Education (Colleges & Universities)
Here's a look at documents from public, private and community colleges in the U.S.
Featured Stories
University College London: 15m Pounds Funding Boost to Develop Dementia Treatments
LONDON, England, March 5 -- The University College London posted the following news:
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15m pounds funding boost to develop dementia treatments
Dementia research at UCL has received a major new investment of pound sterling15 million for the Alzheimer's Research UK Drug Discovery Institute at UCL.
Alzheimer's Research UK announced the funding as it renews its flagship Drug Discovery Alliance at a pivotal moment for dementia research.
UCL's Drug Discovery Institute was launched in 2015 with an aim to turn more early stage scientific discoveries into potential new treatments. Alongside two
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LONDON, England, March 5 -- The University College London posted the following news:
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15m pounds funding boost to develop dementia treatments
Dementia research at UCL has received a major new investment of pound sterling15 million for the Alzheimer's Research UK Drug Discovery Institute at UCL.
Alzheimer's Research UK announced the funding as it renews its flagship Drug Discovery Alliance at a pivotal moment for dementia research.
UCL's Drug Discovery Institute was launched in 2015 with an aim to turn more early stage scientific discoveries into potential new treatments. Alongside twoother centres at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, which have also received their own shares of a pound sterling45 million funding round from Alzheimer's Research UK, teams of scientists have helped to strengthen the drug discovery pipeline while the first treatments capable of slowing Alzheimer's are beginning to reach patients worldwide.
The Institute's model is to identify drug candidates and then partner with industry, or spin out new companies for development. The first spinout from the Institute, AstronauTx, was founded in 2019, and is progressing a portfolio of treatments towards making them available for patients.
Professor Fiona Ducotterd (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology), Chief Scientific Officer, Alzheimer's Research UK Drug Discovery Institute at UCL, said: "This significant investment from Alzheimer's Research UK helps us fast-track the development of new medicines to treat the broad and complex diseases that cause dementia. It will also help us to train the next generation of medicine makers in the UK.
"In the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, we work at the heart of bench-to-bedside translational research across all neurodegenerative diseases. This grant uniquely couples our industry expertise and technologies with doorstep access to world leading researchers, clinicians and patients. The funding will accelerate the discovery of a new toolbox of treatments for broad underlying causes of these devastating diseases and speed up their access for patients."
Dr Sheona Scales (Alzheimer's Research UK, Director of Research) said: "This investment represents one of the most important commitments we can make to people affected by dementia. By strengthening the Drug Discovery Alliance, we're giving more brilliant ideas the chance to become tomorrow's treatments. Our supporters make this progress possible - and together, we're building real momentum towards a cure."
The Alzheimer's Research UK Drug Discovery Institute at UCL team is supported by the Omaze Million Pound House Draw via a pound sterling3.9 million grant to Alzheimer's Research UK in 2025.
The Institute uses pharmaceutical industry processes to progress their research with the freedom to work on cutting-edge new discoveries, supported by evidence based on human biology.
The team's project portfolio spans therapeutic targets involved in mechanisms underlying brain changes in specific neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's and other dementias, Parkinson's, motor neurone disease, and Huntington's disease. The group works closely with academic experts on the drug targets, and with Drug Discovery Alliance and industry partners on the long and challenging process of drug discovery, to deliver new medicines for patients.
The Institute will soon be moving to a new purpose-built centre for translational neuroscience that is currently under construction on Grays Inn Road, where they will be under the same roof as scientists and clinicians with state-of-the-art facilities that will facilitate the bench to bedside translation of discoveries to patients.
