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From Johnny Carson to Campaign Debates – Farnsworth Brings Politics to the Public

Professor Stephen Farnsworth isn’t just analyzing politics, he’s shaping the conversation. Whether moderating congressional debates or exploring the political power of humor, he brings sharp insight and historical context to national audiences. As a professor of political science and director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington, Farnsworth recently moderated two high-profile congressional debates in Virginia’s 7th and 10th districts — both aired on C-SPAN (2024 7th District Debate; 2022 10th District Forum). He’s also delivered public lectures for UMW’s Great Lives series, using figures like Johnny Carson and Charlie Chaplin to trace the role of humor in shaping American political identity. Watch the full talks: Johnny Carson and Political Humor, and Charlie Chaplin. These public-facing programs reflect his broader mission: helping voters, students, and media audiences understand how politics works — and why it matters. Click the icon below to connect with: Stephen Farnsworth, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs; Director, Center for Leadership and Media Studies. Expertise: Political communication, presidential humor, Virginia elections, public engagement.

Pandemic deepened health gaps for people with disabilities, study finds

A new peer-reviewed study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reveals that U.S. adults with disabilities experienced significant declines in preventive cardiovascular screenings during the COVID-19 pandemic — and continued to face cost-related barriers to care, even after accounting for economic disruptions. Using nationally representative data from more than 150,000 adults between 2019 and 2023, the study highlights how routine care like blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose screenings dropped most sharply for those with cognitive, physical, or multiple disabilities. Adults with disabilities were also more likely to report delaying or missing care due to cost. These findings underscore persistent health inequities and the urgent need for inclusive public health strategies, especially for populations already at greater risk for cardiovascular disease. Why it matters: Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the U.S. Adults with disabilities face higher risks and more barriers to care — making consistent preventive screenings essential. This study offers the first detailed, post-pandemic national look at how different disability groups were affected, with implications for future policy and healthcare reform. For more information on the study and to speak to experts, contact mediarelations@udel.edu. 

