh, I think it comes from the poet, Amanda Gorman, at the end of her poem that she said when Joe Biden was inaugurated as president, where she talked about... At the very ending statement was something about if only she could see the light, if only she could be the light. And I oftentimes think about that because I just think that there's so many challenges in the world today. And being able to find ways to see optimism and to see a way forward and to see the light, that's kind of one of the things that I'd like to be able to do. I guess, if I woke up and was able to do that, it would be great.
Matt Davis:
It's really nice. I feel really superficial with my answer. I was just going to say to be able to fly. What about you, Lauren?
Lauren Gerlach:
Both are simultaneously beneficial. No, that was beautiful and I think so ever increasingly important. Not nearly as eloquent. I don't know. I think just the ability to kind of fully unplug and be present. So I think my brain and kind of the forward movement, things are always jumping ahead to the next task. And I think the ability to just have sustained kind of presence, kind of mindfulness to be in the moment. So that's something I try to do, but it's tough with everything going on. And so if I was able to wake up tomorrow and do that, I think it'd be a good day.
Kristine Ajrouch:
That's a great goal too. Yeah. I think as I get older, I like to be able to enjoy the moments more instead of rushing through things because you realize that time is pretty limited and so you should really enjoy the here and now as much as you can. And flying would be great too, Matt. I wish I could fly too, kind of overcome all the traffic issues I have getting to and from work.
Matt Davis:
I think I was stuck on the ability part of it. I was like, "Oh, like superheroes." I was like, anyway.
Lauren Gerlach:
Well, before we jump into discussing the study, I was just hoping you could maybe help set the context for our listeners a little bit. I'm just wondering what cultural values, family structure, or kind of lived experiences may shape how many Arab American families approach dementia and caregiving?
Kristine Ajrouch:
Oh, wow. That is a very complicated question. I think one of the first things that is important to explain is that dementia, the word itself in Arabic is extremely stigmatizing. The word dementia, which can be a diagnosis when you go see a physician when you're having problems that interfere with your ability to carry out daily activities, but when the word is used in... How do I say this? In Arabic, the word is used in a colloquial way to refer to someone as crazy. And so the word dementia itself is extremely stigmatizing. And we learned this actually the hard way. In addition to being part of CAPRA leadership, I co-direct an Alzheimer's Disease Resource Center for Minority Aging Research called the Michigan Center for Contextual Factors in Alzheimer's Disease. And we engage with the Middle Eastern and Arab American communities in Southeast Michigan, in addition to the Latino community on the west side of the state.
But when we were having a community health learning event in the Arab American community, we were translating things into Arabic for those in the audience who didn't understand English very well, and we were talking about dementia. And as we were talking about dementia, someone in the audience just jumped up and yelled, "I object. I object to you using that word to us. You're insulting us." And it was the Arabic word for dementia. And we were trying to explain logically, but this is the clinical word for it. And finally, we just had to step back and say, "Okay, we stopped using that word by itself." And instead kind of couched it around the word like dementia symptoms or diseases related to dementia. And that kind of seemed to soften it because we were really hell bent on overcoming the stigma and didn't want to not use the word because it was so stigmatized and we wanted to try to overcome the stigma associated with the word.
So I think that's a really important thing to recognize in the Arab American community. And one of the things that I often do when we're giving community talks to non-Arab Americans is ask them what do they think about when they hear the word dementia. And usually people will say things like, "Oh, it's a disease. Oh, it's like a sad disease. It's something that's really difficult to deal with." And then I always tell them, "Okay, now when you ask somebody who's an Arabic speaking individual to think about when they hear the word dementia in Arabic, they're going to tell you right away it means that somebody's gone crazy, that they've gone mad, that you can't deal with them." So even though it's not... I would argue it's stigmatized in the US as well, the way in which the stigma is experienced is so different.
I think we just have a steeper hill to overcome in order to get individuals to really be able to face the situation when they may be diagnosed with dementia or one of their family members are diagnosed with dementia. So I think that's really important. And then in terms of dealing with services, there are not a lot of resources that are... What do I want to say? That are friendly to the Arab American community. Oftentimes they're very sterile and they use language and materials that are not relatable. And one of those programs is the Living With Alzheimer's program from the Alzheimer's Association. And I don't mean to say it's sterile for everybody, but I think for the Arab American community, when you see the flyer even for the Living With Alzheimer's program, their flyers said, "Living with Alzheimer's for middle stage caregivers."
