Urban Impact
On Kean's Urban Impact podcast, the complex issues facing urban communities are examined through meaningful conversations with scholars, community leaders and others who are driving change.
Urban Impact is recorded and produced on campus at Kean, New Jersey’s urban research university.
Season 2 - Episode 2: What Is Environmental Justice? | Nicky Sheats, Ph.D., J.D.
On Season Two’s second episode, the Kean University’s podcast Urban Impact explores environmental justice with Nicky Sheats, Ph.D., J.D., director of the Center for the Urban Environment at the John S. Watson Institute for Urban Policy and Research at Kean. Sheats explains the disproportionate impact of pollution on low-income neighborhoods and communities of color; how the Canadian wildfires brought a visual element to understanding pollution; and why measuring one pollutant at a time is part of the problem.
Episode 10: Kean’s Podcast Urban Impact Celebrates First Season
On the 10th and final episode of Season One of Kean University’s podcast, Urban Impact, hosts Michael Salvatore, Ph.D., and Barbara George Johnson, JD, recall their favorite moments from the first season. Take a listen and hear what caught their attention as the podcast’s season draws to a close.
Episode 9: Why Artificial Intelligence Is Flawed (Currently) - With Astrophysicist David Joiner, Ph.D.
On the ninth episode of Urban Impact, astrophysicist and Kean Associate Professor David Joiner, Ph.D., pulls back the curtain on artificial intelligence, revealing its current limitations, flaws and even potential biases.
Episode 8: Should We Fight Artificial Intelligence or Embrace It? The Role of AI in Education - With Professor Mia Zamora, Ph.D.
On the eighth episode of Urban Impact, English professor and director of the Master of Arts in Writing Studies program at Kean University, Mia Zamora, Ph.D., discusses the potential impact of artificial intelligence in the classroom and why she believes a humanist approach is critical to working with emerging technologies like A.I.
Urban Impact is recorded and produced at Kean, New Jersey’s urban research university.
Episode 7: Supercharging Student Engagement by Embracing Diverse Cultures
On the seventh episode of Kean’s podcast, Urban Impact, Ana I. Berdecia, director of the Center for the Positive Development of Urban Children at the John S. Watson Institute for Urban Policy and Research at Kean University, discusses the impact teachers have when they embrace the different cultures of their students and why stepping up cultural celebrations and measures that embrace diversity are key to engaging students on a deeper level.
Episode 6: The Power of Family Engagement in Education - With Sancha Gray, Ed.D.
On the 6th episode of Urban Impact, Senior Vice President for Entrepreneurial Education Initiatives Sancha Gray, Ed.D., discusses how intentionally developing programs that engage families in the education of their children supercharges positive outcomes, increases graduation rates and has the potential to disrupt the cycle of poverty in families.
Episode 5: The Power of Nonprofits to Transform Urban Communities
On the 5th episode of Kean’s podcast, Urban Impact, Kean Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs David S. Birdsell, Ph.D., explains what nonprofits need to do to maximize their impact and how they became such an important part of America’s social support network.
Episode 4: Urban Invasion: How Invasive Species Could Collapse Entire Ecosystems
On the 4th episode of Kean’s podcast, Urban Impact, biologist and Kean Assistant Professor Brenna Levine, Ph.D., discusses how the population density and higher average temperatures of urban areas make them susceptible to invasive species that are disrupting their biodiversity.
Episode 3: Are Urban Farms and Micro Forests the Key to a Healthier Planet? Ethnobotanist Daniela Shebitz, Ph.D., Explains
Daniela Shebitz, Ph.D., explains what an ethnobotanist is, why urban farming and micro forests are so important, and why solving the Earth’s carbon problem comes down to individuals not corporations.
Episode 2: How Does This Change Anything?
(What Is Urban Research - Part 2) Kean University Provost David S. Birdsell, Ph.D., Explains
On the second episode of Kean’s podcast, Urban Impact, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs David S. Birdsell, Ph.D., explains what Kean’s urban research designation means for students, researchers and communities across New Jersey.
Episode 1: What Is Urban Research Anyway?
Kean University Provost David S. Birdsell, Ph.D., Explains
What happens when a university is officially designated an "urban research" university? On the first episode of Urban Impact, Kean Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs David S. Birdsell, Ph.D., explains Kean’s important role as New Jersey’s first urban research university and the impact of the designation.
About the Hosts
Michael Salvatore, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Administration, Kean University
As Senior Vice President of Administration at Kean, Michael Salvatore, Ph.D. is dedicated to improving the campus community through the democratization of data and detailed analysis. With an extensive background in education, including a University doctoral teaching fellowship in education leadership, Michael brings a wealth of experience to his role. He is committed to closing learning and access gaps and creating a more equitable and sustainable ecosystem for student success.
Barbara George Johnson, Vice President of External Affairs and Urban Policy and Research, Kean University
Barbara George Johnson is Vice President of External Affairs and Urban Policy and Research at Kean University. At the John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy, Barbara oversees the work and mission of the New Jersey Urban Mayors Association, a one-of-a-kind organization of 32 urban mayors engaged in collective policymaking. Johnson has more than 30 years of experience as a public policy professional in New Jersey with an extensive background in health care, public health and public policy.