Education (Colleges & Universities)
Here's a look at documents from public, private and community colleges in the U.S.
Featured Stories
Upstate's Community Giving Campaign Nets Third Highest Total in Campaign History
SYRACUSE, New York, Feb. 27 -- The State University of New York Upstate Medical University campus issued the following news:
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Upstate's Community Giving Campaign nets third highest total in campaign history
Upstate Medical University raised $626,230 during its annual Community Giving Campaign, which ended last month. That's up nearly four percent over last year's contributions and the third highest amount raised in campaign history.
Officials say total donors topped 2,000 for the campaign, which began in late August. The top agencies receiving support from the campaign were the United
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SYRACUSE, New York, Feb. 27 -- The State University of New York Upstate Medical University campus issued the following news:
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Upstate's Community Giving Campaign nets third highest total in campaign history
Upstate Medical University raised $626,230 during its annual Community Giving Campaign, which ended last month. That's up nearly four percent over last year's contributions and the third highest amount raised in campaign history.
Officials say total donors topped 2,000 for the campaign, which began in late August. The top agencies receiving support from the campaign were the UnitedWay of Central New York, the Upstate Foundation, the United Way of Central New York, the Food Bank of Central New York, Francis House and Hospice of Central New York and the Finger Lakes. The campaign supports more than 100 agencies throughout Central New York.
Overall participation in the campaign rose to 18 percent last year, attracting 583 new donor employees.
Upstate employees have donated more than $15.4 million through the campaign since 1986.
"We are incredibly proud of the Upstate community for coming together once again to support our annual Community Giving Campaign," said 2025 campaign co-chairs Chief Medical Officer Amy Tucker, MD, and Chief Financial Officer Stuart Wright, MBA. "This year's results reflect not only an increase in dollars raised, but also a meaningful rise in participation and new donors -- demonstrating the growing commitment of our employees to strengthening Central New York.
"Raising more than $626,000 and welcoming hundreds of new donors shows the generosity and compassion that define Upstate Medical University," Tucker and Wright said. "Every contribution, no matter the size, helps support more than 100 local agencies that provide critical services to individuals and families throughout our region."
Upstate employees from all departments, including the Research Foundation and MedBest Medical Management participated in the campaign.
Campaign Committee members include Zanette Howe (chair), Mark Congel, Kelly Dolan, Amy Green, Devin Kerr, Sarah Trapani, Nancy Prott, Meghann Sandak, Becca Pesci, Heidi Chapman, Christine Dickerson, Denise Feeley, Jennifer Hilts, Yowali Singh. Ad hoc committee members are Leah Caldwell and Rebecca Janowski.
Campaign nursing sub-committee members are Kathleen Berardi, Brenda Dano, Kelly Dolan, JoAnn Featherstone, Tonya Seckner, Yowali Singh, Anne Snowdon.
Linda Veit, MPH, and Nancy Prott headed up gifts for the Hamilton White, Elizabeth Blackwell, and Sarah Loguen societies.
For a complete listing of donors to the 2025 campaign, go here (https://www.upstate.edu/communitygiving/pdf/2025-final-donor-list.pdf).
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Original text here: https://www.upstate.edu/news/articles/2026/2026-02-26-cgc.php
University of Technology Sydney Issues Commentary: Step Forward for News Funding Mechanisms
SYDNEY, Australia, Feb. 27 (TNSrpt) -- The University of Technology Sydney issued the following commentary on Feb. 25, 2026, by Derek Wilding, co-director of the Centre for Media Transition:
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A step forward for news funding mechanisms
Last week we published the fully-designed copy of our new report, Funding the Way Forward for Australian News: A Review of Local and International News Funding Distributions Mechanisms by Julie Eisenberg and Tamara Marcus. It's a companion piece to Julie's earlier report for CMT, Finding a Way Forward for Australian News: An Examination of Local and International
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SYDNEY, Australia, Feb. 27 (TNSrpt) -- The University of Technology Sydney issued the following commentary on Feb. 25, 2026, by Derek Wilding, co-director of the Centre for Media Transition:
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A step forward for news funding mechanisms
Last week we published the fully-designed copy of our new report, Funding the Way Forward for Australian News: A Review of Local and International News Funding Distributions Mechanisms by Julie Eisenberg and Tamara Marcus. It's a companion piece to Julie's earlier report for CMT, Finding a Way Forward for Australian News: An Examination of Local and InternationalRegulatory Interventions. Both are available from the CMT website.
