Education (Colleges & Universities)
Here's a look at documents from public, private and community colleges in the U.S.
Featured Stories
Middle Early College High School Program made the difference for Buffalo State senior
BUFFALO, New York, April 6 -- Buffalo State University issued the following news release:
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Middle Early College High School Program made the difference for Buffalo State senior
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Traesyh Wrensford, a current senior at Buffalo State and graduate of the Middle Early College High School program (MECHS), recently had the opportunity to participate in a statewide leadership program focusing on middle early college programming. The program was sponsored by NY4ECP, a cross-sector coalition focused on increasing the number of students with access to high-quality Early College Pathways in New York
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BUFFALO, New York, April 6 -- Buffalo State University issued the following news release:
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Middle Early College High School Program made the difference for Buffalo State senior
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Traesyh Wrensford, a current senior at Buffalo State and graduate of the Middle Early College High School program (MECHS), recently had the opportunity to participate in a statewide leadership program focusing on middle early college programming. The program was sponsored by NY4ECP, a cross-sector coalition focused on increasing the number of students with access to high-quality Early College Pathways in New YorkState.
Wrensford, who matriculated to Buffalo State after graduating from MECHS, is set to graduate this May with a degree in political science. During his time at Buffalo State, he became involved in the community and secured internships with both Chambers of Commerce. Wrensford said the Middle Early High School Program was fundamental to his success because provided him early access to a college setting and allowed him more time to consider his career.
"The early college pathway network provides students with a direct link to success after high school," he said, "Three years after my high school graduation, I am graduating early with no debt and have had unique opportunities like participating in the fellowship with New York Alliance for Early College Pathways to advocate in Albany to spread awareness about Early College Pathway Programs. This fellowship provided me with firsthand advocacy experience talking with legislators and their staff about the importance of protecting the early college opportunity fund, which increases access for students across New York State."
Traesyh Wrensford (left) with Senator Jeremy Zellner and fellow participant Milagros Moreno.
"We are so proud of the growth Traesyh has demonstrated, not only through his academic achievement, but in the confidence and leadership he now brings into new spaces," said Tristin Salter, coordinator for Buffalo State's Dual Enrollment Program. "He has taken what he learned in our program and applied it in meaningful ways, showing his initiative and ability to lead others."
Housed in Buffalo State's Continuing Professional Studies Office, MECHS is a four-year program in which students take a variety of courses beginning in their sophomore year in high school. Its philosophy is to provide a nurturing, supportive learning environment for underserved high school students who have the potential to benefit from a rigorous academic curriculum. Students have the opportunity to graduate high school with up to 51 college credit hours, enabling them to enter higher education as a junior, saving substantially on costs and time to graduation. Some courses may also be offered on the university campus for which students receive dual credit upon successful completion of the courses.
"It is important that New York State continues to expand initiatives like this," Wrensford said, "so that these life-changing opportunities remain accessible to all."
Top photo: Traesyh Wrensford (right) with fellowship recipient Milagros Moreno (left); NY4ECP deputy director Alexandra Wilcox; and fellowship recipients Claire Byrnes and Ethan Palmer.
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Original text here: https://suny.buffalostate.edu/news/middle-early-college-high-school-program-made-difference-buffalo-state-senior
Virginia Tech: Testing for Residual Leukemia
BLACKSBURG, Virginia, April 4 -- Virginia Tech issued the following news:
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Testing for residual leukemia
Physician-scientist Jesse Tettero is part of a national effort to improve and standardize detection of residual disease after leukemia treatment. A Postdoctoral Excellence Award will support his work.
By Lena Ayuk
This year, 22,000 Americans will be diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive blood cancer.
Many respond well to chemotherapy and appear to achieve complete remission. But even when standard tests indicate that the cancer has cleared, not all of these patients
... Show Full Article
BLACKSBURG, Virginia, April 4 -- Virginia Tech issued the following news:
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Testing for residual leukemia
Physician-scientist Jesse Tettero is part of a national effort to improve and standardize detection of residual disease after leukemia treatment. A Postdoctoral Excellence Award will support his work.
