We’ve all heard of the Bermuda Triangle—that part of the Atlantic best known for sensationalized myths about aliens, wormholes and the lost city of Atlantis. But zoom out a little, and you’ll learn that this patch of ocean is just one part of the Sargasso Sea, which holds mysteries of its own.

The Sargasso Sea is a 2-million-square-mile region of the North Atlantic Ocean bounded by four circulating ocean currents, creating calm, warm and highly saline waters covered by dense mats of free-floating brown macroalgae known as Sargassum, which lend this patch of sea its name. This microalgae forms a floating tropical rainforest that provides food and refuge for ocean life from fish to sea turtles—and serves as the exclusive breeding ground for the enigma that is the American eel.

“American eels have a cool life history,” said Andrea Ward, PhD, vice provost for research and libraries. “They reproduce in the Sargasso Sea and then migrate thousands of miles into rivers all along the east coast of the U.S. and Canada, where they can stay in fresh water for many years until they return to the Sargasso Sea to reproduce and die.” Because it takes place in this deep sea location, no one has ever directly witnessed the eel mating process, and as yet, eels have not been bred in captivity.

Young eels drift thousands of miles on ocean currents as transparent, leaf-shaped larvae before transforming into tiny “glass eels” and making their way to the freshwater rivers, streams and estuaries of eastern North America, where they spend the majority of their lives—sometimes decades—growing slowly into yellow eels and eventually the darker adult “silver eels.” Capable of breathing through their skin and even wriggling overland through wet grass to reach new waterways, American eels are remarkably adaptable, yet their populations have declined sharply in recent decades.

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For the past two years, Dr. Whitley and her research partner, William Massey, PhD, of Oregon State University, have been developing the United States’ first-ever comprehensive youth sports mental health guidelines. In the absence of federal regulations or a dedicated government ministry, these guidelines close a problematic policy gap. They’re the product of input from more than 100 athletes, families, coaches and experts, translating both scholarly research and lived experience into actionable, evidence-based guidance for youth sport leaders.

Rethinking the Youth Sports Ecosystem

In many youth sport settings in the United States, any adult can show up and volunteer to become a coach, no prior experience or training required. Dr. Whitley wants to change that. “We need to make sure volunteers are coaching in ways that are physically safe,” she said. That means, at the very minimum, conducting background checks and sport safety training.

But training coaches to support mental health is trickier. “How do we help coaches understand how to build psychologically safe, developmentally appropriate environments where kids can flourish? How do we help coaches cultivate a sense of inclusion and belonging?”

Dr. Whitley’s guidelines lay out a clear path forward—not only for coaches, but for parents, too. As her research revealed, parents’ behavior can make or break their child’s experience. “Time and again, we heard from young athletes that the worst part is the car ride home after the game.”

“” (Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, May 2026), a related article Dr. Whitley co-authored with Dr. Massey, recounts young athletes’ frustration with their parents’ postgame critiques. Parents becoming critics rather than caregivers, even when their feedback is well-meaning, only adds fuel to the fire. Much like coaches, Dr. Whitley believes, parents have to be trained how to “show up.”

A Landmark National Initiative, Supported by $450,000 in Grant Funding

Dr. Whitley’s research has been supported by high-profile organizations across the country. A $100,000 grant from the powered phase one, with another $100,000 from Movember powering phase two—along with a $250,000 grant from the . For this most recent grant, Adelphi was selected as just one of 10 inaugural partners in its Empower Every Coach (EEC) program, enabling Dr. Whitley’s work to be connected with a national portfolio of other systems-level youth sport projects.

“Mental Health Guidelines for Youth Sport Across the United States” kicked off in early 2025 with an intensive literature review, encompassing 20,000 research papers and programming from 80-plus programs and organizations, as well as a series of national focus groups and an Adelphi study, which allowed her team to get feedback from 22 experts in the intersection of youth sport and mental health. Later in 2025, Dr. Whitley and her team held a two-day expert advisory panel at Nike’s headquarters in New York City to finalize the guidelines and develop a plan for dissemination.

In July 2026, the project entered a new, much-anticipated phase: implementation and testing. Dr. Whitley and her team began working with a cohort of “anchor partners,” spanning grassroots, school-based and performance sport settings from coast to coast.

The Seven Guidelines Making Real-World Impact

For the next 18 months, these anchor partners will serve as an important proving ground. As they put the mental health guidelines into practice, they’ll be reshaping their sport programs from the ground up, turning potential pressure cookers into the safe havens they were always meant to be.

The first three guidelines set a developmental baseline: prioritizing young athletes’ physical, psychological and social growth over performance. The rest address mental health directly, covering subjects like crisis response training, clear access to mental health resources and emergency preparedness plans.