The research for both reports was prompted by the impending failure of the News Media Bargaining Code, following its first-round success in securing substantial funding from Google and Meta. In 2024, Meta made it clear that it did not intend to enter another round of deals, and if the government tried to force its hand, it would remove news content altogether from its Australian service. In response, the government has proposed the News Bargaining Incentive (NBI) as an extension of the News Media Bargaining Code. The NBI would give platforms a tax benefit for financial contributions to the news industry while imposing a tax liability on those who do not meet minimum investment levels.
For our second report, we step back - for the time being - from the sticky issue of how regulation actually gets the funds from digital platforms to Australian news businesses. Instead, the report focusses on the way the money generated through a tax (or some comparable mechanism) is handled and distributed. This is important because an effective and legitimate distribution mechanism will be required for any scheme that pools industry funds. And it has just as much relevance for government funding as for industry funding.
Funding the Way Forward therefore looks at the 'back-end' of direct news funding interventions: structures for making funding decisions, transparency measures, and what recipients have to do to confirm funds were spent as intended. It also examines how different schemes ensure that news content is free of influence from the funder. Julie and Tamara look at various international approaches for news funding as well as Australian government schemes to support news and the arrangements in adjacent sectors such as creative arts, the screen industry and academic research - all of which enable funding decisions to be made at arm's length from government.
Fortuitously, the research has come at just the right moment. The research by Julie and Tamara helped us shape a submission to Treasury's consultation paper on the NBI. In particular, we encouraged the government to allow platforms to make contributions via intermediary bodies that are independent of both platform companies and government. We drew on the example of the Canadian Journalism Collective, set up by Google to provide funding of CAN$100 million per year for five years. This approach fits with the NBI design because this form of 'other expenditure' could be taken into account and given the same favourable treatment as deals made directly between platforms and news businesses. Given the potential for this approach to provide assistance beyond the largest Australian news businesses, we've encouraged Treasury to resist imposing a cap on the extent to which these payments can be counted as part of a platform's compliance obligations.
Other aspects of our recommendations to government can be found in our submission. Meanwhile, the research report has already sparked interest, with Julie presenting at a panel for the International Institute of Communications' Media and Digital Communications Forum in Sydney on 11 February, and my participation in a workshop on News Futures organised by the University of Canberra last week. Stand by for a new podcast sometime soon!
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References
CMT page with copies of the two reports: https://www.uts.edu.au/research/centres/centre-media-transition/projects-and-research/a-way-forward-for-australian-news
Guardian Australia article on the News Bargaining Incentive: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/nov/12/meta-could-face-millions-in-fines-for-not-signing-content-deals-in-australia
CMT submission to Treasury consultation: https://www.uts.edu.au/research/centres/centre-media-transition/centre-contributions-policy
Treasury page with copy of the News Bargaining Incentive consultation paper: https://consult.treasury.gov.au/c2025-718159
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REPORT: https://www.uts.edu.au/globalassets/sites/default/files/2025-01/finding-a-way-forward-for-australian-news_spreads-view.pdf
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Original text here: https://www.uts.edu.au/news/2026/02/a-step-forward-for-news-funding-mechanisms
University of Nevada Program Expands Mentorship and Training to Help Small Businesses Grow and Compete
RENO, Nevada, Feb. 27 -- The University of Nevada issued the following news:
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University program expands mentorship and training to help small businesses grow and compete
Free Extension program begins March 5
Emma Lande
As small businesses nationwide struggle to stay competitive, a Nevada program is expanding its free training and mentorship through grassroot partnerships to reach more entrepreneurs and support stronger, more resilient businesses across the state. The Small Business Education Program, an initiative of University of Nevada, Reno Extension, will launch the expanded model
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RENO, Nevada, Feb. 27 -- The University of Nevada issued the following news:
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University program expands mentorship and training to help small businesses grow and compete
Free Extension program begins March 5
Emma Lande
As small businesses nationwide struggle to stay competitive, a Nevada program is expanding its free training and mentorship through grassroot partnerships to reach more entrepreneurs and support stronger, more resilient businesses across the state. The Small Business Education Program, an initiative of University of Nevada, Reno Extension, will launch the expanded modelin collaboration with the Asian American Pacific Islander Chamber of Commerce, delivering its signature 10-week Biz101 training followed by the six-month Extension Small Business Incubator Program.
The free program is open to entrepreneurs in the planning stages, newly licensed businesses and owners in their first few years of operation, regardless of chamber membership. This cohort will meet Thursdays, 5:30-7:30 p.m., March 5 through May 14, at the chamber offices, 6675 S. Tenaya Way in Las Vegas.
