Digital Commons Network^™

The Unspoken Struggles And Unseen Strength: An Autoethnographic Exploration Of Single Motherhood In Higher Education, Alexis Summer Gunartt

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Despite the social, economic, and generational benefits of degree attainment, single mothers remain underrepresented in higher education. This autoethnographic research explores the lived experiences of single mothers as they navigate higher education. Guided by feminist theory and critical perspectives on higher education, this study examines how power, gendered expectations, and institutional structures shape single mothers’ academic experiences and persistence. As a single mother myself, I draw from personal narrative along with narrative interviews from other single mothers engaged in higher education, this study examines how financial strain, childcare challenges, institutional inflexibility, and cultural norms shape educational persistence. Using autoethnography as …

Redefining Retention: Analyzing The Experiences Of Black Men In Higher Education Through The Lens Of Race, Masculinity, And Strength-Based Approaches, Roderick Waters

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Black male students have continued to face systemic challenges in higher education, particularly at historically White institutions (HWIs), where they experience lower retention and graduation rates compared to their peers. Although enrollment numbers have increased, institutional barriers, racialized campus environments, and deficit-based narratives have continued to contribute to disparities in academic success. Much of the existing research has focused on the challenges Black male students encounter rather than the strategies, relationships, and institutional conditions that support their persistence. This study sought to shift that focus by exploring the lived experiences of Black men who persisted at an HWI through an …

2026 Awardees, Office Of Sponsored Projects, Academic Research And Compliance (Sparc)

Showcase Awards

Every year, St. Mary's honors their students and faculty at the showcase with awards to recognize their hard work and leadership in research on campus. These are the award winners for 2026.

Exploratory Evaluation Of Handler Performance And Processing-Related Outcomes During Cattle Handling, Morgan Marquardt

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Animals have several critical roles in society, including the production of food and fiber, and companionship. Contact with animals has been shown to benefit human physical and mental health, yet little research has investigated the impact that humans have on animals. Handler skill may considerably affect the extent to which humans influence animal health and wellbeing, and this may be a critical consideration for animal agriculture. Objective assessment of cattle handler skill has received limited attention in the scientific literature, despite its importance to human safety and animal welfare. When compared to less skilled handlers, highly skilled cattle handlers may …

Notes For The Stalled, V18n07, April 2026, University Of Northern Iowa. Rod Library.

Rod Library newsletter: Notes for the Stalled

Contents:

--- Introducing Sydney
--- Inspire Conference
--- RodCon 2026
--- Research Awards
--- Upcoming Events

St. Mary's Rotc, One Hundred Years Of Military Science, Pedro Martinez

Posters - 2026

The ROTC program at St. Mary’s has built a proud legacy of over a century of military tradition, leadership, and service. That distinguished chapter will evolve at the end of this semester as the program transitions from host institution status and becomes an extension of the University of Texas at San Antonio. While the program will continue to operate, this change marks both the end of one era and the beginning of another. Much of this rich history had long gone undocumented by the university and the battalion, until now, bringing together the key moments of its evolution, from its …

The Childhood Beyond The Border, Joshua Marroquin, Cheyenne Ruiz, Evelyn Adela Perez

Posters - 2026

• In 2024, there were approximately 18.3 million immigrant-origin children (1st, 2nd or 3rd generation; unauthorized; or international) which represented 26% of all 69.1 million children in the United states (Batalova, 2026). • There are many factors in immigrant-origin children’s childhoods that influence their early education, wellbeing and sense of identity as they grow up, but also in higher education. • Research Question: How do immigrant-origin students' experiences affect their current standing in U.S. universities?

1st Place Contest Entry: "Examining Experiences Of Search Committee Members For Deans Of Colleges Of The Arts", Connor Bogenreif

Eric M. Scandrett Graduate Library Research Prize

This is Connor Bogenreif's submission for the 2026 Eric M. Scandrett Graduate Research Prize, which won first place. It contains their essay on using library resources, a summary of their research project on the experiences of search committee members for deans of colleges of the arts, and their bibliography.

Connor is a student in the Ph.D. in Education program at Chapman University. Their faculty mentor is Dr. Doug Havard.

