CSUA attends Science Coalition's Capitol Hill Day
Last week, the Social Science Research Institute's (SSRI) Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction (CSUA) was on Capitol Hill for "The Science of Addiction & Mental Health" hosted by The Science Coalition.CSUADirector Joel Segel and SSRI cofunded faculty member Glenn Sterner spent time with…
Mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy may improve chronic low back pain
HERSHEY, Pa. — The list of treatments for low back pain is endless, but few offer relief for the one in four Americans who suffer from this persistent pain and leading cause of disability globally. More than 80% of those with chronic low back pain wished there were better treatment options. Yet,…
Community coalitions key to combating the opioid crisis
Collaborative, community-driven initiatives can help mitigate the impact of opioid misuse and overdose deaths, according to a research team that includes Brandy Henry, assistant professor of rehabilitation and human services and Social Science Research Institute cofunded faculty member at Penn…
SSRI announces 2025-26 faculty fellows
Five Penn State faculty members were recently named Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) Mentored Faculty Fellows for 2025-2026.
The SSRI Mentored Faculty Fellows Program supports the career development of Penn State early career faculty to train in a new area of research…
Centre honors employees; Proclaims Justice Education Month
From The Express
In recognition of the county’s hardworking employees, the Centre County Board of Commissioners proclaimed April 2025 as National County Government and Centre County Employee Appreciation Month.
April was designated by the National Association of Counties to highlight effective…
SSRI and CTSI awards Penn State faculty fellowships
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Four Penn State faculty members were recently named the inaugural Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) and Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Fellows for the 2025-2026 academic year by SSRI and CTSI. SSRI and CTSI Fellows will engage in work,…
Psychiatry professor to present at annual substance-use and addiction conference
The Social Science Research Institute’s Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction will host its sixth annual conference, in-person and via Zoom on Monday, May 5, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Barron Innovation Hub at the University Park campus. The all-day event is free, but all in-person and…
Webinar to bring awareness to child abuse
Penn State’s Child Maltreatment Solutions Network is hosting a webinar on April 25, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., via Zoom as part of National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
The webinar will include three talks to engage agency-level leadership and workforce representatives from children and youth…
Penn State congratulates Fall 2024 Emerging Academic Leaders on program completion
The fall 2024 cohort of the Penn State Emerging Academic Leaders (PSEAL) program have successfully completed their semester-long professional development experience.
Designed for mid-career faculty who are interested in exploring academic leadership roles, PSEAL offers participants the opportunity…
Recurring food insecurity linked to unhealthy weight changes in older adults
For every year that an adult aged 65 or older experiences food insecurity, they become more likely to undergo unhealthy weight changes associated with earlier death, according to a new study by researchers in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development.
The research team examined the…
Supports can improve educational success for military-connected students
Military-connected children often change schools multiple times, each time facing different academic requirements and support systems, which can significantly impact academic progress and social adjustment. Specific support initiatives can help alleviate the challenges that arise from such…
Latino Research Seed Grant Program
The Penn State Harrisburg, Penn State College of the Liberal Arts (CLA), Penn State Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) and Pennsylvania Center for Latino Research (PaCLR) are pleased to announce the 2025 Latino Research Seed Grant Program to support innovative interdisciplinary collaborations…
Clearinghouse expands partnership with the Wounded Warrior Project
The Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State (Clearinghouse), in collaboration with the Survey Research Center (SRC) at Penn State, has announced an expanded partnership with the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP). With $390,000 in support from WWP, the Clearinghouse and SRC will…
Five CMAS students earn scholarships from Child Maltreatment Solutions Network
Penn State’s Child Maltreatment Solutions Network (CMSN) recently awarded scholarships to five students who are minoring in Child Maltreatment Advocacy Studies (CMAS) and are planning to enter the fields of child maltreatment and child advocacy.
The de Lissovoy Intern Scholarship…
Big cuts at the Education Department’s civil rights office will affect vulnerable students for years to come
By Erica Frankenberg, Penn State, and Maithreyi Gopalan, University of Oregon, for The Conversation
The U.S. Department of Education cut its workforce by nearly 50% on March 11, 2025, when it laid off about 1,315 employees. The move follows several recent directives targeting the Cabinet-level…
Fostering Lions program strengthened by gift from dedicated alumni couple
A new $50,000 gift and a $100,000 estate commitment from Penn State alumni and longtime donors and volunteers Alan Bedrick, MD (Science, 1974; Medicine, 1978) and Sally (Pollock) Bedrick (Education, 1975) were inspired by Sally’s simple question: “What does Penn State do for students who have been…
Nese College of Nursing SAFE-T System receives 2025 ANA Innovation Award
Each year, the American Nurses Association (ANA)recognizes nurse innovators whose novel approaches improve patient care and health outcomes and also recognizes them for their sustainability and scalability in U.S. markets. Sheridan Miyamoto, associate professor in the Penn State Ross and Carol Nese…
This Week in Immigration Podcast: "Estimating the Unauthorized Immigrant Population"
In this week’s episode, BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown sits down with Robert Warren from the Center for Migration Studies, Jeffrey Passel from the Pew Research Center, and Jennifer Van Hook from Penn State's Migration Policy Institute to discuss methodologies used to estimate the…
Grant to explore maternal depression’s effect on young children
Does maternal depression affect mothers’ young children? If so, how? Those are the questions that Penn State Associate Professor of Psychology Katie Burkhouse and a colleague at Vanderbilt University aim to answer with a five-year, $3.8 million grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health…
Search underway for next Penn State ICDS director
Penn State is currently seeking nominations and candidates for the position of director of the Institute for Computational and Data Science (ICDS), housed within the Office of the Senior Vice President for Research. This role leads the institute's vision and strategy, enhances interdisciplinary…
Pinwheels for Prevention events raise awareness
Penn State’s Child Maltreatment Solutions Network (CMSN) is sponsoring “Pinwheels for Prevention PSU” to engage the University community and foster awareness around child abuse during National Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month in April.
On April 11, 1-3 p.m., the CMSN, along with the…
Frankenberg named 2025 AERA Fellow
SSRI Associate Director Erica Frankenberg was recently named a 2025 American Educational Research Association Fellow.
The AERA Fellows Program honors scholars for their exceptional contributions to, and excellence in, education research. Nominated by their peers, the 2025 Fellows were…
In many of Appalachia’s flood-ravaged areas, residents have little choice but rebuild in risky locations
By Kristina Brant, Assistant Professor of Rural Sociology and SSRI cofund, for The Conversation
On Valentine’s Day 2025, heavy rains started to fall in parts of rural Appalachia. Over the course of a few days, residents in eastern Kentucky watched as river levels rose and surpassed flood levels.…
Why Social Science? - Because It Turns Talk into ACTION
By The American Anthropological Association
Every year on the third Thursday of February, we celebrate Anthropology Day—a chance to further our understanding of what it means to be human. Established by the American Anthropological Association, this day brings students, teachers, and professionals…
Thiede featured at PopTalks on climate shocks in population research
Megatrends met migration patterns as we launched the all-new PopTalks conversation series, hosted by Columbia’s own Thoai Ngo and featuring Brian Thiede of the Population Research Institute (PRI) at Penn State. On February 17, 2025, nearly 130 in-person and virtual attendees gathered for a spirited…