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Professor Emily Gold Waldman has been awarded the 2026 Goettel Prize for Faculty Scholarship for her article, Parents at the Schoolhouse Gate, published in the North Carolina Law Review, 104 N.C. L. Rev. 773 (2026).

The Goettel Prize was created in 2004 to encourage and recognize outstanding scholarship by members of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law faculty. Each year, members of the tenured and tenure-track faculty are invited to submit their work for consideration (on an anonymous basis) by a selection committee of outside reviewers. This year's committee consisted of three distinguished professors: Andrea Freeman, Second Century Chair Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School; Jordan Blair Woods, James E. Rogers Professor of Law, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, James E. Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona; and Heather Payne, Carter C. Kissell Professor of Law, Moritz College of Law, Ohio State University.

“Professor Waldman’s Parents at the Schoolhouse Gate takes on an exceptionally timely and important area of law, offering thoughtful analysis of the evolving relationship among parents, students, and public schools,” said Professor Margot J. Pollans, Associate Dean for Faculty Development at Haub Law. “Emily’s work exemplifies the rigorous, relevant scholarship that distinguishes our faculty, and I am delighted to see her recognized with this year’s Goettel Prize.”

In Parents at the Schoolhouse Gate, Professor Waldman examines the evolving constitutional landscape surrounding parental rights in public education. The article analyzes the implications of the United States Supreme Court’s 2025 decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor, which held that parents were entitled under the Free Exercise Clause to opt their children out of certain elementary school lessons that conflicted with their religious beliefs. It also explores the rise of “parents’ rights”-focused organizations and the new types of arguments they are making under the Free Speech Clause.

“I am so honored to receive the Goettel Prize and to have Parents at the Schoolhouse Gate recognized by this year’s selection committee,” said Professor Waldman. “I started writing the article in 2024, and then things started changing so quickly in the courts—especially with the Supreme Court’s 2025 decision in Mahmoud—that I had to substantially update it several times! I hope that the piece contributes to the ongoing conversation about parental rights, student interests, and the role of public schools.”

Professor Waldman joined the Haub Law faculty in 2006 and teaches Constitutional Law, Law and Education, Employment Law Survey, and Civil Procedure. Her scholarship focuses on constitutional law, education law, and the law of the workplace. She is also the Faculty Director of Haub Law’s Federal Judicial Honors Program. Notably, this 2026 award marks Professor Waldman’s second Goettel Prize for Faculty Scholarship; she previously received the award in 2008 for her article "Returning to Hazelwood's Core: A New Approach to Restrictions on School-Sponsored Speech," 60 Fla. L. Rev. 63 (2008).

At Pace, persistence pays off, and in this case, years of scientific research has led to a remarkable, lifesaving breakthrough for humanity.

Faculty in the award-winning Haskins Labs, renowned for producing innovative research on parasitic diseases that improves human health across the world, have contributed to a major development in the treatment of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), a potentially fatal parasitic disease commonly known as sleeping sickness. Acoziborole (marketed as Acoziborole Winthrop) can now cure the disease with a single oral dose, representing a significant step forward in the management of tropical diseases.

The advance is especially significant for a disease that historically required far more complex—and sometimes highly toxic—treatment. Now, a simple, single-dose therapy could make treatment dramatically easier to deliver in remote communities and help accelerate global efforts to eliminate sleeping sickness altogether.

This achievement grew out of a collaboration involving Pace, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), who funded the research, Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Scynexis, and other partners. Director of the Haskins Lab and Distinguished Professor of Chemistry Nigel Yarlett, PhD, and Professor Emeritus Cyrus Bacchi, PhD, former director, helped evaluate potential compounds using both bloodstream and central nervous system models, work that ultimately contributed to identifying and advancing acoziborole toward clinical development.

A competitive, curative edge

Linked to the Biology and Chemistry and Physical Sciences departments in the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences on the New York City Campus, with joint research projects involving students, faculty and staff, Haskins is unique in that very few labs have the capability to do late-stage disease models, a key component in life-extension for those afflicted with HAT.

Yarlett said, “Acoziborole is a huge contribution to the treatment of HAT since it is administered as 1-3 pills, single dose, can last in the patient for up to 28 days, and penetrates the blood-brain barrier, curing both early-stage (blood stream infection) and late-stage disease (central nervous system infection); the latter is fatal if not addressed.”