Well, the word caregiver isn't even relatable to the Arab American family because they see themselves not necessarily... They don't identify as a caregiver. They're identifying more as the family role, like, "Well, I'm a daughter taking care of my mother, or I'm a husband taking care of my wife, or I'm a daughter-in-law taking care of my in laws." So even using the word caregiver isn't really relatable if you were to see a flyer like that. When they see the word caregiver, oftentimes the image of a formal helper comes to mind, not necessarily a family member. So one of the first things we did to adapt our program was instead of saying for middle stage caregivers, we said for Arab American families. And that change right then and there just made, I think, a big difference in terms of allowing community members to see this as something that was for them.
Lauren Gerlach:
Absolutely. And I think so important, just even thinking from a clinical context of how someone may receive a diagnosis, how clinicians may communicate with kind of patients and family members of individuals who are living with this illness, as well as maybe family's ability to kind of share that information, given how stigmatized that term is. In a prior episode, we talked about dementia in Middle Eastern and North American populations or referred to as MENA more broadly. What should our listeners understand about potential differences between MENA and the Arab American populations?
Kristine Ajrouch:
Middle Eastern and North African or MENA is a term that is now being used to refer to people who have traditionally been labeled Arab American. It's a little bit broader than Arab American, though. MENA also includes individuals who aren't necessarily Arab, which may be those from Iran or Israel. So it includes two non-Arab countries in its definition, but the majority of MENA Americans are of Arab ancestry. And actually, a colleague of mine did an analysis. I worked on it with them, but she took the lead, Dr. Flora Dallo, and she compared research that was carried out on people defined as just Arab. So coming from an Arabic speaking country versus MENA, which would include people from Iran and Israel. And what she found is that regardless of whether you just focus on Arab ancestry individuals or widen it to include the MENA, all those who had fallen into the MENA category, that the findings didn't differ.
So individuals who have an ancestry to that part of the world are clearly experiencing very similar kinds of challenges or even come with very similar kinds of resources. I actually, in my own research, I use MENA and Arab interchangeably because it's not like health profiles differ enormously depending on what country of origin you come from. I think coming from that region of the world in general has a very specific kind of experience. And I even hesitate to say this because it tends to homogenize a very diverse group of people and that's not what I want to say. That's not the message that I want to give, but I think there's this very similar kind of experiences in terms of turmoil in that region, in terms of political instabilities, in terms of economic issues.
And then when they come to the US, even though they may be coming from different countries, oftentimes the US response to individuals from that part of the world is a response where they don't really see the distinctions in the first place. And even there's very many different religions who fall under MENA and who fall under Arab. But from the US perspective, it's a very homogeneous group. And so they experience very similar kinds of challenges being in the US, even though they may come from different countries.
Matt Davis:
It makes me kind of, I don't know, think a little bit about sort of how to define populations. I mean, obviously culture and geography are related in many ways, but it's just kind of an interesting way of sort of thinking about how people are grouped in terms of populations and all that.
Kristine Ajrouch:
Yeah. And until 2024, MENA were considered white. So 2024 is when the new Office of Management and Budget guidelines came down for measuring race and ethnicity, and MENA is now supposed to be a separate category from white. It hasn't been enforced yet, but it's supposed to be on the next 2030 census. There will be a MENA category and individuals can then have the opportunity to check off a MENA box. We'll see if... It's not clear who's all going to do that either. So it'll be a journey, I think. I think a similar process was in place when the Latino and Hispanic category came into being in, I think it was in 1980. It took a really long time for that box to capture the population because it was a new category. And I think people get a little suspicious about why is it that you're... Why do you want to know who falls into that category? So we'll see what happens.
Matt Davis:
How did you go about identifying the sample for your study?
Kristine Ajrouch:
So this study, the article that you made reference to was specifically focused on testing whether or not the adaptation we made to the Living With Alzheimer's program was effective and whether or not that program itself had a positive impact on the families who went through it. So we were specifically working with an ethnic organization. We worked with ACCESS and I can't remember what... I know what ACCESS stands for generally, but I can't tell you exactly what every single letter stands for. I think it's the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services. They're located in Dearborn. They're one of the largest ethnic organizations, I think, in the country. They're now national.
They're there as a resource for everyone, but they tend to have a very large community of Arab Americans that they service. And so we worked in collaboration with ACCESS to adapt the Living With Alzheimer's program. So we ended up recruiting individuals into the program through our collaboration with ACCESS. But we also had a community outreach staff member who was going to different places where she thought she might find Arab Americans. So she would go to mosques or she would go to ethnic churches. And she would put flyers in ethnic grocery stores and just get word of mouth, through word of mouth, try to identify families who were living with Alzheimer's. And I will tell you, it was very challenging. It was very challenging because of the stigma for people to admit that they even were dealing with that disease.
