2026 Impact Map update is underway
The annual update of the Penn State Community Impact Map is underway. Thank you for your continued support as we work together to keep the map accurate and up to date.
Please review and update all previous submissions and enter any new submissions for the recently ended 2025–2026 academic year…
CGS-SSRI Global Social Science Research Impact Grants
The Center for Global Studies (CGS), in partnership with the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI), is pleased to announce the Global Social Science Research Impact Grants for the 2026–27 academic year.
These grants provide up to $5,000 to support tenured and tenure-line faculty at University…
Keith Aronson to retire after 25 years at Penn State
After 25 years at Penn State, Keith Aronson, associate director of the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI), director of the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State (Clearinghouse) and research professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Health, will retire at the end of the…
PRI Population Science Fall Seminar Series kicks off
The Population Research Institute (PRI) and the Collaborative on Population Aging Disparities will host the Population Science Seminar Series this fall, featuring hour-long talks from scholars whose research examines population dynamics and the social forces that shape them.
The series brings…
Van Hook elected president of the Population Association of America
Jenny Van Hook, distinguished professor of sociology and demography and director of SSRI’s Data Resources Hub, was recently named president-elect of the Population Association of America (PAA).
This is a prestigious honor that reflects Van Hook’s stature in the field and her long-standing…
SSRI cofunded faculty featured in The Conversation
Several SSRI cofunded faculty members authored articles that appeared recently in The Conversation:
Kristina Brant described the effects of severe flooding on overdose risk in Appalachia in this article Severe flooding raises deadly overdose risk in rural Appalachia.
Anne Pisor reported on the…
Ocean heatwaves linked with poorer health among children in coastal communities
Marine heatwaves — periods of abnormally warm ocean temperatures — may have negative health effects on children who live in coastal communities in low- or middle-income countries, according to a study led by researchers at Penn State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The study —…
Historic Kenyan drought reshaped livelihoods, health and daily life
During a historic drought in northern Kenya, a pastoralist community turned to a food source it had long viewed as a fallback for people without livestock: fishing.
As herds dwindled and families struggled to obtain food, fishing on nearby Lake Turkana became increasingly common among the Daasanach…
Deborah Ehrenthal to step down as director of Social Science Research Institute
After five years of leading the Penn State Social Science Research Institute (SSRI), Deborah Ehrenthal, professor of biobehavioral health, will step down as director and return to the faculty within the College of Health and Human Development at the end of 2026.
SSRI is one of nine…
USDA grant to help uncover opportunities and challenges facing rural governments
A new $590,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture will help fund an ongoing project to survey county governments across the U.S. to better understand the challenges they face in providing services and enacting policies that improve economic…
Q&A: Why is the Amish population growing so fast in America?
The Amish, a Christian denomination and a three-centuries old German ethnic migrant group known for its strict lifestyle standards, are one of the fastest growing minority populations in the U.S. For more than a century, the number of Amish people — whose American lineage traces back to…
Faculty success and equity workshops, keynote to take place
The Initiative for Faculty Success and Equity (IFSE) Inclusive Excellence Series will be held throughout the Fall 2026 semester, bringing Penn State faculty together for a series of workshops and a keynote presentation focused on fostering civic dialogue, civil discourse, and inclusive teaching…
Why Social Science? Because Look at the Alternatives!
This month's Why Social Science? post comes from Dr. Kenneth A. Bollen from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill about how social sciences, though imperfect, remain our best and most reliable hope for understanding and solving many of the crises we face.
Recent Gallup polling shows that…
The U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Population Reaches New Levels and Diversifies, MPI Estimates Show
The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) today released its latest estimates of the size of the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States, pegging the number at 15.8 million in mid-2024, after hovering in the 11 million range throughout the decade beginning in 2010.
The increase is…
Severe flooding linked to increased deaths from opioid use in rural Appalachia
Severe flooding may contribute to higher mortality rates from opioid use in rural Appalachia, according to a study by researchers at Penn State.
The findings — published today (July 20) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences — are particularly relevant as they come as severe floods…
SSRI provides supplemental funding support
The Social Science Research Institute at Penn State has announced a funding program to help support social science faculty conducting research with data from Penn State's Federal Statistical Research Data Center.
The Federal Statistical Research Data Center (FSRDC) supplemental funding call…
Town hall to focus on research security and evolving federal requirements
Penn State’s research community is invited to attend a research town hall at 1 p.m. on Thursday, July 23, focused on research security, international collaborations and the growing federal requirements that affect the University’s research enterprise. The event will be hosted by Senior Vice…
Brothers receives American Sociological Association’s Early Career Award
Sarah Brothers, assistant professor of sociology and public policy at Penn State, is the recipient of the American Sociological Association’s (ASA) inaugural Early Career Award for Community-Engaged Scholarship.
The organization recognized Brothers for her “transformative work in drug policy” and…
Why Social Science? - Because Asking People Questions Provides Important and Necessary Insights
This month's Why Social Science? post comes from Dr. Kristen Olson from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln about how asking the right questions and using surveys will help us better understand and support populations we want to study.
Data are everywhere. Data are collected as we browse the…
Transgender Athletes, Birthright and Ballots: SCOTUS to Test Trump Agenda
SSRI cofunded faculty member Nicole Kreisberg, assistant professor of public policy and sociology, was quoted in this Newsweek article about birthright citizenship. Read the article here.
The Social Science Research Institute announces co-funded and affiliated faculty member promotions
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Social Science Research Institute congratulates the following cofunded and affiliated Penn State faculty members on their promotions, which are effective July 1:
Promoted to Professor
Laura Cabrera Trujillo, professor, Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics,…
Updates to AI Resource Hub
The AI Resource Hub has been updated with a new set of peer-reviewed publications, books, tools, conference listings, and funding opportunities spanning the nine verticals of Penn State's Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence (CSRAI), including several new contributions from CSRAI…
Senators McCormick and Fetterman urge NIH to release FY2026 appropriated funds
U.S. Senators Dave McCormick (R-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) recently sent a letter to the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) urging NIH to take immediate action to ensure the timely obligation of all congressionally appropriated FY 2026 grant funding.
“Failure to disburse…
NIH Requirement Regarding Foreign Components
On May 12, 2026, the NIH issued an update reaffirming its enforcement of research security and transparency. As part of this initiative, the NIH is actively auditing publications to identify unapproved" foreign components.”
While the definition of a foreign component has not changed (per NIH FAQ),…
Fowler featured in first SSRI Public Impact Research video
Christopher Fowler, professor of geography and director of SSRI’s Federal Statistical Research Data Center (FSRDC), is the first researcher featured in a new SSRI video series focusing on how research translates to public impact.
In the video, Fowler discusses how accurately interpreting US Census…