Education (Colleges & Universities)
Here's a look at documents from public, private and community colleges in the U.S.
Featured Stories
Yale Faculty Bring Evidence of War's Biological Legacy to United Nations General Assembly
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, Oct. 18 -- Yale University issued the following news release:
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Yale faculty bring evidence of war's biological legacy to United Nations General Assembly
Peacebuilders working with families in conflict zones often witness how trauma passes down through generations. Yale Jackson School anthropologist Catherine Panter-Brick presented the first scientific evidence showing how war trauma can alter gene expression and affect future generations. She presented her findings at a high-level session on early childhood development and peacebuilding during the 80th United Nations
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NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, Oct. 18 -- Yale University issued the following news release:
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Yale faculty bring evidence of war's biological legacy to United Nations General Assembly
Peacebuilders working with families in conflict zones often witness how trauma passes down through generations. Yale Jackson School anthropologist Catherine Panter-Brick presented the first scientific evidence showing how war trauma can alter gene expression and affect future generations. She presented her findings at a high-level session on early childhood development and peacebuilding during the 80th United NationsGeneral Assembly on September 25, 2025.
"Violence leaves its mark on the human genome across generations," said Panter-Brick, "which tells us that the legacy of war is not only social and psychological - it is biological."
Panter-Brick, the Bruce A. and Davi-Ellen Chabner Professor of Anthropology, Health, and Global Affairs, joined fellow Jackson School faculty member Bonnie Weir at the session hosted by Ireland's Permanent Mission to the United Nations. The gathering came at a critical moment--grave violations against children in armed conflict surged 25% in 2024, the worst year since monitoring began in 2005.
As part of the "Voices of Science" panel, Panter-Brick presented findings from her first-of-its-kind study on war and epigenetics among three generations of Syrian refugee families. The research, published in Scientific Reports in February 2024, found that women who experienced the violence of war during pregnancy showed altered epigenetic markings--and so did their children and grandchildren, even those who had never been directly exposed to conflict.
Panter-Brick described the epigenetic changes as a "dimmer switch"--violence does not rewrite DNA but can turn gene expression up or down, affecting cellular memory and child development in ways that last generations. The research identified 32 sites showing this common epigenetic signature of violence across germline, prenatal, and direct exposures.
While violence alters a child's developmental trajectory in ways that last a lifetime, researchers know that investing in children and families is an effective pathway to peace. "Early life sets the stage for who we are," said Panter-Brick as a reminder. The science shows that programs that effectively support families, parents, and children in early life build resilience, reduce violence, and create conditions for lasting peace--making them among the most empirically grounded tools for addressing intergenerational cycles of conflict.
The Irish Permanent Mission's sponsorship was especially fitting: for Ireland, the science confirms lessons learned through experience. For over 25 years, the Irish and British governments and the European Union have invested in early childhood development programs across Northern Ireland and border counties to mitigate these intergenerational effects--programs that built pathways from divided communities to lasting peace by supporting families across generations.
As Ireland approaches the 30th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in 2028, Irish representatives at the session emphasized how much they valued the work done with children to interrupt cycles of violence--and recognized Yale's scientific contributions and approaches to peacebuilding.
Nuala Ni Mhuircheartaigh, Ireland's Deputy Permanent Representative, opened the session. Ambassador Fergal Mythen, Ireland's Permanent Representative who has extensive experience supporting the Northern Ireland peace process, delivered closing remarks alongside Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Holy See's Permanent Observer to the United Nations, and Franz Hartl, associate director for digital experience at Yale and an Executive Committee member of the Early Childhood Peace Consortium.
Weir, senior lecturer and assistant dean for undergraduate education at the Jackson School and co-director of the Human Rights certificates and Peacebuilding Initiative at Yale, highlighted the session's unique integration of research and practice.
"Often, events focusing on stopping violence against a particular, vulnerable group--in this case, children--are, of course, compelling, but don't provide concrete, practical ways that scholars and policymakers can help," Weir said. "The event at Ireland's permanent mission to the U.N. integrated discussions between practitioners in the field and academics, suggesting some promising approaches to mitigating violence and its nefarious, enduring effects on children."
The session brought together researchers from Yale, Boston College, and NYU with practitioners from Turkiye, Palestine, and other conflict-affected regions. Dr. Najat Maalla M'jid, the UN Special Representative on Violence Against Children, delivered the keynote address. The gathering generated significant momentum around scaling early childhood development programs as a pathway to sustainable peace.