LSU AgCenter Research Enables Better Flood Protection for Homes

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) recently released its new standard for flood-resistant design and construction, ASCE/SEI 24-24, which provides new minimum requirements that can be adopted for all structures subject to building codes and floodplain management regulations. The new elevation standard was directly supported by LSU research and should help reduce flood risk and make flood insurance more affordable. “Without the research by the LSU AgCenter, the advancements made to the elevation requirements would not have been possible,” said Manny Perotin, co-chair of the Association of State Floodplain Managers’ Nonstructural Floodproofing Committee, who helped update the standard. “Dr. Carol Friedland’s research shows there are better ways to protect communities from flooding than adding one foot of additional freeboard.” The research team, led by Friedland, an engineer, professor, and director of LSU AgCenter’s LaHouse, showed how previous standards were failing to protect some homeowners. They mapped the impact of moving from a standard based on a fixed freeboard amount to being based on real risk in every census tract in the U.S. In response to these findings, they developed a free online tool to help builders, planners, managers, and engineers calculate the elevation required under the new standards. “Many on the committee said it would be too hard to do these complex calculations,” said Adam Reeder, principal at the engineering and construction firm CDMSmith, who helped lead the elevation working group for the new ASCE 24 elevation standards. “But the LSU AgCenter’s years of research in this area and the development of the tool makes calculations and implementation simple. This allowed the new elevation standard to get passed.” Flooding, the biggest risk to homes in Louisiana, continues to threaten investments and opportunities to build generational wealth. On top of flood losses, residents see insurance premiums increase without resources to help them make informed decisions and potentially lower costs. In response to this problem, Friedland is working on developing a whole suite of tools together with more than 130 partners as part of a statewide Disaster Resilience Initiative. When presenting to policy makers and various organizations, Friedland often starts by asking what percentage of buildings they want to flood in their community in the next 50 years. “Of course, we all want this number to be zero,” Friedland said. “But we have been building and designing so 40% will flood. People have a hard time believing this, but it’s the reality of how past standards did not adequately address flood risk.” Designing to the 100-year elevation means a building has a 0.99 chance of not flooding in any given year. But when you run that probability over a period of 50 years (0.99 x 0.99 x 0.99… 50 times, or 0.99 ^ 50), the number you end up with is a 60.5% chance of not flooding in 50 years. This means a 39.5% chance of flooding at least once. “We’ve been building to the 100-year elevation while wanting the protection of building to the 500-year elevation, which is a 10% chance of flooding in 50 years,” Friedland said. “Now, with the higher ASCE standard, we can finally get to 10% instead of 40%.” As the AgCenter’s research led to guidelines, then to this new standard, Friedland has also been providing testimony to the International Code Council to turn the stronger standard into code. In May, Friedland helped lead a workshop at the Association of State Floodplain Managers’ national conference, held in New Orleans. There, she educated floodplain managers about the new standard while demonstrating LSU’s web-based calculation tool, which was designed for professionals, while her team also develops personalized decision-making tools such as Flood Safe Home for residents. At the conference, Friedland received the 2025 John R. Sheaffer Award for Excellence in Floodproofing. More than two-thirds of the cost of natural hazards in Louisiana comes from flooding, according to LSU AgCenter research in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness for the State Hazard Mitigation Plan. That cost was recently estimated to rise to $3.6 billion by 2050. “Historically, we have lived with almost a 40% chance of flooding over 50 years, which in most people’s opinion is too high—and the number could be even higher,” Reeder said. “Most building owners don’t understand the risk they are living with, and it only becomes apparent after a flood. The work done by the LSU AgCenter is critical in improving resilience in communities that can’t afford to be devastated by flooding.” “This may be the most significant upgrade in the nation’s flood loss reduction standards since the creation of the National Flood Insurance Program minimums in 1973, and it could not come at a better time as annual flood losses in the country now average more than $45 billion per year,” said Chad Berginnis, executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers. In addition to LaHouse’s work to prevent flooding, Friedland’s team is also working to increase energy efficiency in homes to help residents save money on utility bills. Their HEROES program, an acronym for home energy resilience outreach, education, and support, is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and has already reached 140,000 people in Louisiana. Article originally posted here.

Bill Introduced to Make President’s Birthday a Federal Holiday

Dr. Meena Bose, Hofstra University professor of political science, executive dean of the Public Policy and Public Service program, and director of the Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency, was interviewed by the Oswego County Palladium-Times about a bill introduced by Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-Cleveland) that would make President Donald Trump’s birthday a national holiday. The effort to make Trump’s birthday a holiday isn’t necessarily surprising, but the controversial nature of his presidency means it will probably never happen, said Dr. Bose.

