Education (Colleges & Universities)
Here's a look at documents from public, private and community colleges in the U.S.
Featured Stories
Washington & Jefferson College: Dr. Julia Bernier - Encouraging Student Voices Through Archival Research
WASHINGTON, Pennsylvania, April 17 -- Washington and Jefferson College issued the following news:
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Dr. Julia Bernier: Encouraging student voices through archival research
Written by Wyatt Barnhart
Dr. Julia Bernier's work has left her with a strong commitment to keeping history alive and accurate while also advocating for the voices of the people, especially those of historians of color and her students.
Bernier is an associate professor of History at Washington & Jefferson College. She earned her Ph.D. in African American History and authored several literary works that focus on enslaved
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Pennsylvania, April 17 -- Washington and Jefferson College issued the following news:
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Dr. Julia Bernier: Encouraging student voices through archival research
Written by Wyatt Barnhart
Dr. Julia Bernier's work has left her with a strong commitment to keeping history alive and accurate while also advocating for the voices of the people, especially those of historians of color and her students.
Bernier is an associate professor of History at Washington & Jefferson College. She earned her Ph.D. in African American History and authored several literary works that focus on enslavedpeople, their lives, and the modern effects of slavery. Bernier works to preserve histories that are accessible to all - a mission that has faced increasing difficulty in recent months.
Currently, federal funds for education and humanitarian programs have been slashed. Bernier was scheduled to participate in a long-term fellowship with The American Antiquarian Society, but that opportunity fell through following National Endowment for the Humanities funding cuts.
Despite these systemic obstacles, Bernier is committed to fostering a passion for scholarship in her students and equipping them with the tools they need to pursue their own research.
"One of the things that I've really found is that students are really open to learning things, and just respecting information on the truth, especially in our current time when everything, including history, is extremely politicized," Bernier said. "They recognize that they don't really know what has happened, and they're learning all these new things."
While teaching, Bernier uses archival work as one way to get students to engage with facts. She said students may have some idea about certain aspects of history, but what's important is that they engage with the material and let the collected materials tell them what occurred.
At W&J, Bernier has created several learning projects to preserve people's history. In one project, Bernier has her students review the Washington County Slave Registry because it shows the mechanical way enslaved people were tracked and treated like property.
Bernier prioritizes material created by African Americans and other historically marginalized groups. The material choices give students a more accurate and nuanced picture of what happened.
Bernier said she grounds her work in "Black liberation." As such, her decision to study and teach African American history came from a desire to contribute to "a world that is better for people of African descent," adding that justice for Black communities correlates to a more just world for everyone.
Beyond the archives, Bernier also encourages students to use their own voices locally, further amplifying her commitment to a fair and equitable society.
"I'm always trying to push students to think about the power that you have, especially for things on campus," said Bernier.
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About Washington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College, located in Washington, PA., is a selective liberal arts college founded in 1781. Committed to providing each of its students with the highest-quality undergraduate education available, W&J offers a traditional arts and sciences curriculum emphasizing interdisciplinary study and independent study work. For more information about W&J, visit www.washjeff.edu, or call 888-W-AND-JAY.
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Original text here: https://www.washjeff.edu/dr-julia-bernier-encouraging-student-voices-through-archival-research/
University of Michigan: Mapping Michigan's Airborne Microplastics
ANN ARBOR, Michigan, April 17 -- The University of Michigan issued the following news:
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Mapping Michigan's airborne microplastics
David Lee knows microplastics.
He's read studies about microplastics and listened to podcasts about the issue. He picked degraded plastics off the beaches in San Francisco, where he worked in finance throughout the early 2000s and participated in beach cleanups. There, he saw firsthand how discarded plastics can break down into tiny pieces that litter the environment.
Microplastics are bits of plastic that range in size from a pencil eraser down to miniscule
... Show Full Article
ANN ARBOR, Michigan, April 17 -- The University of Michigan issued the following news:
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Mapping Michigan's airborne microplastics
David Lee knows microplastics.
