A new, interactive exhibit focused on implicit bias has arrived at the UConn Storrs campus. Created by the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, the exhibit will be hosted at the Homer Babbidge Library through Feb. 28.

As members of the Equity and Social Justice Task Force, we believe that the new social and political context created by the presidential election requires not only that we reiterate these commitments, but also that we, the Equity and Social Justice Task Force, acknowledge and empathize with the many individuals and groups in our community who are experiencing a considerable amount of pain, fear, and concern for their safety.

“The People’s Inauguration is designed to affirm the values they believe create the UConn community that they would like to belong to,” Dr. Glenn Mitoma, director of the Dodd Center and assistant professor of human rights and education, said.

Incidents of bullying and harassment taking place nationwide illustrate the dangerous effects of hate being modeled and reinforced on a national stage, according to a team of UConn school climate and behavior experts. Now spilling into classrooms and schools across the nation, these developments are presenting educators, parents, and communities with significant, immediate challenges as they seek to support students, while faced with their own feelings of stress, confusion, and lack of preparedness.

“It’s easy to call overt sexism ‘sexism,’” says Laura Burton, a professor at the Neag School who studies gender issues in sports. “It’s so much more difficult when it becomes more subtle and more implicit. It’s harder to name it, and it’s harder to see it and put our finger on it.”

University of Connecticut Professor Del Siegle has been named Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs for the Neag School of Education.

ACSD Express (Neag School’s Shaun Dougherty co-wrote a report with the Thomas B. Fordham Institute on the impact of career and technical education programs)

“As educators, we can help our students develop their capacity to respond more creatively to uncertainty by making a few slight adjustments in our daily teaching practices,” says Neag School professor Ronald Beghetto.

“What has made ‘fake news’ so visible this year is that it appears to have played a role in an important national election,” said Donald J. Leu, director of The New Literacies Research Lab at the University of Connecticut.

Fake news and questions about its role in the outcome of the 2016 election have thrust concerns about internet literacy to the forefront. It’s an issue Neag School of Education professor Donald Leu has been studying for years; and the findings of a 10-year-old study he led demonstrating the inadequacies of classroom instruction in “new literacies” has been getting renewed attention.