Outgoing Scholars Across the University Look Back on a Year of Community Engagement
(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — July 15, 2025) For the last year, Empire State University’s Assistant Professors Bernadet Dejonge, Cailyn Green, and Alexandra Rush have been sharing their research through SUNY Empire’s longstanding Scholars Across the University initiative. Now, as their time in the program comes to a close—and the recently announced 2025-2026 scholars prepare to begin their tenures—the educators are reflecting on the presentations they delivered to the university community.
Rush, an assistant professor who teaches within the Psychology and Human Development department, used the Scholars Across the University platform to discuss her work on a trio of topics: the impacts of trauma on survivors and their descendants, the experience of the first female participants in the historically male Boy Scouts of America program, and the Scouts’ influence on young people’s sense of purpose. She says that engaging with faculty and students with varied research interests has made her a more conscientious presenter.
“This experience pushed me to be more thoughtful in how I present my research to speak to the needs of the audience,” Rush explains. “By doing so, I was able to share my research findings in a way that was informative and deepened [the audience’s] understanding of my work, including the applicability to other contexts.”
The opportunity to refine presentation skills was also a highlight for Green, who teamed up with Dejonge on talks about the pair’s OER textbook, “Social Justice & Advocacy in Human Services,” and research into the connection between neurodiversity and addiction. An assistant professor of addiction studies, Green says that focusing on the content and delivery of her presentations helped prepare her to participate in future events like the Northwest Behavioral Health Institute Conference, which she was asked to attend after conference organizers discovered her work.
“If I did not have the practice speaking on this topic through Scholars Across the University, I am not sure I would feel ready to be an invited speaker at such a large conference setting,” she says.
Green also noted that the presentations and ensuing discussions showcased the university community’s interest in the material—an observation shared by her collaborator Dejonge, also an assistant professor. Dejonge says that colleagues seemed particularly curious about their research on neurodiversity and addiction, which she describes as “kind of niche.”
“This presentation seemed to generate the most conversation, and we found ourselves focusing on this a lot,” she says. “Turns out, it is showing up in the field a ton, and we aren’t sure how to serve that population quite yet.”
Overall, all three presenters look fondly upon their experience in the Scholars Across the University program. Dejonge says she “really enjoyed the discussions and conversations,” and Rush praised the program for providing “a space to foster meaningful connections between scholars and the broader Empire State University community, while also uncovering shared interests and potential avenues for collaboration.” Green, meanwhile, highlights the program’s role in helping her view her work in a new light.
“Being able to present our work eight times in one academic year provided me the opportunity to see the research through a different, more intense lens,” she says. “I was able to dive deeper and received so much valuable feedback and insight on the work.”