October 31, 2018
More than 60 years after the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling, an analysis of state data shows persistently stark disparities between the racial composition of teachers and students in Pennsylvania’s schools — among the widest gaps in the country. Just 5.6 percent of Pennsylvania’s teachers are persons of color, compared to 33.1 percent of its students.
October 24, 2018
A recent study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health demonstrates the power of affirming transgender youth’s identities: For each additional context (i.e., at home, school, work, or with friends) in which a transgender youth’s chosen name is used, their risk of suicidal behavior is reduced by more than half.
October 15, 2018
As a judge gets ready to hear the evidence, defenders and critics of affirmative action eye the broader audience and politics of the dispute. The images above both circulated widely on social media Sunday afternoon, documenting rallies -- one in Cambridge and one in Boston -- about the trial officially starting today on whether Harvard University discriminates against Asian American applicants.
October 10, 2018
Are we thinking about gender diversity in the sciences all wrong, or at least too simply? New paper proposes a multipronged approach to thinking about and encouraging this diversity, for the benefit of science as a whole.
October 4, 2018
From kindergarten to 5th grade, I went to P.S. 272, a large public elementary school in Canarsie, Brooklyn. I was way ahead of most of my class academically. While the other students completed worksheets, I braided my teacher’s hair, made copies and ran errands.
October 1, 2018
For a few weeks, a Christian university allowed romance without sex for gay and lesbian couples. But the Board of Trustees says it never approved the change and restored the ban.
September 18, 2018
Author discusses new book on what it means to be Latino at three distinctly different institutions: a liberal arts college, a research university and a regional public university.
September 18, 2018
Incident at UMass is the latest in which the police are called on nonwhite people on campus, doing nothing wrong at all.
September 18, 2018
Having female peers -- even just a few of them -- can increase a woman’s odds of making it through her Ph.D. program in the natural sciences, technology, engineering or math, says a new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research.
September 14, 2018
As conversations continue about the benefits and challenges surrounding free college programs throughout the nation, institutions, states and the federal government have an opportunity to improve college affordability and move towards equitable free college programs, according to education policy experts and college completion leaders featured on “The State of Free College” panel hosted by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP).
August 31, 2018
The death by suicide of a 9-year-old Colorado fourth grader underscores the challenges surrounding youth mental health — particularly the risks LGBTQ kids face.
August 28, 2018
A new book, White Kids: Growing Up With Privilege in a Racially Divided America (New York University Press), explores how wealthy white children develop their ideas about race.
August 24, 2018
“Increased domestic and global access to higher education,” writes Amy Lee in her 2017 book Teaching Interculturally: A Framework for Integrating Disciplinary Knowledge and Intercultural Development, has resulted in having “multiple diversities in any given classroom or academic program.”
August 15, 2018
As a White graduate of a historically Black college, Norton is somewhat unusual – but a lot less unusual as time passes.
June 27, 2018
Last summer, we implemented gender-neutral bathrooms on campus. The request had come from a student club that presented the administration with a letter of support, rather than a petition, with signatures from supporters across campus.
June 22, 2018
Pennsylvanians are getting older and more diverse according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017 State and County Detailed Population Estimates released today. The release features age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin data down to the county level and allows state and county agencies to better understand their changing populations.
June 5, 2018
While the U.S. education system may position itself as a meritocracy in which those who work hard in a fair system can succeed, in reality the deck is stacked against low-income students and students of color, who do not even have access to advanced courses that will prepare them for college.
May 30, 2018
Four individuals have received the 2018 Dr. William Henson Diversity Achievement Award from Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, an honor that recognizes distinctive and outstanding teaching, research, extension or creative work that advances diversity in the college.
May 24, 2018
Most institutions say they value teaching. But how they assess it tells a different story. University of Southern California has stopped using student evaluations of teaching in promotion decisions in favor of peer-review model. Oregon seeks to end quantitative evaluations of teaching for holistic model.
May 24, 2018
The U.S. Education Department is investigating whether Yale University discriminates against men, stemming from an unusual complaint from a doctoral student completely unaffiliated with institution.
May 8, 2018
The “Let’s Talk!” conference at the Harvard Graduate School of Education recently convened Pan-Asian college students, supporters and other educational leaders for a forum addressing the success and well-being of Asian and Asian American college students across the country.
May 7, 2018
The term “microaggression” was coined in 1970 to name relatively slight, subtle, and often unintentional offenses that cause harm. Since then, a substantial body of research on microaggressions has demonstrated their prevalence and harmful effects.
April 25, 2018
When the recent video of two Black men in Philadelphia being arrested at a Starbucks was exposed for the entire nation to witness, very few Black people were surprised.
April 15, 2018
On Saturday April 12th, 2018, Penn State Extension offered field training for Spanish-speaking growers and workers in the fruit industry at the Penn State Fruit Research and Extension Center and the Hollabaugh Orchard farm in Biglerville, PA.
March 22, 2018
“Our analysis of comments in both formal student evaluations and informal online ratings indicates that students do evaluate their professors differently based on whether they are women or men,” the study says.
March 14, 2018
The four letters of the genetic code —A, C, G, and T—are projected onto Ryan Lingarmillar, a Ugandan. DNA reveals what skin color obscures: We all have African ancestors. This story is part of The Race Issue, a special issue of National Geographic that explores how race defines, separates, and unites us. Tell us your story with #IDefineMe.
January 24, 2018
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was not Tiana Young's first choice for college, even though Young wants to dual major in aeronautical and mechanical engineering, and the private university is one the top schools in the country for science, technology, math and engineering.
December 15, 2017
Amos Jones, the Black law professor who in July accused Campbell University of refusing to tenure Blacks in its law school, has filed an 86-page lawsuit against the Baptist-affiliated school.
December 7, 2017
On November 29th, Boston City Council unanimously passed a plastic bag ordinance that aims to reduce our reliance on disposable plastic bags. Stores will charge a 5-cent fee for each paper or sturdy plastic bag that they sell customers who come without a reusable bag.
December 4, 2017
In their recent study featured in Education Week, Morgan, Farkas, Hillemeier, and Maczuga got it wrong in arguing that more black children should be identified with educational disabilities and challenging federal policies meant to address overrepresentation by race in special education