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Original text here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2026/mar/ps15m-funding-boost-develop-dementia-treatments
UM Professor Liu Xiufeng selected as fellow of American Educational Research Association
MACAU, China, March 5 -- The University of Macau posted the following news:
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UM Professor Liu Xiufeng selected as fellow of American Educational Research Association
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Liu Xiufeng, director of the Educational Testing and Assessment Research Centre and chair professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Macau (UM), has been selected as a 2026 Fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). This recognition acknowledges Prof Liu's outstanding achievements and exceptional contributions to education research. AERA Fellows are selected from among leading scholars
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MACAU, China, March 5 -- The University of Macau posted the following news:
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UM Professor Liu Xiufeng selected as fellow of American Educational Research Association
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Liu Xiufeng, director of the Educational Testing and Assessment Research Centre and chair professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Macau (UM), has been selected as a 2026 Fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). This recognition acknowledges Prof Liu's outstanding achievements and exceptional contributions to education research. AERA Fellows are selected from among leading scholarsworldwide, and Prof Liu is one of the 34 exemplary scholars who have been named AERA Fellows this year.
Founded in 1916, AERA is the world's largest interdisciplinary research association devoted to the scientific study of education and learning. It has over 25,000 members worldwide, including faculty, researchers, and distinguished professionals with rich and diverse expertise in education research.
Prof Liu expressed his appreciation for being selected as an AERA Fellow. He also thanked UM and other institutions for providing him with an excellent research environment that has enabled him to collaborate with distinguished scholars and outstanding students from around the globe.
Prof Liu is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and an internationally recognised expert in measurement and evaluation in STEM education. He has more than 30 years of experience leading and implementing externally funded research projects, and has served as a principal or co-principal investigator on projects totalling over USD 25 million, supported by organisations such as the US National Science Foundation, the US National Institutes of Health, the Spencer Foundation, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. He also previously served as a programme director for two years in the Directorate for STEM Education at the US National Science Foundation.
Source: Faculty of Education
Media Contact Information:
Communications Office, University of Macau
Albee Lei Tel: (853) 8822 8004
Bell Leong Tel: (853) 8822 8009
Email: prs.media@um.edu.mo
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Original text here: https://www.um.edu.mo/news-and-press-releases/campus-news/detail/63365/
PreLaw Magazine Names Brooklyn Law School to Its Justice & Opportunity Honor Roll
BROOKLYN, New York, March 5 -- Brooklyn Law School issued the following news:
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PreLaw Magazine Names Brooklyn Law School to Its Justice & Opportunity Honor Roll
Brooklyn Law School is recognized on preLaw Magazine's newly released Justice & Opportunity Honor Roll, which celebrates institutions that display leadership in expanding access to legal education, in alignment with the values of justice and opportunity. The honor roll, which names 35 law schools nationwide, was announced in the publication's winter edition, released on March 4.
"The Justice & Opportunity Honor Roll recognizes
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BROOKLYN, New York, March 5 -- Brooklyn Law School issued the following news:
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PreLaw Magazine Names Brooklyn Law School to Its Justice & Opportunity Honor Roll
Brooklyn Law School is recognized on preLaw Magazine's newly released Justice & Opportunity Honor Roll, which celebrates institutions that display leadership in expanding access to legal education, in alignment with the values of justice and opportunity. The honor roll, which names 35 law schools nationwide, was announced in the publication's winter edition, released on March 4.
"The Justice & Opportunity Honor Roll recognizeslaw schools for leadership in expanding access to legal education," the preLaw article states. "The framework reflects an evolution from our previous coverage of diversity alone and places greater emphasis on the structures, policies and programs that create pathways into the legal profession."
As an urban institution where access is the mission, "Brooklyn Law School has built pipeline and first-generation initiatives shaped by New York City's diversity," the article states.
This accolade resides at the heart of Brooklyn Law School's longstanding mission to expand opportunity and access to legal education through intentional outreach, robust student support systems, community partnerships, and innovative programs that strengthen inclusion, belonging, and academic success. The commitment to access is reflected in the Law School's high demographic and experiential diversity, including among first-generation professionals, military veterans (who benefit from a recently expanded Yellow Ribbon program), and international students from around the globe who are enrolled in the Law School's L.L.M. program.