By Lena Ayuk
This year, 22,000 Americans will be diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive blood cancer.
Many respond well to chemotherapy and appear to achieve complete remission. But even when standard tests indicate that the cancer has cleared, not all of these patientswill survive.
"At the end of treatment, there may still be just a few leukemia cells hiding among a million healthy cells," said Jesse Tettero, a Virginia Tech postdoctoral associate conducting research at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute's Cancer Research Center in Washington, D.C. "If those cells survive, the cancer can return in an aggressive way, so we need extremely sensitive tests to find them early."
Tettero's research focuses on better understanding remission and relapse in acute myeloid leukemia. With the support of a 2025-26 Lyerly Postdoctoral Excellence Award, he will continue to develop tools that help physicians identify high-risk patients sooner.
Before joining the lab of Christopher Hourigan, director of the research institute's Cancer Research Center -- D.C., Tettero trained as a medical doctor in the Netherlands. His clinical background shapes his approach to science.
"For me, the best part of medicine has always been caring for patients," he said. "But there are only 24 hours in a day, and as a clinician, you can help only a limited number of people face-to-face. Through research, you can add an extra layer of impact. Your work can ultimately reach far more patients than you could ever treat individually. Even if it helps just one person, that is reason enough to keep going."
A central tool in Tettero's work is multiparameter flow cytometry, a laboratory technique that analyzes individual cells by passing them through a laser-based instrument. In leukemia, abnormal combinations of cell-surface markers distinguish cancerous blood cells from healthy ones. These subtle abnormalities point to measurable residual disease (MRD), the minute amount of cancer cells that can remain after treatment.
While flow cytometry is widely available and used for MRD testing, its accuracy heavily depends on how samples are collected, which markers are used, the instrumentation, and the skill of the person interpreting the data.
"Protocols differ significantly between centers," Tettero said. "A test optimized for a facility in Washington, D.C., may not perform exactly the same in Seattle. That variability matters when you're looking for a few cells in a million."
To help address this variability, Tettero works closely with the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research, a nationwide registry that gathers clinical and laboratory data from transplant centers across the United States. Shortly after joining the Hourigan Lab in August 2024, he was invited to join the center's task force working to harmonize MRD testing practices nationwide.
"Ultimately, I hope that insights from these studies will help refine relapse prediction and guide treatment decisions in patients with acute myeloid leukemia, wherever that patient might be," Tettero said.
More sensitive and reliable detection methods could enable oncologists to recognize relapse earlier, when the disease is easier to treat. Identifying these patterns is a step toward ensuring that MRD testing provides consistent, actionable information for every patient. But Tettero notes that optimizing flow cytometry alone will likely not be enough.
As a result, his work is increasingly shifting toward molecular MRD approaches, particularly next-generation sequencing and whole-genome sequencing. These DNA-based technologies can detect persistent cancer-associated mutations at far lower levels than traditional methods, opening a promising path toward earlier, more precise relapse prediction.
"Tettero demonstrates the qualities of an exceptional postdoctoral researcher: intellectually independent, clinically insightful, and deeply committed to impactful translational science," said Hourigan, whose lab is internationally recognized in next-generation sequencing and whole-genome sequencing. "His research is already beginning to realize its profound potential to improve detection sensitivity and potentially save lives."
The award will support Tettero's participation in scientific conferences, including annual meetings of the American Society of Hematology and the European Hematology Association, as well as professional development courses offered by the NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education and the National Postdoctoral Association.
The Lyerly Postdoctoral Excellence Awards are funded by a gift from Mary Denton Roberts and David Lyerly, himself a former Virginia Tech postdoctoral fellow. The annual award recognizes postdoctoral trainees at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute whose research proposals show potential for novel scientific contributions.