The work continues

There are two main forms of HAT, depending upon the region of Africa where the disease is prominent, and acoziborole is currently being used to treat patients with West African Trypanosomiasis caused by Trypanosoma gambiense. Acoziborole has not yet been used, however, in the case of East African Trypanosomiasis caused by T. rhodesiense, and that’s where the Haskins Labs come in, with the next stage of research set to determine if the treatment can extend to all forms of the disease.

“I feel confident it will, but parasites can often surprise you,” said Yarlett.

Yarlett and his research team are also working on developing a curative treatment for cryptosporidiosis, a debilitating diarrheal disease implicated in an estimated 200,000 child deaths annually, and primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. There is currently no approved drug, and treatment consists of intensive intravenous hydration, a practical impossibility in the countries most impacted.

Haskins has received funding from both the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to investigate the parasite with the goal of producing an oral, low dose, non-toxic small molecules to treat children impacted with this parasite.

Student success at Haskins

At Haskins, both undergraduate and graduate students carry out research under the guidance of faculty and regularly publish their findings in high impact journals, present at conferences, and pursue successful careers, with two students who participated in Haskins during the 1970s with then-director Seymour Hutner recognized with Nobel Peace prizes.

Although students were not directly involved in the more recent research on acoziborole, they were involved in other key aspects leading to its discovery.

Donna Sarno, laboratory supervisor, has contributed to various parasitic research at Haskins during the course of 34 years at Pace, and a big part of that has been alongside students.

“The labs give students a unique research experience. Working with parasites and neglected diseases especially opens them up to a world they may not know about,” she said.

Pace honored among industry professionals

In November 2026, scientists (including Yarlett and Bacchi) and industry leaders who were key players in facilitating efforts to finally eliminate sleeping sickness will be celebrated at an event cohosted by the North Carolina Global Health Alliance and DNDi.

A key feature will be a documentary partly filmed at Haskins in September 2026, followed by a roundtable discussion with Q+A by representatives in attendance.

For Yarlett, it is very much a full-circle moment.

Since joining the Haskins laboratory in 1986, acoziborole is the second drug that Yarlett has seen go into clinical trial for the treatment of Human African Trypanosomiasis, and it could not have happened without the collaboration of so many in the Pace Community.

He said, “A large part of this success stems from the great insight and knowledge that Cy Bacchi has for this disease and ability to find the Achilles Heel of a deadly parasite. We are also grateful to the support and encouragement provided by Pace University and President Krislov in these endeavors, it is a great environment to do this research, and we look forward to the continued success of the Haskins Laboratories at Pace University.”

Making a difference, into the future

The scientific breakthrough in the form of acoziborole’s discovery is a powerful example of what happens when Pace gives great minds the support to pursue big questions.

It is also a testament to how a gem of a space and decades of persistence can have a far-reaching impact, ultimately changing lives around the world.

Fall is here, and there are a few important financial aid updates to keep on your radar. From filing your 2027–2028 FAFSA to understanding new federal student loan rules, here’s what Haub Law students need to know.

File Your 2027–2028 FAFSA by February 15

The 2027–2028 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) opens October 1, 2026. Pace’s priority submission deadline is February15, 2027. Before you get started:

• Create your FSA ID. If you do not already have one, create an account on the Federal Student Aid website.
• Use your legal information. First-time filers should have their Social Security number ready and enter their legal name exactly as it appears on their Social Security card.
• Submit by February 15. Filing by Pace’s priority deadline helps ensure you are considered for all financial aid for which you may be eligible.
• Need help? A 2027–2028 FAFSA walkthrough is coming soon. In the meantime, visit the Pace Financial Aid YouTube channel for helpful videos and resources.

New Federal Student Loan Limits Are Now in Effect

New federal student loan limits took effect July 1, 2026. Some continuing students may qualify for a legacy exception, allowing them to continue borrowing under the previous federal loan limits. You may qualify for the legacy exception if you were enrolled in your current program and received a Direct Loan before July 1, 2026.

To maintain legacy eligibility:

• You must remain enrolled in the same program at the same school without interrupting your enrollment.
• Taking a Leave of Absence may cause you to lose legacy eligibility.
• You must complete your program within its published length.

If you do not qualify for the legacy exception, the new federal loan limits will apply.

For example, Graduate PLUS Loans will only be available to students meeting Legacy guidelines.

Non-Legacy borrowers are eligible for up to $50,000 Unsubsidized loan annually, with a new aggregate limit of $200,000.