This spring, the mission continues: Brooklyn Law School will launch a Center for Inclusive Excellence, led by Arthur Pinto & Stephen Bohlen Associate Dean of Inclusion & Diversity Dominique Fowler. The center will be laser-focused on areas that bring the community together, such as fostering a sense of belonging through identity-affirming and community-building events; providing inclusive leadership development for students, faculty, and staff; strengthening partnerships with Brooklyn-based organizations; supporting scholarship and dialogue advancing equity and justice; and celebrating institutional pride and community traditions.
"I am so pleased to see Brooklyn Law School has been featured on preLaw's Justice & Opportunity Honor Roll," Fowler said. "It speaks highly to the strides we have already taken to create a supportive, welcoming learning environment for all our students, from student orientation sessions on how to engage across differences to co-hosting events that bring different perspectives into constructive dialogue. We look forward to building on a strong foundation in the years to come with more innovative programming and robust discussions on the topics of equity, justice, and opportunity."
Ongoing Commitment to Access
Additional initiatives aimed at expanding access to legal education take place across the Law School. They include admissions outreach to underserved and rural areas, and the Public Service Law Center 's "Law Student for a Day" program, which allows high school students from diverse and underserved communities to shadow students to learn about the law school experience and gain exposure to the legal profession and higher education. There are first-generation student support programs to fuel academic success, and a robust clinics program that provides essential services to marginalized populations.
Students are involved in creating a more inclusive community as well. For instance, in January, leaders of three student organizations - the Women of Color Alliance, OUTLaws (the LGBTQ+ law student group) and the Legal Association of Women (LAW) - teamed up to host a Pre-Law Pathway Summit for prospective law students in college or high school. In the last week of February and first week of March, students drove Race & the Law Week, a thought-provoking series exploring law, society, and racial justice from a wide range of perspectives. Each year, the student group Brooklyn Law Students for the Public Interest (BLSPI) in conjunction with other student affinity groups and public interest organizations present a series of annual events relating to issues in the law, society, and social concerns that intersect with race in both a current and historical context.
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Original text here: https://www.brooklaw.edu/news-and-events/news/2026/03/pre-law-magazine-justice-opportunity-honor-roll/
NJIT, Rutgers, Veterans Affairs Dept. Partner to Mitigate Prosthetic Limb Side Effects
NEWARK, New Jersey, March 5 -- The New Jersey Institute of Technology issued the following news:
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NJIT, Rutgers, Veterans Affairs Dept. Partner to Mitigate Prosthetic Limb Side Effects
Written by: Evan Koblentz
Veterans who wear prosthetic lower legs could experience healthier and more comfortable lifestyles following novel artificial intelligence research at New Jersey Institute of Technology, in conjunction with the Veterans Affairs New York Harbor Healthcare System and Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.
Approximately 75% of patients with lower limb loss experience skin problems such
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NEWARK, New Jersey, March 5 -- The New Jersey Institute of Technology issued the following news:
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NJIT, Rutgers, Veterans Affairs Dept. Partner to Mitigate Prosthetic Limb Side Effects
Written by: Evan Koblentz
Veterans who wear prosthetic lower legs could experience healthier and more comfortable lifestyles following novel artificial intelligence research at New Jersey Institute of Technology, in conjunction with the Veterans Affairs New York Harbor Healthcare System and Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.
Approximately 75% of patients with lower limb loss experience skin problems suchas blisters, calluses, irritations, ulcers or wounds where their remaining limb attaches to their prosthetic one, despite existing best practices in the development of liners that help hold the prosthetic in place and ease these issues, VA biomechanical engineer Jason Maikos said.
"No socket fits 100% perfectly on somebody's limb. It's impossible to do that. So there is movement of that residual limb inside the prosthetic socket. Some of that movement is up and down, some of it is rotating. What happens is, if there's too much excessive movement on the residual limb, on the skin specifically, you can get skin abrasions, you can get skin wounds, and for people who have complications of diabetes, this can be very problematic," he said.