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Original text here: https://news.vt.edu/articles/2026/03/research_fralinbiomed_tetteroaward.html
Virginia Commonwealth University Series on Democracy Marks America's 250th Anniversary
RICHMOND, Virginia, April 4 -- Virginia Commonwealth University issued the following news:
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VCU series on democracy marks America's 250th anniversary
With public events and online offerings, the College of Humanities and Sciences program explores how ideals are evolving.
By Sian Wilkerson
As the United States commemorates its 250th anniversary this year of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Virginia Commonwealth University is marking the occasion with a new series spotlighting the past, present and future of American democracy.
Launched by the College of Humanities and Sciences,
... Show Full Article
RICHMOND, Virginia, April 4 -- Virginia Commonwealth University issued the following news:
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VCU series on democracy marks America's 250th anniversary
With public events and online offerings, the College of Humanities and Sciences program explores how ideals are evolving.
By Sian Wilkerson
As the United States commemorates its 250th anniversary this year of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Virginia Commonwealth University is marking the occasion with a new series spotlighting the past, present and future of American democracy.
Launched by the College of Humanities and Sciences,the America at 250 series will explore topics ranging from the original ideals in the time of the nation's founders to the state of democracy in modern America. The idea for the series evolved out of U.S. Democracy United/Divided, a VCU course that brings together faculty experts across disciplines for a multidimensional overview of democracy's many layers.
"The series creates space for students to engage more critically with history - not just as something in the past, but as something that continues to shape policies, institutions and everyday life today," said Roqia Ali, a third-year political science student who serves as a teaching assistant for the U.S. Democracy course.
Ali, an Honors College student, is also co-executive director of VCU Votes. She added that America at 250 gives students "a chance to hear from different voices and disciplines, which can help them form more well-rounded perspectives."
"The different sides are not really talking to each other, and so we're really hoping to open that conversation here," said Marcus Messner, Ph.D., associate dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences and co-organizer of the series. "The motivation here is, I think that the United States has lots to celebrate after 250 years, but of course, we have some issues in our democracy as well."
Messner, his fellow associate dean Amy Rector, Ph.D., and Krista Scott, Ed.D., associate vice president of strategic enrollment management special programs, worked together to develop America at 250, which will continue throughout the year. The series emphasizes Virginia's role in the founding of the country and its continued impact on the state of democracy.
"America was made here in Virginia, and we really are focusing on this local perspective on a lot of these events and the lectures that are being given," Rector said.
So far, America at 250 events have covered topics such as Virginia's shifting voter demographics, voting rights and representation, the global effects of American domestic policy and social media's impact on democracy. Another lecture featured VCU history professor and author Brooke Newman, Ph.D., who presented from her latest book, "The Crown's Silence: The Hidden History of the British Monarchy and Slavery."
On April 8, Carly Fiorina, the national honorary chair for the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission, or VA250, will join the College of Humanities and Sciences and VCU's Global Education Office for a discussion as part of America at 250 and the Globe Speakers Series, hosted by Catherine Ingrassia, Ph.D., dean of the college, and Jill Blondin, Ph.D., vice provost for global initiatives.
Moderated by Messner, the event - it begins at 5 p.m. in Room 216 of the STEM Building - will feature welcoming remarks from VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., and Arturo Saavedra, Ph.D., interim executive vice president and provost, with an introduction by Robyn Diehl McDougle, Ph.D., associate dean of the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.
This event is open to the community, and registration is required.
As part of the ongoing commemoration at VCU, the College of Humanities and Sciences will offer U.S. Democracy United/Divided as an online course this summer. Also, a webinar series hosted by faculty in VCU's Department of History will feature topics including:
* Reluctant Revolutionaries: From Loyal Subjects to Fledgling Citizens, with lecturer Sarah Meacham, Ph.D. (Monday, May 18).
* From 'Nature's God' to 'Divine Providence': Faith and the Founding of the United States, with lecturer Ryan K. Smith, Ph.D. (Monday, June 1).
