| Date | Title | Description |
| 13.05.2024 | From a Shelter to a Commencement Ceremony: Meet Dia James, Parenting Student and Aspiring MD | On the heels of Mother’s Day, we are spotlighting the mothers, such as Dia James, who juggle the demands of academia while parenting. These incredible student parents take on lectures, exams, and work all while raising their children. Their... |
| 02.05.2024 | Artificial Intelligence and Digital Equity: Centering Community Voices | By Cristal Mojica
The Michelson 20MM Foundation, in collaboration with SoCal Grantmakers, moderated an insightful artificial intelligence (AI)-focused policy panel titled “Understanding and Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Create an Eq... |
| 30.04.2024 | Welcoming the 2024 Open Educational Resources Spark Grantees | Open educational resources (OER) represent a transformative force in education, offering the opportunity for students to benefit from course materials and persist in their degree pursuits. At their core, OER embody the principles of accessi... |
| 24.04.2024 | California’s Broadband Investment, A Community Perspective | Left to right: Michelson 20MM’s Miguel Leon, Cristal Mojica, and Phillip Kim at the second annual digital equity forum in Sacramento
By Cristal Mojica
Digital equity advocates recently gathered in Sacramento to make their voices heard conce... |
| 23.04.2024 | Introducing Whitley Crawford, Michelson IP Senior Program Coordinator | We are thrilled to welcome Whitley Crawford to The Michelson Intellectual Property team! Whitley joins us as Senior Program Coordinator for Michelson IP, bringing with her an impressive background in digital marketing that began in East Tex... |
| 15.04.2024 | Unlocking Potential: The Case for Paid Opportunities with Livable Wages for Incarcerated Individuals in California | By Kenia Miranda Verdugo
The importance of providing incarcerated individuals with meaningful education, skill-building, and paid opportunities with livable wages has gained recognition in recent years.
Such paid programs not only benefit t... |
| 11.04.2024 | Welcoming the 2024 Michelson 20MM Student Fellows | Through the Michelson 20MM Student Fellowship program, five students are answering the call to create a better future and will deepen the skills and experiences they use to build student power and elicit change as Michelson 20MM Student Fel... |
| 05.04.2024 | One Step Closer to Closing the Equity Gap Incarcerated Women Face: Project Rebound at Cal State LA Will Help 50 Women Establish Career Pathways | Project Rebound was awarded a Michelson Spark Grant to help close the equity gap for incarcerated women in California through their Prison to Career Equity Pathway program at California State University Los Angeles (Cal State LA).
The Priso... |
| 28.03.2024 | A Look at the Major Strides AB 2881 Has Made for Student Parents | By Dr. Queena Hoang
On March 21st, a panel of experts, representing each of California’s public postsecondary systems, joined Michelson 20MM to share lessons learned as their campuses implement AB 2881.
The passage of AB 2881, authored by... |
| 22.03.2024 | Surfacing Student Parent Support Solutions by Recognizing Families Are the Experts: Hope 2024 | By Dr. Queena Hoang
Hundreds of student parents, educators, policymakers, philanthropists, and community partners convened in New Orleans for the inaugural Hope 2024 national conference led by Generation Hope. The three-day gathering ignit... |
| 20.03.2024 | Fiber for the Future: Tribal Broadband Bootcamps Incorporate Fiber In 2024 | By Cristal Mojica
On March 10th, the latest installment of the Tribal Broadband Bootcamp kicked off in Temecula, California, with attendees representing tribes throughout California, as well as community utilities networks from across the ... |
| 20.03.2024 | Empowering Futures: The Impact of UCI LIFTED Program and its Expansion to UCR | By Kenia Miranda Verdugo
The University of California, Irvine, (UCI) Leveraging Inspiring Futures Through Educational Degrees (LIFTED) team joined Michelson 20MM last week for “Pathways from Prison to College: California’s Best Practices i... |
| 19.03.2024 | Over 100 Years After Electrification: Will California Lead the Way to Internet as a Public Utility? | By Cristal Mojica
Broadband internet is as vital to our quality of life as reliable and affordable access to water, electricity, and gas—yet it is treated as a luxury in the marketplace, rather than as a utility that everyone, everywhere c... |
| 13.03.2024 | Placing Community at the Center of Grantmaking: Meet the 2024 OER Spark Community Advisors | 2/3 of postsecondary students skip buying textbooks due to their price, US PIRG found. When the average price of a textbook is $105.37, 25% of students are forced to work extra hours and 11% forgo meals simply to afford course texts, accord... |
| 08.03.2024 | Expanding the LIFTED Model, Welcoming the University of California, Riverside, as a Spark Grantee | The Michelson 20MM Foundation has awarded a Spark Grant to the University of California, Riverside (UCR), who is joining the 1% of American colleges and universities offering bachelor of arts (BA) degrees in prisons.
