Associate Professor of Civil Society & Community Studies Ben Fisher explains his research that found that putting law enforcement in schools doesn’t seem to make students safer, and in many cases, may result in more negative outcomes, especially for Black and brown students.
Civil Society & Community Studies
Madison schools want to transform food programs (The Cap Times; Gaddis, Kerr and Human Ecology graduate students)
Associate Professor of Civil Society & Community Studies Jennifer Gaddis discusses how she, Human Development & Family Studies Assistant Professor Margaret Kerr and Human Ecology graduate students are working with the Madison Metropolitan School District to better understand emotions around school food and the choice to participate or not in school food programs.
American Indians Need Equal Access to Homeownership (Bloomberg and The Washington Post; Keeler)
Assistant Professor of Civil Society & Community Studies Kasey Keeler writes that while the prevalence of land acknowledgment statements has expanded rapidly in recent years, this type of recognition rings hollow as Indigenous people in the U.S. face a homeownership crisis. Indigenous people have had inequitable access to homeownership throughout U.S. history, Keeler says.
Jennifer Gaddis is a passionate advocate for school lunch (Madison Magazine; Gaddis and Kerr)
Associate Professor of Civil Society & Community Studies Jennifer Gaddis is profiled about her research on school lunch and her advocacy for healthier, more equitable school lunches for all. The story mentions Assistant Professor of Human Development & Family Studies Margaret Kerr, whom Gaddis is currently working with to study how parents of elementary students feel about school meals.
More school districts are bringing back or adding police. Experts say it may not help (USA Today, AOL News and MSN; Fisher)
Associate Professor of Civil Society & Community Studies Ben Fisher discusses evidence that shows school resource officers don’t deter gun violence, and that when school shootings do happen, shootings in schools with police tend to be more deadly than those without police. Fisher also says that SROs’ claim of “relationship building” in schools isn’t necessarily beneficial to students.
Human Ecology welcomes new faculty and instructional staff
We are excited to welcome eight new faculty and three new instructional staff to campus this fall. Each department will add at least two faculty or instructional staff members, bringing a wealth of expertise and …
Researcher Spotlights: Ben Fisher, Civil Society & Community Studies associate professor
Researcher Spotlights are Q&As that shine a light on School of Human Ecology faculty members’ unique scholarship and research interests. Ben Fisher is an associate professor of Civil Society & Community Studies. He focuses on …
Schools Bring Police Back to Campuses, Reversing Racial Justice Decisions (The New York Times; Fisher)
Civil Society & Community Studies Associate Professor Ben Fisher is quoted about his analysis of nearly three dozen studies of school police, in which he found that the presence of officers contributes to an increase in student punishment without improving school safety.
Creating America’s First Native Public Housing Complex (NextCity; Keeler)
In an excerpt from her book “American Indians and the American Dream: Policies, Place, and Property in Minnesota,” Civil Society & Community Studies Assistant Professor Kasey Keeler examines the beginnings of Little Earth, the first and only Native-preference public housing complex in the United States.
ICT Newscast: International trade stepped up for tribes (ICT; Keeler)
Civil Society & Community Studies Assistant Professor Kasey Keeler explains the main ideas from her book “American Indians and the American Dream: Policies, Place, and Property in Minnesota,” published in May 2023. Keeler’s book explores how American Indian people have historically accessed homeownership in the U.S. and especially in her home state of Minnesota.