UNC Greensboro is proud to announce continued high marks on respected 2025 lists highlighting value, social mobility, and student experience in higher education.
In a UNC System that provides exceptional options, UNCG strives to offer opportunity, excellence, and impact, both to its students and the communities that we prepare them to serve. As the 2025 accolades are tallied, it is heartening to find our name on rankings that praise universities for those same attributes.
Opportunity
UNCG helps make higher education costs manageable for its students and broadens their aptitude for lifelong career success. In addition to challenging academics and the guidance of first-rate faculty, UNCG places internships, hands-on research, and study abroad experience within reach for its students.
All these opportunities lead our Spartans – half of whom are first-generation college students – to graduate into a higher socio-economic class. But don’t take our word for it. The following lists keep UNCG at the top in 2025:
The New York Times’ most affordable institution in North Carolina for net cost
The Wall Street Journal’s #1 in North Carolina for social mobility
Whether preparing students for careers in education, health care, science, the arts, humanities, or business, UNCG’s faculty and staff strive for excellence. Our continued accolades speak for themselves:
U.S. News and World Report’s best colleges for 34 straight years
Princeton Review’s best colleges for 25 straight years
Furthermore, independent surveys prove that students genuinely enjoy their collegiate experience at UNCG and praise their return on investment. Many of the 2025 rankings support what Spartans say about the welcoming environment, supportive resources, and career preparation they find here.
UNCG is The Wall Street Journal’s #2 university in North Carolina for student experience.
The Princeton Review named UNCG among 16 universities nationwide on its inaugural mental health honor roll.
The Military Times named UNCG as a “Best for Vets” university for our exceptional support for military-affiliated students.
Impact
The University’s impact not only benefits its students, but also our state and its communities. UNCG stimulates the Piedmont Triad economy by $1 billion, pulls in $65 million for external research funding, and leads innovative programs serving our communities. Here are a few examples of how these programs will connect Spartans with impactful funding and experiences in 2025:
Rebecca Mathews is on a mission to prevent suicide by training community members to recognize the signs in their students, friends, ...
Review revised Policies at UNCG
Posted on November 13, 2024
This semester, UNCG has updated policies while rescinding two. All campus employees are encouraged to read and familiarize themselves with the newest versions of these policies:
Staff will be working with the Provost’s Office, Human Resources and the Office of Research integrity to update the process and procedures for reporting and reviewing and to ensure consistency with the workload policy.
Rebecca Mathews is on a mission to prevent suicide by training community members to recognize the signs in their students, friends, ...
Spartan Rises Nationally in USA Volleyball
Posted on November 13, 2024
Future Olympians and Paralympians can look to one UNCG alumna for inspiration. With USA Volleyball, Jenny Johnson ’95 is changing the lives and the trajectories of hundreds of thousands of young athletes. She shared her philosophy that’s driven her and is now driving athletes with the UNCG Magazine.
Rebecca Mathews is on a mission to prevent suicide by training community members to recognize the signs in their students, friends, ...
AI in Nursing: Real-Life Experience, Right Away
Posted on November 08, 2024
UNC Greensboro’s School of Nursing (SON) is using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve and enhance nursing instruction, patient care, and nursing practice with virtual tools that create enriching real-world experiences, underscore ownership, and increase engagement.
The immediate integration of practical experience has been a game changer, says Lindsay Draper, clinical associate professor and nursing’s director of faculty credentialing, compliance, and special initiatives.
“We can talk about a health condition in class and then put on virtual-reality headsets to practice taking care of a patient,” she says. “Right then and there, they’re able to connect theory with clinical practice before they ever get to a clinical setting.”
Further, students say virtual experiences make them feel more confident, competent, and empowered.
“They don’t have their preceptor or instructor to watch their every move – they are the nurse, and they make the decisions,” Draper says. “They tell us it’s the most they’ve felt like a nurse since starting nursing school, even after their first time in the headset, and that is a really cool thing.”
How Are We Not Using AI?
From integrated simulations to dynamic student and faculty tools, AI has played a prominent role across the UNCG Nursing educational experience.
“The big question is how are we not using AI,” Draper says, “Because it is a helpful tool to create unique, realistic patient scenarios for our students that mirror the real world.”
If the topic is diabetes, students can use AI to assess patients, determine what labs a nurse might need, and develop questions for patient conversations.
“Explaining concepts to patients is very challenging in health care,” she says. “As nurses, we understand what we’re talking about, but that doesn’t always translate to the patient, their family members, and the community.”
Students are also able to create their own case studies, then reflect on the experience: What was the AI response? What was missing or may have been incorrect?