And then secondly, once they admitted it was challenging for them to say, "Okay, I'm going to come into a public place and listen to information about it and talk about my situation with other people." So we had thought that we would get 38 families was our goal. And so in our adaptation, one of the things we wanted to do was recruit families, not just one caregiver. And so, we were able to get at least two people from each family to come to the program. And it was interesting because when we first would talk to people, we would say, "Well, can you bring a family member with you?" And they'd say, "Oh, but they're busy. I'm not sure if they can come." And we wouldn't turn them away if they didn't bring another family member, but we would just say to them, "We'd really like you to bring a family member. It'll help you and help everyone if more than one person comes."
And it's almost as if us making that request gave them the license to tell someone else, "You need to come with me." And they all came. And so that was actually really enlightening to see that, how you can get more than one family member to come. You just kind of have to say, "We'd like you to bring another family member." And it seemed like that just gave them the license to be able to ask it of somebody else, but it was hard. It was hard to get people to come. It took us over a year to get that many people to come through. We would do, I think we did four or five different sessions and each of the sessions had about maybe six to eight individuals in them. And we ended up having to do it right after COVID, the pandemic came into being... So our initial idea was to do it in person, but then we ended up doing it virtually. And I think actually the virtual option made it easier for people to attend.
Matt Davis:
So when it comes to social services, your paper talks about certain language issues and cultural barriers. I was wondering if you could tell us a little bit more about that.
Kristine Ajrouch:
I mentioned earlier about the stigma around dementia. I think there's a real cultural element of the stigma that we had to deal with. And I mentioned a little bit about how we would even publicize the program in terms of the language that we used, and also making sure that we had people who resembled community members on the flyer was also really important. And we made sure that we had a family situation. Oftentimes what you'll see on the flyer, the Living with Alzheimer's flyer from the Alzheimer's Association usually has the person living with dementia and one caregiver. And we had one person living with dementia surrounded by family, and it was actually the picture was taken at a wedding. And the reason why we thought this would be a nice image, cultural image, is because weddings in the Arab American community are kind of a weekly community event.
People are invited to weddings usually, if not once a month, more often than that, and sometimes more than one wedding on a weekend. And so actually, the image that we chose for our flyer was my father-in-law with his daughter and his two grandchildren. They gave us permission to use that picture. They wanted to do something to help the community because they know how challenging it is to care for someone living with Alzheimer's. So in terms of cultural issues, it's important to have representation. It's important to use the language that people are comfortable with. And I think it's important to attend to the unique meanings that may exist for something for a word like dementia. And then of course, we wanted to be able to have everything available in the Arabic language as needed, given that language sometimes is a barrier.
And then what we did is, as we were adapting the program, we did focus group discussions with caregivers. And we ended up incorporating stories from the focus group discussions into the Living with Alzheimer's tip sheet as a way to make visible stories that may resonate more with the Arab American community as they went through the program. And of course, our educators were bilingual Arab Americans who could administer the program in English or Arabic.
Lauren Gerlach:
I was hoping you could tell us a little bit about the Living with Alzheimer's education program and how your team adapted it.
Kristine Ajrouch:
Well, the Living With Alzheimer's program is an amazing program and I really want to give a shout out to the Alzheimer's Association for having this program and for their willingness to work with us to adapt it. It's a program that's meant to present education and support to families who are caring for someone living with Alzheimer's. So there's a lot of different modules that just kind of define what is Alzheimer's, how is it different from dementia? What can you expect when somebody first starts showing symptoms? What kinds of caregiving challenges might you encounter and what are some of the strategies you can use to overcome those challenges? And the beauty of the Living With Alzheimer's program, from my perspective, is that it's taking place in a group setting and discussion and questions are encouraged. So that families who are living with dementia, when they're presented with the information or with the scenario, they're encouraged to tell their own stories and to talk about how, "Oh yeah, maybe this happened to me. I had a hard time getting my mom into the shower and this is what I did that worked."
And it really helps families to be able to feel like they're not so alone in caring for someone living with dementia, that others are going through similar situations. So it's that kind of feeling that you get from the program, but it also gives you concrete tips that you can use to help with the care that needs to be provided. And another very important message in the Living With Alzheimer's program is the importance of finding respite, of giving yourself the grace to take a break. And recognizing that the way that you can ensure a long career of caregiving is by giving yourself periodic breaks, otherwise you won't be able to do what needs to be done. And then if you can't do it, who's going to do it? So the program's really amazing.