With funding from Mich... |
| 04.03.2024 | How Student Peers Will Tackle the SNAP Gap on California’s Campuses | In an era where college students face increasing financial challenges and food insecurity, the Student Basic Needs Coalition (SBNC) has spearheaded a groundbreaking initiative to address the significant gap in student enrollment in the Supp... |
| 23.02.2024 | How Intersegmental Collaboration Can Address Housing Insecurity Among LA’s Community College Students | While there is a national and state-wide need to address housing insecurity among postsecondary students–1:5 California Community College students experience homelessness—many efforts to help house students fail to consider the commuter and... |
| 08.02.2024 | Welcoming the 2023 Smart Justice Spark Grantees | Postsecondary education is the catalyst for personal transformation and justice reform. When justice-impacted individuals have access to higher educational programs while incarcerated and have the ability to continue their education post-in... |
| 01.02.2024 | Biden Can Limit Colleges’ Scheme to Tack Textbook Costs onto Tuition | By Katie Wagman
This op-ed was originally published in The Hill.
For millions of college students like me, it is a rite of passage to shop around for textbooks at the beginning of every semester. As the cost of college textbooks has skyro... |
| 01.02.2024 | Newly Launched Pooled Fund Aims to Support Student Parents in California | In a landmark initiative to champion the needs of student parents, the Michelson 20MM Foundation is proud to announce the inaugural cohort of the California Student Parent Pooled Fund.
The groundbreaking endeavor seeks to address the uniqu... |
| 24.01.2024 | New Online #RealCollege Curriculum to Help Educators Better Understand Basic Needs Insecurity | A spring 2023 study found that nearly 2/3 of all California Community College students face at least one basic needs insecurity. A key recommendation in the study was to equip all faculty and staff members to truly understand the experience... |
| 16.01.2024 | Doubling Down on Digital Equity in Tribal Communities: Introducing Two New Projects from the Tribal Resource Center | By Cristal Mojica
As we embark upon the new year, we are thrilled to continue growing our Digital Equity in Tribal Communities project by supporting the Tribal Resource Center (TRC), a Native American-led non-profit initiative under People... |
| 12.01.2024 | Addressing Student Basic Needs Challenges: A Reflection from the Real College California Summit | “Expanding the Aperture on Serving Parenting Students” panel discussion during the 2023 Real College California Basic Needs Summit
By Emily Morse
In December, I had the privilege of attending the 2023 Real College California Basic Needs S... |
| 09.01.2024 | The Urgent Need for Increased Support for Incarcerated Women in California’s Department of Corrections | By Kenia Miranda Verdugo
According to the Prison Policy Initiative, 58% of women in the United States’ prisons are mothers. Nearly 150,000 women have been separated from their families by the justice system, a number that has risen 5x sinc... |
| 04.01.2024 | How an OER Student Fellow Advanced Textbook Affordability at UCLA | By Kaitlyn Wagman
I believe higher education accessibility is essential to ending societal inequities. As a first-generation college student, I always knew college was the only way I could “get out,” which resonates with many people. Once ... |
| 22.12.2023 | Eliminating Digital Discrimination For Digital Equity: A Year in Review | By Cristal Mojica
In 2023, the Michelson 20MM Foundation’s Digital Equity Initiative continued to advance California’s digital equity priorities alongside state, regional, and local partners by ramping up participation and investment in ad... |
| 20.12.2023 | Making Intellectual Property Education Accessible to All: A Year in Review | By Chinwe Ohanele
As we reflect on 2023, it stands out as a time of remarkable progress and innovation for the Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property (MIIP). The year was defined by strategic advancements, significant partnerships, ... |
| 19.12.2023 | Why Student Parent Data Matters: A Conversation with The Education Trust—West | The Education Trust—West joined us to kick off The State of Pregnant and Parenting Students to discuss how the California State Universities (CSUs) are improving data collection concerning pregnant and parenting students. During the convers... |
| 18.12.2023 | Forging Equitable Futures for Students with Basic Needs: A Year in Review | By Queena Hoang
As 2023 draws to a close, it’s the perfect opportunity to reflect on the amazing advancements made to create more equitable pathways and futures for students who are struggling to meet their basic needs while in college.