What Keeps Teachers: A Systematic Review Of Induction And Early-Career Teacher Retention In Rural Schools, Bobbie Jean Mcdonough

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

Teacher retention remains a persistent challenge in United States education, particularly in rural K–12 public schools. This systematic review synthesized empirical research on induction and early-career teacher retention in rural United States settings published between 2000 and 2025. Guided by a postpositivist framework and aligned with PRISMA 2020 standards, 56 studies met inclusion criteria following structured database searches and multi-stage screening. Findings across the included studies indicate that retention was most consistently associated with induction, mentoring, professional learning, responsive leadership, collegial relationships, and teachers’ integration into their school and community, with no single support appearing sufficient in isolation. Across research …

The Physiology Of The Work: Chronic Stress, Allostatic Load, And Faculty Wellness In Counselor Education, Ajayla S. Evins

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Counselor educators embody multifaceted professional roles across teaching, supervision, research, leadership, and service, exerting a profound influence on the formation of counselors and the ongoing development of the profession (CACREP, 2024; Calley & Hawley, 2008). While wellness is recognized as a core professional value in counseling (ACA, 2014), research has focused almost exclusively on emotional and psychological dimensions, leaving the physiological consequences of chronic stress largely underexplored (Bovee, 2024; Faheem et al., 2025; Lewis et al., 2022). In neighboring fields, such as public health and medicine, chronic stress has been linked to dysregulation in cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, immune inflammatory, and metabolic …

Integrating Artificial Intelligence Into Marketing Education: A Conceptual Framework For Curriculum Enhancement, Aisha Ghimire, Gallayanee Yaoyuneyong

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

This paper introduces a Constructivist–Experiential GenAI Integration Framework to embed Generative AI (GenAI) across undergraduate marketing curricula. Grounded in constructivist and experiential learning theories, the framework positions GenAI as a learning partner, through hands-on, reflective, and ethically informed learning. Discipline-specific vignettes illustrate how GenAI can enhance marketing courses through accessible and scalable activities that align with diverse class sizes, institutional resources, and delivery modes. By leveraging freely available GenAI platforms, the model promotes inclusivity while cultivating AI literacy, ethical reasoning, and strategic agility. The paper concludes with recommendations for empirical validation and cross-institutional collaboration to ensure that GenAI-driven marketing education …

Light & Faith: April 2026, Taylor University

Light & Faith

No abstract provided.

"Staged” Discussion (Activity), Lytton Smith Ph.D.

School of Arts & Sciences

This activity was developed by SUNY Geneseo Professor Lytton Smith during the spring 2026 semester.

Learning Objectives

• To help students identify their own ‘default’ or habitual behaviors in teamwork settings
• To help students name and value alternative behaviors they will try out in future teamwork settings.
• To disrupt establish power dynamics within the classroom in order to allow different voices and learning styles to emerge as contributors in the second half of a semester (when patterns can have become ingrained: the same voices start the conversation each discussion, etc.)

Final Project: Nutrition And Human Disease, Sam Newberry Ph.D.

School of Arts & Sciences

This assignment is made up of a series of smaller assignments that were developed by SUNY Geneseo Professor Sam Newberry during the spring 2026 semester.

Learning Objectives

• Identify and demonstrate understanding of audience needs
• Identify nutritional issues associated with human disease
• Clear communication of information via an Infographic
• Proper utilization of scholarly sources of information

Biol 210: Nutrition (Syllabus), Sam Newberry Ph.D.

School of Arts & Sciences

This syllabus was developed by SUNY Geneseo Professor Sam Newberry during the spring 2026 semester.

Course Learning Objectives:

Students who are active participants and complete course requirements will be able to: 

1. Demonstrate familiarity with nutrients, their food sources, their functions, and signs and symptoms of deficiency or excess.
2. Demonstrate familiarity with biological, psychological, social and cultural factors that influence human diet and nutrition.
3. Describe and explain in class discussion and on exams the relationship between diet and health, particularly for selected public health issues.
4. Demonstrate familiarity with nutritional guidelines used in the United States, and the challenges of establishing such …

Mock Interview & Peer Feedback (Assignment), Mccaffrey Brenna Ph.D.

School of Arts & Sciences

This assignment was developed by SUNY Geneseo Brenna McCaffrey during the spring 2026 semester.