"By teaming up with local organizations such as the Asian American Pacific Islander Chamber of Commerce, we're able to meet entrepreneurs where they are," said Mike Bindrup, community and economic development coordinator with Extension, who leads the Small Business Education Program team. "We're able to connect them with counseling and funding guidance from day one and create a stronger support system than any of us could offer alone."
The expanded model also brings small business advisers from the Nevada Small Business Development Center, who will enroll participants as clients from the outset and provide free, confidential counseling alongside weekly instruction. Course topics cover the essentials of starting a new business, including licensing, strategic planning, legal and insurance considerations, accounting and taxation, budgeting, marketing and branding, digital promotion and pitch development. To graduate, participants create and present a business model that pulls together what they have learned, to prepare them to pitch their ideas to investors, banks and potential partners. The course wraps up with a formal cap-and-gown graduation ceremony attended by participants and their families.
Extension Small Business Incubator Program: Empowering entrepreneurs to succeed
About half of Biz101 graduates continue into the Extension Small Business Incubator Program, a six-month residency open to those who complete the coursework and final presentations. During the mentorship, entrepreneurs meet weekly with assigned advisers to review progress on goals such as securing contracts, launching a website or hiring staff, while discussing challenges and identifying solutions.
"While building a business is challenging, our role as experienced mentors helps owners work through difficult moments and stay focused," said Bindrup. "The program's structure emphasizes accountability, measurable benchmarks and practical implementation."
Participants receive guidance from a network of mentors that include bankers, attorneys, certified public accountants and real estate professionals, who help them plan for long-term success. Many graduates remain involved beyond the residency, returning as mentors or guest speakers and continuing to seek guidance on operational challenges. The program also hosts workshops and networking events featuring industry experts.
Building on prior success
Since its launch in 2024, the Biz101 and Extension Small Business Incubator Program has trained 102 entrepreneurs. The first incubator cohort of 22 participants generated nearly $500,000 in combined sales during the course and subsequent six-month residency.
Supported by business development instructors Shiva Kittusamy, Brenda Bryant, Reyna Mendez and Amanda Farrar, participants who continue into the incubator program gain tools and guidance that increase their likelihood of long-term business sustainability.
"We've brought in financial institutions to provide workshops on preparing loan applications, and we invite them to attend final pitch presentations, giving participants the opportunity to present directly to potential lenders," Kittusamy said.
The training team and advisers from the Nevada Small Business Development Center also help match entrepreneurs with appropriate financing options based on readiness and business type.
Providing continued support for entrepreneurs
In addition to the Small Business Incubator Program, offered in English and Spanish, Extension's Small Business Education Program offers a range of ongoing support, including networking events such as Conectando Con Cafecito that supports Hispanic women in business, the Large Vision Business and Networking Mixer, a monthly expo for Las Vegas entrepreneurs and leaders, targeted skills-training workshops, and the Nevada BizLife podcast featuring experts and legislators discussing key business issues affecting Nevada entrepreneurs.
Those interested in attending the upcoming Biz101 course and participating in the Extension Small Business Incubator Program should register and find full details online. Enrollment is limited to ensure each participant receives individualized guidance.
For more information, email Mike Bindrup or call him at 702-539-7251. Persons in need of special accommodations or assistance should email Paul Lessick, civil rights and compliance coordinator, or call him at 702-257-5577 at least five days prior to the event.
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Original text here: https://www.unr.edu/nevada-today/news/2026/sbed-biz101
University of Maryland's Artificial Intelligence Institute Welcomes Five Distinguished AI Scholars
COLLEGE PARK, Maryland, Feb. 27 -- The University of Maryland issued the following news release:
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University of Maryland's Artificial Intelligence Institute Welcomes Five Distinguished AI Scholars
First cohort of AIM core faculty brings AI expertise across philosophy, computer science, public health, bioengineering, and government and politics
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The University of Maryland welcomes five leading experts from a diverse array of disciplines as its first cohort of core faculty of the Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute at Maryland (AIM), UMD's hub for AI collaboration across
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COLLEGE PARK, Maryland, Feb. 27 -- The University of Maryland issued the following news release:
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University of Maryland's Artificial Intelligence Institute Welcomes Five Distinguished AI Scholars
First cohort of AIM core faculty brings AI expertise across philosophy, computer science, public health, bioengineering, and government and politics
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The University of Maryland welcomes five leading experts from a diverse array of disciplines as its first cohort of core faculty of the Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute at Maryland (AIM), UMD's hub for AI collaboration acrosscampus.