And in terms of what we did to adapt it, I think I did allude to that a little bit in the last question, but basically we wanted to make sure everything was available in Arabic. We wanted to make sure that we had vignettes that represented the Arab American experience and we had the educators who were bilingual. So those were our ways of adapting it.
Matt Davis:
And what were the outcomes that you used in your study?
Kristine Ajrouch:
The outcome. Okay. So what we did was for everyone who went through the program, they did a pre-test and a post-test or a pre-survey and a post-survey. And we measured family dynamics, so family conflict, we measured depressive symptoms, we measured care burden, and we measured self-efficacy, and we did it before and after. And the one area where we saw enormous change, I mean, I say enormous change because I just was so excited that we saw a big group of people go from saying they were very highly burdened to not being very burdened. So it was the caregiver burden that this program really seemed to have an effect on. In terms of family conflict, the findings weren't significant, but there was a trend towards lower conflict. It didn't have any effect on depressive symptoms. So I would say a program like this probably doesn't do a lot for some mental health challenges that come with caregiving, but it certainly did impact burden and it seemed to have a bit of an impact on family relations, which I'd like to explore in more detail.
I'd really love to be able to see how having more than one family member experience an educational support program together can lead to more family cohesion because... And I'm sure you've experienced this. If you go to a class or you go even to see your doctor and you're there by yourself, you get some information, but you may not get it all. And if you have someone else who's there who's also taking notes, they sometimes get different kinds of information or they even interpret things differently. And then you have these two heads who can then work together to really get the information that's needed. But I think even more importantly, if you're a caregiver and you're going back to your family and saying, "This is what I learned." You're not having to tell everyone by yourself. You have someone else who's also heard the same information. And I feel like it's more of a effective way of getting the family on the same page in terms of best practices for caregiving, how to make sure that the person you're caring for living with dementia has the best quality of life possible.
Lauren Gerlach:
One of the things I really appreciated about this paper is the emphasis on, I think what you termed "convoys of caregiving" rather than focusing on a single primary care partner. And I was hoping you could talk a little bit more about this concept, what that means in practice and why it's especially important when thinking about dementia care and family-centered cultures.
Kristine Ajrouch:
Yeah. So convoys of caregiving, it's actually a phrase that was coined by my colleague, Dr. Toni Antonucci, who was one of the developers of the theory, the convoy model of social relations. And it's a beautiful concept because what it does is it conceptualizes that individuals go through the life course surrounded by key others. And who those individuals are that surround you as you live your life in many ways stay the same, but they change over time. It can be understood as a diverse group of people who have different kinds of relationships to you. The relationships that you have could be positive, they could be negative. It's a very all encompassing kind of concept, the convoy. And so we applied that term to the instance of caregiving because we recognize that caregiving oftentimes is a family affair. People have different roles and they have different responsibilities, but there's oftentimes more than just one person involved in caregiving.
And if there's not, having more people involved is more beneficial than doing it by yourself. So the idea of convoys of caregiving is really to give maybe a name to the instance of the fact that caregiving oftentimes happens in a family setting with multiple people and that everyone has their role. And even if they don't have a role in the caregiving, everyone should take on a role as a way to make sure that the care can happen in a way that maximizes the health and wellbeing of all.
Lauren Gerlach:
And I think you've alluded a little bit to this, but I was just wondering some of the challenges in kind of designing and implementing an intervention that intentionally engages multiple family members if there's maybe some pearls or kind of things that you've come across in doing this work.
Kristine Ajrouch:
Yeah. Gosh, it is very challenging. Well, one of the things we learned is that it's not so challenging to find people who are caring for someone living with Alzheimer's. Because actually as I've started this work, it is unbelievable that I would say that every person that I come into contact with and tell them that this is my area of research, they have some connection to Alzheimer's, whether it was their grandparent, or their parent, or their aunt, or their uncle. Alzheimer's is becoming an issue that I think more and more Americans are having to face, not just Americans, but probably around the globe. So it's not necessarily finding the people. It's once you find them, bringing them to a place where they can get the support and the resources that they need, that is the most challenging thing.
And even getting them to participate in research. In the Arab American community, that's extremely challenging, just finding ways to convey why research is important, why they should participate in research, what the benefits might be, even though it may not benefit you immediately today, the benefits from participating will one day benefit your family members and maybe future generations. So I would say the biggest challenges are, one, getting people to participate in research. And then secondly, even if you have resources that are available and that you want to make available, getting them to use those resources is extremely challenging. A lot of times people don't realize that those resources are really going to help them, or maybe they're feeling overwhelmed and burdened from all of the responsibility that they have that doing one more thing just seems like it's out of reach. So I think it's getting people to use what's available and to participate in research I think are the two biggest challenges.