The session also launched the Early Childhood Peace Consortium's Five-Year Strategic Plan (2025-2030), demonstrating how evidence-based early childhood development programs have successfully reached millions of children across countries including Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Lebanon, Rwanda, and South Africa.
Panter-Brick directs the Conflict, Resilience and Health Program at Yale's MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies and is co-director of Yale Jackson's Peacebuilding Initiative. The epigenetic research, co-led by Professors Rana Dajani (Hashemite University), Connie Mulligan (University of Florida), was funded by the MacMillan Center and the National Science Foundation. A short video highlights the main findings. The study builds on evidence from a randomized control trial showing that brief, well-designed interventions effectively alleviate stress and trauma in the wake of war.
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Original text here: https://jackson.yale.edu/news/yale-faculty-bring-evidence-of-wars-biological-legacy-to-united-nations-general-assembly/
What Caused Chicago's Transit Funding Crisis--And What Could Fix It?
CHICAGO, Illinois, Oct. 18 -- The University of Chicago issued the following Q&A on Oct. 17, 2025, with municipal finance expert Justin Marlowe:
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What caused Chicago's transit funding crisis--and what could fix it?
UChicago municipal finance expert Justin Marlowe explains the $250 million budget shortfall threatening CTA, Metra and Pace
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As the Chicagoland region faces what many call a "fiscal cliff" for public transit, the stakes for riders, workers and policymakers are rising.
The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA)--which oversees the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra and
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CHICAGO, Illinois, Oct. 18 -- The University of Chicago issued the following Q&A on Oct. 17, 2025, with municipal finance expert Justin Marlowe:
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What caused Chicago's transit funding crisis--and what could fix it?
UChicago municipal finance expert Justin Marlowe explains the $250 million budget shortfall threatening CTA, Metra and Pace
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As the Chicagoland region faces what many call a "fiscal cliff" for public transit, the stakes for riders, workers and policymakers are rising.
The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA)--which oversees the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra andPace--projects a budget shortfall that might be as high as $250 million starting in fiscal year 2026. Absent long-term reforms, observers expect the gap to reappear year after year.
University of Chicago Research Professor Justin Marlowe, director of the Center for Municipal Finance, spoke with us about how the region arrived at this point, what misconceptions cloud the debate and what solutions, both short-term and long-term, might emerge.
What do people mean when they talk about the "fiscal cliff" facing transit?
Depending on whose numbers you use, the RTA's budget gap was reported as somewhere between half a billion and $750 million in fiscal year 2026--and some estimates were even higher. The RTA recently cut its projected budget deficit to around $250 million. That's a more manageable challenge over the next few months. The real concern is that this isn't a one-time problem. All the projections suggest the gap will reappear year after year for the foreseeable future unless something changes in how we fund or operate transit.
It's a cliff in two senses: There's the immediate, known shortfall and then there's the structural reality that similar cliffs are coming annually if nothing changes.
Why is Chicago's transit system underfunded?
Ridership has been on a slow decline since well before COVID-19. The pandemic then decimated ridership, and while numbers have recovered somewhat, they're still below mid-2000s levels. At the same time, the cost structure has only gotten more difficult: pensions, collective bargaining agreements and aging infrastructure that's expensive to maintain.
Chicago has one of the best transit systems in the country in terms of options but it hasn't made the forward-looking investments that could save money down the road, like retrofitting for more fuel-efficient vehicles. On the revenue side, the system has long relied heavily on fares. State law has traditionally required that more than half of operating revenues come from riders, which can trigger the so-called "death spiral" of raising fares, losing riders and then having to raise fares again.
Add to that a heavy dependence on the sales tax, which was designed for a 19th-century goods economy, not today's service-driven one. In Illinois, we traditionally tax goods rather than services. Over time, that tax base has eroded, even as expenses keep rising.
How much of this is a governance problem?
Quite a bit. The RTA was set up as a coordinating body, but in practice the CTA, Metra and Pace behave like three separate agencies. They serve different constituencies, have different governance structures and have limited authority to do the kind of centralized, well-coordinated capital planning and service delivery that we see in other regional transit systems.
That's why many legislators are saying there should be no new money without governance reform. One proposal would create a "super agency" with real power to borrow, plan and coordinate system-wide. That could make a meaningful difference over time, though it won't solve the immediate budget hole.
What new revenue options are being discussed?
A lot of the discussion from the last Illinois legislative session focused on two ideas: diverting revenue from the Illinois Tollway Authority and creating a new delivery surcharge, or "Uber tax." Both had serious pushback--labor opposed the Tollway plan, and the delivery tax surfaced so late in the legislative session that it never really had a chance.