Ilaria Canavotto, Yu Gan, Ritwik Gupta, Yulin Hswen and Swati Srivastava join UMD's more than 200 AI scholars across every school and college. Collectively, they exemplify AIM's mission to integrate state-of-the-art AI innovation with rigorous interdisciplinary scholarship to advance meaningful and lasting societal impact and prepare UMD students to succeed in an AI-infused workforce.
"In our rapidly changing world, we have a responsibility to provide opportunities for students across every field to understand, use and shape artificial intelligence in responsible and ethical ways," said Jennifer King Rice, UMD's senior vice president and provost. "By engaging students, faculty and researchers across the curriculum, we're offering graduates the tools to apply AI thoughtfully, and building a university-wide ecosystem of AI innovation and excellence that drives meaningful impact."
The five scholars strengthen UMD's leadership across foundational technical areas of AI, including computer vision and perception, game theory, reasoning and agentic AI, as well as social and humanistic areas. They also deepen AIM's work across the institute's four core pillars: accessibility, learning, sustainability and social justice. AIM faculty will serve as AI leaders across campus and will teach courses for AIM's degree programs.
"This inaugural cohort of core faculty marks a major milestone for AIM," said Hal Daume, AIM director and Volpi-Cupal Endowed Professor of Computer Science. "Individually, each conducts research that deeply impacts the practice of AI, through an interdisciplinary lens. And collectively, their expertise expands our capacity to pursue ambitious, interdisciplinary AI research, together with the AI expertise already on campus."
AIM's inaugural cohort of core faculty includes:
* Ilaria Canavotto, who joined the Department of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Humanities in the fall of 2025 as an assistant professor, following a postdoctoral research position at UMD since 2021. Her research lies at the intersection of logic, artificial intelligence and law, with additional interests in social choice theory, game and decision theory, and metaphysics. She investigates how formal models from these fields can improve our understanding of decision-making in AI systems and legal contexts.
* Yu Gan, who will join the Fischell Department of Bioengineering in the A. James Clark School of Engineering in the summer of 2026 as an associate professor. Gan is an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology. His research focuses on biomedical image analysis, generative AI, agentic AI, computer vision, bioimaging and explainable machine learning for health care applications.
* Ritwik Gupta, who will join the Department of Computer Science in the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences as an assistant professor in the summer of 2026. Gupta is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, where he studies perception, reasoning and decision-making in complex environments. His work combines computer vision, machine learning and physics-based modeling to address challenges in climate science, humanitarian response and national security.
* Yulin Hswen, who joined the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the School of Public Health in January 2026 as an associate professor. Previously, Hswen was an associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine and a core faculty member of the Computational Precision Health Program at the University of California, Berkeley. She leverages artificial intelligence, machine learning and social media analytics to study how digital narratives spread, influence behavior, and impact public health outcomes. Her work addresses the ethics and equity of AI in medicine, the dissemination of misinformation and health disparity dynamics online.
* Swati Srivastava, who will join the Department of Government and Politics in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences in the summer of 2026 as an associate professor. Srivastava is an associate professor of political science and University Faculty Scholar at Purdue University. She also holds positions as faculty associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and non-resident scholar in digital futures at New America. Her research focuses on private power in global governance and the emerging politics of Big Tech and AI.
In the past five years, faculty at UMD have collectively published more than 1,300 papers in the field of AI, been awarded over $160 million in AI-related research grants and been involved in more than 15 UMD-based AI-related centers. Last year, the university taught more than 17,000 student-credit hours of AI-related courses. The university offers multiple master's programs in AI and will be launching Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in the coming year.
U.S. News & World Report ranks UMD in the top 10 among public institutions for artificial intelligence, and CSRankings.org ranks UMD No. 3 among all U.S. universities in artificial intelligence based on publications from the last five years.
To learn more about AIM, visit aim.umd.edu.
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Original text here: https://umdrightnow.umd.edu/news-releases/university-of-marylands-artificial-intelligence-institute-welcomes-five-distinguished-ai-scholars
UT Health Sciences Expands Level 1 Trauma Footprint With Regional One Health Verification
MEMPHIS, Tennessee, Feb. 27 -- The University of Tennessee Health Science Center issued the following news:
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UT Health Sciences Expands Level 1 Trauma Footprint with Regional One Health Verification
Written by Chris Green
Andrew Kerwin, MD, often compares a trauma center to a fire department, an essential resource people hope they never need.
"Nobody ever gets up in the morning and says, 'I'm going to slip on the ice while I'm shoveling snow and hit my head,'" he said. "But if that happens, you want to know that the trauma center is there."
