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NEW ORLEANS —“Diversity” was top of mind when Angel Carter was applying to schools. Raised in an African-American enclave in Atlanta, she said, “I would have loved to go to an HBCU,” the acronym for historically black colleges and universities. But college should stretch you, she felt, so Carter chose Tulane, where the student body is 75 percent white. “I hadn’t had many interactions with white people,” said Carter, now a senior majoring in anthropology and cell biology. “I wanted to work on...

When then-President Barack Obama stood before a friendly and enthusiastic crowd at Macomb Community College, near Detroit, 10 years ago this year, the goals he set out were — as the president himself said — historic. Within a decade, he said on that day in 2009, community colleges like Macomb would collectively boost their number of graduates by five million. That would help return the United States to first in the world in the proportion of its population with the credentials needed to...

As the costs of college have climbed, some students have gone hungry. When they’ve voiced frustration , they’ve often been ridiculed : “Ramen is cheap,” or “Just eat cereal.” But the blight of food insecurity among college students is real, and a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a nonpartisan congressional watchdog, highlights the breadth of those affected. There are potentially millions of students at risk of being food insecure, which means they do not have...

"I think just over the last few years there's been more of a trend to focus on gratitude," says psychologist Laurie Santos , who teaches a course on the science of well-being and happiness at Yale. Gratitude is being endorsed by wellness blogs and magazines . You can buy different kinds of specific gratitude journals, or download apps that remind you to jot down your blessings. And noting your gratitude seems to pay off: There's a growing body of research on the benefits of gratitude.

Beyond the usual confusions and questions of freshmen year, low-income students who are the first in their families to attend college may arrive on campus with personal fears that they just don’t belong and will never fit in. However, slightly older students from the same background can ease that uncertainty with advice and friendship, helping those freshmen stay on track in school and eventually graduate, experts say. That is the philosophy of an unusual and growing mentorship program...

Dr. Vincent Felitti, author of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE ) study, inspired the Young Parents Team by at the recent Global Health Summit on Violence and Abuse at Florida State University. Our team serves court-involved pregnant teens with histories of trauma, and often trafficking, to help cope and heal. We are grateful for Dr. Felitti’s research that guides our work to change the life trajectory for so many with ACEs. Thanks to FSU School of Social Work Dean James Clark and...

Photo by Douglas Harding, The Parthenon. Marshall University students and community members watched the documentary “Resilience” and discussed the science of toxic stress and its impacts, Tuesday, Nov. 2, in the Memorial Student Center. “Resilience,” a documentary based on recent medical studies linking heart disease to adverse childhood experiences, was released in 2016 and directed by James Redford, who also directed the 2015 documentary “Paper Tigers.” To read the rest of this post by...

Over 11 million undocumented immigrants reside in the United States. Many arrived as children, attended school in the U.S. and consider the country their home. Over 60 percent of the undocumented population has lived in the U.S. for 10 years or more. However, undocumented students face substantial barriers to higher education due to their legal status. This brief outlines key facts about the barriers undocumented students face in terms of access to higher education. Undocumented families...

Note from Karen: The American Psychological Association is dedicating their November Issue to ACEs related information. This is just one of several interesting articles. Check it out! The whole student: Understanding students through the intersections of their past and present contexts Secondary students sharing their work to develop a trauma-informed university. By Suzette Fromm Reed, PhD , and Claudia Pitts, PhD Two decades have passed since Felitti et al.’s (1998) foundational study on...

Gail's note: Dr, Andres Sciolla from University of CA, Davis shared this link about an interesting interdisciplinary model from the University of Texas, Austin. Take a look! WHOLE COMMUNITIES –WHOLE HEALTH In Texas, many children live in poverty, suffer from chronic illness, or endure abuse and neglect. Despite years of targeted intervention, these issues persist. Changing the way science helps society thrive is our grand challenge. We have the unprecedented technological ability to study...

[Editor's note: Dr. Harise Stein at Stanford University edits a web site -- abuseresearch.info -- that focuses on the health effects of abuse, and includes research articles on ACEs. Every month, she's posting the summaries of the abstracts and links to research articles that address only ACEs. Thank you, Harise!! -- Jane Stevens] Harris HR, Wieser F, Vitonis AF, Rich-Edwards J, et. al. Early life abuse and risk of endometriosis. Hum Reprod. 2018 Sep 1;33(9):1657-1668. PMID: 30016439 Using...

Cissy's note: This is a great podcast for parents, educators, and community organizers and change makers. It is an interview with @Rebecca Lewis-Pankratz interviewed by Danny Bowers "Sunshine" of Better Leaders Better Schools . Rebecca Lewis-Pankratz says things like, " We all need each other. Everyone here is important," and " The community is who we are," but they aren't inclusive-sounding platitudes. She is a tireless optimist but also understands, personally and professionally, how...