Thanks for reading our weekly roundup of news and events at the School of Human Ecology. Have something we should know about? Email Public Relations Manager Serena Larkin, or submit your SoHE event via this form. View past issues of news and events here.
In-house highlights
Keeler wins fellowship with Institute for Research in the Humanities
Dr. Kasey Keeler, assistant professor of Civil Society and Community Studies and of American Indian Studies, has won a prestigious fellowship with the UW Institute for Research in the Humanities, which will support her work on a book about Native American land ownership and identity. Read more.
Design Studies’ Godfrey noted in how professors have been stepping up
As students and professors alike are adapting to virtual forms of instruction, Brooke Godfrey, Faculty Associate of Design Studies, was recognized as an instructor who stepped up and made sure her students felt supported throughout the semester.
“I’m taking my final interior design class and with it being instructed completely online, my professor has been flexible, understanding, and accommodating throughout the entire semester,” said senior Syeeda Simmons.
SoHE scholars in the news
Center for Financial Security research featured on Yahoo! Finance
New research by the Center for Financial Security, Funding Our Future, and DailyPay was featured last week by Yahoo! Finance, describing the financial impact of the coronavirus on the millennial generation, whom Dr. J. Michael Collins, the Fetzer Family Chair in Consumer and Personal Finance and Professor of Consumer Science, identified as facing “the second major economic shock of their financial lives,” after also undergoing the Great Recession as many of them entered the workforce.
The researchers’ polling found that over half of millennials say their savings have declined during the pandemic, and 44 percent say they have either no savings at all or don’t currently have enough to cover an emergency expense of $400. The figures worsen depending on whether respondents are people of color or people with lower education levels.
The press release was also published by The Evening Leader and Insurance News Net.
Nix’s research featured in Consumer Affairs
Consumer Affairs highlighted research by Dr. Robert Nix, the Audrey Rothermel-Bascom Professor and Integrated Specialist in Diverse and Underserved Children, Families, and Communities, and colleagues from Pennsylvania State University, on how a preschool enrichment program helped students boost their social and emotional skills even years later. The press release was reprinted on the site Health Medicine Network as well.
Addo on student debt cancellation as a racial justice issue
Summarizing the virtual panel hosted by the Center for Responsible Lending and the NAACP, an article in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education quoted Dr. Fenaba Addo, the Lorna Jorgenson Wendt Associate Professor in Money, Relationships, and Equality (MORE), who was featured as a panelist, about how cancelling student debt isn’t only an economic issue but a racial justice one, too.
Research
Litzelman, Choi, Maher, Harnish: Cancer survivors’ spouses’ mental health
Dr. Kristin Litzelman, Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies; Human Development and Family Studies PhD students Hyojin Choi and Autumn Harnish; and May 2020 Human Ecology MS alum Molly Maher have published a new paper in the journal Cancer, “Role of cancer survivor health and health service use in spouses’ use of mental health–related care.” They found that spouses of cancer survivors were less likely to receive mental health care when the survivor had more health care needs and that spouses were nearly 3 times more likely to receive care if the survivor also was receiving mental health care, ultimately reinforcing the importance of a family‐centered approach to cancer care that facilitates psychosocial care. Funding for the research came from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, the UW Center for Demography of Health and Aging, and the UW Carbon Cancer Center.
Nix et al.: Reducing teen psychopathology with preschool social-emotional interventions
Dr. Robert Nix, the Audrey Rothermel-Bascom Professor and Integrated Specialist in Diverse and Underserved Children, Families, and Communities, is coauthor with colleagues at Pennsylvania State University of a new paper in the American Journal of Psychiatry, “Reducing Adolescent Psychopathology in Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Children With a Preschool Intervention: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” The study findings indicate that enriching preschool programs serving at-risk children with a relatively inexpensive evidence-based social-emotional learning (SEL) program with interactive reading substantially improved the later benefits for adolescent emotional and behavioral health, representing an approach that can leverage public investments in preschool programs to enhance public health.
Events
“Digital Garden” group exhibition, including Marianne Fairbanks
Exhibition| December 4, 2020–January 8, 2021: Cleveland-based fiber arts center Praxis Fiber Arts will feature a group exhibition over the next several weeks celebrating the opening of its digital weaving lab. The exhibition includes work from Marianne Fairbanks, Associate Professor of Design Studies, and host a virtual opening Sunday, December 6, via Facebook Live.
“Weaving Workshop,” with Marianne Fairbanks
Virtual Event | Sunday, December 20, 3:00–4:00 p.m. CT: Learn how to weave on a small Hello! Loom at this virtual workshop hosted by Marianne Fairbanks, Associate Professor of Design Studies. This workshop includes a special limited-edition kit with yarn spray-painted with a gorgeous palette of colors and the chance to learn how to weave with a flat yarn. More information and registration are available here.
“The Other Side” installation by Angus at The Paine Art Center & Gardens
February 6–May 30, 2021: Jennifer Angus, the Audrey Rothermel Bascom Professor in Human Ecology, will have a new show, “The Other Side,” in the main gallery of the Paine Art Center and Gardens in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, opening this winter and running through Memorial Day weekend.
Plus, view the full online calendar of SoHE-sponsored events.