A... |
| 15.12.2023 | Empowering Futures: How Homeboy Industries Provides Pathways to College Education | By Kenia Miranda Verdugo
Last week, we kicked off the webinar series “Pathways from Prison to College: California’s Best Practices in Action,” through which we are highlighting remarkable organizations across the state who are implementing... |
| 14.12.2023 | 2023 Open Education Conference: A Student’s Perspective | By Kaitlyn Wagman
Just a few weeks ago, I was lucky to attend the 2023 Open Education Conference. This is not a space that students tend to know about, nor is it generally accessible to students due to registration fees and content being c... |
| 07.12.2023 | Breaking Barriers in the Smart Justice Space: A Year in Review | By Kenia Miranda Verdugo
It’s that time of the year where we reflect on the last twelve months’ accomplishments and also take a look ahead.
We kicked off the year by awarding Smart Justice Michelson Spark Grantees: Impact Justice, Public ... |
| 30.11.2023 | Building Student Power and the Open Movement: A Year in Review | By Cailyn Nagle and Marissa Martinez
Throughout the years, our focus on making sure every student has the opportunity to succeed without the barrier of high course material costs continues to guide our work—2023 was no exception. Since the... |
| 21.11.2023 | National Conference for Higher Education in Prison: Putting Education to Practice on the Inside | By Kenia Miranda Verdugo
The Michelson 20MM Foundation left the National Conference on Higher Education in Prison (NCHEP) inspired by strides taken to increase the availability and effectiveness of education behind bars. The conference was... |
| 15.11.2023 | Get to Know the 2023 Student Basic Needs Spark Grantees and Their Projects | Higher educational institutions should be a place where students can pursue knowledge and thrive academically without barriers. As students balance classes, assignments, exams, and other academic responsibilities, they are often simultaneou... |
| 01.11.2023 | Welcoming the 2023 OpenEd Scholarship Recipients | The Michelson 20MM Foundation is proud to sponsor the 2023 Open Education Conference and is excited to welcome our 2023 Open Education Conference Scholarship Award recipients! These awardees, representatives of the University of California ... |
| 31.10.2023 | Digital Equity and AI: What Is the AI Divide and How Do We Bridge It? | By Cristal Mojica
The Connecting California: Solving the Digital Divide series has focused on some of the longest standing and historically intractable challenges in achieving digital equity including disinvestment in municipal broadband i... |
| 17.10.2023 | Can the Open Community Adapt to AI? Insights From the Creative Commons Global Summit | By Cailyn Nagle
As part of the global movement for a more equitable and open higher education system, the Michelson 20MM Foundation was proud to sponsor the Creative Commons Global Summit earlier this month. Participants from across the wo... |
| 13.10.2023 | Celebrating Root & Rebound’s Decade of Impact Serving Justice-Impacted Individuals | Rona Navales, Development and Communications Coordinator, Root & Rebound (left); Kenia Miranda Verdugo, Smart Justice Program Manager, Michelson 20MM Foundation (center); Gail Yen, California Policy Director, Root & Rebound (right) ... |
| 04.10.2023 | Digital Redlining and Insufficient Funding: Ringing the Alarm for the Implementation of the Middle Mile Broadband Initiative | By Cristal Mojica
When the August and September rounds of broadband infrastructure maps and routes were released by the California Public Utilities Commission and California Department of Technology, delineating which communities would fal... |
| 28.09.2023 | Learnings From Forging Equitable Futures for Student Parents | By Dr. Queena Hoang
On September 14th and 15th, the Michelson 20MM Foundation hosted Forging Equitable Futures for Student Parents: A Statewide Summit. The two-day event was a transformative convening fueled by the groundswell in Californi... |
| 19.09.2023 | I Am Not Interested in Student Voice, but Student Power | Mario Savio, shown here at a victory rally in University of California, Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza on December 9, 1964.
