AERA members Mike Steele, @julieposselt.bsky.social, ‪@doctadre.bsky.social‬, and William Penuel comment on the devastating impact of National Science Foundation cuts to STEM education research. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/22/s...

Canadian cafés are changing Americano to Canadiano in response to the tariff nonsense ☕️

It’s been an honor to serve on NSF’s advisory committee for the STEM Education Directorate. May its “disestablishment” be brief. I will continue to advocate the value of gathering experts w varied perspectives on science to support and guide major funders. In a democracy, is there any other way?

Making a piña colada in the blender this evening in lieu of another episode of White Lotus. 🥥🍍💀

The New York Department of Education is refusing to certify that school districts are eliminating DEI initiatives, citing that the “U.S. Education Department has no legal right to threaten to withhold federal funding over its own interpretation of the law.” www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

Please note: This is the same entity that he also claimed today should manage federal financial aid if the Department of Education is shuttered. 🤦‍♀️

I’ve seen a lot of assumptions in the media that Trump (and Musk) are targeting institutions with loyalty tests. But that’s not quite right. They’re using dominance tests. And the difference between these two things matter. 🧵

Excited to share a #callforabstracts for our next special issue: "Racialized Legitimacy in Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Training", with guest editors @airealejoi.bsky.social, @julieposselt.bsky.social, @romanliera.bsky.social & Lauren Irwin www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/calls-for-pa...

If you have not, since January, spent a couple of hours just reading a book at a pleasing cafe of your choosing, may I suggest this $5 technique for recentering.

It’s easy to get caught up in the political churn, but today this is the news that has my attention. Having hiked near those transformers the weekend the fire, and loathed their buzzing, I don’t know the last time I have felt such visceral support for a lawsuit. www.cnn.com/2025/03/05/u...

“What university leaders must realize is they are coming for your funding, no matter what. They are coming for the Dept of Ed, no matter what…The new segregationists are coming for public education no matter what, because it is a civil right that multiple targeted communities fought for.”

Proud to be part of the team that put this paper on neurodivergence and the PhD together! 🫶 @dianatan.bsky.social for leading us in this project!

Three major reasons why higher ed administrators must not rush to comply with the 2/14 Department of Education DCL, according to @garceslm.bsky.social: -The letter is a massive overreach -It contradicts the court’s ruling -It enforcement threats are unconstitutional www.chronicle.com/article/hitt...

“Far from harmless, the crusade against DEI has been a way of laundering racist policies into the mainstream. The anti-woke right’s public focus on hollow cultural signifiers obscures their actual goal: undoing the gains made by the Civil Rights Movement.” www.theverge.com/politics/613...

Would you please consider reposting this? The Department of Education needs to hear from as many people as possible that it is not acceptable in the year of our Lord 2025 to offer only two gender options. Thank you. Love, Julie/Mommy of a non-binary college student

DCA airport: Just overheard a man on his phone ranting loudly about democracy, and it was unclear what party he stood for and this is more of the energy we need

I spoke with the @nytimes.com for this piece on the ripple effects for science of recent executive orders. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/09/s...

I haven’t the heart to tell my own darling doge that her breed has been co-opted.

"Opportunity deleted."

Instead of valentines this year, I’m sending copies of this tiny little book to family and friends. If you have not read it, get two copies today— one to keep and one to give. The first lesson: Do not obey in advance. The second: Defend institutions. It could not be more relevant.

Too bad Oceans 12 has already been produced….

The best thing I have heard or read on the Administration’s efforts to consolidate executive power & undermine institutions that might push back. Trump is one of a kind, but he & his people are pulling straight from a playbook of autocratic legalism (eg Hungary, Venezuela) overcast.fm/+AADon2WNQvw

Truth! Spread the word: “He is acting like a king because he is too weak to govern like a president. He is trying to substitute perception for reality… The real threat is if he convinces the rest of us to believe he has power he does not… Don’t believe him.” podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Retaliatory tariffs. 🇨🇦 Not only is it brilliant, it just rolls off the tongue.