Students are unable to choose whether or not to "opt out" of legacy borrower status.

Other Federal Student Loan Changes

There are also two important changes to how federal student loans are distributed:

• You can no longer receive more than half of your annual federal student loan eligibility in a single semester.
• If you enroll less than full-time, federal student loans will be reduced based on your credit load.

Complete Your 2026–2027 Financial Aid Requirements

Still have outstanding financial aid requirements for the current academic year? Log in to your Pace Portal and complete any remaining 2026–2027 financial aid requirements as soon as possible. Outstanding requirements can delay the processing or disbursement of your financial aid.

Don’t Lose Financial Aid Over Attendance

Federal financial aid eligibility is tied to your attendance and participation in your courses. To protect your eligibility:

• Attend and participate in all your registered classes.
• Pay attention to any attendance-related communications from Pace.
• Respond promptly if there is an issue with your enrollment.

Professors are required to verify attendance during the semester. If you do not attend or participate in a course, you may be dropped for non-attendance, and your financial aid may be adjusted accordingly.

Check Your Pace Email

Your Pace email is one of the most important ways the Financial Aid Office communicates with you. If you receive a message that requires action, respond as soon as possible. Check it regularly for:

• Outstanding financial aid requirements
• FAFSA updates
• Changes to your aid
• Requests for additional information
• Important deadlines

Contact the Financial Aid Office

Need help? The Financial Aid Office is available Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Reach out via phone at (914) 648-0796 or submit a Help Desk ticket,

Fall is here, and there are a few important financial aid updates to keep on your radar. From filing your 2027–2028 FAFSA to understanding new federal student loan rules, here’s what undergraduate students and families need to know.

File Your 2027–2028 FAFSA by November 15

The 2027–2028 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) opens October 1, 2026. Pace’s priority submission deadline is November 15, 2026.

Before you get started:

• Create your FSA ID. If you do not already have one, create an account on the Federal Student Aid website.
• Use your legal information. First-time filers should have their Social Security number ready and enter their legal name exactly as it appears on their Social Security card.
• Submit by November 15. Filing by Pace’s priority deadline helps ensure you are considered for all financial aid for which you may be eligible.
• Need help? A 2027–2028 FAFSA walkthrough is coming soon. In the meantime, visit the Pace Financial Aid YouTube channel for helpful videos and resources.

New Federal Student Loan Limits Are Now in Effect

New federal student loan limits took effect July 1, 2026. Some continuing students and families may qualify for a legacy exception, allowing them to continue borrowing under the previous federal loan limits.

You may qualify for the legacy exception if you were enrolled in your current program and received a Direct Loan before July 1, 2026.

To maintain legacy eligibility:

• You must remain enrolled in the same program at the same school without interrupting your enrollment.
• Taking a Leave of Absence may cause you to lose legacy eligibility.
• You must complete your program within its published length.

If you do not qualify for the legacy exception, the new federal loan limits will apply.

For example, Parent PLUS Loans are now limited to $20,000 per year for each dependent undergraduate student, with a $65,000 lifetime limit.

If your parent borrowed a Parent PLUS Loan before July 1, 2026, they may be able to continue borrowing under the previous rules, up to the full cost of attendance minus other financial aid, for up to three additional years or until you graduate, whichever comes first.

Other Federal Student Loan Changes

There are also two important changes to how federal student loans are distributed:

• You can no longer receive more than half of your annual federal student loan eligibility in a single semester.
• If you enroll less than full-time, federal student loans other than Parent PLUS Loans will be reduced based on your credit load.

Complete Your 2026–2027 Financial Aid Requirements

Still have outstanding financial aid requirements for the current academic year? Log in to your Pace Portal and complete any remaining 2026–2027 financial aid requirements as soon as possible. Outstanding requirements can delay the processing or disbursement of your financial aid.

Don’t Lose Financial Aid Over Attendance

Federal financial aid eligibility is tied to your attendance and participation in your courses. To protect your eligibility:

• Attend and participate in all your registered classes.
• Pay attention to any attendance-related communications from Pace.
• Respond promptly if there is an issue with your enrollment.

Professors are required to verify attendance during the semester. If you do not attend or participate in a course, you may be dropped for non-attendance, and your financial aid may be adjusted accordingly.

