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markpachucki

@markpachucki.bsky.social
562 followers 144 following 61 posts

Professor, UMass Amherst. Studying inequality in culture, networks, health. Focused on prevention, risk mitigation, and community. Often through food. The views expressed here are my own, and not my employer’s.

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Reposted by markpachucki
Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Moving research into action requires more than publishing evidence. Stories, images, trusted messengers and examples of uptake can build public acceptance, shift what people see as possible and help evidence become practice and policy: ow.ly/Km5v50ZTsb1 #Highered #Academicsky
ow.ly
What the movement to integrate the arts and health can teach us about making research matter
Moving research into action requires more than publishing evidence. Stories, images, trusted messengers and examples of uptake can build public acceptance, shift what people see as possible and help evidence become practice and policy
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
In this moment of higher ed upheaval, the UMass Amherst Department of Sociology is initiating the Research Scholar Program to offer some safe harbor for recent sociology PhDs launched into an uncertain market. Share widely! (and imitation = sincerest form of flattery). @asanews.bsky.social
This program description details parameters of the UMass Amherst Sociology Department Scholar Program. As the description states, we cannot offer much, but what we can offer prospective Research Scholars is: (1) a listing on our department website, (2) use of our library resources, (3) an @soc.umass.edu email address, (4) permission to use departmental e-letterhead for professional correspondence, and (5) an invitation to any department intellectual events. Research Scholars will meet as a cohort twice over the course of the academic year (once in fall, once in spring). A brief one-page statement of interest, CV, and the names and contact information of 2 references should be sent to the Department Chair (David Cort, dcort@soc.umass.edu) by October 30, 2026. Applicants will be notified of the status of their application by mid-November.
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Respect! (The shot/chaser here would be “…and I ask the students to hide the dry erase markers every class, just to tie myself to the mast”)
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
happy anniversary? I'm probably going to go back to using them in the classroom at this rate. That'll show OpenAI!
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Inside Higher Ed @insidehighered.com · 31/08/2026
Opinion | Faculty Should Lead Way in Responding to Compact 2.0 No university should respond to Secretary McMahon's letter without significant faculty involvement. By Kumble Subbaswamy. bit.ly/4wWQGze #EDUSky #AcademicSky #HigherEd
Composite image with a group of people, one of whom has a fist in the air, with the question "How will your institution answer this national call to action?" displayed in the background.
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
From @standhighered.bsky.social: "A decision to make a public declaration about the university’s academic mission, under federal pressure, is not an ordinary administrative matter; shared governance requires faculty involvement before it is made." #Academicsky www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
insidehighered.com
Faculty Should Lead in Responding to Compact 2.0 (opinion)
No university should respond to Secretary McMahon’s letter without significant faculty involvement.
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
aka the "I Believe In Frost Heaves" policy
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Reposted by markpachucki
American Sociological Association @asanews.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
ASA member Ethel L. Mickey @ethelmickey.bsky.social @csusb.bsky.social draws on ethnographic research in a top tech firm to reveal how “ideal” networking practices, such as informal referrals and after-hours schmoozing, exclude women and people of color. @ucpress.bsky.social
bit.ly
Networking to Nowhere by Ethel Mickey - Paper
Scholarship is a powerful tool for changing how people think, plan, and govern. By giving voice to bright minds and bold ideas, we seek to foster understanding and drive progressive change.
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Donald Tomaskovic-Devey @dont-d.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Preserve EEOC data collection | Science www.science.org/eprint/HYMMK...
science.org
Preserve EEOC data collection
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Those who feel the effects of academic freedom most acutely are not us (a small group of educators) but the roughly 340 million members of the general public. We've got to explain the stakes better. @standhighered.bsky.social @asanews.bsky.social #AcademicSky sciencepolitics.org/2026/04/27/a...
sciencepolitics.org
Academic Freedom Is a Public Good - Science Politics
The truth-seeking higher education enables is among democracy’s core pillars. Why doesn’t the general public seem to care?
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
I really like @dnewheiser.bsky.social ’s fall op-ed here: www.yahoo.com/news/article.... And he isn’t alone. @standhighered.bsky.social (which I’m involved with) is advocating across the disciplinary spectrum.
yahoo.com
The humanities deserve Florida’s public support. Democracy depends on it | Column
Last week, Florida’s Senate Appropriations Committee met to consider higher education funding. For decades there was a broad consensus that the state university system brings social and economic benef...
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Kathy Roberts Forde @krforde.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Head coaches and athletic administrators across the U.S. are joining together to support a public letter defending the universities and colleges that form the backbone of the sports we love.
alumni.standforcampusfreedom.org
Stand with Coaches for Campus Freedom: Let universities be free and independent
Head coaches and athletic administrators across the U.S. are joining together to support a public letter defending the universities and colleges that form the backbone of the sports we love. Show supp...
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
😔
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
I admire folks who do so, and admire even more those who can do so with a spirit of curiosity. Instead of subtweeting displeasure, has anyone here tried engaging in dialogue? (8/end)
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
Fewer focus on its inverse, heterophily, and even fewer are willing to actively reach across some real or perceived divide to understand someone’s behaviors, especially when those behaviors might differ from their own. (7/8)
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
Who knows what the best-available defense to this sort of thing is, @kjhealy.co ? I sure don’t. I'll offer (preaching to choir, I know) that many of us who study networks are perpetually vexed by the concept of homophily and why we end up connected with people like ourselves. (6/8)
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
I haven’t walked a mile in @nachristakis.bsky.social 's shoes, and live a different life, with surely different constraints, so I can't judge. As it looks now, this thread and these comments look pretty consistently like an online piling-on, and we know that can escalate pretty quickly. (5/8)
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
But yes, the devil is in the details, so going beyond generic acts to specifics: would I have sought meetings with that particular "philanthropist"? Unambiguously: no, that’s not a choice I, nor perhaps many of us, would have made.🤮 (4/8)
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
He's always (very) aggressively fundraised for his lab's research program, students, fellows, and staff. I benefitted from such support as an advisee, so would be a hypocrite to generically fault any scientist for seeking funding, as I (and many of us) do to support those we advise. (3/8)
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