“So, it prompts critical thinking in addition to learning,” Draper says. “It’s a wonderful tool for a more comprehensive approach to engagement, relevance, and ownership in education.”
Virtual Reality: Collaboration, Retention
Since 2023, the SON has integrated VR into the undergraduate and nurse practitioner programs, specifically as a simulation tool. They use MetaQuest2 headsets and Oxford Medical Simulation, which offers access to more than 230 scenarios and the option to create unique scenarios.
“If we have a regular simulation with a standardized patient, only so many students can participate at one time,” Draper says. “With VR, we can supplement for those not actively engaged in the scenario.”
“We can do small groups or have one person wear the headset while it’s screen-casting to a TV, so other students can see what they’re seeing,” Draper says. “It has reduced downtime in simulation and helped to make it a more rewarding experience.”
Nikolas Everhart, a senior nursing student who will graduate in May 2025, appreciated the use of VR for learning about pre-eclampsia: “It essentially provided a risk-free pathway to learn and deepened my understanding of obstetrical patient care.”
Draper also points to benefits for nursing graduates taking the national board exam, which is based on scenario-based application of learning. Because AI tools offer the opportunity to hear it, see it, then do it, students better retain information.
In the future, SON hopes to incorporate augmented reality with student VR experience and explore how VR can be used for interprofessional education and in mass-casualty simulations for disaster preparedness.
Other Uses of AI
Faculty are using AI to create course descriptions; to design, improve and revise curriculum; to streamline assignments from learning objectives; and to generate rubrics.
“Health care and nursing can be complex, and AI is a really good tool to simplify instruction and make content more relevant to students,” Draper says.
SON has used AI to create its new master’s curriculum, its undergraduate curriculum, and its DNP curriculum, which consolidated efforts and inspired creative ideas. These curricula are in the approval process and should be available to students in Fall 2025.
Students in NUR 375 Nursing Informatics and Technology 2 were asked to use AI to create class assignments for a designated week.
“The use of AI was mind-blowing to me at first,” says nursing student Richelle Hensen. “However, I quickly became aware of AI’s value in creating assignments, test questions, or outlines for studying. AI thinks creatively and can illuminate new avenues in nursing studies. I do fear it could be used too much.”
Critical Thinking Required
Draper is not at all concerned with the views that AI will halt learning.
“I think it’s the exact opposite,” Draper says. “Used correctly, AI is going to help people get smarter because there’s that critical thinking piece, an evaluation process, and creativity involved.”
“It’s not a passive tool; it doesn’t do anything unless you do something with it,” she says. “And that’s why we’re teaching our students, from the get-go, how to use it to enhance their learning, not replace their thinking.”
Draper says balanced integration of AI is paramount for both faculty and students: What is AI? How to use it ethically and responsibly? What does academic integrity look like when you start using AI?
A module developed as part of the UNCG AI Teaching Grants will be implemented across three courses in various nursing programs to address these critical questions.
What’s Ahead?
As SON builds multiple dynamic uses of AI, they also spread the word and hope to bring others along.
“We are all in” says Dean Debra Barksdale. “AI is transforming student learning, faculty productivity, and patient care.”
Barksdale and several UNCG nursing faculty contribute to these advancements through their roles in the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) AI special interest group. Additionally, as liaison to the American Academy of Nursing’s AI Task Force, Barksdale will shape health policy and address ethical AI use.
“We think about how we can share what we’re doing here in the School of Nursing, not only with the campus, but with the broader community as well,” Draper says.
That includes speaking at conferences and to various groups across the state about the changing state of health care and using AI to prepare and upskill the workforce.
“We also continue to explore how we better introduce and incorporate AI tools students will use in practice into the academic setting,” Draper says.
Rebecca Mathews is on a mission to prevent suicide by training community members to recognize the signs in their students, friends, ...
UNCG Trains to Help Prevent Suicides
Posted on November 12, 2024
Rebecca Mathews believes anyone can save a life
When leading a teacher training on suicide prevention in a rural district school, UNC Greensboro Clinical Assistant Professor Rebecca Mathews was met with some healthy skepticism.
“One teacher said, ‘I’m never going to use this. I’m not a counselor, so no student is going to talk to me about suicide,” Mathews says.
Though reluctant, the teacher finished the training. A few days later, he sent Mathews a message saying one of his students had shown signs of suicide, and no counselor or administrator was available. Because the teacher was trained, he asked the right questions to immediately address the student’s crisis and was able to get the student the support and treatment they needed.