The broader menu is much bigger. The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning's Plan of Action for Regional Transit (PART) identified more than 40 options, from expanding the sales tax to services, to congestion pricing and higher real estate transfer taxes. The long-term solution that keeps coming up, though, is expanding the sales tax base to services. Many states have already gone that route.
Interestingly, it's unclear where the delivery tax idea came from--it wasn't among the options that were presented in the PART report.
What are some of the biggest misconceptions about this crisis?
One misconception is that the rider experience alone drives ridership. Yes, people care about cleanliness and safety, but survey data show the people most likely to abandon the system because of those concerns are a small fraction of the overall ridership. Those perceptions matter for individual legislators but fixing them won't by itself solve the budget gap.
Another misconception is that transit pays for itself through fares. In reality, fares now cover less than half of operating costs and that share is shrinking. Yet many taxpayers, even in the business community, still believe otherwise. That misunderstanding makes it harder to build political support for new funding models. Fares are less than half of the equation.
And finally, I think people underestimate how little integrated, forward-looking planning happens across the system. Suburban municipalities like Naperville are often better at long-term capital planning than the RTA--perhaps in part due to the difference in scale, perhaps due to fiefdoms that have sprung up in Chicago's systems.
That lack of system-wide strategy leaves money and efficiencies on the table.
So what happens next for Chicago's transit funding?
I expect some combination of new revenue--maybe a delivery tax, maybe a Tollway diversion, maybe tweaks to existing taxes--that brings in enough to plug the hole for two or three years. There will almost certainly be service cuts too, though probably not the draconian ones some fear. The political problems will have to be sorted out, because many suburban and downstate legislators will be hard-pressed to swoop in to save what some have deemed Chicago's problem.
Long term, I think Illinois will have to expand the sales tax to services. That's where the national trend is heading. It won't be easy--lots of groups want to stake a claim to that revenue and the governance reforms to the RTA are a non-negotiable first step--but it's the only sustainable solution I see.
In the meantime, expect a lot of short-term compromises and continued debate over governance reform.
The federal government recently announced it was withholding more than $2 billion in money for infrastructure projects in Chicago. What should we make of this?
The federal government's pullback from transit funding will have a minimal impact on the RTA's fiscal year 2026 budget. But it is the latest and the clearest signal that the decades-long federal-local partnership on public transit generally, and infrastructure finance more generally, is near its end.
Chicago and other big cities need to begin to imagine how to build big projects like the Red Line extension in a sustainable way that does not depend on federal funding.
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This article was originally published on the UChicago Harris School of Public Policy website (https://harris.uchicago.edu/news-events/news/qa-justin-marlowe-chicagos-looming-transit-funding-cliff).
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Original text here: https://news.uchicago.edu/story/what-caused-chicagos-transit-funding-crisis-and-what-could-fix-it
University of Birmingham: Met Office Academic Partnership Seminar With Professor Stefan Smith
BIRMINGHAM, England, Oct. 18 -- The University of Birmingham issued the following news:
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Met Office Academic Partnership Seminar with Professor Stefan Smith
The Met Office Academic Partnership (MOAP) hosted a talk by Stefan Smith, Professor of Energy Systems and the Built Environment at the University of Reading.
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Professor Smith's research explores themes around energy system dynamics and energy demand, which compliments existing collaborative efforts here at the University of Birmingham MOAP (Energy-themed-discovery-day). The hybrid event was held at the Elm House hub with attendees
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BIRMINGHAM, England, Oct. 18 -- The University of Birmingham issued the following news:
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Met Office Academic Partnership Seminar with Professor Stefan Smith
The Met Office Academic Partnership (MOAP) hosted a talk by Stefan Smith, Professor of Energy Systems and the Built Environment at the University of Reading.
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Professor Smith's research explores themes around energy system dynamics and energy demand, which compliments existing collaborative efforts here at the University of Birmingham MOAP (Energy-themed-discovery-day). The hybrid event was held at the Elm House hub with attendeesfrom across the university, the Met Office and wider Met Office Academic Partnership.
During the seminar, entitled 'modelling dynamic anthropogenic activity in urban contexts for energy demand and environmental assessment', Professor Smith introduced the DAVE modelling system: DAVE (Dynamic Anthropogenic actiVities and feedback to Emissions).
