Blog

By Nate Galvan, Sonoma State University News, January 26, 2021 Sonoma State University has been awarded $4.96 million from NASA to design and implement a program that will engage students on the autism spectrum in informal STEM learning. NASA’s Neurodiversity Network (N3) aims to broaden participation in NASA programs to include autistic and other learners with neurological differences. As part of NASA’s Science Activation Program , which is composed of teams across the nation to help...

By Columbia College, Columbia Star, January 14, 2021 With the support of a Social Justice Fund grant from Colonial Life and its parent company, Unum, Columbia College President Dr. Tom Bogart announced the establishment of the Institute for Building Resilience through Trauma-Informed Practices. “Organizations are seeking innovative ways to address systemic racism, economic equity, criminal justice, and educational opportunity. For Columbia College, we have chosen to focus on building...

Abstract Background: The original Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study demonstrated strong, graded relationships between child maltreatment and household dysfunction and adult health status. The present study re-examined these relationships in a sample of young adult, college students to better characterize the developmental timing of health problems related to ACE exposure and differences by biological sex. Method: A cross-sectional general health questionnaire that included items on...

The December 2020 CTIPP-CAN call began with an update by a representative from the Office of Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE) to provide an overview on trauma-informed legislation and additional highlights in the policy landscape for engaging race, trauma, and wellness. Our next presenter, Father Paul Abernathy, CEO of the Neighborhood Resilience Project and CTIPP board member, explores the ways in which anti-racist and trauma-informed work may find synergy. This session examined ways in which...

By The Annie E. Casey Foundation, December 13, 2020 Earning an advanced degree opens doors for low-income working students, connecting them to family-supporting wages and greater financial stability. A new report, funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, explores the role of colleges in supporting these students and their success. The report, Building Equity by Supporting the Whole Student , shares finding from interviews with more than 80 students, administrators, faculty and staff across...

The National Academies released a report based on an 18 month consensus study on mental health and well-being in higher education. You can read the press release, download the report (free), and more at the below link. One overarching theme of the report is for whole campus, collective awareness and responsibility for mental health and wellbeing. There is a small section on trauma and higher ed as well. Any questions, please feel free to reach out to me jtietjen@massbay.edu or to Layne...

While the 5,000-page $900 billion COVID Relief Bill ( H.R. 133, Div. M and N) fell short on some fronts (e.g., did not provide direct fiscal relief to cash-strapped states and localities), it does provide $82 billion in Education Stabilization Funds for states, school districts, and higher education institutions—crucial support for education as students return to school after the holiday. Funding of this magnitude makes a trauma-informed COVID response possible, giving advocates the...

(Pictured here are LLC International University students who serve as core leaders of Lithuanian non-profit Gausus Gyvenimas) In a year when the world has weathered trauma surrounding the global pandemic of COVID-19, quite surprisingly, new doors opened for me to share about the science of resilience in Lithuania. In 2017, a faith-based organization served as a means of introduction to a young minister from Pakistan named Robin Mubarik. Since our initial meeting we have only remained...

By Sravya Tadepalli, Hyphen, December 20, 2020 When mental health activist Shivani Nishar was in middle school, she began experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety. Growing up in what she describes as the “white suburban fairytale” of Palo Alto, California, Nishar, whose parents immigrated to the United States from India, found it difficult to fit in. “I didn’t have a lot of people who looked like me or had parents like me, and that contributed to me feeling like I didn’t belong,” said...

By Vanessa Rancano, KQED, December 15, 2020 UC Irvine and the state prison system have reached a deal to create the first University of California bachelor’s degree program behind bars. Since California opened the door for community colleges to teach in prisons in 2014, some 2,000 incarcerated men and women across the state have earned associate degrees, said Brant Choate, director of rehabilitative programs for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. But opportunities...

By Vanessa Rancano, KQED, December 15, 2020 UC Irvine and the state prison system have reached a deal to create the first University of California bachelor’s degree program behind bars. Since California opened the door for community colleges to teach in prisons in 2014, some 2,000 incarcerated men and women across the state have earned associate degrees, said Brant Choate, director of rehabilitative programs for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. But opportunities...

By Larry Gordon, EdSource, December 17, 2020 Right out of high school and not sure where the advising office is, let alone how to register for classes, freshmen need special care at California’s big public universities. Without it, they are at higher risk of not making it back for a second year. That’s why about a quarter of the 23 campuses in the California State University system recently overhauled their academic advising to first-year students. [ Please click here to read more .]