Professor wins diversity mentorship funds to bring Texas student to Penn State
It was a presentation he never intended to do, yet it changed the entire outlook of his post-undergraduate journey. Little did Michael Segovia know, his presentation at an October conference in warm San Antonio, Texas, would a bring him to chilly State College in February for a post baccalaureate…
Damaske featured on NPR's Marketplace, AP, more
PRI Associate Director Sarah Damaske was featured on NPR's Marketplace on May 15 in the story "A greater percentage of women are working than ever before."
In the piece, Damasked notes women’s work patterns have come to look more like men’s in that more women, especially women with college…
'Research Art Collection' showcase in Old Main
The Office of the Senior Vice President for Research at Penn State hosted an open house for the “Research Art Collection” on April 25. The collection showcases the fine balance between art and research through various displays. From cassowary bird scans to bio-manufactured fashion to sustainable…
Many people in the Arctic are staying put despite climate change, study reports
Temperatures are rising rapidly in the Arctic, raising questions about how communities are coping in the shifting climate. A team led by Penn State researchers reviewed studies from the past 30 years to examine whether these challenges are causing people to migrate out of the area — or if, and why…
SSRI celebrates accomplishments, staff awards
Faculty and staff from all of SSRI's units recently gathered at the Hintz Family Alumni Center to celebrate major accomplishments of the year and to announce staff awards.
Elise Dreibelbis from the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness was awarded the “Workplace Climate Award”. The award…
Why Social Science? - Because We Need to Show Up to Have Our Voices Heard: Reflections from COSSA’s 2024 Social Science Advocacy Day
By Dr. Laura Widman (North Carolina State University); Dr. Aaryn L. Green (American Sociological Association); and Emma Southern (American University)
This month's Why Social Science? post comes from three participants from this year's Social Science Advocacy Day who reflected upon their advocacy…
Fentanyl and COVID-19 pandemic reshaped racial profile of overdose deaths in US
For as long as statistics about opioid overdose deaths have been collected in the United States, white individuals have been much more likely to die than Black individuals of the same age. With the rapidly increasing rate of fentanyl overdoses in the late 2010s, that trend began to reverse — by the…
Midcareer Faculty Advancement Program offers pathway to promotion
Like many tenured faculty members at Penn State, José Soto took some time before deciding to take the necessary steps to achieve his next big career goal — a promotion to full professor.
“Promotion was something I had thought about, but had made a conscious decision to not worry about…
Climate change may affect kinship care patterns in Africa
Shifting weather caused by climate change, especially drought and heat, is linked to a rise in the number of children being raised outside of their biological parents’ households in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a study led by researchers at Penn State. The findings highlight the effects climate…
Three Penn State faculty members collaborate on immigration initiative
By Rachel Keller, The Daily Collegian
At the centennial of the 1924 Johnson-Reed Immigration Act, A K Sandoval-Strausz, Tobias Brinkmann and Jennifer Van Hook, faculty members for Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts, shifted their focus to educating the community on the impacts of immigration…
Survey Research Center adds MetricWire to TRACE Portfolio
Penn State's Survey Research Center (SRC) at Penn State recently acquired an enterprise-level MetricWire license to enhance its research capabilities and remain at the forefront of mobile data collection methodologies. This addition will allow researchers to conduct sophisticated…
COSSA’s Social Science Rankings place Penn State at #6
COSSA recently released its annual College and University Rankings for Federal Social and Behavioral Science R&D, which highlight the top university recipients of research dollars in the social and behavioral sciences. In their rankings, Penn State came in sixth place with over $46 million in…
Project reveals pandemic perceptions in Alaskan fishing community
When the COVID-19 pandemic spread across United States in early 2020, people’s perceptions of the disease varied widely. Penn State researchers examined those perceptions in Bristol Bay, Alaska, home to the world’s largest commercial salmon fishery, and found people’s perceptions of risk due to…
Why Social Science? - Because It Makes An Outsized Impact on Policy
The new "Why Social Science?" post comes from Camille Gamboa from Sage who interviews Euan Adie, Overton's managing director, to learn more about the large impact that social science makes on policy and his work creating tools to connect the scholarly and policy worlds.
We know that social and…
SSRI cofounds participate in Capitol Hill Research and Policy Briefing
On March 13 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., a Capitol Hill Research and Policy Briefing will take place featuring two SSRI cofounds: Erica Frankenberg and Jennifer Van Hook.
The event will be hybrid with the in-person option located in the Russel Senate Office Building, Room 118, 2 Constitution Ave…
Obesity research seed grant now available
Penn State’s Center for Childhood Obesity Research (CCOR) in collaboration with the Social Sciences Research Institute (SSRI) announces the Interdisciplinary Obesity Research Seed Grant Program to fund innovative, interdisciplinary research related to obesity and obesity-related health outcomes…
Van Hook named distinguished professor
Jennifer Van Hook, Roy C. Buck Professor of Sociology and Demography, College of the Liberal Arts, was recently named distinguished professor by Penn State's Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs.
The distinguished professor or distinguished librarian title recognizes outstanding academic…
Suicidality among individuals with substance use disorders increased in 2020
Individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) were significantly more likely to consider, plan and attempt suicide than those without SUDs in 2020, according to a new study by researchers at Penn State. Adolescents and women with SUDs were also more likely to experience suicidality — the term for…
Inter-Institutional Program for Diversifying Research (IPDR) opens call for proposals
The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences in collaboration with the Social Science Research Institute, Materials Research Institute, the Institute of Energy and the Environment, the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences, the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, and the Cancer…
Dear Colleague Letter: The Social and Behavioral Science of Bias, Prejudice and Discrimination
Dear Colleague:
Research supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation's (NSF) Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) directorate has significantly advanced understanding of the science of bias, prejudice, and discrimination. SBE programs have supported transformative projects on many…
Consortium on Moral Decision-Making Call for Seed Grants - February 2024
The Consortium on Moral Decision-Making is seeking proposals for seed grants to support interdisciplinary research related to the conceptual and empirical study of human morality and ethical decision-making. How do people decide whether to help or harm others, whom to trust and cooperate with, and…
Race and ethnicity may affect whether and where hospitals transfer patients
Black patients in Florida are transferred to public hospitals more often than white patients, even when comparing patients from the same hospital with similar health conditions and the same insurance, according to new research led by Charleen Hsuan, assistant professor of health policy and…
Mortality rates among rural US residents vary based on race, ethnicity, region
Rural Black residents of the South have higher mortality, or death, rates than rural Black residents elsewhere, and so did Hispanic residents of the rural South and West, according to a new study by two researchers in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development.
These populations have…
Liberal Arts initiative to explore historical, societal impacts of immigration
Immigration is the focus of the current offering in the College of the Liberal Arts’ “Moments of Change” initiative — an undertaking that brings students, faculty, staff and alumni together to explore what it means to live through historic and contemporary times of change.
Through spring 2025, “…
SSRI names new unit directors
Penn State’s Social Science Research Institute recently announced new directors for two of their units, the Social, Life, and Engineering Sciences Imaging Center (SLEIC) and the Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction (CSUA), effective July 1.
Xiaoxiao Bai and Emma Jane Rose will succeed Michele…