Professor Smith described how DAVE emerged from a 'desire to understand how the connections between social and physical processes in urban contexts matter to both energy demand and local environmental conditions'. The model incorporates multiple scales (from individual people through to physical processes at the neighbourhood scale) and data sets that combine to inform model structure as well as the harmonisation of model input data. London was used by the team as a development case study city, but the system is designed to be transferable to cities world-wide. It is currently being setup for use in multiple cities - including Berlin, Geneva, Lausanne and Bristol.
Professor Smith then went on to highlight some of the different modelling studies proposed using DAVE and how these studies could inform governance and operational activity for energy and weather forecasting organisations.
This MOAP lunchtime seminar gave participants an excellent opportunity for networking and sparked a lot of interested discussion, ending with a lively Q&A.
MOAP at the University of Birmingham (https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/moap/home-page)
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Original text here: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2025/met-office-academic-partnership-seminar-with-professor-stefan-smith
Set for Success by LC State
LEWISTON, Idaho, Oct. 18 -- Lewis-Clark State College issued the following news release:
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Set for success by LC State
From the volleyball court to becoming the Lewiston School District Elementary Teacher of the Year, Amy Kronemann's story is a wonderful example of how small steps at a small college can lead to a big career and an even bigger impact.
Getting the ball rolling
Kronemann is originally from Missoula, Montana, and made her way to Idaho to attend Lewis-Clark State College. The deciding factor? A volleyball scholarship.
Throughout her time at LC State, Kronemann played both
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LEWISTON, Idaho, Oct. 18 -- Lewis-Clark State College issued the following news release:
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Set for success by LC State
From the volleyball court to becoming the Lewiston School District Elementary Teacher of the Year, Amy Kronemann's story is a wonderful example of how small steps at a small college can lead to a big career and an even bigger impact.
Getting the ball rolling
Kronemann is originally from Missoula, Montana, and made her way to Idaho to attend Lewis-Clark State College. The deciding factor? A volleyball scholarship.
Throughout her time at LC State, Kronemann played bothbasketball and volleyball. Soon people like Bill Hayne, Linda Coursey, Shawna Castellaw, and Ken Wareham became cornerstones in her success.
From the court to the classroom
They didn't just serve Kronemann as an athlete, but as a student first. Kronemann graduated in 2004 with an elementary education degree.
It didn't take long for her to notice that her education, and the professors providing it, would have a lasting impact on her career.
"I was fortunate to work with some professors that had just a wealth of information and knowledge to share," said Kronemann.
This wasn't just felt in the classroom, but also through critical experiences provided by professors.
"There were so many opportunities to be in the schools working with kids prior to having our degree." she said. "It just set us up for success when we graduated."
Capitalizing on her time working in schools, Kronemann spent a year completing a classroom internship. Kronemann was assigned to a year of student teaching under Clarkston elementary teacher Charlotte Rogers.
"The environment she created and the way that she interacted with kids," said Kronemann. "I just knew that is how I want to teach when I have my own classroom."
A teacher who can coach
Kronemann finally got the chance to fulfill her classroom dreams as she graduated and started working within the Lewiston School District.
"I started my career at Centennial Elementary in first grade and taught there for seven years," she said. "I absolutely loved it."
During this time, Kronemann came to understand that her connection to LC State wasn't going to end after walking across the graduation stage.
While working at Centennial Elementary, Kronemann became an assistant volleyball coach at LC State due to a brief transition in coaching.
"Gary Picone, the athletic director at the time, asked me if I could run some spring practices while they were without a coach as I was a fairly recent graduate," she said. "I was able to give back to my student athletes in the same way that my coaches and others gave back to me.
"When [volleyball coaches] Jen and Burdette [Greeny] came on, they offered me the opportunity to continue working with them," said Kronemann.
"They worked with me so that I was able to be at all the things that I could alongside of my current teaching job," she said. "Those were years I would never trade in."
A coach who can teach
Although her connections with people from LC State, like current head volleyball coach Katie Palmer, seem to never end, her time at Centennial Elementary did.
"I chose to move to McGhee Elementary at that time because I was looking to kind of expand my horizons, try a new grade," said Kronemann. "But, when I walked in this building [McGhee Elementary], I just loved the feel that I got from the students and staff."
Kronemann taught third grade for nine years before moving to her current position as the Professional Learning Community Lead for Collaborative Teams.
"When the district added this position five years ago," she said, "I felt I couldn't pass it up because I do really enjoy, also, the leadership side of things."
Kronemann works with teacher groups from different grade levels to ensure that there is vertical alignment and cohesive communication between grades, as well as to ensure that students are hitting district standards.