He's read studies about microplastics and listened to podcasts about the issue. He picked degraded plastics off the beaches in San Francisco, where he worked in finance throughout the early 2000s and participated in beach cleanups. There, he saw firsthand how discarded plastics can break down into tiny pieces that litter the environment.
Microplastics are bits of plastic that range in size from a pencil eraser down to minisculefilaments invisible to the human eye. They result from plastic litter breaking down in the environment, particles shedding from tires, synthetic fibers sloughed from clothes, or industrial waste. They've been found in the bellies of fish and birds, and can accumulate in the systems of most types of wildlife--and even in the lungs, tissues and brains of people.
For Lee, environmental awareness was threaded throughout life in California. Now Head of School at Daycroft School in Ann Arbor, Lee says the same kind of awareness of and care for the environment is intertwined with the Montessori school's mission, and students at the school faithfully recycle and reduce the amount of plastic they use.
But microplastics in air? That's not something that had crossed his mind--not until he met Anne McNeil, a professor in the University of Michigan's Department of Chemistry and parent of one of his former students.
"Plastics in the water--that was very tangible. We saw (microplastics) in the ocean. Studies and articles I've read about in the water were concerning, but I never thought about it in the air," Lee said. "I thought it was fascinating."
McNeil approached Lee about placing an air sampler in Daycroft School's parking lot in 2023. The sampler would be placed there for a year, gathering particles as the air passes through it, in order for U-M scientists to study what plastics might be floating in the atmosphere above the school.
McNeil is leading a project called Measuring, Modeling and Mapping Microplastics in the Atmosphere of Michigan, or M4AM. The grant, awarded in 2022, is part of a research initiative funded by the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts called Meet the Moment, created to help faculty research address "today's most pressing societal issues with the intention of creating real, lasting change."
The group, which includes researchers from statistics, chemistry and engineering, aims to create a map of where microplastics in the state's atmosphere are concentrated, what produces them and where they travel, in hopes that Michiganders will be able to understand how microplastics pollution in the air may impact them.
McNeil says there have been few studies that track microplastics in this way--and they've mostly been done in large urban areas such as Paris, Shanghai and London, or in high, mountainous regions. There have been fewer than five studies based in the United States, all in national parks in the western and southwestern U.S. More recently, studies have taken place in Appalachia and New Jersey--but none so far in Michigan.
"Nobody knows what's in our air in terms of microplastics in the state of Michigan. And not only do we not know what's out there, we don't know how much is out there," McNeil said. "The smaller the microplastic, the farther they travel and the more damaging they are to your lungs. There's just no information, and that's surprising. It's such an understudied problem and we have the opportunity to do something about it."
Gathering data
In the parking lot of Daycroft School, U-M graduate student Abby Ayala wraps the strap of an air sampler around a light pole, her hands reddening in the frigid February air. Air flows through the device, composed of two aluminum plates stacked together. Sandwiched between the aluminum plates is a solid metal substrate which collects particles from the air.
"It's important to study microplastics because it's truly an anthropogenic pollution source. Humans produce plastic, and that plastic is breaking down or it's intentionally produced to be small for things like abrasives. Then, it's getting into our air," said Ayala, one of the graduate students working on the M4AM project. "We don't fully know how it interacts with the body yet. We're inhaling these plastics, they're getting into our lungs, and we don't know what they're going to do."
The Daycroft sampler is at one of 12 locations around the state of Michigan. Recent doctoral graduate Madeline Clough, working with McNeil, began the project with samplers placed in four school parking lots to target vehicle- and foot-traffic-related microplastic sources. In addition to Daycroft, the researchers placed samplers at Fowlerville High School in Livingston County, Intercity Baptist High School in Wayne County and International Academy Okma in Oakland County.
Ayala has placed eight more samplers across the state, at an Ann Arbor residence, along the Lake Michigan coast near Holland, on a farm in Dexter, near a Detroit school, on the U-M Campus Farm, at the U-M Biological Station, at a residence in the Upper Peninsula's Houghton, and at a residence in Kalamazoo.