Across Tennessee, that around-the-clock readiness
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MEMPHIS, Tennessee, Feb. 27 -- The University of Tennessee Health Science Center issued the following news:
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UT Health Sciences Expands Level 1 Trauma Footprint with Regional One Health Verification
Written by Chris Green
Andrew Kerwin, MD, often compares a trauma center to a fire department, an essential resource people hope they never need.
"Nobody ever gets up in the morning and says, 'I'm going to slip on the ice while I'm shoveling snow and hit my head,'" he said. "But if that happens, you want to know that the trauma center is there."
Across Tennessee, that around-the-clock readinessis powered by physicians from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
In Knoxville and Chattanooga, College of Medicine faculty staff the Level 1 trauma centers at UT Medical Center and Erlanger Health. In Nashville, faculty provide emergency care at Ascension Saint Thomas.
In Memphis, the care UT Health Sciences physicians provide has now earned the Regional One Health Elvis Presley Trauma Center the highest national recognition as a Level 1 Trauma Center.
The designation by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) makes it the only Level 1 adult trauma center within 150 miles and affirms its ability to deliver the most comprehensive trauma care to those in need.
Dr. Kerwin leads the Elvis Presley Trauma Center as medical director and chief of the Division of Trauma/Surgical Critical Care at UT Health Sciences. He and his team began preparing for verification in 2022, culminating in an official verification site visit last August.
The ACS verification process is rigorous, examining everything from emergency response and surgical capabilities to rehabilitation services, education, research, and performance improvement programs. Dr. Kerwin said meeting the hundreds of standards demanded coordination across specialties.
"One patient could come in and be cared for by several hundred people during their stay," he said. "Ensuring that we're meeting all the standards for all of those disciplines takes countless hours of behind-the-scenes work that people don't really see happening."
"This recognition means that our trauma center stands shoulder to shoulder with the very best in the country -- not only in our processes, but in the exceptional quality of care we provide," said Josh Dugal, vice president of trauma and burn services at Regional One Health. "Being part of an ACS-verified Level 1 Trauma Center places us in an elite class of institutions, and we are incredibly proud to be counted among them."
A Program Built on UT Health Sciences Training
For Dr. Kerwin, the achievement is also personal.
He completed his trauma and surgical critical care fellowship at UT Health Sciences in 1997. He credits his training under the "pioneers" of the university's trauma program with shaping his career, particularly Timothy C. Fabian, MD, who launched the trauma program in the 1980s and developed the Elvis Presley Trauma Center. He also acknowledges Martin Croce, MD, chief medical officer at Regional One Health and former chief of the Division of Trauma/Surgical Critical Care at UT Health Sciences.
Tracing his path into medicine, Dr. Kerwin wanted to be a doctor from a young age. While initially interested in orthopedics and sports medicine, the intensity and impact of trauma care won him over.
"I really liked that it was always different," he said. "I liked the challenges of it, the fast thinking. I found it very rewarding when you had a critically injured patient and you got to know them and their family, and you helped them get through their injury and get out of the hospital and back home."
Before joining UT Health Sciences in 2021, Dr. Kerwin was the division chief of Acute Care Surgery at the University of Florida College of Medicine - Jacksonville, associate chair of the Department of Surgery, and trauma medical director at UF Health Jacksonville, a Level 1 Trauma Center and one of the busiest in Florida.
That foundation in academic trauma care, he said, continues to shape the program at UT Health Sciences today.
A Team Effort Rooted in Partnership
Dr. Kerwin is quick to emphasize that Level 1 verification was not the achievement of one individual.
"It's not just me, it's a team," he said. "The starting point is a commitment from the hospital. The hospital has to commit and say, 'Yes, we're going to do this, and we're going to commit the resources to do this.'"
That alignment extends across Regional One Health and deep into UT Health Sciences.
"All the trauma surgeons are UT Health Sciences faculty in the Department of Surgery," Dr. Kerwin said. "The residency is sponsored by the university, our fellowship is sponsored by the university, and the trauma service is a huge part of the training of the residents who rotate through Regional One."
Subspecialty care at Regional One Health is also anchored in university partnerships, including orthopedic surgeons through Campbell Clinic, neurosurgeons through Semmes Murphey, and numerous other surgical and medical specialists who hold UT Health Sciences faculty appointments.
"All the other physicians are UT Health Sciences faculty, so there's a very strong UT presence within Regional One helping to take care of all the injured patients that we get," Dr. Kerwin said.
That academic-clinical partnership strengthens both patient care and training. According to Dr. Kerwin, the focus on quality, a cornerstone of ACS verification, becomes part of the culture trainees absorb.
