Introducing the 2026-2027 Scholars Across the University 

Empire State University has named two faculty members as the recipients of its annual Scholars Across the University award. Assistant Professors Yanqing Sun and Lisa Unangst were selected for the 2026-2027 academic year. They will present their work to the university community starting this fall. 

About the Scholars: 

Yanqing Sun 

A member of the Department of Psychology and Human Development in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yanqing Sun will be presenting two studies. The first examines how high school students understand research, “demonstrating metaphor analysis as a useful lens.”  

“By studying the metaphors students use to describe research, we can gain insight into how their thinking about research develops,” the educator explains.  

The second study, which focuses on students’ literary practices and teachers’ role in cross-classroom collaboration, “shows that young students can work across multiple sources, forms, [and] spaces of knowledge for productive knowledge building across communities,” Sun says. 

“I’m excited not only to share my research, but also to learn from colleagues across the university and hear their perspectives,” Sun continues. “I hope these presentations will create opportunities for meaningful conversations and new ideas, and that I can bring what I learn from these conversations back into my research, teaching, and mentoring.” 

Lisa Unangst 

A faculty member in the College of Education, Lisa Unangst will be presenting on three interrelated topics: college pathways for displaced learners in New York, leveraging prior learning assessment for displaced learners globally, and how nursing education programs in New York reflect displaced learners.  

“My scholarship focuses on the intersection(s) of migration, diversity, and higher education internationalization. This applied research considers education across the lifespan as emancipatory for individuals and communities,” she says. “It also points to opportunities to leverage policies and practices already in place to support displaced learners, with displacement in the U.S. being at the highest level in decades.” 

By sharing this work, “I hope that folks will have the opportunity to reflect on how education and migration have clear relevance for other fields including public policy, sociology, social work, and so forth,” Unangst adds.