“Lots of programs have emergency plans for physical injuries, but what about mental health?” Dr. Whitley said. “If there’s a collective trauma in the community, or something really hard has happened for one athlete on the team, we don’t want program leaders to be figuring out what to do on the fly.” She’s also determined to enhance mental health literacy. Coaches should be able to recognize early signs of distress and, critically, gauge if their athletes are just having a bad day, “or if it’s something more serious that needs to be escalated.”

A Healthier Future for Youth Sports

During the testing phase, Dr. Whitley’s team will be collecting data from their anchor partners, working in real time to refine the “Mental Health Guidelines for Youth Sport Across the United States.” “We’ll be learning as we go,” she said. “Where are the friction points? What is and isn’t feasible? How can we make sure the guidelines are ready for a broader rollout?” At the end of 2027, they’ll synthesize their findings into an open-access tool kit that can be accessed by any sport program leader, anywhere.

Though the guidelines will remain a work in progress for some time, Dr. Whitley is excited about the possibility of real, systems-level change—especially as some states are finally beginning to legislate mental health training and coach requirements. “I hope our guidelines will help shape those policies,” she said. “And eventually we’ll have a clear foundation for rebuilding youth sport as a healthier, more inclusive ecosystem.”

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Social workers play a key role in helping people understand these changes to eligibility—and supporting them from a whole-person approach. “Social workers are trained to help people navigate systems and to deal with mental health crises,” says Elizabeth Palley, JD, PhD, professor of social work and director of the PhD in Social Work program.

Here’s a closer look at what’s changing, who will feel it most and how Adelphi prepares students to help.

What’s Changing With SNAP

There are a few key SNAP changes taking effect on October 1, 2026, the start of the federal fiscal year 2027. These include:

• States and counties absorb more administrative cost burden. The federal share of SNAP administrative costs drops from 50 percent to 25 percent, increasing the local share to 75 percent. For New York, this equals an increase in state costs by roughly $36 million per year, and county costs by $168 million a year.
• Benefits increase slightly. Given the higher costs of living, the are rising. For example, a family of four will go from a maximum monthly benefit of $994 to $1,023.
• The new three-year work-requirement window starts. People who are subject to SNAP work requirements must work for at least 80 hours a month. If they don’t, they can receive SNAP for only three months in a three-year window. The three-year window resets on October 1, 2026.

Some changes went into effect earlier in 2026. In particular, work requirements now apply to adults ages 55 to 64 (previously adults ages 18 to 54 without dependents) and to parents whose youngest child is 14 years or older.

Who Will Feel the Impact Most

The expanded work requirements have made it more difficult for people to qualify for SNAP. The New York governor’s office estimates that 300,000 households will lose some or all of their SNAP benefits, with an average loss of $220 a month.

Meeting the updated work requirements can be especially challenging for older adults and parents with teenagers. “We don’t want teens to be without parents around,” Dr. Palley says. “Often, the kinds of jobs you can get have night and early morning hours when your kid is around, so that can have impacts on parenting.”

Dr. Palley also notes that many adults in their 50s and 60s who have recently been pushed out of the workforce already struggle to find new jobs, and the jobs they can find are often physically demanding, minimum-wage work.

Losing SNAP benefits will be especially hard on children. “Certainly for children, hunger affects your physical and mental health, as well as your ability to concentrate, so school performance will likely suffer,” Dr. Palley says.

And shifting more of the administrative cost burden on states and counties will put the most strain on poorer counties that can’t absorb the cost shift. So, even if people qualify for SNAP, they may not be able to access benefits if funding runs short, Dr. Palley notes.

With more people losing SNAP benefits, the demand for food banks, private charities, and other community services will rise. Families may also need to divert money from rent to food, leading to housing instability, Dr. Palley says.

How Adelphi Prepares Students

������Ƶ’s social work programs teach students how to help clients access resources and, more importantly, how to engage in policy advocacy to support legislative changes that benefit their client population. “It’s important to have social workers who understand the experiences of clients, but also understand how to navigate and lead systems,” Dr. Palley says.

Students learn how to understand an issue, conduct research and interpret data, and create a convincing argument. “Those are the skills you would take into advocacy,” Dr. Palley says.

In addition to classroom learning, all students must participate in the School of Social Work’s annual social action initiative. Students can choose from various projects, including social media campaigns, expert interviews, website creation and legislative advocacy. Interested students can even travel to Albany and nearby counties to meet with legislators or testify on issues they care about at the county level.

“As a social worker, you’re closely tied to the populations you’re working with, so you can make a really good case and present people’s stories, because sometimes it’s too hard for people who are currently struggling to be able to testify and meet with legislators,” Dr. Palley says.