AU research team awarded $4.4 million American Heart Association grant

A research team at Augusta University, led by Jennifer C. Sullivan, PhD, has secured a $4.4 million grant from the American Heart Association to study the risk factors for cardiovascular and kidney diseases and how they impact women. Sullivan’s research center, “Disruptions in cardiorenal free fatty acid metabolism in Cardiovascular Kidney Metabolic Syndrome,” is part of a larger $15 million project titled “Strategically Focused Research Network on Cardiovascular Kidney Metabolic Syndrome: Heterogeneity in Women.” The overarching AHA project is aimed at learning why women may be more likely to develop cardiovascular and kidney diseases due to certain unique risk factors and life stages. Research teams from Massachusetts General Hospital and The Ohio State University were also chosen. “I think this is a huge step for Augusta University as we continue to distinguish ourselves and the research that we have here focused on the health of women,” said Sullivan, dean of The Graduate School. “This grant is particularly impactful as we look to advance and improve the health of women, not just in Georgia, but for the entire country.” According to the Healthy Georgia Report, produced by AU’s School of Public Health, Georgia has the 23rd highest rate of obesity in the United States. Among the women living in the state, 38.3% of them, as well as 37.5% of people living in rural areas, suffer from obesity. “It’s great that we are able to represent the state of Georgia because our state has such a high prevalence for obesity rates,” said Sullivan, who is the director of AU’s SCORE project “Improving awareness of women with hypertension: ROAR (Rural, Obese, At Risk).” “It’s important for us to understand that different populations have distinct needs. You can’t talk about a one-size-fits-all approach to health. This is really about trying to understand how different groups are impacted.” Each center is comprised of three teams, as well as a training component and an area partner. Together, they will explore obesity’s lifetime impact on CKM syndrome through three projects. CKM syndrome is a clinical term that describes the combined health effects of heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes and obesity, which puts people at high risk for heart attack, stroke and heart failure. According to the American Heart Association’s 2025 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics, about 1 in 3 U.S. adults has at least three components of CKM syndrome, which include high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, high blood glucose (sugar), impaired kidney function and excess body weight. The first project is led by Daria Ilatovskaya, PhD, and Justine Abais-Battad, PhD, and will look at aging and Western diet-induced CKMS mechanisms in obesity. Ilatovskaya is an associate professor and the graduate program director for the Doctor of Philosophy in Physiology program, and Abais-Battad is an assistant professor in the Department of Physiology with the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. The second component, led by Jessica Faulkner, PhD, an assistant professor in MCG’s Physiology department, will study obesity-associated mechanisms of CKMS in pregnancy. The third project, led by Stephen Coughlin, PhD, with Marlo Vernon, PhD, is looking at CKMS epidemiology, associations with obesity, CVD/CKD. Coughlin is the program director for the Master of Science in Epidemiology and professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health’s Department of Biostatistics, Data Science, and Epidemiology, while Vernon is an associate professor with MCG’s Georgia Prevention Institute and SPH’s Department of Community and Behavioral Health Sciences. Additionally, the team will talk to women and health care providers from a variety of backgrounds and experiences to assess current knowledge and interest levels in heart health and use that information to develop programs that may help treat and prevent disease. There is also a training director, Alison Kriegel, PhD, a professor in the Department of Physiology, and a core director, Guido Verbeck, PhD, chair and professor of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College of Science and Mathematics. “We have a strong blend of clinical epidemiology and basic science, as well as a training component, which we will fill with post-doctoral fellows,” Sullivan said. “Dr. Ilatovskaya, Dr. Faulkner, Dr. Abais-Battad and Dr. Vernon are all a part of our ROAR grant, and, while this isn’t directly related to that program, it allowed us to demonstrate how we are already well positioned to work together to amplify our ability and increase awareness about the importance of the health of women.” The team has over 50 collaborative papers and has secured more than $13 million in collaborative funding to advance the health of women. They also all have experience training fellows and students to continue to expand their reach. “We already have a lot of the infrastructure in place for this kind of cross-disciplinary project, so we leaned very heavily into our connections and the expertise we have here at Augusta University. It’s set up very similar to our ROAR program, so this is something that was really organic in nature,” Sullivan said. The American Heart Association has invested almost $300 million to establish 18 Strategically Focused Research Networks, each aimed at addressing a key strategic issue identified by the association’s volunteer Board of Directors. Prior networks have been studying a wide variety of important topics including, but not limited to, prevention, hypertension, the health of women, heart failure, obesity, vascular disease, atrial fibrillation, arrhythmias/sudden cardiac death, cardiometabolic health/type 2 diabetes, health technology, cardio-oncology, the biological impact of chronic psychosocial stress and the role of inflammation in cardiovascular health. Each network centers around scientific knowledge and knowledge gaps, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the key research topic. Three to six research centers make up each network, bringing together investigators with expertise in basic, clinical and population/behavioral health science to find new ways to diagnose, treat and prevent heart disease and stroke. Funding scientific research and discovery through initiatives like these awards is a cornerstone of the century-old American Heart Association’s lifesaving mission. The association has now funded more than $5.9 billion in cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and brain health research since 1949, making it the single largest non-government supporter of heart and brain health research in the United States. New knowledge resulting from this funding continues to save lives and directly impact millions of people in every corner of the U.S. and around the world. Looking to know more about the amazing research happening at Augusta? To connect with Dr. Sullivan, simply click on her icon to arrange an interview today.