"I think the emphasis that we put on quality and always looking to make sure that we're doing things the way we said we'd do -- I think the students learn that, the residents learn that in their training, and the fellows definitely learn it, as I did during my fellowship here. They carry the lessons about quality with them when they leave," Dr. Kerwin said.
What Level 1 Means for Memphis
According to Regional One Health, the Elvis Presley Trauma Center treats approximately 13,000 patients annually, with a 97% survival rate. For these patients and their families, Level 1 verification means immediate access to comprehensive, lifesaving care at any hour.
"I think the difference between a Level 1 trauma center and the community emergency department is that the trauma center has all the health care providers committed to trauma care, 24/7," Dr. Kerwin said. "That means that at any moment, there's a team here -- physicians, nurses, therapists, X-ray techs -- ready to assess a patient, treat any immediately life-threatening problems, control any bleeding, stabilize a patient, and try and get them over their injury and get them back to their family."
Importantly, Dr. Kerwin said, the systems built to support these efforts strengthen care throughout the hospital.
"It all trickles down," he said. "The things we need for anesthesia translate to the vascular surgery patient or the spine surgery patient or the hip replacement patient. The commitment to critical care, how the ICU is staffed with nurses, trickles down to the surgical patients. And so, it benefits not only the trauma patients directly, but it benefits other patients in the hospital because we've made this commitment to quality for the trauma program."
Commitment That Continues
Level 1 verification is not a finish line. Every three years, trauma centers undergo re-verification by the American College of Surgeons to ensure they continue meeting the highest standards of care.
"We can't just sit back and rest on our laurels," Dr. Kerwin said. "We are continually looking to refine our processes and see how we can continue to grow our program."
For Memphis and communities across Tennessee, that ongoing work means that on the worst day of someone's life, a highly trained team led by UT Health Sciences physicians is already in place.
"We're always there," Dr. Kerwin said. "Twenty-four seven."
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Original text here: https://news.uthsc.edu/ut-health-sciences-expands-level-1-trauma-footprint/
UMass-Boston: Over 20 Years, Cancer Partnership Has Trained Hundreds of Researchers
BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 27 -- The University of Massachusetts Boston campus issued the following news:
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Over 20 Years, Cancer Partnership Has Trained Hundreds of Researchers
The partnership between UMass Boston and the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center has supported 493 trainees, allowing them to gain practical experience in cancer research. As the partnership enters the fifth year of its current NIH grant, its leaders and supporters look back on what they've accomplished.
Elizabeth Deatrick
The Partnership was formally forged in 2005 when staff at UMass Boston and Dana Farber/Harvard
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BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 27 -- The University of Massachusetts Boston campus issued the following news:
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Over 20 Years, Cancer Partnership Has Trained Hundreds of Researchers
The partnership between UMass Boston and the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center has supported 493 trainees, allowing them to gain practical experience in cancer research. As the partnership enters the fifth year of its current NIH grant, its leaders and supporters look back on what they've accomplished.
Elizabeth Deatrick
The Partnership was formally forged in 2005 when staff at UMass Boston and Dana Farber/HarvardCancer Center (DF/HCC) jointly applied for an NIH/National Cancer Institute (NCI) grant. At the time, DF/HCC had access to more advanced scientific infrastructure, and UMass Boston had the diverse student population and connections to the local community that could lead to a successful collaboration. This was exactly the kind of partnership that the NIH/NCI grant was intended to support.
With this U56 funding and two subsequent U54 grants, the Partnership has grown to support hundreds of trainees across dozens of disciplines. It is run by equal numbers of staff from UMass Boston and Harvard, working together to give UMass Boston students a clear path to participating in cancer research.
From its inception, the Partnership has directed trainees into important areas of research where their studies can make an impact, such as basic and population sciences. Most trainees joining the program today are undergraduates, but many stay on to expand on their work as they move into graduate studies.
Some students from the Partnership have even returned to UMass Boston as faculty and staff, joining dozens of other new investigators who have been attracted to the cancer research community at UMass Boston. Faculty participants in the program can apply for three different levels of funding for their projects, depending on their needs: seed, pilot or full funding, which can provide up to $450,000 over three years to support a major study. Their research has also garnered support from outside organizations: Since 2010, faculty in the Partnership have received a total of 234 grants, collectively securing more than $111,700,000 in funding for their research.
"What this means is that faculty who are engaged in research with us, in partnership with us, are successful. They stick with it," said Adan Colon-Carmona, a professor of biology at UMass Boston and one of four principal investigators of the U54 grant. "And they build their research programs here at UMass Boston, and their whole research portfolio may have been initiated by the partnership."