Check Your Pace Email

Your Pace email is one of the most important ways the Financial Aid Office communicates with you. If you receive a message that requires action, respond as soon as possible. Check it regularly for:

• Outstanding financial aid requirements
• FAFSA updates
• Changes to your aid
• Requests for additional information
• Important deadlines

Contact the Financial Aid Office

Need help? The Financial Aid Office is available Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Reach out via phone at (877) 672-1830, submit a Help Desk ticket, or schedule an appointment.

For independent game developers, creating the game is only part of the challenge. Once the coding, design, testing, and polishing are complete, the creators face a completely different question: How do they find an audience for what they’ve built?

Brennan Moores ’26, a recent graduate of Pace University’s Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems, knows that challenge firsthand as an independent game developer. As he put it, “The one thing that you want to do with your game is share it. You want to get it across the world.”

This is exactly the problem that Averent, a social commerce platform designed to help small, independent game developers and their supporters discover and be discovered, is working to address. Co-founded by Pace student Tyler Yeung, who is pursuing his BA in Computer Science from Seidenberg, and University of Calgary student Rabi Khan, the company aims to improve indie game discoverability, strengthen creator-audience relationships, and complement trusted platforms such as Steam, itch.io, Discord, and game websites.

One thing Pace has allowed me to do is incorporate my startup directly into my education.

Throughout his time at Pace, Yeung and the team have been building Averent and applying everything they’ve learned into developing the platform. “One thing Pace has allowed me to do is incorporate my startup directly into my education,” Yeung said. “In multiple instances, I’ve been able to incorporate Averent directly as part of my coursework, including my Honors Thesis, final projects for multiple software development courses, and working directly with students and faculty, including Dean Chen herself, to push Averent forward. Our team is nearly entirely composed of Pace students and alumni, with many faculty serving as direct mentors and advisors.”

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Faculty mentorship has played a crucial role in Averent’s development. “One of the professors that stood out the most to me was Professor Tom Schmidt,” Yeung added. “I had one of my first-ever classes at Pace with him, discrete math, which is an area I was never very strong in. I was worried this would be a major struggle, but Dr. Schmidt’s teaching motivated me to continue my studies at Seidenberg when I wasn’t too sure about my future in this field.”

Schmidt eventually became Averent’s academic advisor, and as Yeung put it, “he was our gateway into most of the great resources that Pace has to offer.”

As Averent developed, Seidenberg students and alumni with different areas of expertise joined the team. Sapna Naidu (’26), the team’s cybersecurity lead, earned her MS in Cybersecurity from Pace and is now a full-time faculty member at Seidenberg. “My work as a secure full-stack engineer ran alongside my studies and made the coursework click. I could take a concept from class and immediately apply it against real threats and real systems. That loop between classroom and practice is what turned knowledge into instinct,” Naidu said. She added that when she was looking for a cybersecurity program, Seidenberg’s hands-on approach, proximity to industry in New York, and experienced faculty made the difference. “It felt like a place that would prepare me to actually build and defend systems, not just study them.”

Mentorship by faculty ... as well as Pace’s networking events and courses based on industry-level knowledge, were the things that really enhanced my education here and left me feeling prepared for a career.

Sarvesh Shah (MS in Computer Science ’26), the platform’s full-stack cloud engineer, echoed Naidu’s emphasis on faculty mentorship and industry-focused learning as important parts of his Pace experience. “Mentorship by faculty like Dr. Scharff and Dr. Shan, as well as Pace’s networking events and courses based on industry-level knowledge, were the things that really enhanced my education here and left me feeling prepared for a career,” he said.

The Averent team recently completed the Spring 2026 Element 46 Tech Accelerator, a Westchester-based startup accelerator, where they presented at Demo Day. They have since launched the platform and started testing with active beta users. They’ve also joined forces with the Front Yard at Pace University, an entrepreneurial incubator at the Lubin School of Business, as a startup in residence. The partnership gives the team another environment to develop Averent while expanding its connections across the University.

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For Lizi Imedashvili (BS in Information Systems ’26), Averent’s head of growth and business development and a current MS in Data Science student, interdisciplinary experiences at Pace led her to the startup. She also serves as a project manager at Blue CoLab, Seidenberg’s program of training, innovation, and research in real-time water monitoring technologies within the Gale Epstein Center for Technology, Policy, and the Environment, where she met Yeung and learned about Averent. “Joining the team let me apply what I’ve learned, keep growing my skills, and experience what it’s like to build something in a real startup.”

