SSRI Welcomes New Associate Directors Frankenberg and Thompson
Sep 25, 2023
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) at Penn State recently announced the addition of two new associate directors: Cheryl Thompson and Erica Frankenberg.Thompson is a professor in the department of public health sciences at the Penn State College of Medicine, the…
Frankenberg discusses racial segregation in schools on new podcast
Sep 21, 2023
Erica Frankenberg, SSRI associate director and professor of education and demography, was featured in a Policy in Brief podcast that examined ‘Segregation in our Schools.’In this podcast, Frankenberg discusses the racial segregation that marginalized students have faced over the past few decades…
Seed grants fund research collaborations with minority-serving institutions
Sep 21, 2023
The first awardees of Penn State’s new Inter-Institutional Partnerships for Diversifying Research (IDPR) initiative have been selected, comprising a total of 16 collaborative projects that connect Penn State researchers with colleagues from minority-serving institutions (MSIs).The IPDR program,…
Penn State Family Symposium to focus on immigrant families
Sep 20, 2023
The 31st Annual National Symposium on Family Issues, being held Oct. 23 - Oct. 24 virtually and in person in 233B HUB-Robeson Center, will focus on immigrant family research and the effects of public policies and practices on this demographic.The first session, “How immigration admission and…
SSRI Open House series kicks off on Oct. 2
Sep 19, 2023
Penn State's Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) will be hosting an Open House brainstorming session, “Building Resources for Social and Behavioral Science Research Using Smart Devices and Digital Platforms,” on Oct. 2, noon - 1:00 p.m. in 110 Henderson Building.This Open House features…
SSRI Open House on Data Resources Hub
Sep 19, 2023
Penn State's Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) will be hosting an Open House on the new SSRI Data Resources Hub in 114 Henderson Building, on Oct. 16, noon - 1 p.m.Join Jason Shumberger, SSRI special projects manager, and Joe Broniszewski, SSRI IT director, as they go over the pilot year…
A Turning Point for the Unauthorized Immigrant Population in the United States
Sep 13, 2023
By Jennifer Van Hook, Julia Gelatt and Ariel G. Ruiz SotoApproximately 11.2 million unauthorized immigrants lived in the United States in 2021, up from 11.0 million in 2019, according to new Migration Policy Institute (MPI) estimates. This represents larger annual growth in the unauthorized…
Lecture to explore how demography influences environmental research and policies
Sep 11, 2023
Penn State’s 18th annual De Jong Lecture in Social Demography, “Reflections on Necessary, Next Generation Population & Environment Research Agendas,” will be presented by Sara Curran on Oct. 4, from 9 a.m. to noon, in the HUB Robeson Center room 233 B and virtually.Curran is a professor of…
Amish found to be under-vaccinated for COVID-19 but not unvaccinated
Aug 28, 2023
This summer, viral misinformation claimed that the Amish did not vaccinate against COVID-19 and, as a result, had a death rate 90 times lower than the rest of the United States. Now, a Penn State study is the first to provide geographically broad and population-wide evidence that while the Amish-…
CHEER team launches the Community Partner Toolkit
Aug 23, 2023
The community-facing toolkit is designed to educate learners about the importance of community-engaged researchThe Community Health Equity & Engagement in Research (CHEER) Team has launched a community-facing toolkit for researchers to share with their community partners! The Community Partner…
Almeida Earns GSA’s 2023 Robert W. Kleemeier Award
Aug 21, 2023
The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) — the nation’s largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to the field of aging — has chosen David Almeida, professor of human development and family studies at Penn State, as the 2023 recipient of the Robert W. Kleemeier Award.This distinguished…
SSRI Welcomes Three New Co-Funded Faculty Members
Aug 9, 2023
The Social Science Research Institute welcomes three new co-funded faculty members to Penn State:Cleothia Frazier, asistant professor of sociology in the College of Liberal Arts. Frazier completed her Ph.D. in sociology at Vanderbilt University and MPH at Michigan State University. Prior to…
Federal-local immigration enforcement policies designed to reduce crime found to raise victimization among Latinos Peer-Reviewed Publication
Aug 8, 2023
Efforts to understand the effects of immigration enforcement on crime have largely been informed by police crime statistics. In a new study, researchers used longitudinal data from the U.S. National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) to assess the impact of federal immigration policies on local…
