The Institute for Trauma, Adversity, and Resilience in Higher Education

Mission

Promote understanding in higher education and the larger community of the profound impact trauma and adversity have on the learning brain and academic resilience in higher education, as well as how a strengths based, trauma-informed campus and community can productively support development of critical importance to academic and workplace success.

Goals

1. Ongoing research and writing regarding trauma-informed educational issues and practices in higher education with a particular focus on community colleges. 
2. Serve as a resource for Trauma-Informed Higher Education with a special focus on community colleges. 
3. Develop a digital community site that provides resources and networking information by means of literature, research, events, lectures, publications, conferences, and continuing education regarding trauma-informed educational practices, neurobiological insights relevant to higher education, as well as resilience in academia and the workplace.

Every encounter area of the higher education community — from pedagogy to campus safety, advising to financial aid, facilities to college policies and administration— can be informed by recognizing the prevalence of trauma, adversity, and toxic stress and how these impact academic resilience. Instead of a prescriptive list of teaching or institutional practices, trauma informed education describes a perspective or lens through which practices and services are evaluated in view of lived experience, basic neurobiology, and the resilience and strengths students bring to higher education.

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Please contact Dr. Jeanie Tietjen at jtietjen@massbay.edu or 781.239.2203 for more information including resources, speaking engagements, exploring collaboration, or funding opportunities.

Institute website including curated resources relevant to trauma-informed higher ed:

https://traumainstitutehighered.org →