By Cailyn Nagle
In 1964, Mario Salvo stood in front of hundreds of fellow students and said, “And you’ve got to put your ... |
| 06.09.2023 | How ISKME Is Making OER More Accessible Throughout California’s Community Colleges | According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 1:4 adults in the United States have a disability, while 12.8% have a cognition disability and 4.8% have a visual disability. The inability to change contrast ratios, font sizes, f... |
| 31.08.2023 | Meet the 2023 Student Basic Needs Spark Community Advisors | Providing support for student basic needs—defined as a student’s ability to adequately meet their food, housing, mental health, sleep, child/dependent care, hygiene, and transportation requirements—is crucial because students can focus on t... |
| 23.08.2023 | How Creative Commons Will Advance Open Licensing Understanding Within 25 California Community Colleges | Creative Commons licenses enable much of the open content across the arts, sciences, and academia, including open educational resources (OER). Creative Commons (CC) offers CC Certificate courses, or training on CC licensing and open tools, ... |
| 18.08.2023 | Fostering Sustainable Broadband Development Across State Lines | Drew Clark, Broadband Breakfast Editor and Publisher; Brandy Reitter, Colorado Broadband Office Executive Director; and Senator John Hickelooper, former Governor of Colorado during Mountain Connect 2023
By Cristal Mojica
The recent Mounta... |
| 15.08.2023 | A Conversation with Dr. Adrian Huerta, Former Student Parent, on Shifting Perspectives and Assumptions on Parenting Students | By Dr. Queena Hoang
Dr. Adrian Huerta, Assistant Professor, University of Southern California (USC), Rossier School of Education, recently joined Dr. Queena Hoang, Michelson 20MM Senior Program Manager for Student Basic Needs, to discuss t... |
| 11.08.2023 | A Renewed Commitment to Build a Prison-to-University Pipeline: Inspiration from the Prison to University Conference | By Kenia Miranda Verdugo
Underground Scholars at University of California, Irvine and Project Rebound at California State University, Long Beach’s (CSULB, Second Annual Prison to University Conference occurred from August 3rd – 4th, 2023, ... |
| 09.08.2023 | Get to Know our 2023 Open Educational Resources Spark Grants Recipients | Open educational resources (OER) are building momentum on college campuses across the country. Knowing that 65% of students reported skipping buying a textbook due to cost, OER can be the difference between accessing the materials needed to... |
| 28.07.2023 | California Community Colleges Signal Exciting Phase for Zero Textbook Cost Degrees | By Cailyn Nagle
Two years after Governor Gavin Newsom called out the usurious textbook marketplace and included $115 million in his budget for Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) degrees, it is time to take the pulse of California’s ZTC implementatio... |
| 27.07.2023 | Addressing Digital Equity Priorities in California: Takeaways From PPIC’s Virtual Conference | By Cristal Mojica
The Public Policy Institute of California’s “Bridging California’s Digital Divide” —a virtual conference that took place July 18-20—highlighted the historic investments, local innovations, and digital equity priorities in... |
| 18.07.2023 | Is California’s $6B Broadband Investment Reaching Our Most Vulnerable Communities? | Through the Broadband Trailer Bill, SB 156, $6B was allocated to expand broadband infrastructure in California and also included funding to improve access to broadband. A historic investment, SB 156 allocated $3.25B to middle mile broadband... |
| 10.07.2023 | A 30-Year Opportunity in the Making: Pell Grant Reinstatement | By Kenia Miranda Verdugo
1994 marked a pivotal year in the United States’ tough-on-crime history with the passing of the The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, paving the way for the elimination of Pell Grant eligibility for pe... |
