The Weekly Recap

News and Updates from Across BU Wheelock SPACE This Week

This week, in addition to updates on faculty engagement, news highlights, research, and upcoming events, we’re introducing a new section. With the transition to a new administration, significant changes are unfolding across the U.S., and many of our readers—both here and abroad—are looking to us to make sense of what is happening. This section will provide updates on these developments, helping you navigate and better understand the rapidly evolving environment.

Out and About

• Mary Churchill (Assoc. Dean, SPACE) attended the American Council on Education’s (ACE) Women’s Leadership Network Conference, Advancing Women in Leadership via Systemic and Personalized Strategies, in Washington D.C.

• Cara Mattaliano (Asst. Director, SPACE) and Raul Fernandez (Senior Lecturer, BU Wheelock) attended School-Centered Neighborhood Development, an event hosted by the MassINC Policy Center and Urban Edge at the UMass Club. The discussion focused on strategies for Massachusetts cities to create vibrant urban neighborhoods with schools at their core and featured.

• The SPACE Office hosted the second webinar in the Research That Matters: Insights from Community-Engaged Scholarship series. Learning Their Language: How Deaf Parents Learn to Sign featured a conversation with Amy Lieberman (Assoc. Professor, BU Wheelock), Elana Pontecorvo (Doctoral Student, BU Sargent College), and Julie Mitchiner (Professor, Gallaudet University), moderated by Stacy Abrams, founder of #WhyISign. Access resources shared in the webinar here.

Faculty Engagement

• Keynote Celebrating MLK: On January 30th, Anthony Abraham Jack (Assoc. Professor, BU Wheelock) visited University of Vermont to give the keynote lecture at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. The lecture, titled “Class Dismissed: When Colleges Ignore Inequality and Students Pay the Price,” highlighted Jack’s research on the overlooked challenges facing lower-income undergraduates.

• BPS Course: A Boston Public Schools course on Critical Disciplinary Literacy is integrating the scholarship of Christina Dobbs (Assoc. Professor, BU Wheelock). Open to all 7th–12th grade content teachers, the course offers educators the opportunity to earn 1–2 Academic Ladder Credits.

In the News

• Research: Learning Recovery Has Stalled, Despite Billions in Pandemic Aid, The 74, (Assoc. Professor Joshua Goodman quoted), February 11, 2025

Research That Matters

• Celebrating Impact: 50th Anniversary Series: Celebrating the Impact of Research on the Lives of People with Severe Disabilities (co-authored by Assoc. Professor Zach Rossetti)

  • This article commemorates the 50th anniversary of Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities (RPSD), a journal dedicated to publishing groundbreaking research that enhances the lives of individuals with severe disabilities. While the journal has undergone several name changes over the decades, its mission has remained steadfast. To celebrate, the authors of this article highlight four seminal articles—one from each issue of Volume 50—that have significantly shaped the field.

Important Updates in US Higher Education

• Legal Challenge to the Administration’s Cut to NIH Research: The Association of American Universities (AAU), the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), and the American Council on Education (ACE) have filed a lawsuit challenging the administration’s decision to severely cut funding for National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grants. The lawsuit argues that these cuts will undermine critical biomedical and health research, delaying progress in developing treatments for diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and dementia.

• BU Leadership Strongly Opposes Move to Cut NIH Funding: Boston University this week strongly supported the lawsuit filed by the Association of American Universities (AAU) seeking to halt the NIH from cutting funding for critical medical research. A court has already issued a temporary restraining order to put the agency’s move on hold.

Upcoming Events

• February 26 - What’s Next for Education Policy? Join BU Wheelock for a dynamic panel discussion on the evolving role of the U.S. Department of Education and the impact of federal policy shifts on education policy and practice. Expert panelists will explore current and anticipated changes, offering insights into their implications for schools, educators, and students. Featured speakers include Rebecca Grainger, Senior Advisor for Youth and Schools, City of Boston; Michael Dannenberg, Deputy Commissioner for Policy, MA Department of Higher Education; and Hannah Zack, Former Special Assistant, Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education. Register here.

  📅 Date: February 26, 2025

  🕒 Time: 12:00 - 1:00 PM EST

  📍Location: BU CILSE Colloquium Room 101 (610 Commonwealth Avenue)

  🍽️ Lunch is provided!

• March 27-28 - BU Wheelock Forum: Thriving in the Middle School Years. Each year, the BU Wheelock Forum brings together scholars, educators, policymakers, and others to discuss pressing issues in education and human development. The 2025 Forum will examine the deficit narrative of early adolescence that has resulted in youth ages 10–15 being overlooked, undervalued, and minimized in research, policymaking, and investment. Join us to explore the complexity of this pivotal time in adolescent development and the ways in which systems and strategies can be refocused to help students thrive. The keynote speakers include Jason Reynolds, New York Times best-selling author of novels and poetry for young adults and middle-grade audiences; Wendi Williams, psychologist, advocate, and educator; Tina Durand, Clinical Assoc. Professor at BU Wheelock, and Michael Medina, Asst. Professor at BU Wheelock. Learn more and register here.

  📅 Date: March 27-28, 2025