Each sampler is set at a height of five feet to best mimic human breathing height, Ayala said. The samplers remain at their locations for a year, with the substrates swapped out monthly. Initially, the researchers hoped to place samplers in each of Michigan's 83 counties to create a comprehensive map of the state's atmospheric microplastics. However, the amount of data each sampler generates is prodigious. Over a month's time, each substrate captures about 16,000 particles, which range from microplastics to dust and pollen.
Data from the first four samplers took Clough a year to comb through. The researchers use a method called spectroscopy to identify what kind of microplastics are in their samples. Each type of microplastic interacts with light differently when researchers shine a specific kind of light on it. The unique spectra of each microplastic helps scientists identify it.
But microplastics are definitionally tiny. McNeil's lab was not equipped to identify plastic particles so small they can float in air. McNeil's colleague, U-M professor of chemistry Andrew Ault, studies aerosols, frequently focusing on how bacteria and toxins from harmful algal blooms in lakes become airborne when waves crash against shorelines.
His lab uses vibrational spectroscopy techniques that use light to identify particles, including not only whether a particle is plastic, but what type of plastic it is. It can also look at a particle just one millionth of a meter.
"We are uniquely capable of looking at particles below a micron in size," Ault said. "We can see the stuff that stays up in the air, the stuff that's small enough that it will actually interact with our body in a harmful way."
Clough also realized that an old method used to identify microplastics in the environment could lead to misidentifying the particles--especially when the microplastics become degraded from being out in the environment. And she also found conventional spectroscopy methods can lead to misidentifications, something she likens to when the music app Shazam misidentifies a song based on one guitar lick or percussion track.
With Ambuj Tewari, professor of statistics and member of the M4AM group, the researchers developed a framework to help them more confidently predict the identity of each plastic particle, something that has been particularly useful when the researchers have tens of thousands of particles to examine.
So, what's out there?
Some of the microplastic in our atmosphere comes from tires and brake wear. Laundry is another source. As we wash and dry our clothes, fibers from our clothes vent out through our laundry exhaust and into the air. Allison Steiner, professor and chair of the Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering at Michigan Engineering, specializes in tracking how pollen wends through the air. She joined the group to help model where microplastics might travel when they become airborne.
The project so far has been challenging. Microplastics are shaped differently than pollen, but because so little data on atmospheric microplastics exists, researchers don't know how airborne microplastics are shaped exactly, or how big they are.
"That's one of the reasons why it's a little different from pollen," Steiner said. "For example, microfibers would have a very different settling velocity out of the atmosphere than a regular particle. That's the kind of thing that's a little bit trickier to model."
The group has broadly categorized the sources of microplastics: tire and brake wear, textiles such as laundry, agriculture and the Great Lakes. When plastic makes its way into the water, it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces, some of which can be launched into the air as waves break against the shore--although early model simulations from Steiner's group suggests that less than 1% of atmospheric microplastic comes from the Great Lakes.
Most, Steiner says, appears to be coming from traffic, followed by textiles. Agriculture and lake action were relatively small contributors. She plans to take this information as well as the McNeil group's identification work to start modeling where these microplastics are traveling.
"Most of the studies that have been done on microplastics so far have been on scales that are very broad," Steiner said. "It makes it hard if you're in Michigan and wondering what that really means for you. Our project is trying to understand how microplastics are impacting all communities in Michigan, whether it's urban areas like Detroit, which we hypothesize is going to be different from a farming community in central Michigan."
Some of the project's first studies to categorize Michigan's atmospheric microplastics are now being published. Steiner and graduate student Anna Schellin modeled the sources of microplastics, suggesting that nearly 75% of the microplastics in Michigan's atmosphere may come from tires, 25% from clothing and 0.1% from agricultural practices. Clough says the team is hoping to refine these estimates from data from their first four samplers.
Clough's upcoming study shows the team has found more microplastics than what previous research has reported--potentially because of the specialized instruments available at U-M, which have allowed the researchers to look for microplastics more than 20 times smaller than other reports. This analysis does not report tire wear, however, which Clough will examine in her forthcoming study.
Regardless of what types of microplastics inhabit our air, the U-M researchers want Michiganders to be able to understand what they might be breathing.