Matt Davis:
So in terms of this line of work, what's next for your team?
Kristine Ajrouch:
Well, right now we have a second project that we're working on in terms of dementia stigma that is a direct result of the first project. And that is an effort that we are spearheading to overcome dementia stigma through various avenues. We have, gosh, it's a multi-pronged approach. We have community partners that we're working with that we have regular meetings with to overcome dementia stigma by engaging in Alzheimer's awareness events with staff of organizations who deal with the Arab American community. We're also working with ACCESS to develop social media campaigns that are targeted towards the Arab American community. And the goal really is just to make dementia mentionable, that people feel like they can talk about it. And the assumption is that if they can talk about it, then they can take the next step in terms of finding support as needed.
It's a very exciting project. We're kind of 18 months in, and I think we have another year of it to go, but we're trying really hard to... One of the goals also is to get people to use the Living With Alzheimer's program as needed. So that's one of our outcome measures to see from all of our efforts, how many people are calling to say that, yes, I want to sign up for the Living With Alzheimer's program. That's kind of where this line of work is going. And then of course, really just a whole other line of work somewhat related to this is getting the Arab American community and population in Metro Detroit to participate in research. Research that's being done to not just look at ADRD risk factors, but also to look at resilience and to look at what it is that may protect Arab Americans from getting dementia, but also what puts them at risk.
And to do that, not just within the community, but in comparative perspective, I really think disparities research is so important because we learn a lot from including groups who are traditionally underrepresented. Oftentimes, it's not that their experiences are necessarily so different per se, but it may be that the degree of the experience is different or the... It's just like the example I gave with stigma. Stigma is kind of ubiquitous when it comes to dementia, but the ways in which dementia is experienced may vary. And so learning about those various experiences around a particular disease like dementia can help not just the individuals who are part of a particular group. But it can help society overall because you can detect things in a different way that can then be applied across all groups to try to address the needs of all in society. And I think that's really important and I think we shouldn't lose sight of that.
Matt Davis:
Kristine, thanks so much for joining us.
Kristine Ajrouch:
Thank you.
Matt Davis:
If you enjoyed our discussion today, please consider subscribing to our podcast. Other episodes can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud, as well as directly from us at capra.med.umich.edu, where a full transcript of this episode is also available. On our website, you'll also find links to other resources we've created specifically for dementia research. Music and engineering for this podcast was provided by Dan Langa. More information is available at www.danlanga.com.
Minding Memory is part of the Michigan Medicine Podcast Network. Find more shows at michiganmedicine.org/podcasts. Support for this podcast comes from the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health, as well as the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation at the University of Michigan. The views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily represent the views of the NIH or the University of Michigan. Thanks for joining us and we'll be back soon.
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Original text here: https://www.uofmhealth.org/minding-memory/convoys-caregiving-arab-american-families-living-dementia
CalState-Channel Islands: Campus Talk and Book Signing With Dr. Marla A. Ramirez
CAMARILLO, California, April 7 -- California State University Channel Islands campus issued the following news release:* * *
Campus Talk and Book Signing with Dr. Marla A. Ramirez
Dr. Marla A. Ramirez, Assistant Professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison, will be providing a talk about her new book, Banished Citizens: A History of the Mexican American Women Who Endured Repatriation. The event will take place on Wednesday, April 22 from Noon to 1:30 p.m. at El Dorado Hall.
The book is a moving portrait of a grim period in American immigration history--from 1921 to 1944 -- when approximately ... Show Full Article CAMARILLO, California, April 7 -- California State University Channel Islands campus issued the following news release: * * * Campus Talk and Book Signing with Dr. Marla A. Ramirez Dr. Marla A. Ramirez, Assistant Professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison, will be providing a talk about her new book, Banished Citizens: A History of the Mexican American Women Who Endured Repatriation. The event will take place on Wednesday, April 22 from Noon to 1:30 p.m. at El Dorado Hall. The book is a moving portrait of a grim period in American immigration history--from 1921 to 1944 -- when approximatelyone million ethnic Mexicans- mostly women and children who were US citizens - were forced to relocate across the southern border through what officials called "repatriation," when it was, in fact, banishment.
Co-sponsored by the Chicana/o Studies Department, the Center for Community Engagement, and IRA.
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Original text here: https://www.csuci.edu/news/releases/ramirez-book-talk20260406.htm