"When we spend time together, we are looking at our essential standards and then doing some planning of instruction around those essentials," she said. "We answer what we call our four PLC questions, and those are what we want students to be able to know and do."
According to Kronemann, those questions are: "What do we want students to know and be able to do?," "How will we know if they learn it?," "What will we do if they don't learn it?," and then "What will we do if they already know it?"
"We are using data to drive our instruction and then planning for intervention and extension when students either don't have it or maybe need something to go beyond," said Kronneman.
When looking at vertical alignment and cohesive communication, Kronemann is the liaison for cross communication between teachers.
"My time with teachers is hugely impactful to me in that I learn so many amazing instructional strategies," she said. "Then I can kind of be that liaison between my grade level teams, sharing what's happening to help in other grades to help with that vertical alignment across our buildings."
Passing it on
The skills of leaning on a team and working collaboratively aren't ones Kronemann happened upon, they were developed during her time with LC State.
"That learning environment that I was fortunate to have, I would say actually transitions nicely into the work that I'm doing right now because it was a very collaborative small group," she said. "We [Kronemann and her classmates] relied heavily on one another as teacher interns.
"If it's interdependent, we couldn't do it alone," said Kronemann. "Our teachers and professors fostered that at LC.
"Really, that's the work that I'm doing now in this role as a lead," she said. "Similar to what our professors did, where we're creating that collaborative environment for teachers to grow and learn."
Always a student
As Kronemann dives further into the leadership component of education, she is pursuing a graduate degree in Educational Leadership. True to her new home of Idaho, Kronemann is working to obtain her degree at the University of Idaho. She says one day, maybe, it'll lead her to a principal position.
For today, though, she'll hold on to her title as Lewiston School Districts Elementary Teacher of the Year.
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Original text here: https://www.lcsc.edu/news/2025/10/17/set-for-success-by-lc-state
Hope College Breaks Ground on New Economics and Business Building
HOLLAND, Michigan, Oct. 18 -- Hope College issued the following news:
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Hope College Breaks Ground on New Economics and Business Building
By Stephanie Schafer
Hope College is breaking ground on a spacious new home for the college's thriving Department of Economics and Business, helping transform the program and countless young lives, while complementing the east entrance of downtown Holland.
The new 74,000-square-foot building will stand three stories high along east Eighth Street on the former Versendaal car dealership site, between the historic former fire station and Holland Area Arts
... Show Full Article
HOLLAND, Michigan, Oct. 18 -- Hope College issued the following news:
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Hope College Breaks Ground on New Economics and Business Building
By Stephanie Schafer
Hope College is breaking ground on a spacious new home for the college's thriving Department of Economics and Business, helping transform the program and countless young lives, while complementing the east entrance of downtown Holland.
The new 74,000-square-foot building will stand three stories high along east Eighth Street on the former Versendaal car dealership site, between the historic former fire station and Holland Area ArtsCouncil (between College and Columbia avenues). The structure will be at the heart of a sidewalk plaza and green space meant to enhance the community and link downtown Holland with the central Hope campus immediately to the south.
"We're thrilled about this new building and even more excited about what it will facilitate. Hope College exists to bring hope to the world and within these walls, future CEOs, board members, business leaders, innovators, and changemakers will be shaped through a world-class education rooted in the historic Christian faith," said Matthew A. Scogin, president of Hope College. "Perfectly positioned between the heart of campus and the heart of downtown, this building also reflects the enduring partnership between Hope College and the city of Holland that's defined our community for more than 160 years. We're deeply grateful to our donors whose leadership and generosity made this historic day a reality."
Hope expects construction to begin in November, as it has raised more than $50 million towards the total cost of the $65 million academic building. To date, more than 225 donors have contributed to the fundraising project, which has been led by a 31-member campaign cabinet under co-chairs Carol Van Andel, P.J. Huizenga, Paul Boersma and Carolyn Wilson. The college will also need to secure funds for surrounding site improvements and endowment maintenance. Hope officials predict construction will take about two years to complete, with the facility ready to serve students starting the fall of 2028.
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About Hope's Department of Economics and Business
The new economics and business building will host Hope's largest academic department, which has grown substantially and is now spread across 11 different facilities throughout the campus. The Department of Economics and Business has experienced a 60% increase in students across the past 15 years, serving more than 30% of Hope's student population.