Working in the UNCG School of Education’s Department of Counseling and Educational Development (CED), which is consistently ranked third nationally and first in North Carolina as the top graduate program, Mathews trains future and current counseling practitioners, teachers, and community leaders in suicide prevention, teaching them to recognize warning signs and how to intervene.
Her experience with the teacher in the rural district is common. Often within weeks of a training session, she will get a phone call or an email from one of the participants who says that the training allowed them to recognize a student or friend was having suicidal thoughts and then take the right steps to help them.
“Anybody can save a life,” she says. “To me, the most important work that I do is around helping. It really is life-saving work, and I consider it an honor to help prevent suicide through research and training.”
Finding a different answer
“I fell in love with helping someone experience hope,” says Mathews, who, in addition to teaching, advises K-12 teachers, educational administrators, and medical professionals about suicide prevention. “People get better when they have support and can work through hard things without feelings of inner or external judgment.”
That lifelong desire to help people inspired Mathews to study counseling and psychology. While earning her doctorate in her home state of Texas, she worked in criminal justice, in-home counseling, and a hospital setting with kids and teens struggling with suicidal thoughts.
“Suicide is not the problem, but the person’s answer to what they’re going through,” she says. “If we can help them find a different answer, we remove the problem of suicide.”
After building an 18-year career as a counselor, consultant, and educator in her community and hospitals, Mathews was called to teach and improve training for colleagues in her field. In 2020, she joined the faculty in UNCG CED, determined to make an impact on future counselors.
“The community deserves good, ethical, solid counselors, and I wanted to be part of the pipeline that supported their development,” she says.
Training toward prevention
Mathews began her teaching career with UNCG training master’s students to become mental health counselors. She soon became a counselor educator with the North Carolina Physicians Health Program (NCPHP). Through NCPHP, she provides suicide prevention training and conducts research related to the prevalence of suicide among physicians in North Carolina. “When they graduate, we want them to be ready to help clients, whoever may walk in their door.”
“Dr. Mathews’ dedication to helping persons dealing with suicidal ideation and teaching others how to prevent the tragedy of suicide are clearly a calling for her as evidenced by her academic work,” says Joseph P. Jordan, CEO of NCPHP. “Her work with NCPHP has sparked a national movement to recognize and address the tragedy of physician and other medical professional suicides. She is truly a catalyst of state and national change in this area.”
Her work also extends to training for K-12 schools about trauma and suicide prevention.
“We have a wonderful community of schools where professionals are asking for help. We’ve developed a training on what trauma looks like, how it shows up in the classroom, and how to interact in ways that are helpful,” Mathews says.
Mental health challenges are alarmingly prevalent in young adults. According to the American Psychological Association, more than 20% of teens have considered suicide.
“We’re seeing increased rates related to anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors,” she says. “It’s a challenging time to be a kid or a teenager, and to be the parent or teacher who’s trying to figure out how to be supportive and helpful in a world of bullying that follows them home through social media.”
One of the most effective trainings she administers is QPR – question, persuade and refer – which helps individuals who are not mental health professionals recognize signs of suicide and intervene.
“An example of an intervention is saying, ‘Often, when a person feels the way you’re feeling, they might wish they could go to sleep and not wake up. Do you ever have those thoughts?’ This opens the door to a conversation. You can listen and persuade them to get help, then connect them to a medical professional,” she says.
In addition to suicide prevention trainings in schools and communities, Mathews worked with former UNCG colleague Anita Faulkner to develop the Trauma-Informed Professional Practice (TIPP) for Educators and Mental Health Professionals, developed in partnership with the North Carolina Academy for Stress, Trauma and Resilience (NCA-STAR). The online series includes video modules for practitioners that help participants better understand trauma, trauma reactions, and the physiological effects of trauma.
“Dr. Mathews brings a kind, compassionate, and strong voice of guidance” to all areas of her work, says Anita Faulkner, former director of NCA-STAR who now owns Family Solutions, a local community mental health agency.
“Most people want to relieve suffering when they see it,” says Mathews, “but suicide is a hard topic and feels overwhelming. I want to help people build confidence so they can be effective in those moments and know how to help save lives.”
If you or a loved one struggles with suicidal thoughts, help is available through calling or texting 988.
Rebecca Mathews is on a mission to prevent suicide by training community members to recognize the signs in their students, friends, ...
Faculty Research Excellence Nominations Open
Posted on November 08, 2024
PIC21306 2018 Brand Nutrition Lab: Milk storage research, Microscope on the computer screen
Now through December 13, you can nominate faculty members for the annual Early Career Research Excellence Award and the Senior Research Excellence Award.