"Our end goal is to inform the public," Ayala said. "We have three phases over a five-year period, and the initial two phases are working to collect all this information. Within the next two years, our goal is to distribute this information to the public to make them aware of the air they're breathing, and the potential microplastics that might be in it."
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Original text here: https://news.umich.edu/mapping-michigans-airborne-microplastics/
SC State Students Apply AI to Real-world Business Challenge in BECT Competition as Top Teams Emerge
ORANGEBURG, South Carolina, April 17 -- South Carolina State University issued the following news:
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SC State students apply AI to real-world business challenge in BECT competition as top teams emerge
Eight student teams competed in two rounds, advancing AI-driven analysis, strategy and career-ready skills.
Author: Sam Watson, Executive Director of Strategic Communications & Marketing
South Carolina State University students put their analytical and problem-solving skills on display in the BECT Institute's inaugural AI Case Competition, where teams developed innovative, AI-driven solutions
... Show Full Article
ORANGEBURG, South Carolina, April 17 -- South Carolina State University issued the following news:
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SC State students apply AI to real-world business challenge in BECT competition as top teams emerge
Eight student teams competed in two rounds, advancing AI-driven analysis, strategy and career-ready skills.
Author: Sam Watson, Executive Director of Strategic Communications & Marketing
South Carolina State University students put their analytical and problem-solving skills on display in the BECT Institute's inaugural AI Case Competition, where teams developed innovative, AI-driven solutionsto a complex, real-world business challenge.
The BECT Institute recently announced the competition's winners following the March 26 event, with Angel Lucian, Steven Paul and Martin Byaruhanga earning first place for their AI-driven solution.
Amarion Jonte McNeil, Keshawn Burns and Derrick Xavier Bromell placed second, while Christian Smith, Michael Chatman and Tuhina Sambhus earned third place.
Eight teams, each composed of three students, competed in two rounds of analysis and presentation.
"This competition reflects exactly what the BECT Institute was created to do -- empower students to think boldly, apply emerging technologies, and solve real-world problems with confidence and creativity," said Dr. Barbara Adams, executive director of the BECT Institute. "Our students demonstrated exceptional talent, and their ability to leverage AI for strategic decision-making shows they are ready to lead in a rapidly evolving global marketplace."
BECT, which stands for the Institute for Business, Environment, Communications and Transportation, focuses on interdisciplinary education and research that connects students with real-world challenges across multiple industries. The institute works to prepare students for leadership roles through applied learning, strategic partnerships and innovation-driven initiatives.
Prior to the competition, students participated in an AI workshop hosted by J.T. White, a speaker, adviser and author of "Build for Better." White has co-founded and led companies across AI, media and digital product innovation, forging partnerships with OpenAI, Adobe, Amazon and other industry leaders.
Students take on high-stakes industry challenge
The case challenged students to address a real-world scenario involving a Fortune 100 global manufacturer of consumer electronics best known for its smartphones, smart home devices and wearables. With more than 180,000 employees and manufacturing operations across Asia, Europe and North America, the company has long been recognized for reliability, speed and innovation.
After facing rising competition from lower-cost Asian manufacturers and premium European brands, the company encountered a serious operational issue just three months after launching a new flagship phone.
Teams were tasked with using AI to:
* Identify the root causes of the issue
* Recommend operational fixes
* Predict the financial and reputational impact of potential decisions
* Develop a communication plan for customers and stakeholders
Judges evaluated teams on analytical depth, creativity, technical execution, use of AI, and clarity of recommendations.
Competition results
First place
Angel Lucian, Steven Paul and Martin Byaruhanga. Each student received $250 for their performance and innovative AI-driven solution.
Second place
Amarion Jonte McNeil, Keshawn Burns and Derrick Xavier Bromell. Each student received $150 for their analytical approach and strategic recommendations.
Third place
Christian Smith, Michael Chatman and Tuhina Sambhus. Each student received $50 for their problem-solving and communication strategy.