| 05.07.2023 | Unlocking Federal Funding through Data-Informed Maps: How #OaklandUndivided Is Advancing Digital Equity | #OaklandUndivided is standing up for the residents of Oakland by identifying data-informed strategies to illustrate disparities in the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) and the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) broadba... |
| 29.06.2023 | One Step Closer to Closing the Equity Gap: How Updates to Title IX Will Better Protect and Support Pregnant and Parenting Students | By Dr. Queena Hoang
Student parents in California and throughout the nation face unique challenges and barriers to their success. Oftentimes, they are saddled with twice the student loan debt of their childless peers, and less than a third... |
| 20.06.2023 | Breaking Down Barriers to Digital Health Equity: How ITUP Is Ensuring California’s State Digital Equity Plan Accounts for Telehealth and Broadband Needs | Insure the Uninsured Project (ITUP) reports that 7 out of 10 Californians are unable to afford internet plans that are $60/month or more. The affordability challenge directly impacts countless families with students and older adults within ... |
| 16.06.2023 | Welcoming Chinwe Ohanele, Esq., to The Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property | The Michelson 20MM Foundation and The Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property (Michelson IP) are thrilled to welcome a significant addition to our team, Chinwe Ohanele, Senior Program Manager, Michelson IP. An accomplished attorney, s... |
| 14.06.2023 | Unlocking Potential: Reflections from our 2022 Guide California’s Best Practices for Pathways From Prison to College | By Kenia Miranda Verdugo
Education has the power to transform lives and provide opportunities for individuals to thrive, irrespective of their past. In recent years, a growing recognition of the importance of higher education for incarcera... |
| 12.06.2023 | Meet the Student, Professors, and OER Champions Advising the 2023 OER Spark Grants Funding Cycle | Over a decade ago, the Michelson 20MM Foundation was launched after our founder, Dr. Gary K. Michelson, read a news article about qualified community college students dropping out due to the cost of textbooks. After providing immediate help... |
| 02.06.2023 | Ensuring Administrators Allow Student Input on Efforts that Impact Textbook Affordability | By Katie Wagman
As a first-generation college student from a lower income household, I know that every dollar counts. Even with government aid, college costs thousands of dollars and leaves most students in debt. Students should not also h... |
| 25.05.2023 | Amplifying Student Voices and Raising Awareness of Zero-Textbook-Cost Degrees | By Allen Kuo
As a student leader in the community college system, I see many of the unique barriers that people from various backgrounds face as they seek to obtain their education. The most universal, however, seems to be the cost of educ... |
| 22.05.2023 | From Homeboy Industries Trainee to Academic Assistant: Mynor Mendez Reflects on Lo Máximo | By Mynor Mendez, Academic Assistant, Homeboy Industries
Homeboy Industries means the world to me. Before I came to Homeboy, I only had a dream that I did not know how to convert into a reality. While in custody, I wrote a letter to Father ... |
| 17.05.2023 | Beyond the Box: The U.S. Department of Education’s Guide to Support Formerly Incarcerated Students
1 Comment | By Kenia Miranda Verdugo
The U.S. Department of Education’s newly released report, Beyond the Box, provides a guide for educational institutions to mitigate barriers faced by system-impacted students, move beyond the check box in admission... |
| 12.05.2023 | Calling on Leaders to Fight For Digital Equity: Reflections from a Day of Advocacy in Los Angeles | By Cristal Mojica
On May 4th, the Michelson 20MM Foundation joined 80+ fellow digital equity champions for the first Digital Equity Los Angeles Advocacy Day, a day of power-building, collective action, and learning.