NEW — OMB temporarily pauses all agency grants and loans programs. Per copy of memo: "The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve."

I have one month to go leading this fine little organization. And I can say with confidence and pride that it is unrivaled in the social sciences for maximizing excellence in scholarship, community, and natural beauty. Do yourself a favor and get away from the cold to California’s central coast.

Help It’s Been A Minute write LA a love letter. If you’re over 18, send a voice memo telling us why you love LA to [email protected]. Do it by 1/16 at 12p ET. We'll put some on the radio. By sending a memo, you grant NPR an unrestricted sublicensable right to edit or use it in any manner in any platform.

Charles Person, the youngest of the Freedom Riders passed away on Jan 8. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/11/us/charles-person-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.ok4.4tgY.JiO0CU4qLWrp&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

The most gripping single chapter of a book that I have read in a decade centers on the battle of man vs. nature in the neighborhoods connecting Altadena & the San Gabriel Mtns. just above. (1/2)

Have no fear. This downloading, the printing — they are acts of devotion and possibility. Of hope. Now let us speak of buying books…

My favorite hiking area burned today, as well as staggering numbers of homes and businesses, including that of a loved one. It’s all so surreal. Sending love to all who are affected, which is to say, anyone with a heart. #EatonFire #PalisadesFire

Today, a brush fire started in Pacific Palisades fueled by extremely high winds. At the Getty Villa, some trees & vegetation on site have burned, but no structures are on fire, and staff and the collection remain safe. The Villa is closed to non-emergency staff and the public.

Spare a thought tonight for unhoused Angelenos. We are in the middle of the worst windstorm in a decade and their typical shelters of tents and tarps are blowing as freely as sails. #palisadesfire #LosAngeles

As worthwhile a read for highlighting the politics of research-policy-practice connections as it is for the substantive issues surrounding alcohol consumption.

Happy new year! 🎇 Whatever 2025 holds, try not to lose sight of the light. nautil.us/we-are-light...

It turns out, doing nothing is everything. In 2025, I encourage everyone to do nothing more. Or, if you prefer, do more nothing.

Gender dynamics in geoscience seminars that I observed for an ethnography were so obnoxious that I started quantifying them in my field notes. I also tracked how different women responded, which varied greatly. You can read the results in Ch 3 of Equity in Science www.sup.org/books/sociol...

It is not about culture, race or IQ. There is a hyperselection from China, India, and South Africa, where some of the wealthiest & + highly educated immigrate to the U.S. Other countries & their families subsidize the education of engineers, doctors, etc. who contribute to U.S. growth & innovation.

Swipe through to read how the board explains both their commitments (“appropriate”) and the business consequences (“necessary”) of inclusion. It’s a great example of sensible decision making ala March (1994)

I'm sure I will get slated for pointing this out, but rulemaking takes months, and if the rule is not completed by the end of the term the new administration can stop or revise the rule, making the policies worse. That is not explained in the politico piece but seems to be what is going on here:

#Caturday in Los Angeles

Welcome, solstice!

When you accidentally type an email sign-off as, “All beset” instead of “All best” and think for a moment, “Yeah, not wrong for the USA circa 2024-2025”

Professor Julie Posselt (@julieposselt.bsky.social) is the editor for this month's newsletter, featuring research in the Equity in Graduate Education space, organizations interested in Shared Equity Leadership and more! conta.cc/3OOIBsV @akezar.bsky.social, @uscrossier.bsky.social, #highered

If you don’t like this, we can’t be friends

ICYMI: Federal Judge Bennett wrote that there was a “compelling national security interest in a diverse officer corps in the Navy and Marine Corps,” and that “the U.S. Naval Academy is distinct from a civilian university…. It is fundamentally a personnel issue.” www.nytimes.com/2024/12/06/u...

I move to collectively cease and desist the scheduling of any further meetings until January. Is there is second?

Photo of all the workers who have spent the last five years restoring the Notre Dame Cathedral.

This is a lovely column— with so many threads that translate as smoothly as a recognizable cognates to supporting graduate students and postdocs who are navigating chronic health or other hardships.