I've known @nachristakis.bsky.social, a scientist and humanist, virtually my entire professional career in the context of being a strong educator, devoted spouse and parent. He’s always struck me as a kind, thoughtful, curious, and humane person. (2/8)
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
I feel like someone’s gotta say something, so I guess it’s going to be me. I’m 100% certain that I either know, have met, or have sought meetings with people who have done horrible things in their lives, too. How about y’all? Association is not causation, and it's not guilt — of anything. (1/8)
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Dr. Leonard Bright @drleonardbright.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Texas A&M decided to publicly cancel my Ethics class, and share a false statement that I declined to provide information, which made it impossible for [them ] to request an exemption. See for yourself, if this statement is true. They are getting creative!
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
write to Kevin Lewis @ UCSD about his syllabus (he’s not on here, sadly for us, but great for him)- he’s taught a course on this for years!
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
Trump threatened Indiana Republicans that if they didn't do what he wanted, he'd block all federal funds to their state but they ignored his threats and told him to pound sand. Take notes, college presidents.
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Also, ripping off early 90s Apple Garamond ad style isn’t very creative.
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David Lazer @davidlazer.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Paper out today in @nathumbehav.nature.com: 1) those groups (women, African Americans, lower SES, rural) that are underrepresented in science have been less trusting of science. 2) If you improve representation in science, you improve trust among those groups. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Representation in science and trust in scientists in the USA - Nature Human Behaviour
Druckman et al. document gaps in trust in scientists in the USA. People from groups less represented among scientists (for example, women and those with lower economic status) are less trusting. Incre...
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
“The realization that there is more to know about a particular subject should inspire excitement & curiosity; instead, for the performer or student who wants to seem invulnerable, it might inspire shame.” Beautiful anti-perfection meditation on art/ education/life. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | I’m a Concert Pianist. This Is Why I Seek Imperfection.
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
I always try to talk up the great work of my colleague Jen Lundquist (not on bsky) who developed UMass’ Academic Freedom Crisis Toolkit, as a public resource, especially to help guide faculty who face online harassment, doxxing, weaponized FOIA… www.umass.edu/faculty-deve...
umass.edu
Academic Freedom Crisis Toolkit : Office of Faculty Development : UMass Amherst
Academic Freedom Crisis Toolkit
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Also: it’s fairly common knowledge, and we already have documentation that the Genesis mission ended with not only the tragic death of Kirk’s son, but the need to reseat Spock‘s katra in his body after some fairly lengthy political and spiritual machinations. So, NOT A GREAT PLAN, White House.
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Jenn Lena @jenniferlena.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
Any university programming intended to address the massive faculty mental health crisis that does not include investments to remove organizational stressors is bullshit. Faculty are not weak, they’re underwater for structural reasons ffs.
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
Alex, what's the ref? (link sends to institution-gated login). Would love evidence-based nudges for our department curriculum folks to consider more robust integration of other-than-Stata! 🤑
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
This is such an important initiative from @wearehighered.bsky.social and a great way to stand together and support one another, higher ed. #academicsky @standhighered.bsky.social
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Merlin Chowkwanyun, MPH, PhD @merlinc2.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
My take on the backlash to DEI/health equity in the health sciences in @nejm.org roundtable: www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
nejm.org
Pursuing Health Equity in the United States | NEJM
This video roundtable explores the distinction and relationship between diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and the pursuit of health equity, and the hurdles for improving health equity in...
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Alumni & allies, the federal government is trying to place the U. of California under political control. Join with UC Unbowed before the Board of Regents meeting on 11/18-20: protect UC's independence & stand together with peer institutions. alumni.standforcampusfreedom.org/petitions/un...
alumni.standforcampusfreedom.org
University of California: Reject the federal government's political control
The federal government is trying to place the University of California under political control. Join with UC Unbowed before the Board of Regents meeting on November 18-20 and tell President James B. M...
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
Have you seen this CFP? www.ma3challenge.org
ma3challenge.org
Modernizing Academic Appointment & Advancement
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American Sociological Association @asanews.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
ASA member Donald Tomaskovic-Devey @dont-d.bsky.social (University of Massachusetts-Amherst) provides comment on Google's removal of its key career resource program for supporting women in tech.
bit.ly
‘Their history is just erased’: Google drops a key program for boosting women in tech | CNN Business
Google is offloading a key career resource program for supporting women in tech, another sign the search giant is unwinding its diversity programs following political pressure over diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
👋🏻
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
Courage is contagious, y'all. Keep it up. @standhighered.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/u...
nytimes.com
Universities Are Standing Up to Trump
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
“We must be steadfast in opposition to extortion under the guise of dealmaking, and we must create alliances rooted in a common devotion to freedom of inquiry…We have rejected tyranny before, and we can do it again.” — Wesleyan University President @msroth.bsky.social in @thebulwark.com #HigherEd
open.substack.com
What’s a College President to Do in the Trump Era?
Not going on bended knee to Washington would be a good start.
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
Thanks for your eloquence & clarity, @himself.bsky.social ! @standhighered.bsky.social is listening. Join us for a training to equip faculty/staff with practical tools to tell your stories and amplify the value of higher ed in public life. 10/29 @ 2p. Register: www.standtogetherhighered.org#reclaim
standtogetherhighered.org
Stand Together
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Barbara J Risman @drbjrisman.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
#academicsky @academicsky.org . Do Feminist Scholars Still Have Academic Freedom? | Psychology Today The answer is NO, not in America today.... www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/gend...
psychologytoday.com
Do Feminist Scholars Still Have Academic Freedom?
Personal Perspective: Gender matters for teaching about families, workplaces, and even children's literature, but when social science is censored, where does that leave students?
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Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
It appears that my employer, Dartmouth, one of the Trump 9, has said no to the compact. All the better given that our president is cited within it. But she’s saying no. Count the small victories when they come.
Office of the President
Dear Dartmouth community,
 