We convened at Los Ang... |
| 10.05.2023 | Get to Know the 2023 Digital Equity Spark Grantees | As the federal COVID-19 public health emergency nears its end, the Michelson 20MM Foundation remains steadfast in our commitment to close the digital divide by advocating for paradigm-shifting policies and convening cross-sectoral leaders t... |
| 09.05.2023 | Student Freedom For Rent: Open Educational Resources Can Help | By Cailyn Nagle
I do not own my home—like most of Los Angeles, I rent. Every month, a significant portion of my paycheck goes to strangers I’ve never met to keep a roof over my head and a lock on my door. There are benefits, of course, suc... |
| 03.05.2023 | There Is No Us and Them, Only Us: Celebrating Homeboy Industries | By Kenia Mirando Verdugo
Each year, Homeboy Industries brings together hundreds of individuals in the Los Angeles area for Lo Máximo, a celebration of hope, kinship, and compassion. Homeboy Industries, the largest gang rehabilitation and r... |
| 01.05.2023 | A New Report Explores Challenges and Solutions to Universal Broadband Access in California | While most Californians have access to broadband, at least two million households (15%) still do not—a gap known as the digital divide. During the COVID-19 pandemic, internet access became essential for work, education, and healthcare, furt... |
| 19.04.2023 | Digital Equity Is a Civil Right: Reflections from Digital Equity 101 in Sacramento | By Cristal Mojica
Access to broadband is a fundamental right in the twenty-first century. Without a reliable, high speed internet connection, California’s historically marginalized communities will continue to be systemically held back fro... |
| 17.04.2023 | Diminished Choices and Transparency- New White Paper Investigates Legal Underpinnings of Inclusive Access Programs | By Cailyn Nagle
A 2022 Bayview Analytics report showed that automatic textbook billing has risen to 19% since the practice was made possible in 2016. This “new” way of delivering educational materials—often referred to as inclusive access,... |
| 11.04.2023 | A First-of-its-Kind Report: PPIC to Analyze the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation In-Prison Educational Programs | By June 2023, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) anticipates 104,409 justice-impacted individuals will be incarcerated in their prisons. As one of the largest prison systems in the United States, CDCR has the... |
| 05.04.2023 | Community, Representation, and JEDI: How Formerly Incarcerated Students Can Thrive on Campus | By Kenia Miranda Verdugo
People leave prison with hopes of never having to return. As we learned in the beginning of the California’s Best Practices: Pathways From Prison to College series, the most proven way to end recidivism is through ... |
| 03.04.2023 | The 2023 Digital Equity Spark Community Advisors | Digital inequity uniquely impacts entire communities at a time, cutting them off from their ability to participate in many integral aspects of modern-day life. When many of us can access the internet at will via devices at home and on the g... |
| 28.03.2023 | College Textbooks Are Still a Racket… But They Don’t Have to Be: Reflections From Sacramento’s Policy Lunch and Learn | By Cailyn Nagle
Students continue to struggle to access their course materials as 63-65% of students report not buying a textbook due to its cost, US PIRG found. At the same time, 25% of students said they needed to work extra hours to aff... |
| 24.03.2023 | Fair Chance Hiring: A Research Narrative Based on Facts and Not Misconceptions | By Kenia Miranda Verdugo
On February 21, the Michelson 20MM Foundation and Arnold Ventures co-sponsored an event held by RAND on The Case for Hiring People with Criminal History Records. The conversation addressed the current barriers that... |
| 22.03.2023 | How Three Student Parents Have and Will Continue to Shape History | By Dr. Queena Hoang
Throughout history, pregnant and parenting students have faced unique challenges, and their stories are an important part of women’s history. These students have had to balance their academic pursuits with the demands o... |