A showcase of talent, innovation and real-world readiness
Faculty, industry partners and BECT representatives praised the students' professionalism and ability to apply AI concepts to a complex, high-stakes business scenario.
"This competition showcased the brilliance and potential of our students," said John Gether, Small Business Development Center regional director. "Their work reflects the future of innovation in South Carolina and beyond."
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Original text here: https://www.scsu.edu/news/2026_16_04_BECT_competition.php
NJIT's Goldwater Scholars Build Futures in Medicine, Environmental Research
NEWARK, New Jersey, April 17 -- The New Jersey Institute of Technology issued the following news:
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NJIT's Goldwater Scholars Build Futures in Medicine, Environmental Research
Written by: Nayib Moran
Goldwater Scholarships, among the nation's most prestigious honors for undergraduates pursuing STEM research careers, have been awarded to two NJIT juniors whose academic excellence, research experience and professional ambitions have already set them apart.
This year's recipients are Albert Dorman Honors Scholars - Aditya Mahalingam, a biology major in the Jordan Hu College of Science and
... Show Full Article
NEWARK, New Jersey, April 17 -- The New Jersey Institute of Technology issued the following news:
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NJIT's Goldwater Scholars Build Futures in Medicine, Environmental Research
Written by: Nayib Moran
Goldwater Scholarships, among the nation's most prestigious honors for undergraduates pursuing STEM research careers, have been awarded to two NJIT juniors whose academic excellence, research experience and professional ambitions have already set them apart.
This year's recipients are Albert Dorman Honors Scholars - Aditya Mahalingam, a biology major in the Jordan Hu College of Science andLiberal Arts (CSLA), and Arwa Ouali, a chemical engineering major in the Newark College of Engineering (NCE).
The two NJIT students represent two of 11 Goldwater Scholars selected from New Jersey and two of 454 nationwide. From an estimated pool of more than 5,000 college sophomores and juniors, 1,485 students majoring in science, engineering and mathematics were nominated by 482 academic institutions for the 2026 scholarships.
The recognition marks the eighth consecutive year NJIT students have earned the national honor, bringing the university's all-time total to 23 Goldwater scholars
John Carpinelli, professor of electrical and computing engineering and NJIT's campus representative for the Goldwater Scholarship Program, said the latest selections reflect the continued strength of the university's undergraduate researchers.
"NJIT undergraduates continue to rise to the top in prestigious award programs, like the Goldwater Scholarship," said Carpinelli. "The selection of Aditya and Arwa from a nationwide field of exceptional students reinforces the strength and promise of our STEM programs -- and a bright future for our awardees."
For Mahalingam and Ouali, the scholarship arrives at a pivotal moment. Both students are already deeply engaged in research and looking ahead to careers devoted to solving complex scientific problems.
Mahalingam sets sights on medicine and neuroscience research
Mahalingam, already accepted into NJIT's joint B.S./M.D. program with Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, plans to ultimately pursue an M.D./Ph.D. focused on age-related neurodegenerative diseases.
His interest in that work grew from both personal experience and academic opportunity. After early exposure to healthcare through a specialized vocational program in high school, Mahalingam said his direction became clearer through time spent with individuals living with neurodegenerative diseases and the caregivers supporting them.
"I have always been interested in biology, with science and math always my favorite subjects," said Mahalingam. "Throughout high school and beyond, I have had the opportunity to work with individuals experiencing neurodegenerative diseases and the caregivers who spend their lives supporting them. After conducting research last summer at the West Virginia University School of Medicine, I became particularly interested in targeting neurodegenerative diseases at the genetic level, and I plan to pursue this in the future."
That interest has been sharpened through research experiences at NJIT, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University and the University of West Virginia.
He said each setting has helped shape a different dimension of the physician-scientist he hopes to become, from learning research design and translational medicine to strengthening his wet-lab skills.
"Being named a Goldwater Scholar at this stage of my academic career affirms my commitment to becoming a physician-scientist, especially through the MD/PhD route," he said. "This recognition motivates me to continue my research training and further develop my skills as a researcher."
Outside the lab and classroom, Mahalingam is an organic chemistry tutor, an Honors College ambassador and a committee leader for the Walk to End Alzheimer's.