Kyle Davis wins NSF CAREER Award for pioneering research on climate-resilient food systems

University of Delaware assistant professor Kyle Davis has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award—one of the most competitive and prestigious honors for early-career faculty—for his work advancing the climate resilience of global food systems. Davis, who holds joint appointments in the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment and the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, leads cutting-edge research at the intersection of agriculture, sustainability and global environmental change. His focus? Making food production more efficient, climate-smart and socially equitable—especially in regions grappling with limited water resources. With a growing global population and increasing pressure on land and water, Davis’s research is helping to answer one of the most critical questions of our time: How can we feed the world without destroying the planet? His lab’s work recently led to the development of MIRCA-OS, a groundbreaking open-source dataset that offers high-resolution global data on irrigated and rain-fed croplands across 23 crop types. The tool, co-created with UD doctoral student Endalkachew Kebede and published in Nature Scientific Data, allows researchers, farmers and policymakers to assess how crop choices, rainfall and irrigation interact with water systems and food security. Some of the thirstiest crops are grown in the most water-stressed areas Davis said. Shifting crop mixes to crops that require less water but still ensure farmer profits is a promising way to reduce the amount of water needed to irrigate crops and to avoid conditions of water scarcity. Davis’s research spans continents, with active projects in the United States, India, China and Nigeria, where his team is exploring solutions to water scarcity, crop nutrition and agricultural sustainability. His work has appeared in Earth.com, Phys.org and major scientific journals. In 2023, he was recognized with the American Geophysical Union’s Global Environmental Change Early Career Award. In addition to research, Davis is a dedicated mentor, guiding graduate students from around the world. “So much of my research is the result of their passion, abilities, drive and creativity,” Davis said. Davis is available for interviews on topics including sustainable agriculture, water use, climate adaptation, food systems and the power of data science in global development. He can be contacted by clicking the "View Profile" button.

Augusta University named NIH Specialized Center of Research Excellence on Sex Differences