The college's overall enrollment has climbed from 2,770 in the fall of 1989 to 3,427 this fall - its third largest enrollment in Hope's 164-year history. More than 700 of those students either enroll in the department's courses or participate in its co-curricular programs each year, with more than 500 students signed on for majors, all taught by more than 20 faculty members.
The department - one of the largest of its kind among Christian liberal arts colleges - offers majors and concentrations in accounting, business, economics, finance, marketing and human resources. In addition, the department offers more than nine co-curricular programs that help students build competitive depth in areas such as: finance, marketing, leadership development, entrepreneurship and more. Special opportunities (domestic and global) also include programs aimed to provide freshmen and sophomores exposure and vocational discernment as they begin building market intelligence.
More than 500 professionals from 200 top firms - including Haworth, Meijer, Gentex, Accenture, Dow Chemical, General Motors, Gordon Food Service and Whirlpool -- visit the Hope College campus or host students each year. One hundred percent of the department's students graduate with applied experience, and 97% are employed or in graduate school within six months of earning their degree.
While the statistics indicate the numeric need and successful outcomes, department chair Dr. Stacy Jackson noted that the new building's greatest role will be in supporting and enhancing the department's distinctive blend of faculty expertise, co-curricular learning, and focus on vocational discernment and calling - all through the lens of the historic Christian faith that is foundational to Hope.
"This facility will be a space where students can learn about the breadth of calling in a world where roles in fields such as finance, marketing and operations are more complex than ever," said Jackson, who is the Kenneth J. Weller '48 Professor of Management. "Here, we're inviting students to a historic Christian perspective in business and economics while preparing them to be excellent wherever they go. Many students feel they need to choose between an excellent education or a faithful one. Here, they don't need to choose."
He noted that the emphasis on faith and excellence is foundational to the department, which is the second-oldest business program in Michigan. It was established 95 years ago by Dr. Edward Dimnent, Hope's fifth president, who in the dire days of the Great Depression saw a need for outstanding business leaders rooted in the Christian liberal arts. The new economics and business building's stone exterior and design elements are intentionally designed to mirror those of Hope's Dimnent Chapel, which is also a legacy of the former president's leadership.
Jackson is no less enthusiastic about the building's downtown location as both a literal and symbolic connection to Holland and, by extension, West Michigan. While the department's graduates go on to careers across the country and around the world, more than 50% work in the region. The state-of-
the-art space will not only support the academic programs in economics and business, but enable increased interaction with the business community, as a resource for both expertise and talent development.
About the New Economics and Business Facility
In addition to serving as home for Hope's Department of Economics and Business, the building will provide classrooms, an auditorium and an event space available to programs throughout the college; rooms for group study; and a cafe and informal gathering space for the entire campus community. As a new downtown location, the college also plans to house a Hope College retail spirit store and potentially lease space for others interested in an Eighth Street presence.
Additional features of the proposed design include a three-story-atrium, and the college intends to seek LEED certification, as it has done with other recent buildings such as the van Andel Huys der Hope Campus Ministries house that opened in the fall of 2019 (LEED v4), the Jim and Martie Bultman Student Center that opened in 2017 (LEED Gold) and the Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts that opened in 2015 (LEED Silver).
The building will be set back from Eighth Street both to provide a wide plaza similar to the open space next to the Courtyard Marriott Hotel, and to enable visitors coming into downtown from the east to see the historic former fire station, which was built in 1884 and originally also served as city hall. The rest of the grounds extending south to Ninth Street will feature landscaped greenspace and walkways to provide pedestrian access as a northern gateway to the Hope campus.
Project partners to date include architects AMDG (Grand Rapids) and LMN (Seattle) and general contractor Owen-Ames-Kimball (Grand Rapids).
For more information about the building, including about how to support the project financially, please visit https://hope.edu/give/economics-business/.
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Original text here: https://hope.edu/news/2025/campus-life/hope-college-breaks-ground-on-new-economics-and-business-building.html?_gl=1*1jytcm9*_gcl_au*MTU3MjQ3NzAzOC4xNzU0NTcwMTM3*_ga*OTM1MjAyNzkwLjE3NTQ1NzAxMzc.*_ga_RF3LGY13Y9*czE3NjA3NzMzMjgkbzE2JGcwJHQxNzYwNzczMzI4JGo2MCRsMCRoMA..