He said those roles have further reinforced his commitment to combining service, medicine and research.
Ouali pursues environmental solutions through chemical engineering
Ouali, a student in NJIT's B.S./M.S. program, plans to pursue a Ph.D. in chemical engineering and build a research career focused on water pollution, especially nanoparticle removal.
Her interest in chemical engineering began in high school, when chemistry and physics first clicked. At NJIT, that interest quickly turned into hands-on research.
Through early opportunities in the chemical engineering department, she worked on projects involving microfluidic sensors, PFAS detection and nanoscale environmental tools. Those experiences helped define her long-term goals.
"Since then, I've realized that because of how ubiquitous these chemicals are, I want to focus on researching methods on how to treat and purify contaminated water," said Ouali.
Since the second semester of her first year, Ouali has been conducting research under faculty mentors on environmental remediation topics that include ultrasonication, adsorption and the degradation of plastics into micro- and nanosized particles.
Her current work examines how high-frequency ultrasound affects plastics over time, while she also works to automate parts of the process and expand the analysis of her samples using advanced equipment.
"The most interesting topic I found is understanding the interactions at the nanoparticle scale," she said. "Through my fluid mechanics course, I've really had the chance to make connections between theoretical analysis and its significance in my project."
She said the Goldwater Scholarship affirms the future she has been steadily building toward.
"Receiving the Goldwater Scholarship was a positive nudge into the direction of a Ph.D.," she said. "The scholarship motivates me and is a testament of where my future work can lead me towards. Such recognition is an incredible feeling and light that the thought of a Ph.D is more than just a thought -- that it truly can become my reality."
Beyond her research, Ouali has also taken on a major leadership role in student media.
After serving as managing editor of The Vector, she now serves as editor-in-chief of NJIT's student newspaper, an experience she said has strengthened her communication, collaboration and leadership skills -- tools she sees as essential in science as well.
The Goldwater Scholarship Program, established in honor of Sen. Barry Goldwater, was created to encourage outstanding students to pursue research careers in the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics.
Since the first scholarships were awarded in 1989, the Goldwater Foundation has recognized thousands of students across the country who show exceptional promise as the next generation of scientific leaders.
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Original text here: https://news.njit.edu/njit's-goldwater-scholars-build-futures-medicine-environmental-research
Kellogg Institute for International Studies: Christopher Walker Revisits Sharp Power
NOTRE DAME, Indiana, April 17 -- The Kellogg Institute for International Studies, a part of the Keough School of Global Affairs, issued the following news about a podcast:
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Christopher Walker Revisits Sharp Power
About the Episode:
Christopher Walker joins the Democracy Paradox to revisit the concept of "sharp power" and explain how authoritarian regimes like China and Russia use non-military tools to manipulate, censor, and shape discourse within democratic societies. The conversation explores how these tactics have evolved, whether democracies can defend themselves without compromising
... Show Full Article
NOTRE DAME, Indiana, April 17 -- The Kellogg Institute for International Studies, a part of the Keough School of Global Affairs, issued the following news about a podcast:
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Christopher Walker Revisits Sharp Power
About the Episode:
Christopher Walker joins the Democracy Paradox to revisit the concept of "sharp power" and explain how authoritarian regimes like China and Russia use non-military tools to manipulate, censor, and shape discourse within democratic societies. The conversation explores how these tactics have evolved, whether democracies can defend themselves without compromisingtheir values, and what this reveals about the future of democracy itself.
Show Notes:
Christopher Walker, a leading expert on authoritarian influence, returns to the origins of the concept of "sharp power," a term he helped develop to distinguish coercive and manipulative forms of influence from Joseph Nye's idea of soft power. While soft power relies on attraction and persuasion, Walker explains that sharp power instead works by penetrating democratic institutions, restricting debate, and shaping narratives in ways that undermine openness. The conversation situates this concept within a broader shift in global politics, where expectations of democratic expansion after the Cold War have given way to a more contested and authoritarian-influenced world.