* Liberty in a Land of Slavery, with Michael Dickinson, Ph.D. (Monday, June 15).
* Was the Declaration of Independence really a matter of Common Sense?, with Carolyn Eastman, Ph.D. (Monday, June 29).
Each webinar will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. and is available to the public.
In the fall, America at 250 will turn its focus to the congressional midterm elections, and organizers will continue to add programming from across more disciplines. The event schedule is available on the series webpage.
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Original text here: https://news.vcu.edu/article/vcu-series-on-democracy-marks-americas-250th-anniversary
Syracuse University, Hendricks Featured in Fox Nation's 'America's Churches'
SYRACUSE, New York, April 4 -- Syracuse University issued the following news:
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Syracuse University, Hendricks Featured in Fox Nation's 'America's Churches'
Hosted by Fox correspondent Benjamin Hall, the documentary captures Hendricks Chapel as a hub of faith, community and athletics and features alumni behind the camera.
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A new documentary exploring the history of Hendricks Chapel and the role of faith across the Syracuse University community premiered this week on Fox Nation.
"America's Churches with Benjamin Hall" tells the story of Hendricks as the spiritual heart of campus, home
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SYRACUSE, New York, April 4 -- Syracuse University issued the following news:
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Syracuse University, Hendricks Featured in Fox Nation's 'America's Churches'
Hosted by Fox correspondent Benjamin Hall, the documentary captures Hendricks Chapel as a hub of faith, community and athletics and features alumni behind the camera.
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A new documentary exploring the history of Hendricks Chapel and the role of faith across the Syracuse University community premiered this week on Fox Nation.
"America's Churches with Benjamin Hall" tells the story of Hendricks as the spiritual heart of campus, hometo five world religions and 16 chaplains serving a diverse student body. The 25-minute film is hosted by Hall, a foreign affairs correspondent for Fox.
In the film, Chancellor Kent Syverud reflects on how faith at Syracuse extends well beyond the building itself. "It's not the building," he said. "This is a community, and it's been a booming, vibrant community for all faiths, and that's one of the reasons why we've had a solid community experience in recent years when many universities have been torn apart."
Former Hendricks Dean Brian Konkol spoke with Hall about the chapel's unique role as both a sacred space and a hub for campus life, from major performances and events to People's Place coffee shop and the Coach Mac Food Pantry.
Faith, Leadership and Athletics
The documentary also captures the intersection of faith and athletics. Hall interviewed football coach Fran Brown and women's basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack about their personal faith journeys and how those experiences shape their leadership on and off the field. Athletics Chaplain William Payne discussed his work supporting student-athletes as they navigate the demands of academics and competition.
The film also turns to one of the most solemn chapters in the University's history. The University's connection to the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, is woven into the film. The 1988 tragedy claimed the lives of 35 Syracuse University students, one of the most devastating losses in the University's history. The Fox team visited the Remembrance Wall on campus to honor their memory.
Visually, the documentary draws on a range of campus scenes: students studying outside on sunny days, the football team walking across the Quad on game days, candlelight vigils outside Hendricks, chaplains leading services and Otto's Army rallying inside the JMA Wireless Dome.
In addition to the feature documentary, Fox Nation produced a short segment on the renovated and expanded St. Thomas More Chapel and Syracuse University Catholic Center, which reopened in 2025. The crew also visited the National Veterans Resource Center at The Daniel and Gayle D'Aniello Building.
Names on the Wall
Another stop on campus carried personal significance for Hall. At the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Hall visited a memorial wall honoring more than 2,500 journalists killed in the line of duty. While covering the war in Ukraine, he was severely injured in a missile attack that killed two of his colleagues. He lost a leg, part of his other foot, an eye and the use of one hand, and later documented his recovery in his books "Saved" and "Resolute." During his visit to the wall, he saw the names of his colleagues, photojournalist Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra "Sasha" Kuvshynova, etched into the memorial.