Isaiah Zuppa (BS in Computer Science ’26), the platform’s lead outreach coordinator and full-stack developer, discovered Averent in a software engineering class, which ultimately helped him finish his capstone project: “I got to work on a platform with real-world implications, applying not only my previous knowledge but consistently learning new things that I can confidently say have greatly honed my skills.”

Averent’s collaborative approach has been central to the team’s growth. Rabi Khan, Averent’s co-founder and CTO, recognizes that same spirit of collaboration at the heart of the company’s beginnings. “One of the main things that made me want to work on Averent was Tyler's passion, and I was impressed with his front-end design when he first showed me,” he said. “A cool part of Averent's story is that it started off from us playing Minecraft when I was probably around 10 years old, and it led to the start of a company.”

As the team continues expanding its platform and building relationships with industry partners, Averent captures how people can grow together and build something with the potential to influence an industry when they have an environment that supports hands-on learning and mentorship.

The Elisabeth Haub School of Law launches the Haub Environmental Law Fifty Fund, a new initiative established to coincide with the Law School’s 50th anniversary to support innovative scholarship, research, and collaboration among junior environmental law scholars.

At a time of significant change in environmental law and policy, the Haub Environmental Law Fifty Fund will provide targeted, flexible grants to help emerging scholars advance ambitious projects with the potential to contribute to environmental law scholarship, education, policy, and practice. Grants will support endeavors that extend beyond the boundaries of traditional legal scholarship and encourage innovation, collaboration, and real-world impact.

“For 50 years, Haub Law has been at the forefront of environmental legal education, scholarship, and advocacy, and this new fund reflects both that history and our commitment to the future of the field,” said Horace E. Anderson Jr., Dean of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law. “By investing in the next generation of environmental law scholars and providing them with the resources to pursue innovative ideas, we are helping to ensure that environmental law continues to evolve to meet the challenges of our time.”

The Haub Environmental Law Fifty Fund Grant Program is designed to provide junior scholars with timely funding that can unlock new opportunities in their work. Funding may support research assistants, empirical or fieldwork, data acquisition and technical tools, workshops and stakeholder convenings, practitioner engagement, project-related travel, community collaboration, and other innovative approaches that may be difficult to pursue through traditional faculty resources.

The program is also grounded in principles of mutual support and community-building. In addition to providing financial support, Haub Law seeks to create opportunities for grant recipients to develop new collaborations, exchange ideas, and build lasting connections within the environmental law academy. Awardees will be invited to participate in an end-of-grant-year symposium at Haub Law’s campus in White Plains, New York, where they will share their research, works-in-progress, project outcomes, methods, or tools with fellow scholars.

The program builds on Haub Law’s longstanding commitment to expanding access to academic resources. Beginning in 2014, Haub Law’s Future Environmental Law Professors Workshop provides mentorship and support to emerging environmental law scholars on the academic job market. The Haub Environmental Law Fifty Fund Grant Program seeks to extend that support to junior scholars in need of additional resources to deepen their work.

“Environmental law scholarship is strongest when scholars have the freedom and resources to explore new ideas, build collaborations, and connect their work to the communities and institutions confronting environmental challenges,” said Professor Josh Galperin, Associate Dean of the Environmental Law Program at Haub Law. “We have seen firsthand how the Haub family’s support has opened doors for new ideas and initiatives in environmental law at Haub Law and beyond, and the Haub Environmental Law Fifty Fund gives us an opportunity to help open those doors for junior scholars as well.”

Eligible applicants include full-time, pre-tenure faculty and faculty in their first-year post-tenure at U.S.-based law schools whose work focuses on environmental law. Clinical faculty who meet the applicable career-stage criteria are also eligible, including those who are not in tenure-track positions. Collaborative proposals are encouraged, provided at least one applicant meets the eligibility requirements and has significant involvement in the proposed project.

Applications are due by November 15, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET, with award recipients expected to be notified in December. Multiple projects are expected to receive funding. Projects will generally take place over approximately nine to twelve months following the award, although proposals with different timelines will also be considered. Applications will be evaluated by both Haub Law faculty and a group of outside experts. Assessment criteria will include innovation, feasibility, impact and community value, scholarly development, and alignment of the proposed budget with the program’s goals. Full application details and additional information on the Haub Environmental Law Fifty Fund are available here.

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For Jolina Halloran, EdD, academic advising has never been simply about choosing courses, checking requirements, or staying on track toward graduation.

It is about helping students navigate college as people.