$4M NIH grant to fund 10 more years of daily stress research in national study
Aug 7, 2023
The National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE), a national study led by David Almeida, professor of human development and family studies at Penn State, has received an additional $4 million of funding from the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health. NSDE is part of…
From heat czars to tree planting, relief for urban heat islands
Jul 31, 2023
By Ali Martin Staff writer for The Christian Science Monitor, who quotes CSA director and SSRI cofund Guangqing ChiFor 12 nights in a row, The Mission at Kern County shelter has been filled to capacity. That’s unusual for summer months in Bakersfield, California, where many of the city’s unhoused…
'Topping out' ceremony held for Welch Building construction project
Jul 31, 2023
Construction of the Susan Welch Liberal Arts Building at Penn State's University Park campus marked another significant milestone this week.The University held a “topping out” ceremony at the construction site on Wednesday, July 26, during which representatives from Penn State’s College of the…
Penn State announces faculty recipients of 2023-24 U.S. Fulbright Scholar awards
Jul 17, 2023
Ten Penn State faculty have received Fulbright Scholar Awards for the 2023-24 academic year, according to the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program.The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program is the U.S. government's flagship international educational exchange program. Through the program, Penn State faculty…
Social science explains why K-12 integration efforts should continue
Jul 12, 2023
BY GENEVIEVE SIEGEL-HAWLEY AND ERICA FRANKENBERG, for The HillThe Supreme Court’s recent ruling to overturn affirmative action in higher education comes at a time when racial inequality in K-12 schools is deep and growing. The court’s decision immediately curtails what was an already limited but…
Faculty success and equity workshop registration now open
Jul 12, 2023
Registration is now open for the “Initiative for Faculty Success and Equity Workshop” to be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 17, at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center.The workshop — sponsored by the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI), the Office of the Vice President for…
Podcast reveals how daily stress may affect our health as we age
Jul 7, 2023
From work demands to family responsibilities to social expectations, most of us spend our lives bouncing from one stressor to another, all the while contending with a continuous onslaught of digital information feeds. True relaxation can be hard to find, even with an ever-growing variety of books,…
More than 1.5 million Americans lost Medicaid coverage in the spring of 2023 due to the end of pandemic policies – and paperwork problems
Jun 29, 2023
By Maithreyi Gopalan, SSRI cofund and assistant professor of education and public policy, for "The Conversation"At least 1.5 million Americans lost Medicaid coverage in April, May and the first three weeks of June 2023, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit that tracks health data…
Social Science Research Institute to host faculty success and equity workshop
Jun 26, 2023
The Social Science Research Institute (SSRI), the Office of the Vice President for Research (OSVPR) Interdisciplinary Research Institutes, and the Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity will host a professional development event entitled “Initiative for Faculty Success and Equity…
Upcoming CATS IRB System Upgrade
Jun 8, 2023
CATS IRB, the online system for human subjects research submissions, will be unavailable Thursday, June 22, 2 p.m. ET until Monday, June 26, 12 p.m. ET for a planned system upgrade.Resources highlighting the upgrade enhancements, including a 5-minute overview video, are available here.
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StudyFinder upgrades connect research teams with study participants
Jun 1, 2023
Upgrades to Penn State’s clinical research database now make it easier for faculty to connect with participants for their research studies. StudyFinder, the University’s clinical research study database, now allows research participants to create a personalized profile, and receive communications…
Strategic city planning can help reduce urban heat island effect
May 23, 2023
The tendency of cities to trap heat — a phenomenon called the “urban heat island,” often referred to as the UHI effect — can lead to dangerous temperatures in the summer months, but new Penn State research suggests that certain urban factors can reduce this effect.The study found that trees had a…