The Newhouse connection runs deeper still for the production. Fox team members included alumni Tania Joseph '18, a Newhouse graduate in broadcast and digital journalism, and Jayson Jones '19, who earned a master's degree in communications from Newhouse.
"America's Churches with Benjamin Hall" marks the series' inaugural season. Alongside the Hendricks episode, the series features St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans and the Brigade of Midshipmen Chapel at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The documentary is available to stream with a paid Fox Nation subscription.
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Original text here: https://news.syr.edu/2026/04/03/syracuse-university-hendricks-featured-in-fox-nations-americas-churches/
Oakland University to Welcome Ross Gay for Basketball-themed Poetry Reading April 14
ROCHESTER, Michigan, April 4 -- Oakland University issued the following news:
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OU to welcome Ross Gay for basketball-themed poetry reading April 14
Poetry and basketball will take center court when Oakland University welcomes acclaimed poet and essayist Ross Gay for its 2026 Maurice Brown Memorial Poetry Reading. Now in its 38th year, the series is named for Maurice Brown, a beloved OU English professor, and supported by his family.
This year's event, "Poetry Month Madness: Celebrating Poems and Basketball," will take place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14, at the OU Recreation Center basketball
... Show Full Article
ROCHESTER, Michigan, April 4 -- Oakland University issued the following news:
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OU to welcome Ross Gay for basketball-themed poetry reading April 14
Poetry and basketball will take center court when Oakland University welcomes acclaimed poet and essayist Ross Gay for its 2026 Maurice Brown Memorial Poetry Reading. Now in its 38th year, the series is named for Maurice Brown, a beloved OU English professor, and supported by his family.
This year's event, "Poetry Month Madness: Celebrating Poems and Basketball," will take place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14, at the OU Recreation Center basketballcourts. The event is free and open to the public.
During his visit, Gay will read from his poems and essays involving basketball, including "Be Holding," a single poem which is an extended ekphrastic meditation on a photograph of basketball hall-of-famer Julius Erving's midair "baseline scoop" in the 1980 NBA finals. A video clip of the iconic play will be shown at the reading.
"It seemed a perfect coincidence for our basketball-themed reading that Ross could visit campus in April, which is National Poetry Month, on the heels of March Madness," said Dr. Katie Hartsock, associate professor in the Department of English, Creative Writing and Film. "We have fantastic creative writing students at OU, and we have our fantastic Golden Grizzly basketball teams, coaches, and fans. I hope these two groups will get a chance to enjoy poetry together at this event."
Gay is one of America's premier authors, writing poetry and essays which richly illuminate a variety of American experiences in their joys and complexities, from urban gardening to basketball. He is the author of four books of poetry: "Against Which," "Bringing the Shovel Down," "Be Holding," winner of the PEN American Literary Jean Stein Award, and "Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude," winner of the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 2016 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award.
In addition to his poetry, Gay has released three essay collections: "The Book of Delights," a New York Times bestseller; "Inciting Joy" and his newest collection, "The Book of (More) Delights," released in September 2023.
Born in 1974 in Youngstown, Ohio, Gay grew up chiefly in Philadelphia and attended, on a sports scholarship, Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, where he discovered his passion for poetry. After receiving an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College and a Ph.D. in English from Temple University, he is now a professor of English at Indiana University in Bloomington, and one of contemporary literature's best-known and most beloved names due to frequent rave reviews and excerpts of his books in national venues such as NPR and The New York Times.
Along with his love for basketball, Gay is also known for his work's exploration of joy even - and often especially - in the context of difficulty or grief.
"He has a way of mixing the ephemeral and the eternal, humor and grief, the individual and the collective, in a way that has made him the famous writer he is," said Hartsock. "We creative writing professors felt we wanted to bring this energy to our students, in a time when so many college students face challenges and uncertainties like never before."