Jennifer C. Sullivan, PhD, dean of The Graduate School at Augusta University, has dedicated her research to better understand why blood pressure increases in hypertension and raising awareness to the dangers of not paying attention to heart health, particularly among women. Throughout her career, Sullivan has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the American Heart Association since becoming a tenure-track faculty member in 2008, and now she has a chance to take her research further after securing a five-year, $7.5 million grant to have Augusta University designated as a Specialized Center of Research Excellence on Sex Differences (SCORE) by the NIH’s Office of Research on Women’s Health. It’s a distinction that places AU among 10 other leaders in research for the field, including Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Emory University, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, the Mayo Clinic, the Medical University of South Carolina, the University of Colorado and Yale University. The University of California, Los Angeles has two SCORE programs. “I’m so proud and excited for this opportunity because this has been what I have focused my research program on for my entire career, and to be able to advance it with a program like this, where we can actually build a unique program focused on an area that can make a difference, is just so much fun,” Sullivan said. “Just the fact that Augusta will be included on this list, attached to an organization of the caliber of NIH, will provide opportunities that we’ve never had before, especially for our students and younger researchers.” Sullivan’s SCORE project, “Improving awareness of women with hypertension: ROAR (Rural, Obese, At Risk),” focuses primarily on the fact that, while young women are considered “protected” from hypertension and the associated cardiovascular risk relative to age-matched men, the elimination of hypertension is projected to have a larger impact on cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in women. “The group of people with the highest risk of death from hypertension is in the rural South of the U.S., specifically Black women are particularly vulnerable to developing hypertension and CVD,” Sullivan said. According to Sullivan’s research and information available from the American Heart Association (AHA), approximately 19 million deaths were attributed to CVD globally in 2020, an increase of about 20% from 2010. Both Sullivan and the AHA state that cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, and that hypertension is a major modifiable risk factor for CVD. Sullivan said, “It has been suggested that eliminating hypertension would reduce CVD mortality by over 30% in men and 38% in women, but a critical barrier to limiting premature death from CVD is lack of awareness surrounding the risks of CVD. Our overall goal in this new funded project is to transform academic and community understanding of sex as a biological variable in the consideration of hypertension.” The three research projects include Sullivan’s lead project on high fat diets, a project on systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) disproportionately affects young women led by Erin Taylor, PhD, at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and another project looking at the role of inflammation and how immune cells are activated in SLE led by Michael Ryan, PhD, at the University of South Carlina’s School of Medicine. But there is more to SCORE than just conducting research. Each SCORE team is also responsible for a career enhancement core and a leadership administrative core. “What really sets these grants apart are the emphasis on the career enhancement and leadership administrative cores. The Career Enhancement Core is designed to be a bit open ended for each SCORE, but in talking to the NIH, what they were most excited about in our project is the community outreach piece we designed. “Our grant includes people across the entire campus, including Augusta University’s Medical College of Georgia, the College of Allied Health Sciences, the College of Education and Human Development and multiple campus partners including some of our sororities on campus and the Center for Writing Excellence,” Sullivan said. “More specifically, the COEHD is able to extend our outreach efforts to our local schools to begin educating children on the importance of screening, and our sororities are obviously connected with other chapters across the southeast which helps us spread our message, as well.” Sullivan notes that, through this portion of the project alone, there will be numerous opportunities to include students from Augusta University’s CAHS, College of Nursing, Department of Kinesiology, the Biomedical Sciences PhD program and the proposed School of Public Health. Marlo Vernon, PhD, associate professor at MCG and researcher for the Georgia Cancer Center, and Amanda Behr, chair of the Medical Illustration Program in CAHS, are also involved in various stages of the project. “The other thing the Career Enhancement Core will do is provide pilot grants to three research projects each year for early-stage investigators. We’ll also be able to fund sabbaticals for graduate students or postdocs to go someplace else and learn cutting edge techniques from other experts, so there is a lot built in that will help us support up-and-coming researchers,” Sullivan said. “We’re now part of this consortium, and they have a once-a-year, in-person meeting at the NIH offices, so we’ll go to that for the first time this year, and what’s neat about it is they’re really promoting young investigators. Each grant can bring up to eight people, the our hope is that we will have the investigators funded by the pilot projects attend next year, giving those folks the opportunity to present and talk to program officers with the NIH and develop a pipeline of investigators committed to studying women’s health and sex as a biological variable.” Sullivan is also looking to designate some of her summer graduate and undergraduate research positions to the project beginning next summer. “The Graduate School already has a summer program to support undergraduates that we will be able to piggyback off of. We have set aside five slots in that program for this that will go to students studying the sex as a biological variable, and the applications for that program, STAR, is already open,” Sullivan said. “We’re also planning a symposium in collaboration with the Physiology Department in April 2024. This is an annual event sponsored by the department, and this year they selected sex differences as the topic, so we are hoping to help increase exposure and attendance.” Looking to know more about the amazing research happening at  Augusta? To connect with Jennifer Sullivan, simply click on her icon ow to arrange an interview today.

