Daily Lumina News 080522

Just like skills and knowledge, relationships offer resources that drive access to opportunity. Yet many first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students have limited exposure to these networks, which has driven racial and gender wealth gaps.
Can technology help equalize students’ access to relationships that provide support, information and opportunity? Some education experts say yes.

Officials in Minnesota are on a mission to give student parents the resources they and their children need to thrive.

That mission includes a comprehensive approach to basic needs, one that provides food, housing, transportation, mental health services, and child care. It’s a matter of equity, says Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

George Floyd’s murder marks a vivid dividing line in W. David Hubbard’s nearly two-decade career as a corporate lawyer: Before, he rarely spoke openly at work about his experiences as a Black man in America; afterward, the stories poured out.
Still, some worry that companies have stalled in making bigger changes.

Native American students face unique challenges when it comes to higher education. Programs to help them afford and succeed in college exist, but those programs can be challenging to keep track of and are only available to students who identify themselves on the right forms.
The University of Montana aims to help with the creation of new data systems designed to improve students' campus experiences, graduation rates, and career opportunities.

The idyllic county of Morris, New Jersey, is one of the wealthiest in the state. But this wealth hides a disturbing fact. Thirty percent of Morris County households make less than a living wage. The situation is even worse for Black and Latino residents.
But change is happening—thanks in part to the County College of Morris and its work to engage the community with a series of equity-focused enrollment efforts.

A new report shows that colleges’ vaccine mandates had a substantial effect on county-level COVID-19 infection and death rates, likely reducing total U.S. deaths from the virus by about 5 percent—or roughly 7,300 lives—in fall 2021.
Rather than looking just at how a college’s vaccine mandate affects the student body, the study examined how the policy can influence the surrounding community’s health outcomes as a “spillover” effect.