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This is why students in the ������Ƶ School of Social Work participate in research projects, whether they’re enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs. Students then present their projects at conferences, including Adelphi’s Scholarship and Creative Works Conference, an annual event that celebrates their innovative work across all disciplines.

Here are a few of the projects School of Social Work students have shared on campus and beyond.

Kabian Brown, MSW ’11: Breaking the Silence Around Black Men’s Mental Health

Kabian Brown, MSW ’11, a DSW candidate at Adelphi, strives to understand how Black men make sense of racism-related trauma, and how cultural expectations of strength and masculinity shape whether they seek mental health treatment. “I always say that men suffer silently,” Brown says.

To paint a clearer picture of mental health care in BIPOC communities, Brown and a colleague reviewed studies on access to in-person and virtual mental health services, and explored how community spaces like barbershops serve as informal therapy. The goal: to give clinicians a guide for facilitating men’s groups in Black and Brown communities.

“A lot of BIPOC people might not trust the system. They think that if they talk to someone about mental health, they’re going to be seen as crazy, or that the therapist won’t be equipped to help them,” Brown says.

They presented their work at the inaugural hosted by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).

The experience changed Brown’s mind about what research could be. “At one time, I said, ‘I’ll never go back to school because I hate research,’” he recalls. “But when you’re doing research that’s intentional, it’s more satisfying.”

Fritza Gue: Removing Invisible Barriers to Care for Immigrant Communities

As a Haitian immigrant, MSW student Fritza Gue has seen mental health stigma in her community firsthand. “When we see someone with mental health issues, we automatically think voodoo,” she says. “We don’t believe this person went through an amount of stress that their brain and body cannot take anymore.”

Gue fell in love with mental health when she started working at a psychiatric center on Long Island. There, she met people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. “I noticed there are a lot of Haitians who experience these issues,” Gue says.

For a course at Adelphi, she researched the invisible barriers that keep immigrant communities in Baldwin from accessing mental health care, and identified solutions to bridge the gap. She found that the barriers are systemic, not individual: limited access, transportation and language support, plus cultural barriers.

Part of the solution to these barriers, which she presented at Adelphi’s Scholarship and Creative Works Conference: Raise awareness in immigrant communities, in multiple languages, so services don’t remain hidden.

The experience left Gue with a key realization: “Research is not just for people who love statistics—it’s for anyone who wants to understand the world better and make a real impact.”

Shirley Braithwaite-Crawford: Rethinking Child Welfare Through a Trauma-Informed Lens

Shirley Braithwaite-Crawford, an MSW student completing an IDEATE fellowship in behavioral healthcare, is using her Adelphi education to strengthen her work in child welfare. “One of my concerns is how to help families from returning to the system over and over,” she says.

She notes that the child welfare system tends to be punitive instead of considering the role of past trauma. Some families face financial hardship that repeats across generations, and that stress can affect how parents raise their children. “When we’re able to support parents, we’re able to keep children safe,” Braithwaite-Crawford says.

That insight led her to propose an approach to supporting families from marginalized communities, presented at Adelphi’s Scholarship and Creative Works Conference. Her research drew on her child welfare experience, past studies and human rights protections that often go unenforced. She’s especially excited to use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which helps people identify and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, in her practice.

“One of the things that I take away from the experience is being able to connect theories with practice,” Braithwaite-Crawford says. “When you go into the classroom, you learn a lot about theories, but then what about when you come out into the real world?”

Christina Grant ’26: Shining a Light on Poverty Among Minority Single Mothers

After completing her BSW at Adelphi, Christina Grant ’26 moved on to the MSW program, where she’s currently honing her research skills.

Inspired by her own mother, who worked multiple jobs to support her family as a single parent, Grant explored the systemic inequities that contribute to higher rates of poverty among minority single mothers. “I looked into intersectionality and how racial discrimination interacts with gender and socioeconomic status, and how it’s often overlooked in discussions of poverty,” she says.

The experience sharpened her critical thinking and research skills, empathy, and ability to view an issue from multiple angles. It also reinforced the need to view these social issues from a strength-based perspective: “Despite structural hardships, it was great to look at how minority single mothers demonstrate resilience, resourcefulness and reliance on their strong support systems to help them nurture their children and support their family,” Grant says.

Sharing her research at the Scholarship and Creative Works Conference gave her the opportunity to highlight an important issue for a room full of future social workers and faculty members who can create solutions. “Not everyone has a voice to speak into this,” Grant says. “If I’m given the opportunity to share this research, then I’m hoping we can come together and make a difference.”

