News and Events

Notable & Quotable

• Russ Olwell, associate dean of the Winston School of Education and Social Policy at Merrimack College, contributed to a letter to the editor of the Eagle-Tribune about the value of dual enrollment classes. 

• Associate Dean Russell Olwell’s letter to the editor was published in the Jan. 2. 2021 edition of the Eagle-Tribune. Olwell talked about Merrimack students’ community service during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

• Russell Olwell associate dean and professor in the School of Education and Social Policy interviewed with Zippia.com about what aspiring graduates can do to start off their careers in an uncertain economic climate. He offered tips on what skills young graduates need when they enter the workforce and how technology will impact the field of education over the next five years.

• Kathryn Welby, assistant professor of practice, education and community standards in the Winston School of Education and Social Policy, was featured in an article in WalletHub about states and the best schools. 

• Brittnie Aiello co-authored “’Grandma is the next best thing to mommy:’ Incarcerated motherhood, caring relationships, and maternal identity” in the International Journal of Care and Caring. Features incarcerated mothers’ separation from their children and conflicted feelings toward caregivers. 

• The Winston School of Education and Social Policy’s Dr. Elaine Ward was recently invited to speak (virtually) to a coalition of universities in Australia on her experiences as one of the co-PIs leading an international pilot of the U.S. Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement in Ireland. Twelve Irish universities participated in the project and Dr. Ward presented on the challenges and benefits of using a U.S.-centric framework to assess civic and community engagement in another country. 

• Assistant professor of higher education Elaine Ward in the Winston School of Education and Social Policy recently served on the planning committee for a Massachusetts Department of Higher Education and Campus Compact sponsored symposium Advancing Equity Through Publicly Engaged Scholarship: Transforming Faculty Rewards Policy & Practices. Dr. Ward coordinated and moderated the closing session with female faculty and community-engaged scholars of color who spoke on issues of equity and promotion and tenure. Dr. Ward currently serves as the external evaluator on a related Massachusetts Department of Higher Education grant to three state universities to advance equity for faculty of color in academic work and specifically in the promotion and tenure process.

• From the Winston School of Education and Social Policy, dean Isabelle Cherney and associate dean Russell Olwell, published an article about early childhood education, “Early College High School/Dual Enrollment 2.0”, in Metropolitan Universities.

• The Winston School of Education and Social Policy Associate Dean Russ Olwell wrote an op-ed column for The Eagle-Tribune newspaper April 15 urging school districts to hire graduates when schools reopen. Merrimack students studying education have been relentlessly proactive in their commitment to helping K-12 teachers while schools are closed. They are showing that the next generation of teachers will be excellent and worthy of the profession.

• Isabelle Cherney, Dean of the School of Education and Social Policy, was featured in The Wall Street Journal on May 1, 2020. Cherney talked about young kids’ fascination with adults and how this helps explain the continued popularity of toys that mimic adult jobs like the microscope and rocket kits.