BEPI Poll: Hispanic Economic Outlook Drops Amid Tariffs, Rising Prices

As households face increasing prices for goods and talk of new tariffs, Hispanic optimism in the economy waned in the first quarter of 2025, according to a poll from the Business Economic and Polling Initiative at Florida Atlantic University. The Hispanic Consumer Sentiment Index (HSCI) decreased to 85.7 in the first quarter of 2025, down from 89.6 in the fourth quarter of 2024. When compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, there was a decrease in optimism in four out of five questions used to generate the HCSI. Looking at the year ahead, 53% of Hispanics said they expect the country to experience good business conditions, a decline from 61% in the prior quarter; and 64% of Hispanics indicated they will be better off over the next year, down from 70% in the last quarter of 2024. In terms of the long-run economic outlook of the country, Hispanics are less optimistic in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 (52% vs. 58%). Only 51% of Hispanics think it is a good time to buy big-ticket items, compared to 52% in the last quarter of 2024. Only one question had an increase in confidence: 63% of Hispanics said they are better off financially than a year ago, which is 8 percentage points (55%) higher than the last quarter of 2024. “Sentiment softened in four of the five questions this quarter,” said Monica Escaleras, Ph.D., chair and director of BEPI. “Persistently high borrowing costs and everyday price pressures – together with talk of new tariffs and a possible recession – are weighing on household outlooks. These headwinds are keeping many Hispanic families cautious about the economic outlook in the United States.” The poll is based on a sample of 542 Hispanic adults over 18 years old. The survey was administered using both landlines via Interactive Voice Response data collection and online data collection using Dynata. Respondents were sampled between Jan. 1 and March 31 with a margin of error of +/- 4.21 percentage points. Responses for the entire sample were weighted to reflect the national distribution of the Hispanic population by region, education, gender, age and income according to the latest American Community Survey data. Full results can be found here: Looking to know more? We can help. Monica Escaleras is available to speak with media about the BEPI Hispanic Consumer Sentiment Index . Simply click on her icon now to arrange an interview today.

What is Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)?

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), one of the most controversial federal agencies in the United States, plays a central role in enforcing immigration laws and maintaining national security. Created in the aftermath of 9/11 as part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE was established to consolidate and streamline immigration enforcement. Over the past two decades, it has become a lightning rod for political and ethical debate—raising urgent questions about border control, civil liberties, and immigration reform. As the national conversation around immigration intensifies, understanding the origins, structure, and impact of ICE remains critically important. Key story angles include: The Origins of ICE Post-9/11: Tracing the agency’s creation in 2003 under DHS and its intended role in counterterrorism and immigration enforcement. How ICE Operates Today: Breaking down ICE’s structure, including Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Controversies and Public Backlash: Investigating high-profile incidents, including family separations, detention center conditions, and deportation raids that have sparked widespread protest. The Politics of Immigration Enforcement: Exploring how ICE has become a partisan issue, with calls for its reform, defunding, or abolishment emerging from activists and lawmakers. The Human Impact of ICE Actions: Highlighting stories of immigrants, asylum seekers, and communities affected by ICE policies and practices. Future of Immigration Enforcement: Examining policy proposals for reforming ICE, improving transparency, and addressing legal and ethical concerns in a changing demographic landscape. As immigration remains one of the most urgent and divisive issues in American politics, ICE stands at the heart of the debate—making its history, purpose, and evolving role a vital topic for journalists and the public to understand. Connect with our experts about the origins and role of ICE : Check out our experts here : www.expertfile.com

Hidden in plain sight: UD researcher exposes gaps in college application process

In a groundbreaking study in the American Educational Research Journal, University of Delaware Associate Professor Dominique Baker and others has unveiled significant disparities in how students report extracurricular activities on college applications, highlighting inequities in the admissions process.​ Analyzing over 6 million Common App submissions using natural language processing, the researchers discovered that white, Asian, wealthier, and private-school students tend to list more activities, leadership roles, and unique accomplishments compared to their peers from underrepresented racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. However, when underrepresented minority students did report leadership roles, they did so at rates comparable to their white and Asian American counterparts.​ “All students do not have the ability to sign up for eight, 10 or 15 extracurricular activities,” Baker noted, emphasizing that many students must work to support their families, limiting their participation in extracurriculars.​ To address these disparities, the researchers recommend reducing the number of activities students can list on applications—suggesting a cap of four or five—to encourage a focus on the quality and intensity of involvement rather than quantity. This approach aims to level the playing field, ensuring that students with limited opportunities can still showcase their potential effectively.​ Baker and her colleagues draw attention to Lafayette College, which has recently reduced the number of extracurricular activities it reviews from 10 to six. While data on the impact of such changes is still forthcoming, the move aligns with the researchers’ recommendations and signals a shift toward more fair admissions practices.​ Other institutions are beginning to take note. If you wish to delve deeper into this research and explore its implications for college admissions, Baker is available for interviews and has been in a number of national outlets like The Wall Street Journal, ABC News, and Inside Higher Ed. Her insights could provide valuable perspectives on creating a more fair admissions landscape.