The Weekly Recap
News and Updates from Across BU Wheelock SPACE This Week
Welcome to this week’s recap! This week we provide details on faculty engagement, highlight news mentions, and share recently published research and upcoming events.
Out and About
EMPath Gala: The SPACE Office team — Mary Churchill (Assoc. Dean), Irene Dennison (Assoc. Director), Cara Mattaliano (Asst. Director), and Catherine Tice (Communications Consultant) — attended the EMPath (Economic Mobility Pathways) Gala at Artists for Humanity. The team attended in support of EMPath’s mission: transforming people’s lives by helping them move out of poverty through direct services, advocacy, research, and a global learning network. During the evening, EMPath Executive Director Kim Janey honored the 2025 EMPath Award recipients: Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley; Betty Francisco, CEO of Boston Impact Initiative; Paul Francisco, Chief Diversity Officer and Senior Vice President at State Street; and visionary leader Betsy Boveroux.
BPS Early College: Irene Dennison (Assoc. Director, SPACE) and Cara Mattaliano (Asst. Director, SPACE) attended the Boston Public Schools and One Goal Celebration Lunch. The event featured remarks from Ted Lombardi (Asst. Superintendent for Secondary Schools, BPS), Amanda Seider (Executive Director, OneGoal Massachusetts), Sujeidy de Jesus (Director of Program Innovation, Massachusetts Alliance for Early College), as well as Early College leaders from BPS high schools and partnering universities across Boston.
Rennie Center Fellowship: Cara Mattaliano (Asst. Director, SPACE), Raul Fernandez (Senior Lecturer, BU Wheelock), and Sidrah Baloch (Asst. Director, Wheelock Education Policy Center) graduated from the Rennie Center Massachusetts Education Policy Fellowship (MEPF). The graduation ceremony, held at the UMass Club, featured a keynote speech from Jim Peyser, former Massachusetts Secretary of Education. The Rennie Center is now accepting applications for the 2025-2026 MEPF cohort, learn more and apply here.
In the News
Trump’s threat to Chinese international students puts academic exchange and tuition dollars at risk in Massachusetts, Boston Globe, (Assoc. Dean Mary Churchill quoted), June 2, 2025.
Research That Matters
Police and Youth Behavioral Crises in BPS: To What Extent are Youth Behavioral Health Crises Criminalized? Dispositions of Public School-Based Incidents Involving the Police (co-authored by Professor Jen Green)
This research was conducted in collaboration with Jenna Savage, Deputy Director of the Office of Research & Development at the Boston Police Department, alongside researchers from UMass and BU Wheelock. There is limited research on interactions between youth experiencing behavioral health crises and police within school settings. Using data from police incident reports collected from a stratified random sample of 57 Boston Public School buildings during the 2017–18 school year, researchers analyzed factors correlated with the outcomes of incidents likely involving behavioral health issues. These factors included the demographic characteristics of the students involved, key incident details, and the presence of comprehensive on-site behavioral health services. Findings suggest three key things:
Police are frequently called to assist young students in crisis at schools
The availability of comprehensive behavioral health services on-site appears to reduce reliance on police intervention
Criminalization remains a relatively rare outcome.
Peer and Sibling Bullying: Peer and Sibling Bullying Victimization in Childhood: Prevalence in a National Australian Cohort Aged 16 Years and Older (co-authored by Professor Jen Green)
In this study, researchers looked at how common it is for people in Australia to have been bullied by peers or siblings during childhood. Over 8,500 Australians aged 16 and older took part in a national phone survey, where they answered questions about childhood bullying victimization perpetrated by peers and siblings. 28.7% of adults said they had been bullied by peers, and 11.5% said they had been bullied by siblings. These experiences were more common among gender-diverse people and women, as well as LGBTQ+ individuals. Among those bullied by peers, 56.9% said the bullying lasted more than three years. 67.1% reported experiencing at least one form of bias-based bullying — bullying that targets aspects of identity. The most common reason was weight or height (12.8%), followed by race or ethnicity (6.1%), disability or impairment (4.9%), and sexuality or gender identity (3.8%). These findings show that peer and sibling bullying are common experiences in childhood for many Australians, and highlight the need for stronger efforts to prevent bullying and create safer environments for all children.
Important Updates in US Higher Education
Upcoming Events
June 18 – President Gilliam at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Women’s Network is hosting a Fireside Chat with BU President Melissa Gilliam on June 18th at the Fairmont Copley Plaza. Register here.
📅 Date: June 18th, 2025
🕒 Time: 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM EST
📍Fairmont Copley Plaza, Boston, MAJune 25 – New England Council Breakfast with Governor Maura Healey. Join The New England Council for a breakfast event with Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey. Register here.
📅 Date: June 23rd, 2025
🕒 Time: 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM EST
📍Omni Parker House, Boston, MASummer 2025 Soccer Unity Cup – The Soccer Unity Project is seeking volunteers for this summer’s tournament, July 19–August 9 at Carter Playground. Support community, sport, and connection—sign up today and learn more here.
📅 Date: July 19th- August 9th, 2025
📍Carter Playground, Northeastern University