A Q&A will follow the reading and books will be available for purchase. Gay will sign books after the reading.
The event is sponsored by the Judd Family Endowed Fund, the Maurice Brown Memorial Poetry Series, the Donna and Walt Young Honors College, Sigma Tau Delta and the Department of English, Creative Writing, and Film, with special thanks to Judy Brown and Mathilde Brown Swanson for their continued support.
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Original text here: https://www.oakland.edu/news/english/2026/poetry-reading/
Oakland University Professor Reflects on Personal, Historical Journey Behind Her Novel
ROCHESTER, Michigan, April 4 -- Oakland University issued the following news:
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Oakland University professor reflects on personal, historical journey behind her new novel
For Susan McCarty, associate professor of English at Oakland University, writing her novel "2008" was less about capturing a single moment in history and more about making sense of a period of profound personal and cultural change.
"'2008' took me a long time to write -- about 10 years," McCarty said.
The novel grew out of her experience of the 2008 Midwestern flooding, which displaced several members of her family and
... Show Full Article
ROCHESTER, Michigan, April 4 -- Oakland University issued the following news:
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Oakland University professor reflects on personal, historical journey behind her new novel
For Susan McCarty, associate professor of English at Oakland University, writing her novel "2008" was less about capturing a single moment in history and more about making sense of a period of profound personal and cultural change.
"'2008' took me a long time to write -- about 10 years," McCarty said.
The novel grew out of her experience of the 2008 Midwestern flooding, which displaced several members of her family andreshaped how she understood the world around her. "At the time, the flood was referred to as a 500-year flood except a flood of this magnitude had happened just 15 years prior," she said. "In some ways, this was my awakening to the threats of climate change."
That same year marked a turning point in her own life. McCarty was leaving a career in publishing in New York to begin a Ph.D., stepping into uncertainty as the financial crisis unfolded. "After the flooding happened, it was really difficult to leave my family in Iowa, in temporary housing, but I had to do it to start the next phase of my life," she said.
She began writing "2008" several years later, using fiction to revisit that period from a distance. "I started this novel...as a way to write about the sadness and difficulty of that time of life--losing a home, leaving for another life, starting over," McCarty said. At the same time, she was interested in the broader social realities emerging in the early 21st century, including housing instability and the shrinking middle class.
Those themes were shaped in part by her academic work. While completing her doctorate, McCarty engaged with theorists such as Georg Lukacs, Gaston Bachelard and Walter Benjamin, whose writing on home, memory and modernity influenced her thinking. "I was really interested in theorists who write about home as a conceptual and even political space," she said.
That intellectual foundation also informed the novel's structure. McCarty experimented with blending genres, pairing two protagonists with different narrative impulses -- one drawn to romance, the other to mystery. "I wanted to write a novel where there were multiple fiction genres circulating at once," she said, curious about what might happen when those forms intersect.
Over time, however, the project became less about theory and more about character. "Eventually, I lightened my touch with the critical scaffoldings because...I had to focus on the characters and their becoming in order to continue and finish the novel," she said.
That balance -- between experimentation and storytelling -- proved to be one of the book's central challenges. "For me, there is a big push/pull between...experimental writing...and a well-plotted story with resonant characters," McCarty said. "I always want both. And I wanted my book to be both, but it is really, really hard to do right."
Set during a year marked by rapid change, "2008" unfolds against the backdrop of the financial crisis, the early rise of social media and shifting political dynamics. Rather than centering those events directly, the novel explores how they shape everyday lives.
"All these little seeds of crisis...were just starting to sprout, which makes 2008 a very interesting year to me," McCarty said. "I don't think this novel is necessarily 'about' any of these things per se, but they affect and influence the ways the characters live their lives. Just like us."
For McCarty, that connection between past and present is key. "I guess that's also what I want people to take away -- a feeling of knowing and recognizing these characters and these times as part of our shared and common histories."