Rebecca Mathews is on a mission to prevent suicide by training community members to recognize the signs in their students, friends, ...
$3.75M Boosts UNCG’s Support for NC Youth on Path to Adulthood
Posted on November 08, 2024
UNCG’s collaboration with North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services aims to improve outcomes for youth in our state diagnosed with mental health disorders, with a focus on improving access to behavioral health services as youth transition out of child-centered services into adult systems of care.
Rebecca Mathews is on a mission to prevent suicide by training community members to recognize the signs in their students, friends, ...
Connection and wellbeing for student veterans
Posted on November 11, 2024
North Carolina ranks among the top five states with the highest veteran population in the United States. An estimated 200,000 service members transition out of military service each year, and many choose to pursue higher education.
At UNCG, over 8%, or more than 1,500, of enrolled students are military-affiliated students, 500 of whom are veterans and service members. For the past several years Dr. Erin Reifsteck, associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology and newly appointed Faculty Fellow for Student Veteran Wellbeing, has closely studied student veterans at UNCG and at other universities across the UNC system. Her research findings are now helping inform how UNCG’s Division of Student Affairs and Military-Affiliated Services address issues impacting student veterans.
“Transitioning from military service to university life is a really important period where university faculty and staff can better support the student veteran population: not only their student success but their overall wellbeing,” Reifsteck says.
Identify and apply
Voted a Top 10 Military-Friendly School and Top 10 Military-Spouse Friendly School for the past several years, and a 2024 “Military Times” Best for Vets College, UNCG is committed to supporting its students on active duty and those transitioning out of service into academia. Reifsteck works with Chris Gregory, director of Military-Affiliated Services (MAS), to collaborate on student veteran initiatives. In 2021, Reifsteck and her research team implemented a survey, focus groups, and interviews at UNCG to better understand student veterans’ experiences and how UNCG could better support them.
“We learned that student veterans at UNCG valued being a part of a community with others and were shaped by their shared experiences through military training,” she says. “The strong peer network was lost when they left the military.”
In addition, they found that student veterans were less physically active and that it was impacting their overall well-being. Finding a sense of community was important to student veterans.
“The study we developed at UNCG led to the opportunity to do a UNC system-wide survey. We wanted to identify what the needs and concerns were beyond just our own institution, so that we could try to develop more comprehensive approaches to supporting student veterans,” Reifsteck explains.
Most PrevAlant Health Concerns
In 2023 Reifsteck and her research partner Dr. Michael Hemphill, associate professor of kinesiology at UNCG, partnered with Bradley Wrenn, Program Manager for Military and Veterans Education at UNC System Office, to survey student veterans in the UNC system. They discovered that 50% of student veterans reported that transition from military service to student life was difficult. Many experience health concerns such as chronic pain, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, migraine headaches, and insomnia.
“Student veterans have unique experiences that may relate to some of those health challenges, and these are likely a little bit different from the general student population,” she says.
Regular physical activity is known to improve these conditions, but the study revealed most student veterans experienced a decline in physical activity since their transition to out of the military.
“It’s important to remember that student veterans are not a homogenous group. They have different preferences, activities, but many of those we surveyed wanted to connect with other student veterans,” she said. “The majority were connecting through their campus’ version of UNCG’s MAS office. Although what was interesting to me as a kinesiology professor was they also talked about the campus gym as being a popular way to connect, which is consistent with some of the work we had done previously on UNCG’s campus where we identified physical activity as a way for veterans to connect with each other.”
One of the main takeaways from her research was that the student veterans specifically mentioned a need for more tailored resources for the transition from soldier to student.
“They wanted better options for connecting with other military students, more contact with faculty, and online options for resources.”
Turning knowledge into action
The two studies helped inform how MAS works with student veterans at UNCG. With Reifsteck’s help, MAS created a series of wellness workshops for student veterans last spring on topics identified in the survey. They also hosted an event designed to encourage student veterans to connect through physical activity.
“We partnered with UNCG Recreation and Wellness to gain access to the pool for a special small group activity,” she said. “We wanted to offer a fitness opportunity that could accommodate potential injuries or chronic pain that they might have, in a way that could be accessible to more student veterans.”
At another event this fall, MAS partnered with Innovate UNCG to offer entrepreneurial mindset training for student veterans. In addition, they are currently piloting an online community for student veterans named “Mail Call” where they can house resources, promote events, and encourage connection.
“The student veterans picked that name and took the lead in building the online platform. It’s similar to the concept when soldiers receive mail from loved ones and it’s like a meeting place to get your news and it’s a positive thing,” Reifsteck says. “Centering student veteran voices through the process has been extremely important. We hope that Mail Call will grow into a useful space for the students.”
