Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis

Brown School researcher receives grant to study college persistence among low-income students

Roger — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 17:40:08 +0000

Jason Jabbari, an assistant professor at the 17�Թ�, has received a one-year $300,000 grant from the Popolo Family Foundation to study why some students with limited resources persist and thrive in college while others leave before earning a degree. The project, “Understanding and Improving College Persistence,” builds on a long-standing research-practice partnership with the Cristo Rey Network, whose schools serve students from low-income communities nationwide. Jabbari is leading the study with Shaun Dougherty, of Boston College; Lauren Russell, of the University of Pennsylvania; Lili Dodderidge, of Cornell University; and Fahv Jimenez, of Jimenez Strategy & Analytics. The research will combine administrative records from Cristo Rey schools, corporate work-study data and National Student Clearinghouse records to identify factors associated...

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Panel explores how federal cuts could reshape support for St. Louis families

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 20:10:07 +0000

On June 30, the Clark-Fox Policy Institute hosted “Federal Cuts, Local Consequences: How St. Louis Can Respond to an Unraveling Safety Net,” as part of its Senior Policy Fellows initiative, in collaboration with the Center for Social Development. The event brought together researchers, practitioners, nonprofit leaders, advocates, policymakers, and students to discuss the impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) on social safety net programs and how communities like St. Louis can respond to the changes. The panel was moderated by Clark-Fox Policy Institute Inaugural Faculty Director Jason Jabbari and included: Jabbari opened the event by framing the discussion around the local implications of federal policy changes, encouraging panelists and audience members to consider how families, service providers, and communities can respond as access to safety net programs...

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In aging policy class, students turn coursework into real-world projects

admin — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 07:17:00 +0000

In a classroom at the 17�Թ�, students in an aging policy course are moving beyond traditional assignments, crafting op-eds, building websites and designing policy materials aimed at real-world impact. The projects come from “Social Policies, Services and Programs in Aging,” a course taught by Cal J. Halvorsen, associate professor and assistant dean for faculty affairs at the Brown School and co-director of the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging. The course examines social policies related to aging across public and private sectors, including income security, health care, employment, social services, taxes, housing, and retirement systems. “I want them to have something they can actually show an employer that they’ve done and that they’re proud of,” Halvorsen said. “I...

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Food is Medicine panel highlights innovation and collaboration across St. Louis

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 20:26:00 +0000

On June 16, the Clark-Fox Policy Institute joined with a coalition of 17�Թ� partners to host “Food is Medicine: Policy and Program Innovation in St. Louis.” The panel explored the growing Food is Medicine movement and opportunities to improve the lives of St. Louisans impacted by food insecurity, health disparities, and intersecting social challenges. Hosted at the Delmar DivINe as part of the Clark-Fox Policy Institute’s Senior Policy Fellows initiative, the event reflected the Institute’s commitment to connecting research, lived experience, and policy to advance evidence-informed solutions that improve the lives of children and families in St. Louis and beyond. The event brought together more than 100 researchers, nonprofit leaders, and community members, highlighting the region’s growing interest in Food is Medicine...

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Brown School awards 31 scholarships to strengthen small St. Louis-area nonprofits

admin — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 15:53:06 +0000

The 17�Թ� Professional Development Program awarded 31 scholarships this summer to nonprofit professionals across the St. Louis region, aiming to strengthen leadership development, fundraising capacity and operational effectiveness. The Capacity Building Scholarships were available to staff members at organizations with annual operating budgets of $2 million or less. Each award covered full tuition for one course in the Brown School’s Summer Institute, which began in June and drew participants from organizations working in community services, education, health care and social support. Courses included donor solicitation, managing people and teams, project management and grant writing. Nicole Wood, assistant director of professional development, said the program received 38 applications representing 65 nonprofit professionals. Organizations were allowed to submit up to...

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17�Թ� Expert: Is the American Dream in serious trouble?

Roger — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 18:17:06 +0000

Fewer than half of Americans today, 49%, believe that all people in this country have the ability to achieve the American Dream, according to a recent survey from the Public Religion Research Institute. Among those under age 30, it falls to 36%. This should serve as a wake-up call for all of us, says an expert on economic inequality at the 17�Թ�. “The American Dream is really core to our identity and what America is about,” Mark Rank, the Herbert S. Hadley Professor of Social Welfare, told USA Today. “The fact that it is in trouble is something we need to pay close attention to.” Rank is author of the groundbreaking 2014 book “Chasing the American Dream: Understanding What Shapes...

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CSD receives grant for next phase of SEED OK study

Roger — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 17:51:01 +0000

Researchers at the 17�Թ� have received a $311,796 grant from the Brady Education Foundation to continue a landmark 18-year study examining how early asset-building policies influence children’s educational success. Led by Michael Sherraden, the George Warren Brown Distinguished University Professor and co-director of the Center for Social Development, and the CSD team, the project builds on the SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK) initiative, the nation’s largest and longest randomized policy experiment on Child Development Accounts. Launched in 2007 with 2,704 Oklahoma newborns, the study examines whether investment accounts opened automatically at birth, in combination with seed deposits and savings incentives, improve children’s educational and developmental outcomes over time. The Brady-funded project will support Wave 4 of data collection...

