A hard year for federal workers offers a real-time lesson in resilience
By Anne Pisor, SSRI cofunded faculty member and assistant professor of anthropology and demography, for "The Conversation" Imagine going from having a book club with your co-workers to seeing them only on a Signal chat where every member has to be vetted – and the main conversation topic is when…
Nine Penn State faculty and staff receive 2025-26 Fulbright awards
For the 2025-26 academic year, six Penn State faculty and staff received Fulbright Scholar Awards, one received the International Education Administrator Award and two received the Fulbright Specialist Award, according to the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. The list of 2025-26 award recipients is…
SSRI faculty recognized for research impact
Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences recognized exceptional achievements in research during its fourth annual Research Awards Ceremony held Oct. 28 at the Hintz Family Alumni Center on the University Park campus. SSRI cofunded faculty member Ryan Thombs, assistant professor of rural…
Discussion approach improves comprehension for 4th, 5th graders, study finds
Small-group discussions designed to help elementary students engage in conversations that promote critical analytic thinking, reasoning and deeper understanding of the content they read increased critical thinking over time for fourth- and fifth-grade students, according to a new study by a team…
Young girls may be less responsive to food fullness cues than young boys
Young boys ate less during a meal if they had already consumed a serving of fruit, but girls ate the same amount of the meal whether or not they had eaten fruit, researchers in the Penn State Department of Nutritional Sciences found in a recent study. The researchers said this study, available…
Six New Faculty Join Penn State’s Social Science Research Institute
Penn State’s Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) welcomes six new cofunded faculty members, further strengthening its mission of advancing interdisciplinary social and behavior science across the University. The new SSRI cofunded faculty come from a wide range of colleges and disciplines…
News Topics: SSRI Cofunds
SSRI Cofund Julia Szabo recognized for enhancing teaching with technology
Teaching and Learning with Technology (TLT) has announced the recipients of the inaugural New Faculty Recognition Award for the 2024-25 academic year. This award recognizes new faculty at Penn State who have demonstrated a clear and ongoing commitment to enhancing student learning by actively…
News Topics: SSRI Cofunds
Walmart funds Clearinghouse study on skill-based veteran employment programs
The Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State (Clearinghouse) has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation to evaluate two innovative employment programs aimed at reducing underemployment among military veterans. According to the Veterans Metrics Initiative (TVMI),…
Lisa Gatzke-Kopp named head of human development and family studies
Lisa Gatzke-Kopp, professor of human development and family studies, has been named the head of the Department of Human Development and Family Studies. Gatzke-Kopp, who began her role as head of the department July 1, joined Penn State in 2007 as an assistant professor of human development and…
Center for Nursing Research announces fall 2025 seminar series
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing’s Center for Nursing Research (CNR) has announced its Seminar Series for the 2025-26 semesters. This seven-part series virtual series is designed to advance nursing research by fostering collaboration between…
New associate director for graduate education at Huck Institutes named
Penn State Professor of Anthropology David Puts has been named the associate director for graduate education at the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences. The post was most recently held by Troy Ott, professor of reproductive physiology, who served as interim director of Huck in 2024 before becoming…
Turning gestures into speech for people with limited communication
Communication is a fundamental human right, and many individuals need augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) approaches or tools, such as a notebook or electronic tablet with symbols the user can select to create messages, to communicate effectively. While access to speech-language…
SSRI Welcomes New Associate Director
The Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) at Penn State announces the addition of a new associate director, Orfeu M. Buxton. Buxton is a professor of biobehavioral health in the College of Health and Human Development. He is also a cofunded faculty member of SSRI. His research primarily…
Private tutoring linked to student disengagement, researchers find
Private tutoring and supplemental learning are intended to enhance classroom learning, but new research led by a professor in the Penn State College of Education has revealed that it may actually erode student engagement. The finding came from an analysis of South Korean elementary students but has…
Puts elected president of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society
David Puts, professor of anthropology at Penn State and Social Science Research Institute cofunded faculty member, was recently elected president of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society. Puts is also the principal investigator of the Behavioral Endocrinology and Evolution Lab at…
News Topics: SSRI CofundsAnthropology
Insomnia and sleep medication use connected to disability in older adults
Insomnia is a significant health and quality of life concern for older adults, with up to half of all adults over the age of 65 experiencing insomnia symptoms. In a new study, researchers in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development and at Taipei Medical University analyzed five years…
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…
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…
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…
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…
News Topics: SSRI Associate DirectorsSSRI Cofunds
Q&A: Is it always ‘us vs them’? Researcher explains why flexibility is key
Urban versus rural. Penn State versus Michigan. Star Wars versus Star Trek. As social beings, humans gravitate toward groups. But sometimes group living can spur an “us versus them” mentality that causes conflict, especially when two groups are competing for the same limited resources, like money…
Saunders named as 2024-25 cohort member of the Health Equity Scholars Program
Tracee Saunders, assistant professor of political science and Social Science Research Institute co-funded faculty member, was announced in fall 2024 as a member of the 2024-25 cohort of the Scholars Strategy Network (SSN)’s Health Equity Scholars Program (HESP). This fellowship supports…
News Topics: SSRI CofundsFunding
Understanding aging requires more than counting birthdays
People’s bodies can be old or young for their chronological age, depending, in part, on the amount and types of stressors they have experienced. Scientists can estimate people’s biological age, but whether they use oral tissue or blood to make the measurement matters, according to a new study led…
Two cofunded faculty members join SSRI
The Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) is pleased to welcome two new cofunded faculty members to Penn State. By helping to support faculty members, SSRI is demonstrating its dedication to interdisciplinary research in the social and behavioral sciences. Kyle Aune, assistant professor of…
News Topics: SSRI Cofunds
Feb. 5 lecture to discuss how sleep health affects daily life, long-term health
Orfeu Buxton, Elizabeth Susman Professor of Biobehavioral Health at Penn State, will present the 2025 Pattishall Research Lecture, “Sleep Health Across the Life Span.” The lecture, sponsored by the College of Health and Human Development, will be presented on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 3 p.m. in the…