"If you have an open wound, and you have trouble healing quickly, you can't wear the prosthetic device. So now you no longer can walk without crutches, which is not great, or you're now ambulating in a wheelchair, or you're not ambulating at all."
Maikos studies these conditions using a tool called dynamic stereo x-ray, or DSX, which sees internal images from two sides instead of just one by tracking barium-infused stickers that are placed on the patient. DSX provides insights about how a patient's natural remaining bone and skin move inside the prosthetic liner. The problem isn't how to understand the insights, it's how to handle the deluge of data.
That's where NJIT comes in. Each use of the DSX system takes about one day to process. Assistant Prof. Salam Daher and her students are devising a way to analyze the images with AI. "Salam's grant comes in and it speeds up. Theoretically, a trial that would maybe take my engineer about a day to track [decreases] to roughly 15 minutes" -- a major advancement toward eventually moving DSX out of the experimental phase and into real-world clinical applications, Maikos explained.
Daher explained that each camera might provide 1,000 images with 50 markers. In stereo, "That's a lot of human time to go and annotate, to do a tedious task," she noted. She's analyzing the images with a standard computer vision program and also with a custom AI package to see if the latter could be more reliable, once it's sufficiently trained.
"I don't know if either of them may be good enough. Computer vision by itself may be good enough. AI by itself may be good enough. It's possible that combining these foundations may lead to a better result, but I can't tell you which one it's going to be until we actually finish the work. But these are the approaches that we'll take," Daher added.
There are potential obstacles. One is depth perception: it's difficult for humans and software alike to understand what's happening when the barium stickers, placed on both legs, are viewed in a video of a patient walking. Deciding on the best AI model is another challenge, as is determining how much data is really needed for training the model. Finally, Daher and her students need to present the results in a way that can be understood by healthcare professionals, not just by computer programmers. For that dilemma, they're going to create their own interface.
Daher is co-principal investigator of the $40,000 grant, funded by the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society. The principal investigator is David Paglia, an assistant professor at Rutgers Medical School, who received $10,000. Paglia and his own team designed experiments to establish a baseline for error in the system. He also works with Maikos on interpreting the results and working toward clinical adoption.
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Original text here: https://news.njit.edu/njit-rutgers-veterans-affairs-dept-partner-mitigate-prosthetic-limb-side-effects
Monmouth University: Santelli Talks 2026 Bruce Springsteen Center Initiatives in Radio Interview
WEST LONG BRANCH, New Jersey, March 5 -- Monmouth University issued the following news:
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Santelli Talks 2026 Bruce Springsteen Center Initiatives in Radio Interview
Bob Santelli, executive director of the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music, was recently a guest on the "All Mixed Up" radio show hosted by Jim Monaghan on 101.5 WDHA-FM.
During the interview, Santelli previewed the upcoming fourth annual American Music Honors 2026, taking place April 18, at Pollak Theatre. This year's honorees include Dr. Dre, Dionne Warwick, Patti Smith, The E Street Band, and The Doors. The event
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WEST LONG BRANCH, New Jersey, March 5 -- Monmouth University issued the following news:
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Santelli Talks 2026 Bruce Springsteen Center Initiatives in Radio Interview
Bob Santelli, executive director of the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music, was recently a guest on the "All Mixed Up" radio show hosted by Jim Monaghan on 101.5 WDHA-FM.
During the interview, Santelli previewed the upcoming fourth annual American Music Honors 2026, taking place April 18, at Pollak Theatre. This year's honorees include Dr. Dre, Dionne Warwick, Patti Smith, The E Street Band, and The Doors. The eventwill also feature a special tribute to The Band. Santelli emphasized the Center's mission to honor the full spectrum of American music, from rock and soul to punk, hip-hop, and Americana.
The conversation also highlighted Bruce Springsteen's historic mid-70s performances at the Capitol Theatre during the "Born to Run" era, featuring shows that helped cement both his national reputation and the venue's legendary status. The Center explores this defining moment in the "Born to Run at 50" exhibit, which runs through July 5, at the Passaic County Arts Center.