Binghamton University Expands National Presence in Engaged Scholarship
BINGHAMTON, New York, Oct. 18 -- Binghamton University issued the following news:
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Binghamton University expands national presence in engaged scholarship
Strategic investment and collaboration propel Binghamton's growing role in advancing community-engaged research and learning
By Andi Stack
Binghamton University's commitment to connecting research, teaching and public service was recognized in May 2023 when the University was officially accepted into the Engagement Scholarship Consortium (ESC). The ESC is a global network of colleges and universities dedicated to advancing scholarship-based
... Show Full Article
BINGHAMTON, New York, Oct. 18 -- Binghamton University issued the following news:
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Binghamton University expands national presence in engaged scholarship
Strategic investment and collaboration propel Binghamton's growing role in advancing community-engaged research and learning
By Andi Stack
Binghamton University's commitment to connecting research, teaching and public service was recognized in May 2023 when the University was officially accepted into the Engagement Scholarship Consortium (ESC). The ESC is a global network of colleges and universities dedicated to advancing scholarship-basedcommunity engagement. Membership signifies Binghamton's growing leadership in this field.
This year's ESC Annual Conference was held Oct. 6-9 in Roanoke, Va., with Virginia Tech serving as the primary host institution. Binghamton University participated as a host institution sponsor. Kelli Smith, assistant vice president for student success, served as Binghamton's campus representative on the conference planning committee, which helped shape sessions and engagement opportunities connecting academic and community partners from across the country.
With one-time funding from the Road Map to Premier Strategic Priority 4 (SP4), Binghamton provided group transportation, allowing for broader campus participation. Attendees included Smith, who served as a representative for student affairs administration; Larry Dake, superintendent of Chenango Valley Central School District; five Center for Civic Engagement staff; two College of Community and Public Affairs (CCPA) faculty members; and CCPA Assistant Dean Andrea Decker. This marked the University's largest-ever presence at the conference.
"We are incredibly grateful for the support President [Harvey] Stenger provided to expand our campus and community representation at the ESC conference this year, as well as prioritizing community engagement in the Road Map," Smith said. "This support allowed us to elevate Binghamton's reputation as a leader in community engagement, opening doors for future collaborations that will continue to make a meaningful impact."
Throughout the conference, Binghamton representatives contributed to cross-collaborative presentations, hosted a CCE information table in the exhibit hall, and presented a poster session highlighting university-community partnerships. Social work faculty Kelley Cook and Keisha Wint gave a presentation titled "Ending Violence Towards Women: A Community-Engaged Approach," highlighting how attitudes toward violence against women (cisgender, transgender and those affected by gender-based violence) shape responses to it and how higher education can drive social transformation through community-engaged research that educates, builds community and learns directly from participants. These efforts offered national exposure for the impactful work happening across the University and within the Binghamton area.
Through strategic investment, collaboration and leadership, Binghamton University continues to advance its mission of connecting learning, research and service, strengthening both campus and community through engaged scholarship.
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Original text here: https://www.binghamton.edu/news/story/5842/binghamton-university-expands-national-presence-in-engaged-scholarship
Be Unapologetically Impatient: Conversation With Hofstra Alumna Christina Cipriano
HEMPSTEAD, New York, Oct. 18 -- Hofstra University issued the following news on Oct. 17, 2025:
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Be Unapologetically Impatient: Conversation with Hofstra Alumna Christina Cipriano
On Wednesday, November 12, Hofstra University will welcome Christina Cipriano '05, PhD, a Stuart and Nancy Rabinowitz Honors College alumna, Yale professor, and author of Be Unapologetically Impatient: The Mindset Required to Change the Way We Do Things. This special book talk is co-sponsored by Rabinowitz Honors College, the Hofstra School of Education, and the Hofstra Cultural Center.
Drawing from Cipriano's
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HEMPSTEAD, New York, Oct. 18 -- Hofstra University issued the following news on Oct. 17, 2025:
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Be Unapologetically Impatient: Conversation with Hofstra Alumna Christina Cipriano
On Wednesday, November 12, Hofstra University will welcome Christina Cipriano '05, PhD, a Stuart and Nancy Rabinowitz Honors College alumna, Yale professor, and author of Be Unapologetically Impatient: The Mindset Required to Change the Way We Do Things. This special book talk is co-sponsored by Rabinowitz Honors College, the Hofstra School of Education, and the Hofstra Cultural Center.
Drawing from Cipriano'sresearch in social and emotional learning and her own family's experiences, Be Unapologetically Impatient encourages readers to take small, intentional actions to create meaningful progress in their lives and communities. Through practical tools and real-world examples, she shows how cultivating emotional awareness, intrinsic motivation, and gratitude can help each of us build a more compassionate and equitable world.