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The University also received high national rankings in 2027 lists. Adelphi was once again the top-ranked private university on Long Island in ��ǰ������’ 2027 America’s Top Colleges while also debuting at No. 97 in the new U.S. News & World Report ranking of Top Private National Universities. Adelphi is a U.S. News Best College for the ninth-straight year, moving up seven spots in 2027.

Adelphi’s upward trajectory is driven by a rapidly expanding research enterprise. Over the past few years, the University has secured significant federal and institutional research funding, fueling high-impact innovation across its core disciplines. This targeted investment directly supports faculty-led research, experiential student learning and cutting-edge pedagogical advancements.

“Our continued ascent in these prestigious national and international rankings reflects a university in motion,” said Adelphi President Michael Balboni ’81, JD. “We are attracting significant grant funding, securing new partnerships and adding to the value of an Adelphi degree. The exceptional work being done within all of our schools and colleges is a perfect representation of our commitment to academic excellence, real-world impact and outstanding outcomes for our students.”

The impact of this academic rigor is particularly evident in Adelphi’s specialized disciplines. The Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology and the Ruth S. Ammon College of Education and Health Sciences continue to build upon their legacy of clinical excellence and educational leadership. Both schools earned top marks internationally in the new THE evaluations, with education studies ranking 501-plus and psychology ranking 601-plus globally.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings are among the most respected global ranking systems, alongside the QS World University Rankings. In the latest Times Higher Education evaluations, Adelphi made notable strides in specific research metrics, seeing gains in Research Environment (up 4.8 points), Research Quality (up 3.7 points) and Industry (up 0.4 points). To determine these placements, THE measures research-intensive universities worldwide across 18 rigorous performance indicators covering teaching, research, international outlook and industry engagement. .

For more information about ������Ƶ’s recent awards, national rankings and research initiatives, visit .

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In 1938, Adelphi, then open only to women students, became one of the first American colleges to establish a university dance program, founded and run by internationally renowned modern dance pioneer Ruth St. Denis. At that time, dance was typically grouped alongside physical education. Today, Adelphi’s conservatory-level dance program prepares students to become professional dancers and dance educators. Recent dance MFA grad Frida Molina ’23 is now performing with some of pop’s biggest stars—including Bad Bunny.

Modern dance was the focus of the department in its early days.

First Scientific Computer Minor

No university in New York state had a scientific computing minor until Fall 2019. That is when Adelphi’s program, developed with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York, addressed a shortcoming that had long plagued science undergrads: an inability to write code for highlevel research. Adelphi’s scientific computing program gives students majoring in sciences the computer and data analysis skills needed for an advanced degree in their discipline or for work in a research setting.

An Adelphi student monitors a screen at Long Island’s Brookhaven National Laboratory.

First Private Coeducational University on Long Island

������Ƶ holds the distinction of becoming the first private coeducational university on Long Island, breaking ground in Garden City in 1928. The first building raised was beautiful Blodgett Hall, still proudly standing almost 100 years later.

Designed by the renowned architectural firm McKim, Mead and White, Blodgett Hall today is home to five academic departments.

First University-Based School of Psychology

Professor Gordon F. Derner, PhD, who founded the school in 1972.

Psychology majors at Adelphi build on the ingenuity and compassion of the late Gordon F. Derner, PhD. The longtime professor founded the nation’s first university-based professional school of psychology in 1972 as well as Adelphi’s clinical training program in 1951. For more than 55 years, the Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology has earned international recognition for its innovations in psychology and related disciplines. “I believe that the artificial schism between mainstream psychology and psychoanalytic theory has been detrimental to both,” observed Professor Robert Mendelsohn, PhD. “I appreciate that the Derner School is one place where the integration of psychoanalysis into mainstream psychology occurs every day.”

One of the First College Radio Stations in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

On the air in 1982.

Adelphi’s groundbreaking student-run station, WBAU, is one of the only college radio stations cited by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The station was one of the first to give significant airtime to hip-hop. In the early 1980s, program director Bill Stephney gave a platform to Adelphi classmate and popular Long Island DJ Carlton Douglas Ridenhour ’84, ’13 (Hon.), on his Mr. Bill Show. The world knows Ridenhour by his professional name, Chuck D.

First in Nursing Leadership

Adelphi made history by establishing the first Central Collegiate School of Nursing in New York state. In response to an urgent need for nurses during World War II, this became one of the largest collegiate units of the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps. Thirty-nine years later, Adelphi became the first on Long Island to offer a doctoral program for nurses. It remains one of the few in the state. Adelphi’s nursing program is now among the highest ranked in the country; the undergraduate program jumped an unprecedented 32 points in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report rankings.

Adelphi had one of the largest collegiate units of the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps.