Learning Objectives 

• Identify the skills and preparation required for strong job interviews
• Understand the importance of thoughtful and clear communication with peers
• Practice giving constructive feedback on another person’s performance
• Reflect on receiving constructive feedback and integrating feedback into future behavior

Anth 322 Borderlands Action Project, Jennifer R. Guzmán Ph.D.

School of Arts & Sciences

This assignment was developed by SUNY Geneseo Professor Jennifer Guzmán during the spring 2026 semester.

Learning Objectives

• Making a material contribution to liberatory struggles around a borderlands social or environmental issue
• Developing skills that prepare you in career readiness, including
• Skills in critical thinking to address real world issues
• Skills for contributing to greater equity and inclusion
• Skills for teamwork, including valuing what each person brings to the project, building mutually supportive relationships, communicating effectively to make decisions, distributing work equitably, following through on commitments.

Anth 322: Anthropology Of Borderlands (Syllabus), Jennifer R. Guzmán Ph.D.

School of Arts & Sciences

This syllabus was developed by SUNY Geneseo Professor Jennifer Guzmán during the spring 2026 semester.

Course Learning Objectives

By participating in this course, you will:

• Gain familiarity with anthropological literature concerning borders, migration, immigration enforcement, and the U.S.-Mexico border
• Explore historical and current immigration policies and their impacts on communities across the borderlands and throughout the Americas
• Learn from people directly affected by migration, including migrants and others who live in the borderlands, and with advocates for migrant justice
• Build connections with people and organizations that are working on humanitarian and migrant justice issues.
• Think critically and intersectionally about solutions …

Expl 188: Exploring Geneseo: A First-Year Exploration Course For Undeclared Students(Syllabus), Claire Gravelin Ph.D.

School of Arts & Sciences

This syllabus was developed by Professor Claire Gravelin during the 2025/2026 academic year.

Intended Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will:

• Develop and strengthen the academic skills needed to thrive in college – including study strategies, time management, goal setting, and growth mindset.

• Understand yourself as a learner and a future professional, including your strengths, values, and interests.

• Explore a range of academic disciplines and career paths, and understand how the arts, sciences, humanities, and social sciences each approach real-world problems.

• Engage with our course theme – the Future of Work – through multiple …

Career Futures Lab (Activity), Claire Gravelin Ph.D.

School of Arts & Sciences

This activity was developed by SUNY Geneseo Professor Claire Gravelin during the 2025/2026 academic year.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this activity, students will be able to:

1. Compare and contrast how different disciplinary orientations approach the same problem, recognizing the value of multiple ways of knowing.
2. Explain what sustainability means in the context of at least one career field or industry of personal interest, including at least one concrete way it is changing how professionals in that field work.
3. Articulate their preferred way of approaching complex problems (their “lens”) and connect that orientation to the way sustainability demands are …

Clinical Psychology: Related Careers Library Guide Evaluation Activity, Whitney Brown Ph.D.

School of Arts & Sciences

This assignment was developed by SUNY Geneseo Professor Whitney Brown during the spring 2026 semester.

Learning Objectives 

• Describe clinical psychology as a discipline & distinguish it from related helping professions. 
• Identify career paths of interest to investigate further. 

Presenting Yourself As A Historian: Career Preparation Assignment, Justin Behrend Ph.D.

School of Arts & Sciences

This assignment was developed by Professor Justin Behrend during the Fall 2025 semester.

Learning Objectives

• Students will prepare materials befitting a professional in the discipline.
• Students will evaluate their strengths in relation to the provided job posting.
• The class will provide critical feedback to improve students’ cover letters and CVs.

Career Readiness In Developmental Biology Module, Travis Bailey Ph.D.

School of Arts & Sciences

This set of activities were developed and modified by SUNY Geneseo Professor Travis Bailey in the spring 2026 semester.

Biol 454: Developmental Biology (Syllabus), Travis Bailey Ph.D.

School of Arts & Sciences

This syllabus was developed by SUNY Geneseo Professor Travis Bailey in the spring 2026 semester.

