In The News
Rutgers Announces John McGann as the New Rutgers Center for Cognitive Science (RuCCS) Director
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Professor John McGann has been announced as the new Director of the Center for Cognitive Science at Rutgers University-New Brunswick (RuCCS).
Professor McGann earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Psychology, followed by a doctorate in neuroscience, all from Yale University. He came to Rutgers in 2009 as an Assistant Professor in the Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience section of the Psychology Department, where he established the McGann Laboratory on the Neurobiology of Sensory Cognition. He was tenured in 2013, promoted to full Professor in 2019, serves as Director of RuCCS as of July 1, 2020.
Recent concerns over the Coronavirus pandemic lead to an increase in discrimination in banking, particularly minority-owned small businesses, finds RuCCS Affiliate Professor Jerome Williams
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A study conducted by Jerome Williams (RuCCS Affiliate, Distinguished Professor, and Prudential Chair in Business at Rutgers) and peers argues that Black borrowers face disadvantages even before filing for loans.
In the study, the same qualifications and statuses were presented for both the White and Black borrowers. Ultimately, it was White borrowers who were more likely to get an additional line of credit with their loans while Black borrowers weren't even offered additional credit.
Read more on the study in the New York Times article here or the NCRC article here.
Rutgers Philosophy and Cognitive Science Alumna and Scholar Sarah-Jane Leslie talks about the negative impact of "brilliance" in the workplace due to gender bias
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Rutgers alumna Sarah-Jane Leslie is the Dean of the Graduate School and a Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University. Leslie's research focuses on the gender bias women face in the workplace. She states, "Some fields tend to prize dedication, hard work, and building up your skills. Others tend to focus on whether someone is really smart. Are they brilliant? Do they have 'it'?" In her study, Leslie notes that due to cultural stereotypes, 'brilliance' is often associated with men.
Read more on the impacts of gender bias in the SAS article: "A Scholar Shows How Notions of “Brilliance” Can Work Against Women"
Student groups at Rutgers connecting virtually during the pandemic lockdown
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During a time of social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
student groups are getting creative in order to connect with others in a remote situation. For many groups and clubs at Rutgers, this has meant relying on social media, virtual events, and e-newsletters to stay busy
and keep connecting.
Read more on how student groups at Rutgers are staying connected through virtual environments in the SAS Access article here.
Cognitive Science student Hannah Varkey creates podcast series celebrating underrepresented minorities in science, medicine, and STEM
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The "Autism Thinks" podcast created by Hannah Varkey is produced by the New Jersey Autism Center of Excellence (NJACE). Episodes discuss connections between neuroscience, technology, and innovation and how they change our perspective on autism, our understanding of our mind, and the world around us. The series covers topics such as autism in minorities, agency, struggles minorities face in academics, the importance of diversity, and more. Interviews include appearances by other Rutgers students including honor students and neuroscience scholars.
