Office of the Dean

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Insights, Impact, and Innovation

at NYU Steinhardt

We created the Insights, Impact, and Innovation newsletter to not only spotlight the NYU Steinhardt community, but also to explore how a strong community can have ripple effects beyond our School. Lately, I’ve felt encouraged by how our students, faculty, and alumni work to bridge divides, uplift underrepresented voices, and offer creative solutions to pressing needs throughout our country and world. I hope the stories in this final newsletter of the 2024–2025 academic year highlight just how vital—and impactful—community is.

On that note, if you’ll be in Denver for the 2025 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting in April, I hope you'll join me for an evening of connection at the NYU Steinhardt Reception at AERA 2025 on Friday, April 25, from 7 to 9 p.m. MT. This is an opportunity to enjoy refreshments, connect across our respective communities, and, most of all, offer one another support and encouragement in the important work of education renewal.

Jack H. Knott
Gale and Ira Drukier Dean
NYU Steinhardt

Top Stories

Screen Time News Captures Parents’ Attention Using a Combination of Science and Sensationalism

A new study by researchers from the Department of Teaching and Learning examined how articles about screen time resonated with parents. Articles combining attention-grabbing language with credible scientific framing were the most likely to garner immediate and long-term attention on social media.

Occupational Therapy Faculty Start Home Accommodations Business

Ideal Home Innovations is an award-winning business from Sinead Harrington, clinical assistant professor of occupational therapy, and Tripta Velamoor, clinical assistant professor of occupational therapy and doctoral capstone coordinator. They develop home designs to meet clients’ needs without compromising the décor of their homes.

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Dance Education Program Completes 18th Trip to Uganda

Spearheaded by Steinhardt’s Dance Education program, graduate students from across NYU visited Uganda over the 2025 J-term for a cross-cultural collaboration of working with children through the performing arts.

Vocal Performance Professor Uses Voice Analysis to Help Solve Crimes

Drawing on her experience as a musical director, vocologist, and music associate professor of vocal performance at Steinhardt, Ana Flavia Zuim uses voice science to identify singers and speakers as an expert witness in criminal trials.

Upcoming Events

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Opera: Die Fledermaus

Friday, April 11, and Saturday, April 12, 8 – 10 p.m. ET
Saturday, April 12, and Sunday, April 13, 3 – 5 p.m. ET

Set in interwar Vienna, Die Fledermaus follows Falke’s elaborate New Year’s Eve revenge on his friend Eisenstein.

2025 Equity Now Conference: Welcoming, Affirming, and Healing Schools

Friday, May 30, 8:45 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. ET

Steinhardt Metro Center’s 2025 Equity Now Conference will showcase practical tools, policies, and research-backed strategies and practices for creating sustainable, equity-focused spaces, featuring a keynote address from educational luminary Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings.

Faculty in the News

Alex Chohlas-Wood
Assistant Professor of Computational Social Science

San Francisco Chronicle: California prosecutors must be “race blind” when charging. S.F. DA and others have yet to comply

Stacie Brensilver Berman
Clinical Assistant Professor of Teaching and Learning; NYU Teacher Residency Social Studies Content Mentor, Residency Director

Chalkbeat New York: LGBTQ history videos find new home after PBS pulls content due to Trump executive orders

Carolyn Dimitri
Professor and Director of the Graduate Food Studies Program

Salon: Trump's immigration plans will hurt for farm workers and consumers alike, mass deportation or not

Rodney Benson
Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication

The Hill: Trump return prompts reset by struggling media outlets

Luis Rodriguez
Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Chalkbeat New York: One way to retain more Black teachers in NYC schools? Black principals, new research finds

Anat Lubetzky
Associate Professor of Physical Therapy

PsyPost: Virtual reality study investigates how sound impacts balance performance

Alumni Spotlight

Leyland Simmons (MA ’17, Dance Education) serves as the artistic and dance director of Harlem School of the Arts (HSA), where he oversees performing arts departments as well as dance programming and partnerships. This year, for the first time in HSA’s history, he sent nine ballet students to the Youth America Grand Prix competition. Simmons also serves on the School of American Ballet’s Alumni Advisory Committee on Diversity and Inclusion, and he was one of the first African Americans invited to the American Ballet Theater National Training Curriculum Board of Examiners.

In Case You Missed It

Steinhardt faculty members research all facets of the educational experience, including the classroom management styles that help students thrive, how parents choose the schools their children attend, and why familial support encouraged Black women teachers in their scientific curiosity.

Forbes named three Steinhardt alumni to their 2025 30 Under 30 lists: Ashley Xie (MS ’20, Food Studies) in the Food and Drink category; Sarah Nesheim (BS ’17, Media, Culture, and Communication) in the Marketing and Advertising category; and Chloe Xiang (BS ’22, Media, Culture, and Communication) in the Media category.

Two recent Steinhardt events highlighted emerging trends and challenges in education throughout the globe. The Steinhardt Institute for Higher Education Policy hosted a virtual discussion on efforts to reform South Africa’s system of higher education, and the International Education program’s event, Finding the Way Forward: The Future of International Exchange in U.S. Higher Education, addressed the gap between need and prioritization of international education and cultural exchange.