Now at Oakland University, McCarty continues to bring that same blend of critical inquiry and creative practice into her teaching and writing -- encouraging students to explore how stories can illuminate both personal experience and the larger forces that shape it.
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Original text here: https://www.oakland.edu/news/english/2026/Oakland-University-professor-reflects-on-personal-historical-journey-behind-her-new-novel/
Binghamton University to Honor Award-winning Author and Journalist With The Nadia Rubaii Memorial Award
BINGHAMTON, New York, April 4 -- Binghamton University issued the following news:
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Binghamton University to honor award-winning author and journalist with The Nadia Rubaii Memorial Award
Journalist M. Gessen to receive Nadia Rubaii Memorial Award and speak at Binghamton University.
By Emily Ciarlo '26
Binghamton University's Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention (I-GMAP) will award the Nadia Rubaii Memorial Prize at 4:30 p.m. Friday, April 10, in the First Floor Atrium at the University Downtown Center (UDC) at this year's Frontiers of Prevention Conference. The event is
... Show Full Article
BINGHAMTON, New York, April 4 -- Binghamton University issued the following news:
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Binghamton University to honor award-winning author and journalist with The Nadia Rubaii Memorial Award
Journalist M. Gessen to receive Nadia Rubaii Memorial Award and speak at Binghamton University.
By Emily Ciarlo '26
Binghamton University's Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention (I-GMAP) will award the Nadia Rubaii Memorial Prize at 4:30 p.m. Friday, April 10, in the First Floor Atrium at the University Downtown Center (UDC) at this year's Frontiers of Prevention Conference. The event isfree and open to the public.
The Nadia Rubaii Memorial Award is presented on the first day of The Frontiers of Prevention Conference, an annual international forum hosted by I-GMAP since 2017 which brings together academic researchers and prevention practitioners from governments, international organizations and civil society. The two-day event will start on Friday and continue on Saturday, April 11, at UDC.
This year's recipient, M. Gessen, is an opinion columnist for The New York Times and an award-winning author who uses their platform to highlight the risks that people are facing in the United States. Gessen's 2020 book, Surviving Autocracy, expands on their essay, "Autocracy: Rules for Survival," which went viral after President Donald Trump's first election in 2016. The presentation of the award will be followed by a public lecture from Gessen titled "What a Dissident Sees."
The Nadia Rubaii Memorial Award is named in honor of Nadia Rubaii, I-GMAP co-founder, former co-director and professor and practitioner of public administration at Binghamton University. Rubaii dedicated decades of service to helping universities and public service organizations better serve diverse publics, be interculturally effective and promote social equity.
The Nadia Rubaii Memorial Award is presented annually to an individual or organization who best represents Rubaii's commitment to the promotion of human rights and the prevention of genocide, mass atrocities and all forms of identity-based violence.
M. Gessen is the author of 11 books, including the National Book Award-winning, The Future is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia and The New York Times best-seller, The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin.
Gessen was born in Moscow, Russia, and immigrated to the United States at 14, but returned 10 years later as a journalist. After being dismissed as editor from a popular science magazine, Gessen founded Russian Independent Media Archive (now Kronika) to digitally preserve independent Russian journalism produced over the last 20 years.
They moved to New York in 2013 after their family was targeted by an anti-LGBTQ campaign, and spent seven years as a staff writer for The New York Times, and has contributed to The New York Review of Books, The Washington Post, Harper's and Vanity Fair. They were recognized with the George Polk Award for opinion writing in 2024. In addition, Gessen is a distinguished professor at Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY and a distinguished visiting writer at Bard College.
Throughout the two-day event, academics, researchers and practitioners will engage in conversations, share notes and experiences and form new professional connections. Frontier of Prevention is a workshop-style conference featuring several extended thematic sessions that allow participants and audience members to explore topics in depth, connect across different thematic panels, pursue collaborations and test new ideas.
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Original text here: https://www.binghamton.edu/news/story/6161/nadia-rubaii-memorial-award
