PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] – Commencement weekend at Brown University includes a wide array of activities, including forums lead by faculty, alumni, and distinguished guests. Three PSTC faculty associates and one PSTC alum will be presenting their research at the forums, which take place on Saturday, May 26.

“Mindfulness: What We Know and Where We’re Headed” will be presented by Associate Professor of Epidemiology Eric Loucks, who is the director of the University’s new Mindfulness Center. He will look at the $1 billion mindfulness industry in the U.S. and address the evidence for mindfulness interventions on health issues such as depression and cardiovascular disease. The forum takes place at 9 a.m. in the List Art Building auditorium at 64 College Street.

Glenn Loury, professor of Economics and Merton P. Stoltz Professor of the Social Sciences, will serve as a panelist for “Amercia’s Mass Incarceration Problem,” which will address how the U.S. has reached this point with incarceration and where things are heading. It takes place at 9 a.m. in the Joukowsky Forum at the Watson Institute, 111 Thayer Street.

“Opportunity in America: Improving Intergenerational Mobility with Big Data” will be presented by Associate Professor of Economics John Friedman, who will discuss how big data can be used to diagnose problems and develop policies related to children’s opportunities to climb the income ladder. The forum takes place at 11 am in the Martinos Auditorium of the Granoff Center at 154 Angell Street.

Horace Mann Medalist and PSTC alum Silvia Giorguili (’04 PhD, Sociology) will present “The Other Side of the Migration Story: The Implications of Mexico-U.S. Migration for Mexico,” which will use history and contemporary facts along with personal experience to present a Mexican narrative of international migration. It takes place at 11 am in the Friedman Auditorium, Room 101, in the Metcalf Research Laboratory at 190 Thayer Street.

A full listing of the forums is available here.