News: poverty

Professor Vicki Lens converses with Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Harry Gantz, who was the keynote speaker at this year’s Capstone Workshop. He and his brother, Joe, created the documentary “American Winter,” which tells the stories of eight middle class families in Portland, Oregon, who were hit hard after the economic downturn of 2007.

On May 21, 2014, our graduates joined Columbia Commencement on the main campus, and then trekked down to Beacon Theatre for the School of Social Work graduation. Here is the story of that special day…in photos, tweets, videos, and text.

Lilliam Barrios-Paoli was the graduation speaker for the School of Social Work’s Class of 2014. She serves as Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services under NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio. We have posted the full text of her address. Congratulations, 2014 graduates!

The first findings have been released from the CPRC-Robin Hood survey of New York City families, showing that poverty and hardship are worse than official estimates indicate–findings that may also help inform the national debate over how best to help the poor.

A new study led by researchers at our School is making waves in Washington because of its findings on the importance of government transfers in keeping Americans out of poverty.

In this podcast, Professor Irwin Garfinkel goes into more detail about his recently publishing findings on harsh parenting during the Great Recession.

A new study, published August 5 in PNAS, finds that the onset of the Great Recession and deteriorating economic conditions has lead mothers—particularly those who carry a gene variation that makes them more sensitive to their environment—to engage in harsh parenting. Professor Irwin Garfinkel is a co-author.

In this time of tempestuous politics in Washington and the world over, three CUSSW professors—Jane Waldfogel, Irwin Garfinkel and Neeraj Kaushal—advocate for the needs of the impoverished, locally, nationally and globally.

The once unthinkable sequester cuts to federal programs are scheduled to begin today. Timely, then, to have Professor Irwin Garfinkel remind us of the benefits of judicious government spending on the nation’s welfare. Please comment on the post—and share!

In honor of Chinese New Year, we present highlights from the lecture series given by the Dean and several faculty during their trip to China in December.