As director of academic advising for Pace University’s Lubin School of Business, Halloran leads undergraduate advising across the New York City and Pleasantville campuses, supervising a team of eight academic advisors and one staff member while maintaining an active caseload of more than 300 undergraduate and graduate students.

Her approach is grounded in a simple but consequential question. When a student begins struggling, rather than immediately asking Why aren’t they doing what they are supposed to do?, Halloran considers something different: What might be happening in this student’s life that is affecting their ability to engage?

That question is also at the center of Halloran’s paper, Emotional Intelligence and Relational-Cultural Theory as a Framework for Trauma-Informed Academic Advising, published in the peer-reviewed NACADA Journal, a leading scholarly publication focused on advancing academic advising research and practice.

Her research brings together emotional intelligence, relational-cultural theory, and principles of trauma-informed care to offer advisors a more holistic framework for understanding student behavior. Emotional intelligence considers an advisor’s ability to recognize and manage emotions. Relational-cultural theory examines trust, connection, power, identity, and empathy within the advising relationship. Trauma-informed care considers the wider institutional environment surrounding both the advisor and student.

“When students trust their advisor, they begin to ask questions, advocate for themselves,” she says.

Together, Halloran says, those perspectives can help higher education professionals look differently at behaviors that might otherwise be interpreted simply as disengagement or irresponsibility.

A student who stops responding to emails, misses appointments, withdraws from a course, or begins struggling academically may be experiencing circumstances an advisor cannot immediately see.

That does not mean eliminating expectations.

“Accountability and empathy aren’t opposites,” Halloran says. An advisor can clearly explain policies and academic standards while still acknowledging that a student may be experiencing something difficult.

At Lubin, that philosophy becomes part of a larger approach to preparing students to navigate college, careers, and increasingly complex professional environments.

Halloran has spent more than a decade at Pace, beginning in the Biology Department before moving into academic advising through the Honors College and, eventually, Lubin. She has worked directly with students throughout different stages of the undergraduate experience and has taught courses including University Life, professional planning and internship preparation, and advanced professional development for career readiness.

That breadth of experience has helped shape her understanding of advising as developmental rather than merely transactional.

Students may initially walk into an advisor’s office because they need help registering for a course, understanding a degree requirement, or resolving an academic problem. But when trust develops, Halloran says, the conversation changes.

“When students trust their advisor, they begin to ask questions, advocate for themselves,” she says.

Advisors, then, have an opportunity not only to help solve an immediate problem but also to teach students how to navigate complicated systems, recover from setbacks, make decisions, and confidently ask for help.

Halloran’s research has made her even more intentional about bringing curiosity into those interactions. It has also reinforced her belief that strong advising should ultimately increase a student’s independence.

Part of the goal, she says, is “helping them develop the confidence and the skills to navigate the next problem themselves.”

Her commitment to resilience and student support also extends well beyond Pace.

Halloran is co-founder of the BTH Foundation, established in memory of her son, Brian Thomas Halloran. Through the organization, Halloran and her family support mental health education for young people, including bringing DBT STEPS-A curriculum into school districts and helping train educators to continue that work.

Her experiences with the foundation, together with her scholarly interests in emotional intelligence, self-stigma, help-seeking, and student self-advocacy, have increasingly converged with her work in higher education.

But Halloran is careful about the boundaries of that work.

Academic advisors are not therapists, she emphasizes. Trauma-informed advising instead asks advisors and institutions to think carefully about how they listen, how they communicate, and how they connect students with appropriate resources.

Halloran advocates for “warm referrals,” which can mean helping a student identify the right office, explaining what to expect, initiating a connection when appropriate, and following up rather than simply directing someone elsewhere. She also argues that sustainable trauma-informed advising requires institutional support, including clear referral pathways, training, manageable workloads, collaboration, and strong partnerships across campus.

“I hope they feel seen, heard, respected, and capable,” she says.

It is a philosophy that places relationships at the center of student success while recognizing that successful advising is never the responsibility of one person alone.

For Halloran, its impact can ultimately be measured in something deceptively simple: how a student feels when they leave the room.

“I hope they feel seen, heard, respected, and capable,” she says.

Students may not always receive the answer they hoped for. Policies cannot always change. But even when the answer is no, Halloran wants students to know that someone listened, treated them with dignity, and helped them understand what comes next.

At Lubin, Halloran is bringing that combination of research, experience, and advocacy directly into the work of supporting students, helping them not only move toward a degree but become more confident navigating the challenges they will encounter along the way.