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Jessica Jones chatted in the hallway reception with a fellow teacher resident and pondered the consequences of disjointed lessons about how to make an argument. Different disciplines take different approaches. This could confuse students. How could teaching be improved? That was a message from Okhee Lee, a visiting NYU scholar who came to campus last month to give the penultimate talk in the Dean’s Lecture Series.

Associate Professor Alexa Schindel started planning this semester’s ocean sabbatical work when she applied to join the S.V. TravelEdge sailboat a year ago — as soon as she got the email notice about “eXXpedition Round the World” research journey. She wrote an essay, did a video interview and won a spot on the nine-member team of volunteers who joined the crew on the women-only TravelEdge.

Tiffany Karalis Noel, clinical assistant professor from the Department of Learning and Instruction, is exploring how to reduce gender bias against women in STEM education. “Despite progress with recruitment, as women in the United States continue to be underrepresented in STEM fields, it is imperative to understand the factors that may influence women’s feelings of belonging and motivation to remain in STEM fields,” Karalis Noel writes in a commentary article, “Exploring Non-Retention of Women in STEM,” for Teachers College Record.

Herbert Foster, a professor emeritus from the Department of Learning and Instruction, was completely caught off guard on a Friday afternoon. While visiting Edgartown Public Library (EPL) in Massachusetts, of which Foster serves as a trustee, former United States first lady Michelle Obama surprised students, patrons and staff members with an unannounced visit. “Everybody was overwhelmed with joy and we are really hoping our former first lady will become a regular to the library and read more often to the kids,” Foster said.

UB’s Graduate School of Education was recently awarded a $478,000 grant by the Institute of Museum and Library Services to study how to improve the retention of underrepresented librarians.

An ongoing federal grant, now extended for a second time, has been funding stipends and attracting students to GSE’s counseling and psychology programs with a two-pronged approach to training—in opioid addiction care for people from underserved communities and in collaborative work with other behavioral health care professionals.