Santelli concluded by discussing the Center's growing programming, including its popular Tuesday Night Record Club, and shared that a grand opening announcement is expected soon for the Center's new home on Monmouth University's campus.
Watch the full interview (https://youtu.be/XUPvE3QPIl4).
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Original text here: https://www.monmouth.edu/news/santelli-talks-2026-bruce-springsteen-center-initiatives-in-radio-interview/
McCain Institute Announces 2026 American Democracy and Technology Fellowship Cohort
WASHINGTON, March 5 -- Arizona State University McCain Institute issued the following news:
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McCain Institute Announces 2026 American Democracy and Technology Fellowship Cohort
The McCain Institute at Arizona State University (ASU) is proud to announce the 2026 cohort of its American Democracy and Technology Fellowship.
The McCain Institute has accepted a new cohort of one-year, U.S.-based American Democracy & Technology Fellows to advance thought leadership and policy advocacy. The fellows will engage policymakers, national security leaders, analysts, and others to advance and translate
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WASHINGTON, March 5 -- Arizona State University McCain Institute issued the following news:
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McCain Institute Announces 2026 American Democracy and Technology Fellowship Cohort
The McCain Institute at Arizona State University (ASU) is proud to announce the 2026 cohort of its American Democracy and Technology Fellowship.
The McCain Institute has accepted a new cohort of one-year, U.S.-based American Democracy & Technology Fellows to advance thought leadership and policy advocacy. The fellows will engage policymakers, national security leaders, analysts, and others to advance and translatebig ideas that will transform democracy and technology in America. A major part of this effort will be interacting with lawmakers and directly driving policy in support of the McCain Institute's mission and the fellows' project objectives.
"American democracy is facing a generational technological inflection point," said McCain Institute Director of American Democracy Programs Paul Fagan. "From artificial intelligence to election infrastructure, these developments present both opportunity and risk. This fellowship is designed to bridge research and practice - connecting experts directly with lawmakers, administrators, and national security leaders to drive policy that meets the realities of today's technological landscape."
Over 12 months, each fellow will execute a specific project to apply emerging research and technological innovations to promote democracy and protect rights in the face of technological challenges, AI, challenges to information integrity, and efforts to undermine American democratic norms and institutions, all threats to American national security. The fellows will work with the McCain Institute's American Democracy team to advance projects in service of the ASU charter and the McCain Institute's mission to foster democracy, human rights, and character-driven leadership.
The 2026 American Democracy and Technology Fellows include:
Hannah Becker - Vice President of Becker Digital
Bert Brandenburg - Former senior Department of Justice leader, court reform advocate, and nonprofit leader
Madeline Harty - Associate for the Democracy Communications Collaborative
Nina Jankowicz - CEO of the American Sunlight Project
Tess McEnery - Board chair of Vote Smart, nonprofit executive, and former senior U.S. Government official
Candace Moix - CEO of MyCapitol
Michael Moore - Chief Information Security Officer for the Arizona Secretary of State Office
Max Read - Director of Civic Innovation at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue
Vienna Scott - Chief of Staff, Learned Hand
Amanda Van Dort - Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins University and George Washington University
Tonya Wichman - Director of Elections, Defiance County, Ohio
This fellowship is supported by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, with additional support from Our Secure Future.
Learn more about the McCain Institute American Democracy and Technology Fellowship here (https://www.mccaininstitute.org/programs/democracy-programs/amdemtechfellowship/).
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Original text here: https://www.mccaininstitute.org/resources/press-releases/2026-american-democracy-and-technology-fellowship-cohort/
Brown University: From Delhi to Providence, Karan Mahajan's 'The Complex' Culminates 10 Years of Research, Writing
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, March 5 -- Brown University posted the following Q&A on March 4, 2026, involving Karan Mahajan, associate professor in the Department of Literary Arts:
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From Delhi to Providence, Karan Mahajan's 'The Complex' culminates 10 years of research, writing
In this Q&A, Brown University Associate Professor of Literary Arts Karan Mahajan discusses his forthcoming novel, teaching and multi-genre writing career that spans fiction, criticism and essays.