| 20.03.2023 | Fundraising for Sustainable Digital Equity Programs (Net Inclusion 2023) | By Cristal Mojica
It is essential for organizations dedicated to bridging the digital divide to approach fundraising with long-term sustainability of digital inclusion and equity programs in mind. Doing so can help ensure that this importa... |
| 15.03.2023 | How California Is Investing in the Education of Parenting Students | By Dr. Queena Hoang
The Michelson 20MM Foundation and the California State University (CSU) Student Parent Network Advisory Committee were excited to kick off this year’s learning session of the “The State of Pregnant and Parenting Student... |
| 14.03.2023 | Inaccurate CPUC Priority Area Maps Leave Vulnerable Angelenos Behind | By Cristal Mojica
With historic investments from the federal government for bridging the digital divide (including $42.45 billion from the IIJA BEAD Program and $2 billion allocated by SB 156) California has an immense opportunity—and resp... |
| 10.03.2023 | Meet the 2023 Textbook Affordability Fellows | Open Educational Resources (OER) have demonstrated an increased success rate in the classroom while removing the cost barrier for students to access course materials; yet, research still shows that two-thirds of California students are not ... |
| 23.02.2023 | 110 Alumni in Four Years: How Impact Justice Will Invest in Their California Justice Leaders’ Continued Success | Impact Justice works to develop and further community-based models that increase safety and justice. Through their California Justice Leaders (CJL) program, Impact Justice uses an AmeriCorps approach to serve justice-impacted young adults. ... |
| 10.02.2023 | How A New Way of Life Reentry Project Will Transform the Lives of Justice-Impacted Women Across the Nation | Every day, an average of 55 formerly incarcerated women are served by A New Way of Life Reentry Project’s (ANWOL) 11 safe homes in California. Recognizing that the justice system disproportionately affects low-income, Black, and Latina wome... |
| 03.02.2023 | One Step Closer to the Promise of Open: The Creative Commons Bay Area Bootcamp | By Cailyn Nagle
After months of prep meetings, weeks of pre-reading, and five full days of programming, the Creative Commons Bay Area Bootcamp has wrapped up as 13 California Community College (CCC) faculty earned their certification in Cr... |
| 01.02.2023 | Ever Resilient, Directly-Impacted Leaders Share Their Thoughts on How to Support Students Transitioning From Prison to Campus | By Kenia Miranda Verdugo
Attending college comes with many challenges for students: imposter syndrome, late nights, and endless study sessions to name a few. For formerly incarcerated students, the list is even greater as they face a uniqu... |
| 26.01.2023 | Providing Training and Professional Development and Studying the Efficacy of California’s Programming in Prisons: The 2022 Smart Justice Spark Grantees | For years, the Michelson 20MM Foundation has sought to leverage higher education as a catalytic force for transforming the lives of justice-involved individuals. Backed by research that demonstrates the transformative nature of higher educa... |
| 24.01.2023 | An Opportunity for the California Community Colleges to Renew Their Commitment to Equity: 2023 Annual Legislative Conference | The Michelson 20MM Foundation is excited to support the Community College League of California’s 2023 Annual Legislative Conference on January 29th and 30th in Sacramento. The conference convenes California Community College (CCC) students,... |
| 13.01.2023 | From Textbook Affordability Intern to OER Program Coordinator: Celebrating Marissa Martinez | We are honored to formally welcome Marissa Martinez onto the team as the Open Educational Resources (OER) Program Coordinator!
Marissa’s passion for improving higher education stems from their own experience in college. They are the second... |
| 10.01.2023 | IP Literacy: Smart. | By Justin Chapman
This article was originally published by Inventor’s Digest.
The Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property is expanding its support of infusing IP education into a broad range of educational curricula.