First in Women’s Lacrosse Championships

Adelphi’s women’s lacrosse team was the first (and currently only) in NCAA Division II history to win three straight national championships (2009 to 2011). If that wasn’t dynastic enough, after a two-year break, the team won four more in six years.

The 2009 National Champions celebrate.

First in Student Success for Learning Differences

Professor Emeritus Fred Barbaro, EdD, founder of the Learning Resource Program.

The Learning Resource Program, the first of its kind at a university, was founded in 1979 by the late Professor Emeritus Fred Barbaro, EdD, who taught in the ������Ƶ School of Social Work. It allows students with “invisible disabilities” such as ADHD and dyslexia to thrive in college. Around 100 students annually are enrolled in this life-changing program. They have weekly sessions with a learning specialist, receive assistance with career planning, and participate in group and individual sessions with a clinical social worker.

Nearly 40 years later, Adelphi unveiled the first sensory room at a college or university for students on the autism spectrum as part of its nationally recognized Bridges to Adelphi program. A color-changing hurricane tube assists with emotional regulation, weighted balls and blankets offer sensory stimulation and low lighting offers a calm respite from the stress of college life.

The next firsts for Adelphi await. Regardless of whether it’s in academics, entertainment, athletics or student access, one thing is certain: Adelphi’s impact will travel far beyond Garden City.

Adelphi was the first college or university with sensory room for students on the spectrum.

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“Rapid expansion in biotechnology, health technology, corporate sustainability and data analytics has driven high demand for employees with backgrounds that an education in biology delivers far beyond traditional academic or clinical roles,” said Matthias Foellmer, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Biology.

Adelphi’s curriculum ensures a broad education in several core areas of biology, including genetics, evolution, ecology, physiology, developmental biology, molecular biology and cell biology. Students enrolled in the undergraduate and graduate program also get hands-on research opportunities, receiving training in qualitative analysis using advanced state-of-the-art methods and applying the scientific method.

“We prepare our students for today’s careers in the biological and medical professions, but also offer several transferable skills which makes our students suitable candidates for employment opportunities in a wide variety of fields,” Dr. Foellmer said.

These three alumni prove just how versatile a biology degree can be.

Put a Science Mind to Work in the Courtroom

When Hira Javed ’16, MS ’18, JD, enrolled at Adelphi for the BS in Biology program, she was set on becoming a pediatric neurologist. But while volunteering at a hospital during grad school—also at Adelphi—she met a nurse practitioner who had switched to advocating for patients’ rights. “She started fighting on the legal side for her patients, and I thought that sounded awesome,” Javed says. That chance encounter led her to explore a legal career—and ultimately swap the MCAT for the LSAT.

An Adelphi professor helped her identify her legal specialty, pointing her toward patent law, something she’d never considered before. “They said to me, ‘If you want to go to law school and you still really love science, have you considered patent law?’” she recalls. “That was definitely a pivotal moment in my career.”

After earning her law degree, Javed joined a Washington, D.C., law firm, where she practiced patent litigation and privacy law. Her biology background proved more useful than expected. “Studying biology helped me become very detail oriented, and to use the analytical side of my brain,” she says. All of those hours she spent sifting through dense scientific papers at Adelphi translated directly to legal work, too, teaching her to zero in on the key pieces of data methodically rather than getting lost in the details.

In April 2026, Javed took her career a step further, accepting a clerkship with a magistrate judge in the Southern District of Florida. “When you take a step back and realize you’re helping move justice forward, it’s a really powerful feeling,” she says.

Help Migraine Patients Reclaim Their Lives

Monika Mikolajczak ’17, MD, still thinks of the fruit flies she cared for as a biology undergrad at Adelphi. Practically every morning for nearly two years, she came into the lab to prepare fly food and count the flies for a mitochondrial research project—work that eventually contributed to a published paper. “I wouldn’t have had that opportunity if I’d gone to a school with much larger classrooms,” Dr. Mikolajczak noted. “It’s not easy to get into a lab and do research—there’s a lot of funding that goes into it, and not everyone wants students involved with their research.”

That experience in the lab also honed the critical-thinking skills she relies on as a headache medicine fellow at Mount Sinai. “My biology education taught me to think through evidence and avoid jumping to conclusions,” she said.

Her path to that fellowship wasn’t a straight one. While becoming a physician was always a calling, she pursued other early ambitions, including physical therapy and, before that, shark research. But it was during her four-year neurology residency at Northwell Health that she found her calling. During rounds with a mentor in her second year, she watched a nerve block bring near-immediate relief to a migraine patient in the emergency room. “Anyone with migraines knows how terrible the emergency room can be—there’s a lot of light and noise, it’s not a fun place to be. So if you end up in the emergency room with a migraine, you’re desperate at that point,” Dr. Mikolajczak said. “Just helping him regain his function and be able to leave the emergency room feeling better was so rewarding.”

