Exterior of Nancy Nicholas Hall in the evening, with lamps and windows glowing.
News & Events

SoHE News & Events: Nov 15–21

Image: Dr. Carolina Sarmiento.

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.

New research: On youth involvement in Madison library planning process

Dr. Carolina Sarmiento, assistant professor in Civil Society and Community Studies, has published a new paper in the Journal of Planning Education and Research. “All Paths Leading to the Library: Youth Mobility and Community-Based Planning” analyzes field notes, cognitive maps, and interviews with fifth and eighth graders in Madison, Wisconsin, to find opportunities for building inclusive community spaces.

Teaching Poverty 101 Workshop opens call for applications

Dr. Sarah Halpern-Meekin, associate professor in Human Development and Family Studies, will co-lead a workshop at the Institute for Research on Poverty designed to help college instructors plan courses on the causes, consequences, and policy responses to poverty. Applications to attend the workshop are now open, with a deadline of Sunday, January 12, 2020. The workshop will be held in early June 2020. Learn more and apply, and help spread the word.

Badger$ense Financial Life Skills program featured in Forbes

A columnist at Forbes noted the Badger$ense Financial Life Skills program in a piece describing the importance of lifelong financial education. The program, housed in SoHE’s Consumer Science department, which just this fall re-branded as “Badger$ense,” offers popular for-credit courses, workshops, and one-on-one counseling.

Holiday shopping tips from Consumer Science

The Badger$ense peer educators published their third guest column in the Badger Herald this month with money management tips for their fellow students. This month’s edition? Holiday shopping budgets. And Linda Lepe, SoHE’s Director of Consumer Science and Financial Planning, appeared on WKOW 15’s Morning Show Wednesday to discuss the same.

New research: Increasing enrollment of minorities in cancer therapy clinical trials

Erin Bailey, a PhD student in Civil Society and Community Research, has just published a paper in the Journal of Cancer Education with several fellow UW–Madison colleagues. “Overcoming Barriers: Evidence-Based Strategies to Increase Enrollment of Underrepresented Populations in Cancer Therapeutic Clinical Trials—a Narrative Review” addresses the dearth of publishing on that topic and recommends several approaches to grow participation by racial and ethnic minority patients, including cultural and linguistic adaptations of marketing materials, using patient navigators, and sustaining community partnerships. Read the full paper here.

Grad student interviews Menominee forester for Edge Effects

Civil Society and Community Studies graduate student Becca Dower interviewed Menominee forester and community knowledge holder Jeff Grignon for Edge Effects, the digital magazine of the Nelson Institute’s Center for Culture, History, and the Environment at UW–Madison. Rebecca Edler, of the College of Menominee Nation’s Sustainability Development Institute, also joined the conversation. Listen to the full podcast or read highlights from the discussion here. Share the interview here.

New research: Spouse or caregiver? What’s in a name?

Dr. Kristin Litzelman, assistant professor in Human Development and Family Studies, has published new research in Innovation in Aging on the significance of a spouse’s recognition as caregiver to a cancer survivor.

Badger Herald highlights Hartley’s work on Down Syndrome-Alzheimer’s link

University of Wisconsin–Madison student newspaper The Badger Herald highlighted the recent research of SoHE’s 100 Women Chair in Human Ecology Dr. Sigan Hartley on the strong link between Down Syndrome and early diagnoses of Alzheimer’s. She published her findings in late October in JAMA Neurology, along with colleagues in the Waisman Center and the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health.

Further praise for Angus show as a “wondrous environment”; Plus, “Bugsgiving” event

Alive Tampa Bay heaped on the praise for Design Studies faculty member Jennifer Angus’ show at the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg. Angus also appeared at a recent “Bugsgiving” event at the museum, featuring insect-based dishes inspired by her work. The show, Angus’ largest ever, is on display through January 5, 2020.

Day of the Dead Fiesta brings community to SoHE

Helen Louise Allen alter detailApproximately 400 guests attended this year’s Day of the Dead Fiesta and Community Alter Project on Friday, November 1. Plus, 105 alter boxes were given out and at 248 people left the names of a person they’d lost on the alter in the main entry of Nancy Nicholas Hall. Organized by TFD Professor Carolyn Kallenborn and presented by UW Center for Design and Material Culture and UW Latin American Caribbean and Iberian Studies, the fiesta itself resulted in 360 tamales eaten, 80 sugar skull cookies decorated, 100 screen prints made by Fresh Hot Press, and one local news story. See Dakota Mace’s photos of the fiesta.

Have you seen the Helen Louise Allen Mural in the entry to Nancy Nicholas Hall? Learn about the artists who created it!

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