In advance of her visit, Cipriano spoke with HofNews about her journey from a political science major to a nationally recognized researcher in psychology and education, and how her personal and professional experiences inspired her new book.
HofNews: You began your undergraduate studies at Hofstra as a political science major. Looking back, what experiences or mentors here most influenced your journey into psychology and education?
Cipriano: The Rabinowitz Honors College was really my intellectual home at Hofstra. The community challenged me to think critically, question assumptions, and engage deeply with new ideas. I double-minored in education and philosophy, and for my capstone, I worked with Professor Eduardo Duarte. He dared me to apply to Harvard. I told him, "Harvard is for rich, smart kids -- I'm not one of them." He said, "If you write the application essay, I'll pay your fee. I just want a mug when you get in."
I got rejected from Stony Brook and accepted to Harvard in the same 24 hours. And yes, I sent him the mug. That experience, along with later mentorship from Howard Gardner at Harvard, changed my trajectory. Dr. Gardner told me, "You're a psychologist and you don't even know it yet." From there, I pursued psychology and never looked back.
HofNews: What inspired you to write Be Unapologetically Impatient?
Cipriano: I'd been thinking about writing it for over a decade. What pushed me to finally do it were the questions my middle children kept asking -- about fairness, about waiting, about why the world works the way it does for their brother, who uses a wheelchair. I realized I was waiting to write this book, and that waiting wasn't serving anyone.
Our joy isn't worth waiting for. Being unapologetically impatient is about activating the science of motivation, emotional intelligence, and gratitude -- and applying it in real time to make the world better for everyone.
HofNews: Many people see impatience as a flaw. How do you see it as a strength?
Cipriano: I love that question. We're socialized to believe patience is always virtuous -- that by waiting, we're somehow serving justice. But when you think of "patient" as a noun, it describes someone suffering, being served by a system. What if waiting only reinforces inequity?
My book challenges that idea. It asks us to consider when patience actually perpetuates harm -- particularly for people with disabilities -- and to question the reflex to apologize for asking for what we need. Being unapologetically impatient means recognizing when "that's just the way it is" isn't good enough, and demonstrates how each and every one of us can use empathy, awareness, and language to make change, one interaction at a time.
HofNews: You share very personal stories in the book, including about your family. What was it like to write something so personal?
Cipriano: It was deeply emotional to write. I had to wait until the experiences became scars, not open wounds. Writing about my son's diagnosis journey, among others, was heaveby necessary. Writing this book was cathartic for me, and as many of my friends and family have said, it reads like a "victory lap", for everyone.
As an academic, I write constantly, but this was different -- this was for everyone. I wanted readers, whether they're parents, educators, or professionals, to see themselves in the story. The response has been overwhelming. People from all walks of life tell me they recognize their own challenges -- in health care, work, relationships -- and they've used the book's strategies in their own lives. That's been the most rewarding part.
HofNews: You've spoken about being a first-generation high school graduate. How has that shaped your perspective?
Cipriano: It's shaped everything. My dad went to school until eighth grade, my mom got her GED. So, me going to Hofstra was monumental for our family. The hidden curriculum of higher education is real -- there are unspoken rules that many first-generation students have to learn on the fly. That perspective makes me a better educator and colleague. I see where systems need to improve, and I try to ask questions that call people in, not out.
HofNews: What advice would you give to current Hofstra students who want to pursue research, education, or advocacy?
Cipriano: Your communities -- your classmates, families, and neighbors -- need you now more than ever. We have an opportunity and an obligation to change the way we engage with each other. Stay true to your vantage point, invite others into dialogue, and choose love in how you show up. The world feels polarized right now, but meaningful change starts with listening and leaning into discomfort rather than avoiding it.
HofNews: What's next for you?
Cipriano: I'm continuing to share Be Unapologetically Impatient across the country -- with educators, parents, business leaders, and healthcare professionals. My research lab is thriving, and I'm planning to start work on my second book in 2027. And, of course, I'm enjoying life as a mom of four -- ages 13, 12, 10, and six!
Dr. Christina Cipriano's book talk, co-sponsored by Rabinowitz Honors College, the Hofstra School of Education, and the Hofstra Cultural Center will take place on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, 4:20-6 p.m., at the Leo A. Guthart Cultural Center Theater, Joan and Donald E. Axinn Library, First Floor, South Campus. Learn more about her work at www.drchriscip.com.
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Original text here: https://news.hofstra.edu/2025/10/17/be-unapologetically-impatient-a-conversation-with-hofstra-alumna-christina-cipriano/
