Looking back at 2022

Throughout 2022, local and national media outlets recognized the University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education as a source of expertise about critical issues related to the field of education.

Amidst back-to-school season, faculty from GSE’s four departments shared their knowledge on timely topics such as teacher shortages, Black history curriculum, educator burnout, student debt relief and school lockdown drills with a range of news outlets.

Stories in The Buffalo News, The Chronicle of Higher Education, CNN, The Washington Post and Forbes, among others, have reached and informed countless people around the globe.

With complex and challenging issues facing the field of education, GSE’s faculty collaboration with the news media builds upon the school’s commitment to engaging meaningfully with local and global communities. GSE is dedicated to building and sustaining partnerships that allow for the mutual exchange of ideas and working collaboratively to solve real problems and inform policy for the public good.

“Engagement with media is an important aspect of how GSE contributes to the community and the field. Education affects everyone; a participatory democracy requires excellent school systems, coupled with effective dissemination of research-based information,” said Julie Gorlewski, professor and senior associate dean for academic affairs and teacher education.

She cites three reasons to work with the news media: They provide a pathway for sharing current research and practices, cultivate opportunities for mutual partnerships, and offer critical spaces for debating enduring tensions.

“In general, media engagement provides both a bully pulpit for broadcasting our commitment to equity, diversity, justice and inclusion, as well as an invitation to collaborate with stakeholders in transforming education toward these values,” said Gorlewski.

Suzanne Rosenblith, GSE dean and professor; Julie Gorlewski, professor and senior associate dean of academic affairs and teacher education; and Amanda Winkelsas, clinical assistant professor of learning and instruction, have discussed the UB Teacher Residency Program’s role in addressing teacher shortages and increasing educational opportunities for all students by recruiting and preparing diverse professionals to work in Buffalo Public Schools. The program provides aspiring teachers with intensive teacher preparation training, including co-teaching and mentorship from a veteran teacher in a Buffalo Public School classroom for one full school year.

In September 2022, The Buffalo News published a front-page article on how the program is the “future of teacher education.”

LaGarrett King, associate professor of learning and instruction and director of the UB Center for K–12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education, was also quoted in a MSNBC opinion piece about “The Woman King,” a film about the 19th century all-female military unit that protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey. “American classrooms tend to introduce Black people for the first time through slavery, omitting thousands of years of African history, and contextualizing Black American origins with oppression and violence, which can have a dehumanizing effect,” said King.

Margaret W. Sallee, associate professor of educational leadership and policy, spoke to DiverseEducation.com, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and The American Council on Education to provide her research expertise on faculty and staff burnout and employee retention in higher education.

In addition, Nathan Daun-Barnett, associate professor and chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, was interviewed by WHAM-TV for a piece titled “President Biden announced student debt relief plan.” WRGB-TV, WBEN-AM and WGRZ aired similar stories.

Heidi Julien, professor of information science, was quoted in an article in The Daily Beast about Todd Ricketts’ new search engine that has been criticized for amplifying fringe content related to vaccines and other issues. Julien explained that there will undoubtedly be bias in what the search engine produces and labels, and rejected the notion that Google and other platforms are uniquely “biased against conservative perspectives.” The story was reposted by Yahoo! News and other outlets.

GSE faculty members have provided valuable perspectives and resources as the nation unpacks issues relating to school shootings. Amanda Nickerson, professor and director of the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention, spoke to CNN about the surges in depression and anxiety among youth, and the widespread concern from parents and students about shootings in their schools. Nickerson’s insight on school lockdowns has been included in articles in USA Today, Yahoo! News, MSN and The Washington Post.

Stephanie Fredrick, assistant professor and associate director of the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention, has offered her expertise on bullying to a range of media outlets. Forbes included Fredrick’s perspective on how fake and mock social media accounts are a common problem for teachers dealing with malicious impersonators. She was also quoted in Inlander in a story on what adults should look for and how they can help children targeted by bullies in person and online.