In the News
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October 31, 2024
“If you fail to appeal to some of the things that Michigan cares a lot about, that means you’re for sure failing to appeal to Wisconsin and you’re failing to appeal to Pennsylvania and you may be failing to appeal to North Carolina, and that’s a bad record. You’ve lost then,” said Jenna Bednar, professor of public policy and political science, about Michigan’s status as a bellwether for the presidential election.
The Associated Press -
October 31, 2024
“We have a huge array of different programs with the primary goal of reducing poverty and increasing income and economic security … But the way we’ve implemented those programs is fundamentally undermining that goal,” said Pamela Herd, professor of public policy, alluding to the administrative burden that’s attached to many welfare programs.
Vox -
October 30, 2024
“The significance of this discovery is in the rarity of fossils of fireflies from that period,” said Oliver Keller, research museum collection specialist in ecology and evolutionary biology, after scientists identified a previously unknown ancient firefly species from a 99 million-year-old fossil within Burmese amber — only the second firefly species from the Mesozoic to be identified.
CNN -
October 30, 2024
“The binary gender framework that underlies the Romance languages presents unique challenges for trans and nonbinary individuals,” wrote Nicholas Henriksen, professor of Spanish and linguistics. “It is difficult for them to feel fully seen or respected in the classroom, where they often feel pressured to misgender themselves or prematurely out themselves due to their limited descriptive options.”
Inside Higher Ed -
October 30, 2024
“Like many first-generation students today, (James Earl) Jones had little or no knowledge from family members about college experiences. … Determined to succeed no matter what, he created lifelong bonds with advisors and professors whose mentorship shaped his academic success and future career, despite the racism he endured on campus,” wrote Lorena Chambers, research fellow at the Inclusive History Project, about the late actor and U-M alum.
TIME -
October 29, 2024
Despite fears that switching to electric vehicles will cost the auto industry widespread job losses, research by Anna Stefanopoulou, professor of mechanical engineering, and research fellow Andrew Weng found that jobs increased as much as tenfold at assembly plants in the ramp-up stages transitioning to EV production. “There is a shortage of information out there about how the transition is shaping up. What we’re seeing, with the data that’s available, is that the loss of employment predicted for EVs is not happening,” Stefanopoulou said.
MLive -
October 29, 2024
“We don’t have a lot of curricular offerings that are explicitly about mixed-race experiences the way we do about other groups of people, even though we know that the demographics have changed drastically. In another five or 10 years, when the largest group of mixed-race children come of age to be in college, I feel like we need to be ready in higher education, and we’re not ready now,” said Karen Downing, education liaison at the U-M Library.
WGVU Public Media (Grand Rapids) -
October 29, 2024
The inner ear’s sense of balance can deteriorate over time because of exposure to loud noises — in the same way someone can develop hearing loss, said Devin McCaslin, chief of audiology and clinical professor of otorhinolaryngology: “As people get older, the changes in the inner ear of balance and the brain makes it harder for them to maintain balance. It really pops up in challenging environments, like walking in the dark.”
The Washington Post -
October 28, 2024
While it’s more likely that people who agree with each other politically will also find each other more attractive, only 59 percent of couples believe that politics play an important role in finding a partner, according to Amie Gordon, assistant professor of psychology and faculty associate at the Institute for Social Research: “The majority of people … may just prefer that politics stays out of the bedroom.”
Psychology Today -
October 28, 2024
“The system of disparity needs to stop. … Families are struggling, kids are staying in foster care for too long,” said clinical law professor Vivek Sankaran, director of U-M’s Child Advocacy Law Clinic and member of the state’s Child Protective Legal Representation Task Force, which found wide disparities in Michigan in attorney pay, training and resources available, and in how active they must be in engaging with parents and children.
The Detroit News