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Naseh receives grant from Missouri Foundation for Health

Roger — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 17:03:28 +0000

Mitra Naseh, an assistant professor at the 17�Թ�, has received a $612,000 grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health as co-principal investigator on a new project titled “Community-Driven Solutions for Sustainable Systems Change.” Led by Brown School alumna Fatema Medhat, Missouri state refugee health coordinator at the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), the project is a collaborative partnership among USCRI, 17�Թ�, the Integrated Health Network and the MICA Project. The project seeks to address growing inequities in healthcare access among refugees and immigrants in Missouri. The initiative aims to strengthen connections between refugee-serving organizations and mainstream healthcare systems, including federally qualified health centers, hospitals, rural clinics and public health agencies. Over three years, the project will...

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Chung receives Spencer Foundation grant to study postsecondary options in St. Louis

Roger — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 18:02:58 +0000

The 17�Թ�’s Social System Design Lab has received a $75,000 Spencer Foundation grant to study pathways from high school to careers in St. Louis. This collaborative vision planning grant will support a new research initiative focused on improving diverse education-to-career pathways for students in St. Louis. Principal investigator Saras Chung, a research associate professor and director of the Social System Design Lab, is leading this work in close partnership with diverse St. Louis community partners, including educators, business leaders and community nonprofits. This grant is a first step toward a potential larger award — up to $3.5 million — through the Spencer Foundation’s Transformative Research Grant program, which supports ambitious efforts to advance equity in education systems. The project...

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Huang installed as Irving Louis Horowitz Professor in Social Policy

Roger — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 17:39:10 +0000

Jin Huang has been installed as the Irving Louis Horowitz Professor in Social Policy at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. A ceremony took place April 22. He delivered an installation address titled “What Institutions Make Possible.” Huang is co-director of the 17�Թ�’s Center for Social Development and an internationally renowned expert in the development of social policies that support family and child well-being. His work centers on financial capability and asset building programs for disadvantaged populations, such as low-income children, children with disabilities, children of immigrants, and youth in transition to adulthood. Huang’s research aims for universal policies that offer financial capability and structured asset building for all. The Irving Louis Horowitz Professorship in Social...

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17�Թ� partners with St. Louis to expand CLEAN STL tornado recovery project

Roger — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 18:48:57 +0000

Washington University in St. Louis is formally partnering with St. Louis to expand environmental monitoring and public health research in city neighborhoods affected by the devastating May 16, 2025, tornado. “This partnership demonstrates 17�Թ�’s ‘In St. Louis, For St. Louis’ commitment to our region in concrete and tangible terms,” Chancellor Andrew D. Martin said. “Under the leadership of Dean Dorian Traube and her team in the Brown School, the Public Exchange and the researchers leading CLEAN STL are creating a model for connecting academic expertise with local leaders to effect real change.” The agreement formalizes and expands CLEAN STL — Contaminant Level Evaluation and Analysis for Neighborhoods — a multidisciplinary initiative launched in fall 2025 to provide residents and city leaders with accurate air...

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Alumna brings global Indigenous education expertise to Chicago classroom

admin — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 21:13:41 +0000

When Loreina Hsien graduated in August 2025 with dual master’s degrees in education from Arts & Sciences and social work from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, she expected to pursue a career in international development, policy advocacy or Indigenous cultural preservation. Instead, less than a year later, she found herself teaching English language arts at a middle school on Chicago’s West Side, where educators and students contend with long-standing challenges, including underinvestment, community violence, and high teacher turnover. The path was unexpected. But Hsien said the classroom became a place where years of experience in education, Indigenous initiatives, international relations, and trauma-informed practice converged. “I thought my path would continue through international cross-disciplinary work and Indigenous...

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Park receives Horowitz Foundation grant

Roger — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:41:20 +0000

Soobin Park, a doctoral candidate at the 17�Թ�, will receive a $10,000 grant from the Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy to support her PhD dissertation project. Park is among just 20 people receiving awards out of more than 845 applicants, a 2.4% acceptance rate. Her dissertation project is titled “Identifying Dementia Care Deserts: A National Study of Community Resource Gaps for People Living with Dementia.” “This project develops a Dementia Resource Environment index to identify where community-level dementia supports are most lacking,” she said. “By revealing ‘dementia care deserts,’ the study provides an evidence base for better targeting of community supports that enable older adults with dementia to remain safe and supported at home.” Established in 1997, the Horowitz Foundation...

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Health-related ballot measures more likely to pass

Roger — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 20:16:10 +0000

As voters are increasingly asked to decide complex health policy questions at the ballot box, new research from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis finds that healthcare-related ballot measures draw more voters to the polls and are more likely to pass than other initiatives — but they’re also especially sensitive to opposition spending by special interest groups. The study, “Health Policy and Direct Democracy: Predictors of Successful Measures, 2010–2024,” forthcoming in the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, analyzed 448 statewide ballot measures across 34 states, including 96 measures directly related to healthcare policy. “Our findings show that healthcare policy stands apart in direct democracy,” said Caitlin McMurtry, an assistant professor at the Brown School and senior...

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17�Թ� initiative testing soil, air in tornado-affected neighborhoods

Myra — Wed, 27 May 2026 17:56:25 +0000

The Clean STL project is a Washington University–led environmental health initiative focused on north St. Louis neighborhoods affected by the May 16, 2025, tornado. Researchers are studying whether the storm redistributed dangerous contaminants, especially lead, asbestos, and industrial dust, into residential yards, streets, and homes after older buildings were destroyed. The project combines university scientists, neighborhood organizations, and residents to map contamination risks and better understand long-term public health impacts in north city communities. Early findings suggest there is legitimate concern about lead exposure because many damaged buildings in north city were built before lead paint regulations existed. Researchers say tornado debris likely spread contaminated dust and building materials across surrounding blocks. Clean STL is now moving into a broader...

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