At the Nationa... |
| 09.01.2023 | New Year, New Opportunities to Advance Open Educational Resources | By Cailyn Nagle
As 2023 begins, we would like to take a moment to reflect on the successes and opportunities that 2022 presented.
It was a big year for open educational resources (OER)—from OpenStax becoming the fourth largest publisher o... |
| 04.01.2023 | Creative Commons Certificate Bootcamp: Equipping Educators With the Tools to Go Open | The Michelson 20MM OER Initiative is kicking off 2023 alongside Creative Commons (CC) and the California Community College’s (CCC) Academic Senate’s Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI) with the CC Certificate Bootcamp at Skyline Co... |
| 21.12.2022 | A Year in Review: Working to Help Meet Student’s Basic Needs | By Miguel Leon
As we look back on 2022, the Michelson 20MM Foundation would like to thank our friends and partners who helped us advance equity for all postsecondary students in California. In particular, we are grateful to those of you wh... |
| 20.12.2022 | A Year in Review: Supporting Faculty Members Teaching in Prisons, Creating and Disseminating California’s Best Practices, and Forging a Brighter Future for Justice-Impacted Individuals | By Kenia Miranda Verdugo
The year is coming to an end and I’d like to recap what my first year with the Michelson 20MM Foundation consisted of as we look forward to 2023.
We kicked off the year by awarding grants to the following Smart Ju... |
| 16.12.2022 | Public Advocates Seeks to Serve Low-Income, BIPOC, Immigrant, and Parenting Students in California by Tackling Housing Insecurity | The cost of housing should not determine if a student is able to graduate, yet housing insecurity is one of the primary drivers preventing low-income, BIPOC, immigrant, and parenting students from persisting. In fact, 47% of California’s Bl... |
| 16.12.2022 | Introducing Ren Mao, Program Coordinator, The Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property | Please join us in welcoming Ren Mao, The Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property (Michelson IP) Program Coordinator.
Ren Mao considers herself a multidisciplinary scholar with a background in Higher Education, Leadership Development,... |
| 15.12.2022 | Welcoming Queena Hoang, Student Basic Needs Senior Program Manager | Queena Hoang has joined the Michelson 20MM Foundation as Student Basic Needs Senior Program Manager. In her role, Queena will lead the foundation’s Student Basic Needs initiative, which seeks to increase persistence and graduation rates thr... |
| 13.12.2022 | Postsecondary Education in Prison Is Inspiring Hope for Jaime Navarro, a Pelican Bay Scholar | Priority enrollment for postsecondary educational programs in prison has often gone to justice-impacted scholars who are expecting a sooner release, which frequently meant lifers were not given the opportunity to pursue their education. Jai... |
| 08.12.2022 | California Has an Opportunity to Extend the Basic Needs Mandate to Public Four-Year Universities, Young Invincibles Is Studying What That Will Take | Through a prior Spark Grant, Young Invincibles surveyed the largest higher education system in the nation, the California Community College (CCC) system, which is home to 1.6M students across 116 campuses. Their research sought to analyze c... |
| 01.12.2022 | Eliminating Digital Discrimination with New Urgency | By Justin Chapman
“It’s time to address digital discrimination with new urgency,” said Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Jessica Rosenworcel in remarks read by FCC Special Advisor Sanford Williams at the Michelson 20MM Foundati... |
| 30.11.2022 | OER Gives Students the Opportunity to Reclaim Their Education—How Open 22 Inspired a Recent Graduate
1 Comment | By Marissa Martinez
In September of 2015, I took out my first student loan. It covered the cost of my university textbooks and course materials. I was freshly 18 and on my own for the first time, I even remember handing my (still vertical)... |
| 29.11.2022 | A Discussion on the Inside: Impacted Leaders Consult on How The California’s Best Practices Support Incarcerated Students | By Kenia Miranda Verdugo
Research has shown time and time again that higher education can lead to a better quality of life for currently and formerly incarcerated students, their families, and entire communities. Although California is one... |