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Karan Mahajan's third novel, "The Complex," which follows the descendants of an Indian politician in Delhi and Michigan,
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PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, March 5 -- Brown University posted the following Q&A on March 4, 2026, involving Karan Mahajan, associate professor in the Department of Literary Arts:
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From Delhi to Providence, Karan Mahajan's 'The Complex' culminates 10 years of research, writing
In this Q&A, Brown University Associate Professor of Literary Arts Karan Mahajan discusses his forthcoming novel, teaching and multi-genre writing career that spans fiction, criticism and essays.
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Karan Mahajan's third novel, "The Complex," which follows the descendants of an Indian politician in Delhi and Michigan,hasn't been published yet, but it's already generating buzz in the book world.
A New York Times roundup described it as a "a sweeping tale of political machinations, family drama, betrayal and social transformation," while Kirkus Reviews called it "beautiful and unforgettable" and a "masterly novel, seemingly influenced by Tolstoy and Dostoevsky."
Mahajan, a Brown University associate professor of literary arts, wrote and revised the 448-page novel over the course of about 10 years and has worked on it throughout his tenure at Brown, which began in 2019. He teaches various courses in the Department of Literary Arts, including Advanced Fiction and Structuring and (Destructuring) Novels.
"My favorite class to teach is the Innovations in Indian Literature course because it's rare to get to teach a class like that from the perspective of a creative writer and to speak about the craft elements -- not just the historical or literary currents underlying the work," said Mahajan, who lives in Providence. "Teaching it deepens my own connection to subcontinental literature, which is something I'm very steeped in."
Mahajan published his first novel, "Family Planning," in 2008. His 2016 book, "The Association of Small Bombs," was a finalist for the National Book Award in fiction. He has also published journalistic essays and criticism in publications including the New Yorker and the New York Times.
Ahead of the March 10 release of "The Complex," Mahajan answered questions about the book, his teaching and the influence of his roots in Delhi.
Q: What do you enjoy about teaching in Brown's Department of Literary Arts?
I love that it's renowned for innovation and it's very intellectual and international, both in terms of faculty and the students we attract. It's also a place where I knew I could work between different mediums and forms, which is something I do. As a professor at Brown, the range of things you can do is kind of limitless.
Q: What inspired "The Complex"?
The novel is set in a large, joint family housing complex in Delhi. It's this kind of pressure cooker of a family compound, and the book follows the way the family and the complex change as members of the family go abroad and then come back. It looks at the dynamics between those who immigrate, especially in this case to the U.S., and those who choose to stay. How does it feel to repatriate after you've immigrated, how do you balance all these worlds in your head, and how do you deal with divided loyalties and divided identities? I was interested in that because I've lived in both the U.S. and India, and I have that sense of being suspended between worlds. For me, it was important to dramatize that, and I did it through a series of characters in the novel.
Q: What was the process of writing the novel while teaching at Brown?
This is where Brown's support has been so helpful. The novel was a massive undertaking because it required research on a couple of continents, dealing with several periods of history. I had to go back to India a few times, talk to a lot of people, travel around and read archival material, and I was able to do a lot of that on a teaching sabbatical.
I conducted a lot of research on politics in India in the '80s and '90s and the lives of Indian immigrants in the U.S. in the '70s and '80s. That was fascinating -- going memory-surfing with immigrants from that period and reading oral histories and trying to figure out how to accurately represent the attitudes of those immigrants without inflecting them too much with my own experiences. For example, the early generation of Indian immigrants keep saying, 'Oh, we didn't experience any racism.' And I think they were choosing not to see it. Similarly, I also wrote a lot about sexual violence and did a lot of research about the various psychological responses of Indian women to it in the '70s and '80s.