The episode explores how sharp power operates in practice, including through institutions like Confucius Institutes, media influence, and educational partnerships. Walker highlights how these initiatives often appear benign or beneficial on the surface, but in reality can impose limits on discussion, censor sensitive topics, and privilege state-approved narratives. These efforts exploit the openness of democratic societies, leveraging transparency and institutional access in ways that would not be tolerated within authoritarian systems themselves.
A central theme of the discussion is whether democracies can effectively respond to sharp power without abandoning their own core principles. Walker argues that the goal is not to mimic authoritarian tactics, but to strengthen democratic resilience through transparency, investment in independent media, and international cooperation. He emphasizes that unity among democracies and renewed commitment to non-military forms of influence--what might still be called soft power--are essential to countering sustained efforts by authoritarian regimes to divide and weaken them.
Ultimately, the conversation reflects on what the rise of sharp power reveals about democracy itself. Walker underscores that democracy is not self-sustaining; it requires vigilance, institutional renewal, and active defense against external and internal pressures. At a time when authoritarian regimes are investing heavily in shaping global narratives, the future of democracy may depend on whether free societies can compete effectively while remaining true to their foundational values of openness, pluralism, and freedom of expression.
Links:
* Learn more about Christopher Walker (https://cepa.org/author/christopher-walker/).
* Learn more about the Kellogg Institute (https://kellogg.nd.edu/).
* Register (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScATV28REQcadiy132TV-Y6jCtglQcWheXbwU0jA7Hvsvvidw/viewform) for the 2026 Global Democracy Conference (https://kellogg.nd.edu/global-democracy-conference-2026-confronting-public-support-anti-democratic-leaders) at the University of Notre Dame.
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View link to podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/democracy-paradox/id6443329768
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Original text here: https://kellogg.nd.edu/news/christopher-walker-revisits-sharp-power
Hunter Alumna Wins Soros Fellowship for New Americans
NEW YORK, April 17 -- Hunter College, a constituent college of the City University of New York, issued the following news:
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Hunter Alumna Wins Soros Fellowship for New Americans
A Havana-born alumna who leverages her immigrant background to study gun culture among Latin Americans is the latest Hunter graduate to win the prestigious Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans.
Melissa Hurtado Nuez '21 transferred to Hunter College from the University of Miami to complete a degree in statistics. After graduation, she worked as a data analyst at Bloomberg and Royal Caribbean before pursuing
... Show Full Article
NEW YORK, April 17 -- Hunter College, a constituent college of the City University of New York, issued the following news:
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Hunter Alumna Wins Soros Fellowship for New Americans
A Havana-born alumna who leverages her immigrant background to study gun culture among Latin Americans is the latest Hunter graduate to win the prestigious Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans.
Melissa Hurtado Nuez '21 transferred to Hunter College from the University of Miami to complete a degree in statistics. After graduation, she worked as a data analyst at Bloomberg and Royal Caribbean before pursuinga Master's degree in Global and Sociocultural Studies at Florida International University. She is now a PhD student in sociology at Rice University, where she researches migration, health, and guns in society.
Hurtado Nuez immigrated to the United States seven years after her father fled Cuba. In 1994, he made a perilous week-long journey by raft to reunite with relatives in Florida who were Mariel refugees.
"I know what it feels like to be born an 'undesirable,'" she wrote in her fellowship application, describing a double stigma. In Cuba, Fidel Castro branded Mariel refugees "the dregs of society." In Florida, many viewed the so called "boat people," including her father, as threats to national security and drains on public resources.
As anti immigrant rhetoric intensified again after the Covid pandemic, Hurtado Nuez observed her community adopt alternative survival strategies. With its large immigrant population and permissive gun laws, Florida offered an ideal context to examine one such response: gun ownership. Her master's research explored this dynamic through interviews with immigrant gun owners and fieldwork at gun shows in South Florida.
"I found that exercising Second Amendment rights became a way for some immigrant citizens to stake claims to belonging and feel protected amid rising hostility," she wrote.