Turn a Study Abroad Trip Into a Dream Career

When Candice Marcos ’12, MS ’14, MA ’16, started her undergraduate biology degree at Adelphi, she had her sights set on medical school. Looking for ways to stand out as an applicant, she signed up for a three-week study abroad trip to Australia focused on environmental science. What she found there changed everything. Snorkeling and conducting field research in the water, she came home with a new direction. “After that, I decided I wanted to be in the field of marine biology,” she says.

Now, Marcos is head of education at Shark Reef Aquarium in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she uses her biology degree every day. In particular, her experience researching marine animals while a grad student at Adelphi helped her understand these creatures, knowledge she regularly shares with visitors to the aquarium. Her six-year stint as a science teacher in Nevada also equipped her with the skills to develop education programs that resonate with visitors, as well as provide professional development for her staff members.

“My career combines my two worlds—biology and education,” Marcos says. “I teach important animal conservation concepts while getting up close to the animals.”

She stresses that her dream job wouldn’t have happened without a willingness to say yes—even to opportunities that seemed unrelated. Case in point: a part-time dental assistant role she almost left off her résumé turned out to be one of the things that set her apart from other candidates for her current role. “Don’t be afraid to take the side quest because you’re still gaining skills,” she says. “It’s better to try something and know for a fact that it’s not for you, than to not try it and always wonder ‘What if?’”

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Anna Akerman Berman, PhD, associate professor of communications and a social psychologist who specializes in child development, is taking a stand against a global media machine that’s designed to keep us hooked on content. Once a media consultant for the likes of Nickelodeon, MTV, Scholastic and Disney, Dr. Akerman Berman now uses her insider knowledge to help parents wean their children off of screens.

Peggy Cassidy, PhD, professor of communications and an expert in the history of children’s interactions with media, is looking to the past to understand our potential digital future. Dr. Cassidy has published at length on the evolution of American media environments. Her tips for a healthy media diet take their cues from 200 years of history: how generations of parents and children have adapted to the disruptive effects of new forms of media.

From attention-grabbing TV to attention-proofing phones

After earning her PhD, Dr. Akerman Berman applied the scientific theories she’d studied in school as an audience researcher for Sesame Workshop and Noggin. She analyzed children’s “eyes on screen”—when they were paying attention to the screen, when they were bored enough to look away—and worked with creative teams to modify programming accordingly. “Before I started working for these companies, I hadn’t realized the extent to which psychology was being used to create content,” she said.

Dr. Akerman Berman went on to provide consulting services to executives at some of the world’s top media and entertainment brands. “The question we always returned to was: How can we keep kids watching?”

Today, she’s determined to keep children’s eyes off of screens. Why? There’s nothing wrong with scrolling for 10 minutes to decompress, she says. The problem is, 10 minutes often turns into several hours. That’s by design. “These algorithms are using more data points than we could ever imagine. They’re catered specifically to individual interests, and they reward scrolling behaviors in a very precise, individualized way.”

The science behind our scrolling addiction

According to Dr. Akerman Berman, scrolling seems to satiate our most basic human needs: competence, connection and autonomy. In a world where it’s all too easy to feel disconnected and disempowered, scrolling can generate instant satisfaction. But, Dr. Akerman Berman says, the feeling is “brief and disingenuous,” nothing like the satisfaction that comes from real-life experiences.

People trying to meet their basic needs—particularly children and adolescents—are easy targets for big business. They always have been. The tactics that tech companies use to keep us scrolling, Dr. Akerman Berman argues, are not so different from the manipulative marketing campaigns run by tobacco companies throughout the 20th century. However, it’s been proven that young people are less likely to use tobacco once they’ve been exposed to the tobacco industry’s manipulations. Dr. Akerman Berman is confident we can apply the same logic to social media addiction.

Education is the best weapon against “brain rot”

“The first step,” Dr. Akerman Berman said, “is educating our kids and ourselves. The second is becoming aware of our behaviors.” People of all ages should start collecting data of their own: logging their screen time and noticing how they feel before and after scrolling. Armed with this “metacognitive awareness,” they might begin to turn to other activities instead of opening TikTok or Instagram.

But going from 100 to zero won’t happen overnight, Dr. Akerman Berman stresses. “Our nervous system has learned that discomfort equals phone. In moments of stress, we will fall back on this habit. Still, we absolutely can re-habituate ourselves to a new normal where we’re replacing scrolling with taking a walk or listening to music.”