Learning Outcomes-Students will:

• Understand the methods scientist use to explore the genetic, cellular, and tissue control of development.
• Compare and contrast developmental strategies of model organisms.
• Read primary literature critically and explain strengths and weaknesses.
• Test hypotheses with self-designed experimentation, measurement and data collection, evaluation of evidence, and employment of mathematical analysis.
• Relate discoveries from model animals to human conditions.
• Communicate findings orally and in writing.
• Integrate multiple bodies of knowledge with their personal experience by asking meaningful questions about real-world problems
• Apply skills, theories, …

Business Analytics (Assignment), Li Lu Ph.D.

School of Business

This assignment was developed by SUNY Geneseo Professor Li Lu during the spring 2026 semester.

Learning Objectives

• Gain Practical Proficiency: Use a generative AI tool to analyze a business scenario, generate insights, and formulate action plans.
• Critically Evaluate AI Output: Identify and critique the limitations, biases, and assumptions embedded in AI-generated content.
• Apply Ethical Reasoning: Assess business decisions through an ethical lens, identifying potential harms and ensuring recommendations are fair, transparent, and responsible.
• Synthesize and Communicate: Create a professional, evidence-based recommendation memo that integrates AI-generated insights with independent critical analysis and ethical considerations.

Mktg 200: Marketing (Syllabus), Shawn Harnish Ph.D.

School of Business

This syllabus was developed by SUNY Geneseo Professor Shawn Harnish during the spring 2026 semester.

Course Objectives

After completion of the course students will be able to:

1. Comprehend the environment within which the marketing firm operates

2. Analyze the role of marketing information system and marketing research (CG1)

3. Understand what influences the buying behavior of consumers and organizations

4. Apply market segmentation, targeting and positioning techniques

5. Analyze elements of the marketing mix; product and service, pricing, distribution and promotion

6. Comprehend the effects of globalization on a firm’s marketing decisions and understand the basic principles of international …

Social Media Marketing Group Project, Shawn Harnish Ph.D.

School of Business

This group project assignment was developed by SUNY Geneseo Professor Shawn Harnish during the fall 2026 semester.

Learning Objectives:

By completing this assignment, students will be able to:

1. Examine their strengths and areas for growth and apply them to defined project roles (e.g., strategist, designer, analyst) to support career development.
2. Seek and apply professional development knowledge (e.g., LinkedIn Learning / Hootsuite certification) to inform campaign strategy and execution.
3. Demonstrate initiative in developing career-relevant skills, including digital marketing, analytics, and strategic communication.
4. Connect academic work to career pathways by producing a portfolio-ready campaign aligned with real-world marketing practices.

Black Men's Perception Of Mentorship In A Black Male Initiative Program, Caprice Butts

Dissertations

Black men in higher education often navigate systemic barriers, including underrepresentation, limited access to resources, and challenges related to belonging and identity within predominantly white institutions (PWIs). Mentorship programs, such as Black Male Initiative (BMI), have emerged as a key support mechanism; however, limited research explores how Black men experience these programs and how mentorship influences their personal and professional development. This study examined how Black men perceive the influence of a BMI mentorship program on their personal and professional development during and after their postsecondary journeys.

This qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of Black men who participated …

Forever Young: Student Employee Unionization In Higher Education, William A. Herbert

Publications and Research

This article presents history and data about unionization among graduate and undergraduate student employees in the United States. It demonstrates that student employee unionization is not a new phenomenon and is part of a second curriculum for higher education students, which provides first-hand experience in workplace representational democracy and citizenship, including maintaining a majority coalition and making hard necessary compromises

Comparing Student Performance And Perceived Learning Between In-Person And Online Sections Of An Undergraduate Human Anatomy And Physiology Laboratory Course, Madeline M. Knox

Honors Thesis

Online laboratory courses are increasingly common in undergraduate science education, but their effectiveness relative to in-person laboratories remains unclear. This study compared students’ academic performance and perceived learning outcomes between online and in-person anatomy and physiology laboratory sections at the University of South Dakota. Final course grade distribution between the two modalities across three semesters (n = 158 in-person and n = 312 online) was analyzed, and student perceptions of cognitive, affective, and psychomotor learning were assessed using the CAP Perceived Learning Scale instrument in post-course surveys (n = 81 in-person and n = 37 online). Grade distributions …