Jill Macoska, the director of the Center for Personalized Cancer Therapy (CPCT) at UMass Boston, has led the way in securing funding, successfully competing for several awards from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to expand cancer research facilities. The CPCT, which grew out of the UMass Boston/Harvard Partnership, is the focus of cancer research at UMass Boston, and has trained more than 100 high school, undergraduate, and graduate students in cancer biology scholarship and research. The CPCT's Genomics Core now has instruments that can analyze cancer biopsies down to the sub-cellular level, and others that can track the growth of mouse tumors in living mice. The CPCT has recently acquired a liquid-handling robot, sparing researchers from hours of tedious, repetitive pipetting as they prepare samples for experiments.
Of course, some pipetting will still be taking place: Practicing basic lab skills has immense value for trainees. Not all trainees stay in academia after graduating, and becoming comfortable in a research environment helps aspiring scientists to secure valuable internships and entry-level jobs. According to Macoska, the program works with the non-profit group MassBioEd to introduce trainees to the many opportunities that are open to them, including positions at pharmaceutical companies, startups, and public health departments. "Having these training programs has helped us make a bridge to industry, to offer these internships to our students because they've already had a lab experience," Macoska said. Through cultivating partnerships with local biotech companies, the partnership has also helped trainees find opportunities through job fairs and internship programs.
Not all cancer research takes place in a lab; the Partnership also prepares students for community-based cancer research. The Outreach Core connects trainees with local organizations that want to offer cancer-related programs, such as screenings or educational events. From faith-based organizations to community health centers, the partnerships facilitated by the Outreach Core ensure that trainees get practical experience in working directly with people impacted by cancer.
Tiffany Donaldson, co-head of the Outreach Core at UMass Boston, said that "a lot of our students, who tend to be first gen and tend to be from diaspora communities, are not given a very broad sense of how they could be in a health profession. So we view this an opportunity to broaden our students' views of what it means to be in a career that isn't just nursing and medical, or working at a bench." In her roles as Associate Dean for Innovative Research and Community Partnerships and director of the School for Global Inclusion and Social Development in the College of Education and Human Development, Donaldson has seen mutual enthusiasm for the program from both students and the organizations they connect with.
Donaldson's counterpart at the DF/HCC, Shoba Ramanadhan, an Associate Professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, added, "The idea of relationship and community is central to what makes this set of internships and student relationships different. It's centering the folks who are going to be those next generation of changemakers, whether it's in cancer, or in public health, or something else."
Even students who don't plan on going into the life sciences have benefitted. To date, the Partnership has supported trainees in fields from statistics to economics to computer science. According to Colon-Carmona, "The fact that we're bringing the different departments to work on major initiatives, I think, has strengthened us as an institution, because it's promoting collaboration, across departments and across colleges."
Through the connections and relationships that the Partnership has built, students and faculty alike have prospered--and many of them intend to continue helping students to enter the world of cancer research, no matter what the future holds. Colon-Carmona takes pride in the scope of what the program has become, and what its participants have accomplished. "In my opinion, we wouldn't be an R1 research university today, if we didn't have this Partnership."
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Original text here: https://www.umb.edu/news/recent-news/over-20-years-cancer-partnership-has-trained-hundreds-of-researchers/
Beloit College Launches Three New Majors: Health Sciences, Marketing, and Finance
BELIOT, Wisconsin, Feb. 27 -- Beloit College issued the following news:
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Beloit College launches three new majors: Health Sciences, Marketing, and Finance
Beloit College announces three new undergraduate majors: Health Sciences, Marketing, and Finance. Students can declare these majors immediately, and start on their path to fulfilling lives marked by high achievement, personal responsibility, and public contribution in a diverse society.
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Beloit College is pleased to announce the launch of three new undergraduate majors designed to meet the evolving demands of today's students, families,
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BELIOT, Wisconsin, Feb. 27 -- Beloit College issued the following news:
* * *
Beloit College launches three new majors: Health Sciences, Marketing, and Finance
Beloit College announces three new undergraduate majors: Health Sciences, Marketing, and Finance. Students can declare these majors immediately, and start on their path to fulfilling lives marked by high achievement, personal responsibility, and public contribution in a diverse society.
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Beloit College is pleased to announce the launch of three new undergraduate majors designed to meet the evolving demands of today's students, families,and employers: Health Sciences, Marketing, and Finance. These additions represent a significant investment in curriculum innovation and reflect the college's commitment to preparing graduates for high-demand careers in rapidly growing fields.