The “grasshopper mind” of the endless scroller

Dr. Cassidy sees scrolling as a cultural practice—and a cultural problem. As a media ecologist, she’s more interested in media’s form rather than its content. While we should be thinking critically about the content we’re consuming online, we also need to consider the “ways of thinking, knowing and interacting” that are encouraged or discouraged by scrolling. She cites a concept coined by scholar Maryanne Wolf, EdD, called “grasshopper mind,” or “the impulse to just scroll away, to jump from one thing to another as soon as things get boring or hard or confusing.”

That impulse could very well erode the foundations of our society. If we disengage as soon as we’re faced with something we don’t understand, what will happen to our interpersonal relationships, our cultural norms, our politics? Dr. Cassidy believes the cracks are already visible. “We as citizens are not engaging deeply with ideas,” she said. “We tend to have superficial emotional responses to political messaging, which has contributed to this intense polarization we see today. We don’t stick around long enough to hear someone’s full perspective.”

New media fears have old precedents

For Dr. Cassidy, the fears around social media addiction and scroll culture are well founded. But they’re nothing new. In her book (Routledge, 2017), she charts 200 years of panicked reactions to emerging media environments, from 19th century dime novels and nickelodeons to rock ’n’ roll and TV.

“As a media historian, I resist the temptation to use the word unprecedented,” Dr. Cassidy said. In fact, she even takes a “certain comfort in knowing we’re not that unique. Our species has been here a long time, and other changes in media have disrupted us, upset us, required us to adapt.”

At the same time, historical precedent shouldn’t become its own deterministic force. “Just because adults were afraid of dime novels in the 1800s and it all worked out okay doesn’t mean we don’t need to worry about social media and smartphones. Throughout history, there have been missed opportunities for citizens to organize themselves around resisting the direction that certain technologies are taking us.” In other words, to create the future we want to see for ourselves and our children, we have to act now.

The secrets of a healthy media diet

Like Dr. Akerman Berman, Dr. Cassidy prescribes moderation—and an open mind—to adults and adolescents alike. “I would encourage people, especially parents, to take a breath and not throw the baby out with the bathwater,” she said. “Yes, so much of what our children are consuming is not developmentally appropriate. But we should stay open to wondering about what’s captured their attention.”

In social media, young people are finding benefits that prior forms of media never enabled. Adolescents who feel alienated in their immediate communities, for instance, can reach out to allies halfway across the world with the press of a button. These connections may be mediated by technology, but they’re indisputably human.

Scrolling addicts may be able to rewire their psychic habits by leaning into that innate human-ness, too. “We have to learn to stay with hard things, to struggle, to make mistakes,” Dr. Cassidy said. “That’s the only way we’ll get better.”

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This program focuses on high-growth sectors—such as AI, cleantech and software—identified by Empire State Development, New York state’s chief economic development agency. It will also address high-need, under-resourced public sectors facing critical local shortages, such as behavioral health, eldercare and social services, and will connect participants with real-life project-based externships.

“Adelphi is proud to be nationally recognized for its commitment to social mobility. The Adelphi Entrepreneur Experience will further advance that focus across and beyond the Greater New York City region,” said MaryAnne Hyland, PhD, dean of the Willumstad School of Business. “The program will support new businesses in high-growth and high-demand industries in New York, and the program participants will have a holistic experience that will support strong outcomes in a new model for economic development.”

Launching the Next Generation of Student Founders

The Adelphi Entrepreneur Experience connects aspiring entrepreneurs with the New York area’s business and innovation scene. Over nine months, Adelphi students will complete six four-week sprints, developed by Adelphi business faculty, to build the knowledge and skills to launch a venture. Enrolled student entrepreneurs will learn from a faculty-led curriculum, discussions and lectures with experts, and support from coaches and peers.

Launching in February 2027, the program’s first two cohorts of 20 students (Spring 2027 and Fall 2027) are open to both Adelphi students and nonmatriculated individuals seeking to launch their own business. Eligible entrepreneurs must live, work or attend school in one of the following counties:

• New York: Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Queens, Richmond, Suffolk
• New Jersey: Essex, Hudson

Adelphi will partner with to provide strategic and comprehensive consulting for this program, tapping into the firm’s data-driven, human-centric expertise in equitable development and sustainable growth building. An additional partnership with , a platform that facilitates project-based externship experiences, will allow the Adelphi Entrepreneur Experience to provide hands-on opportunities for participants to develop go-to-market strategies, products and fundraising skills.

The Adelphi Entrepreneur Experience targets startups within two sectors:

• High-Growth: Biotech, cleantech, software/AI and fintech, aligned with .
• High-Need: Healthcare, behavioral health, social services and EdTech, aligned with Adelphi’s nursing and public health, psychology, business administration, artificial intelligence, social work, education, and the sciences offerings to address regional workforce gaps.