As many of you know, Dartmouth was one of nine universities asked by the White House to give feedback by Oct. 20 on a draft of its “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.” 
 
I am deeply committed to Dartmouth’s academic mission and values and will always defend our fierce independence. 
 
You have often heard me say that higher education is not perfect and that we can do better. At the same time, we will never compromise our academic freedom and our ability to govern ourselves. 
 
Best,
Sian Leah Beilock
President
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Brian Soucek @brsoucek.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
Strong statement today from UC's Academic Senate:
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
How about it, @massgovernor.bsky.social? Let’s stand with California on this for the future of higher ed. @standhighered.bsky.social
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
@standhighered.bsky.social The administration's 'Compact' is one route to Mutually Assured Destruction in higher ed. But there's another route - which is for faculty and staff to stand together with one another to resist this egregious incursion on academic freedom.
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Jan Fuhse @fuhsejan.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
The #SocialNetworks special issue on duality, honoring the path-breaking concept by R. Breiger is now online. It features an impressive ten contributions by world-class scholars, show-casing the power and wide applicability of the concept. 1/2
sciencedirect.com
Social Networks | Duality in social networks: Current perspectives | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier
For this special issue of Social Networks we aim to continue to expand the space of theoretical, methodological, and empirical possibilities afforded by duality principles
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
I thought this was a helpful read in the last couple days? The last sentence especially resonated for me: “Cancel culture ends when we decide that people can be horrifically wrong and still entitled to the grace that enables us all to grow from our worst moments.” www.thefire.org/news/we-are-...
thefire.org
We are in the cancel culture part of the tragedy cycle
Cancel culture ends when we decide that people can be horrifically wrong and still entitled to the grace that enables us all to grow from our worst moments.
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
Systems science is key to identifying/mitigating discrimination in food systems. Fantastic work led by the brilliant @trmoore.bsky.social w/D. Krobath, Y. Chang Chusan, U. Sanga, @patrickwebb.bsky.social, A. Cuevas, H. Roland, B. Grant, C. Economos, V. Nicholson, S. Kumanyika. rdcu.be/eGoGc
rdcu.be
Systems science methods reveal and address links between discrimination and health disparities in US food systems
Nature Food - Discriminatory practices are well documented and deeply rooted in food systems. Systems science methods such as social network analysis, system dynamics modelling and agent-based...
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
I’m sorry our Berkeley colleagues are facing this. It *is* reprehensible, and, I too am at a public R1 where FOIA implications mean universities have to turn over docs. There may be something here to help: www.umass.edu/faculty-deve... also, check out standtogetherhighered.org for more.
umass.edu
Academic Freedom Crisis Toolkit : Office of Faculty Development : UMass Amherst
Academic Freedom Crisis Toolkit
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markpachucki @markpachucki.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
“Some faculty, student and alumni groups, however, have begun to stand up and make their voices heard.” Yes we have. Stand with us; we commit to educating for freedom. Thank you, Michael S. Roth. @standhighered.bsky.social
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