The new majors emerge from extensive dialogue with employers, professionals in the field, and prospective and current undergraduate students that revealed unmet demand and opportunity for growth. By introducing these programs, Beloit College demonstrates its agility in responding to real-world workforce needs while maintaining its distinctive commitment to personalized, human-centered learning.
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Health Sciences: A pathway to healthcare professions
The Health Sciences major provides a rigorous, science-based foundation for students pursuing careers in medicine, nursing, physician assistant programs, physical therapy, public health, and biomedical research. The program equips students with core competencies in biology, chemistry, and psychology while examining the social determinants of health -- the systems, policies, and conditions that shape health outcomes and healthcare access.
Students gain hands-on experience through internships, clinical simulations, and shadowing opportunities with local hospitals, public health departments, and community clinics. Mentorship from the Health Professions Advisory Committee supports students through prerequisite planning, standardized exam preparation (such as the MCAT), and professional development.
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Finance: mastering the modern economy
The Finance major equips students with the quantitative, analytical, and strategic skills demanded by today's financial sector. Through a rigorous curriculum emphasizing accounting, mathematics, statistics, and financial modeling, students learn to analyze markets, manage portfolios, and make informed financial decisions using real-world data.
The program integrates industry-wide tools -- including Excel, Python, SQL, Tableau, and AI-based technologies -- to prepare graduates for careers in investment banking, wealth management, corporate finance, and financial technology.
Career development is woven throughout, with personalized mentorship, networking events, and experiential opportunities including the Business Networking Summit and the Concierge Internship Program.
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Marketing: connecting strategy to results
The Marketing major prepares students to lead brand strategy, digital campaigns, and customer engagement in an increasingly data-driven marketplace. In experiences inside and outside the classroom, Beloit College students develop a unique blend of analytical, creative, and strategic skills valued in roles such as market research, brand management, digital marketing, and agency work. The curriculum emphasizes consumer behavior, marketing principles, modern marketing tools and channels, and data analytics for measuring campaign effectiveness. A four-year developmental pathway features mentorship from career coaches, networking opportunities, and structured preparation for internships and post-graduate careers.
Learning by doing at Beloit College: The college offers distinctive hands-on experiences that bring marketing to life:
* Belmark Associates, a student-run market-research and consulting firm working with real clients gives students immediate experience solving authentic business problems.
* The Center for Entrepreneurship & Liberal Education (CELEB) provides access to a marketing lab, media studio, and Maker Lab where students test ideas and launch projects.
* The Executive-in-Residence program connects students with business leaders who mentor students on careers, resume building, and industry insights.
* Student clubs such as the Marketing Club and Women in Economics & Business provide support, competitions, workshops, and a professional network.
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A college built for transfer students
Beloit College reaffirms its commitment to welcoming transfer students across all programs, including these new majors. The college recognizes many talented students begin their higher education journey at community colleges, technical schools, or other 4-year institutions, and transfer pathways are integral to the college's mission. Each new major includes flexibility for transfer credits and support services designed to help transfer students thrive.
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Innovation rooted in dialogue and exploration
"These new majors reflect who we are as an institution," says Diep Phan, director of the School of Business. "We listen to employers, we listen to students, and we build programs that matter. Finance and Marketing aren't just academic exercises-- they're direct preparation for the careers our graduates will lead."
Rachel Bergstrom, director of the School of Health Sciences adds, "The Health Sciences major opens doors to healthcare careers for students who are especially excited about connecting their STEM coursework with a deep understanding of the complex context of health and healthcare in our society today." Bergstrom emphasized that the new major's structure encourages students to explore their options in healthcare. "It is designed to help them develop the core skills and knowledge required for professional training in several different fields of healthcare, including nursing, physician assistant, physical and occupational therapy, and many other allied health professions."
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Why Beloit College?
These majors embody Beloit College's distinctive approach to higher education:
* Personalized learning: Small classes and close faculty mentorship ensure students receive individual attention and guidance.
* Real-world experiences: Internships, case studies, research projects, and real-world problem-solving are part of academic programs at Beloit College.
* Career readiness: Industry professionals, career coaches, and alumni mentors prepare students for jobs and and leadership.
* Community partnerships: Relationships with local employers, hospitals, and organizations create genuine learning opportunities and professional networks.
* Transfer-friendly: Beloit College welcomes students who have started elsewhere and and provides clear pathways to degree completion.
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Original text here: https://www.beloit.edu/live/news/7533-beloit-college-launches-three-new-majors-health-science
[Category: Education]