Strengthening the Greater New York City Ecosystem

Leveraging Adelphi’s Garden City campus and its midtown Manhattan Center, the initiative connects student founders across Greater New York, including all five New York City boroughs, Long Island and northern New Jersey. Local government, nonprofit and regional startup partners are also invited to engage with this opportunity.

Applications to the program are open now through January 19, 2027, for the inaugural February cohort, and ongoing for Fall 2027 enrollment. Applicants must be the original founder of their startup idea.

Rooted in Top-Ranked Business Education

The Adelphi Entrepreneur Experience builds on the academic prestige and proven track record of the Robert B. Willumstad School of Business. Accredited by AACSB International, a distinction only held by fewer than 6 percent of business schools worldwide, Adelphi’s WSB ranks as the No. 1 undergraduate business school on Long Island by Poets&Quants and is recognized among the best in the nation by The Princeton Review.

Furthering its reach across the region, the school has expanded its programs to Adelphi’s Manhattan Center, offering flexible learning pathways such as its new Flex MBA, enabling students to earn a degree in as little as one year.

For more information on applying, investing, partnering and mentoring, visit the Adelphi Entrepreneur Experience site, and contact aee@adelphi.edu with questions.

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Iverson, left, as a theater student in a 2017 production of Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs. Iverson credits personal attention from professors and early productions like this one with launching his acting career.

Tell us a bit about how your Adelphi training prepared you to win the audition—and nail this role as James Ogilvie?

Iverson: The gift of Adelphi was that it instilled qualities in me by which I now define myself. I learned curiosity, ambition, tenacity, hope and drive. Grad school at Yale taught me camera training, but Adelphi professors gave me the foundation I needed as an actor.

Do any professors stand out?

Iverson: (Associate Professor) Maggie Lally ’82 was very important to me. (Professor Emeritus) Brian Rose taught me Shakespeare. And (Professor Emeritus) Nick Petron, MA ’70, literally saved me. I only had a 1.9 GPA in high school—I was a terrible student—but Nick saw my audition and saw something in me. You’d have to ask him what it was.

Later on, Nick would take me into the city to see my first Broadway shows. Brian Rose shaped everything I know about Shakespeare. After I graduated, I was able to work all over the country doing Shakespeare—it was my bread and butter. I am very indebted to Adelphi.

What was a specific point in your early career where staying in this industry felt almost impossible—and what kept you from walking away?

Lucas Iverson ’17 (left) shares a moment with fellow actor and Emmy winner Noah Wylie, who gave Iverson guidance and mentoring in his role on The Pitt.

IVERSON: I didn’t really have that moment. I worked at a restaurant in Union Square, carrying sides (excerpts of a script) in my pocket, then I coached debate, then I did auditions and then I fell into my bed at 1:00 a.m. I was intoxicated with the grind. I was in pursuit of a life that I wanted—a life as an artist.

For our theater students: What was a risk or choice you made in creating your character that felt terrifying at the time, but ultimately paid off?

Iverson: I think the best choice is to not try to “make” a choice and not take a risk. You have to trust that you yourself are exciting; you are unique—and the role will come from within you.

For our students: Which actors really inspired you and taught you more about the acting craft on The Pitt?

Iverson: Everybody! Patrick (Ball) and I had overlapped for two years at Yale. He was sort of my landing pad.

Beyond that, I love everyone so much. Gerran (Howell) and Noah (Wyle) especially helped me. Noah was an inspiration and a mentor; he would whisper acting advice in my ear. I take those lessons forward.

Can you share a note about The Gilded Age?

Iverson: I had never done TV work before, and the first day was terrifying … you need to intuit that the camera is there, but not look at it. I got it on the third try, I think.

Did you know, when you began filming, that there was something extraordinary, or Emmy-winning, about this show, The Pitt?

At the BAFTA pre-Emmy Tea Party, Iverson joins The Pitt cast member Supriya Ganesh.

Iverson: I remember getting the job and then realizing this show is bigger than I thought. The genesis of the show is for healthcare workers. It is all for them. Everyone else comes second. They are the heroes of the modern world, and they can never get enough credit. It is the greatest honor in the world to share this show with the healthcare community.

Who was the very first person you texted or called after your win?

Iverson: My mom. I wrote “OH MY GOD” in all caps.

Please share a word of advice or encouragement for our theater students.

Iverson: First, be a sponge. Exhaust yourself. Then wring yourself dry, and wake up and do it all over again. Adelphi can set you up with an opportunity to do that.

Second, be deeply grateful for the gift you have been given, and then do something with it.

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