Brown's Saxena Center for Contemporary South Asia was also a great resource, and I spoke with affiliated faculty members Prerna Singh and Ashutosh Varshney as part of my research. It's wonderful to be in a university setting, because it's like a nerve center of experts that I can consult for all these different topics I'm writing about. These are the people doing the on-the-ground research, and I can go to them and ask them if what my characters are doing, or the world they're inhabiting, are accurately represented.
Q: What appeals to you about Delhi as a setting for fiction?
I was born in Stamford, Connecticut, but my parents moved back to Delhi when I was 2 years old, and I grew up there. The period of my life that's most alive in terms of writing is the period that exists before I became a writer, where there's this whole mass of memories and material that I haven't analyzed that forms the bedrock of all my experiences. The landscape of Delhi has been really seared into my mind, and it's almost contiguous with my own psychology. In my novels, I'm always filling in small areas of darkness that exist in my own past. I'm wondering, 'What was actually happening in Delhi at this time that I was growing up?' As a kid, you're not fully aware and take your home and city for granted. Moving away and recognizing that it was this interesting place with an interesting history, where major currents of Indian history and international history had played out -- and then trying to figure out how this linked in with my own experience as someone who's from a bourgeois, educated background -- has been fascinating. That's one great thing about writing books. Even if no one else reads them, you learn so much writing them, and you become so much more aware of what formed you.
Q: How are you feeling as you prepare to launch "The Complex" into the world?
The great thing about having a teaching job and an academic position is that I'm so busy enjoying my students and reading their work that I don't have as much time to fret as I once would have had. I feel very lucky. My publishers, especially in the United States and India, are very excited about it. I spent a long time working on this book -- off and on for about 10 years -- and I feel like I'm in a rare position with this novel, which is that I can stand confidently behind every sentence, and I feel I understand this entire world in a very deep way. Usually, I finish a novel and I think, 'Oh no, I wish I had a year more to work on this, and I would have made it so much better.'
It's a dense book that's set in India, which is still a foreign place to many American readers. I just hope that readers see themselves and the current moment in the book.
Q: How do you balance writing and teaching?
I tend to write for a couple of hours every morning on weekdays, even when I'm teaching. And that means that I remain in a kind of rhythm, even if I'm not producing that much. I certainly think the two things -- teaching and writing -- are compatible. Teaching can be tiring because it's extroverted and requires you to be on in a particular way, but it's not a nine-to-five job, which is great for a writer. When you're talking about creative writing with students, you get ideas too, and you're energized by the things that they say. It can really feed you as a writer. The fact that I have to read certain books over and over again is great because I can understand the mechanics or the beauty of a book like "The God of Small Things" much more than I would if I had just read it kind of casually one time.
One of the special things about teaching creative writing and literature is that it's one of the few places where contemporary psychology and contemporary issues can be discussed openly. Students bring in work that is about things that are happening in the world, and you can talk about complex feelings and emotions, and I want that space to exist.
Q: What advice do you find yourself always giving to your students?
I tend to write first drafts very instinctively, and I tell students to trust their instincts and where the energy of the piece is taking them and to not censor themselves too much when they do a first draft. I talk about how I write first drafts by hand, because I'm less distracted than by writing on a screen. And that if I'm writing a little bit by hand every day, let's say of a novel, then the next day, I go and type it up, and I can get back into the flow of the novel, and I can continue.
The class I teach on structuring novels is really about my own struggles with structure. I feel like it's one of the hardest things to do, and I want to offer students a guide to structure that is not the rote one you get from screenwriting advice, but something that allows them to be more playful. I also talk about the importance of patience and time. Sometimes when things are not working, it's not feedback that's going to help them the most. It'll just be putting the work aside and coming back to it when they can look at it more objectively. That's something that I've had to do with this book, for example, at many points.
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Original text here: https://www.brown.edu/news/2026-03-04/karan-mahajan-qa