Each year, the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans awards $90,000 to 30 students nationwide pursuing terminal graduate or professional degrees. Applicants must have parents who were both born outside the United States, and the fellowship is among the most generous post-baccalaureate awards in the country.
Hurtado Nuez is the seventh Hunter graduate to receive the Soros Fellowship. She would advise future applicants not to be afraid to be themselves.
"The strongest applications are not necessarily the most polished but the ones that genuinely convey who you are, what you care about, and why your work matters," she said.
About the Newman Office of Prestigious Scholarships & Fellowships
Since 2017-18, the Newman Office of Prestigious Scholarships & Fellowships has helped students secure 393 nationally competitive fellowships, including:
* 1 Gates-Cambridge
* 1 Truman
* 2 Soros
* 2 Rhodes
* 5 Luce
* 7 Schwarzman
* 10 Goldwater
* 24 National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships
* 19 New York City Urban Fellowships
* 21 Jeannette K. Watson Fellowships
* 49 Fulbright Scholars
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Original text here: https://www.hunter.cuny.edu/news/hunter-alumna-wins-soros-fellowship-for-new-americans/?news-feed=all-news&source=/news/
Future food needs new underground strategy
BRISBANE, Australia, April 17 -- The University of Queensland posted the following news:
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Future food needs new underground strategy
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A greater focus on roots during plant breeding could ensure staple grain crops continue to feed the world as recycled nutrients substitute conventional fertilisers in the future, a University of Queensland study has found.
The project at the School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability compared how modern varieties of sorghum and traditional or landrace sorghums accessed and used phosphorus from conventional and recycled sources.
Dr Michael Walsh said
... Show Full Article
BRISBANE, Australia, April 17 -- The University of Queensland posted the following news:
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Future food needs new underground strategy
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A greater focus on roots during plant breeding could ensure staple grain crops continue to feed the world as recycled nutrients substitute conventional fertilisers in the future, a University of Queensland study has found.
The project at the School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability compared how modern varieties of sorghum and traditional or landrace sorghums accessed and used phosphorus from conventional and recycled sources.
Dr Michael Walsh saidnutrients retrieved from waste streams offer opportunities for more efficient, cleaner and cost-effective fertilisers but they need to be able to nourish crops.
"Growing the sorghum plants in laboratory conditions revealed some stark differences," Dr Walsh said.
"The traditional sorghum outperformed the plants from a modern breeding program when they were given less soluble and recycled phosphorus - they took up more of this vital nutrient and grew bigger.
"A key difference was in their root exudates, the organic chemicals their roots released into the soil to interact with nutrients.
"We analysed over 20,000 root-generated chemicals to identify exudates that acted like pickaxes, unlocking phosphorus so that the crop could grow.
"Years of breeding crops in the presence of easily accessible fertilisers has created high yielding crops for modern farms, but they can be 'lazy' underground.
"As soon as the phosphorus was less soluble and harder to access in our experiments, the modern sorghum was outgrown by the traditional sorghums which had adapted to grow in environments with less available nutrients."
Phosphorus is a key ingredient in modern agricultural fertilisers and most comes from mined deposits.
Honorary Professor Susanne Schmidt said recycled nutrients will become very important in the future.
"Mined and refined phosphorus is a non-renewable resource, and it is subject to price volatility and supply chain interruptions as only few nations possess deposits," she said.
"A circular nutrient economy will be the way to a sustainable food future. That means reclaiming agricultural inputs like phosphorus from wastes, including livestock manure and human effluent, and unavoidable food waste.
"This study has shown traditional sorghum was more efficient at drawing phosphorus from the soil, so these landraces are a great source of information.
"Breeding crops with a view of their root exudates could improve phosphorus use efficiency and ensure agriculture is ready for reclaimed nutrients."
Having completed the research as proof-of-principle, the team is keen to field test sorghums and other grain crops.
The research paper is published in Sustainable Agriculture.
Collaboration and acknowledgements
The project also involved sorghum breeders at UQ's Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, and researchers from Helmholtz Munich, Germany.
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Original text here: https://news.uq.edu.au/2026-04-future-food-needs-new-underground-strategy