Reifsteck and MAS are also increasing faculty and staff awareness of and engagement with student veterans through Green Zone training. Their goal is to enable UNCG community members to develop more knowledge and empathy for student veterans so that they can identify and connect with the appropriate resources.
“Our goal is to increase the number of faculty who go through the Green Zone training,” she says. “It’s important that our faculty are more informed about what’s going on with student veterans, the challenges they face, the strengths they bring as well as policies around attendance if they are called to duty.”
To that end, MAS and Reifsteck hosted a school-wide training with faculty in the School of Health and Human Sciences this semester and are in the process of connecting with other schools for events in the spring. In addition, they developed a military student support statement for faculty to include in their syllabi.
“It speaks specifically to military students and the services that are available on campus. It’s another part of increasing awareness both among the faculty as well as in the students who maybe we haven’t reached in some way,” Reifsteck says.
80%
of student veterans recommend UNCG
Scaling up services beyond UNCG
Gregory and Reifsteck are interested in taking their student veteran research and programs beyond UNCG to other universities.
“It would be hard to find anyone else in the UNC system that’s providing the level of comprehensive services that we do here at UNCG,” Reifsteck says, “There is so much that MAS brings to our student veterans: a beautiful physical space to connect, events co-sponsored with the Student Veteran Association, partnering with campus groups like Innovate UNCG and outdoor adventures at the Kaplan Center for Wellness to keep our students engaged and active.”
The results are reflected in the research data: 80% of the student veterans surveyed said they would recommend UNCG to other student veterans.
This spring Reifsteck and Gregory will travel to a student affairs symposium where they hope to share their research and programming with higher ed professionals from across the country. Their goal is to facilitate other campuses replicating what has worked so well at UNCG.
“We want to find ways to expand and sustain our work,” she says. “Student veterans are a growing population, and it makes sense both financially and morally to support our student veterans and make sure our universities are setting them up for success.”
Rebecca Mathews is on a mission to prevent suicide by training community members to recognize the signs in their students, friends, ...
Avoid Citations by Following Simple Rules in Congested Campus Intersections
Posted on November 07, 2024
Students and staff members have probably noticed the new flashing lights at certain busy intersections on campus. You’ll find them on Spring Garden Street near College Avenue and on Josephine Boyd Street near Walker Avenue. Both are key areas that become swamped with pedestrians and cyclists sharing the roads with drivers during busy class changes.
These caution lights have been installed as part of a pedestrian safety campaign developed by the UNCG Police Department as an initiative to improve the safety of our campus.
As the campaign moves from an awareness phase into a consequence phase, now is the time to familiarize ourselves with driver and pedestrian responsibilities that keep our campus intersections safe.
Watch Out for the Flashing Lights Marking Busy Campus Crosswalks
Citation: Failure to yield to a pedestrian shall be an infraction, and the court may assess a penalty of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) and not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00).
Tips for Drivers
To cut down on the incidence of “close calls” for pedestrians crossing our busy campus streets, UNCG Police will soon be issuing citations to drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians. To avoid a hefty fine, remind yourself of the following rules that drivers tend to get complacent about:
Stay Alert Drivers are increasingly distracted by phones, music, and navigation directions, and a busy crosswalk is full of even more distractions. Stay aware of your surroundings. This is especially important near crosswalks and campus areas with many pedestrians and cyclists.
Always Yield to Pedestrians To be safe, always stop for pedestrians at crosswalks, even if they aren’t clearly marked.
Watch Your Speed Speed limits are reduced in areas with heavy foot traffic, so make sure to adhere to posted speed limits.
Tips for Pedestrians
Unfortunately, consequences for pedestrians who do not follow safety guidelines are much more impactful than a hefty fine. Pedestrians cannot expect that drivers will see and yield to them in every instance. To avoid injury when you’re walking to class, remember the following tips:
Always Use Crosswalks Humans are inclined to take short cuts when running late but crossing the street without a crosswalk increases your chances of encountering a driver who isn’t expecting you.
Look Both Ways It might seem like advice for a child, but pedestrians must remember to look left, right, and left again before stepping off a curb. On busy roads like Josephine Boyd, a speeding car could appear from your left at a moment’s notice. Don’t forget to give that third look before proceeding.
Avoid Distractions Distracted walking can be just as dangerous as distracted driving. Remove headphones and put the phone away when you’re walking through our busy campus. You need use of all your senses – not only to stay safe, but to take in our beautiful campus surroundings.
Do Your Part
On a busy campus like UNCG, it’s easy to get lax about speed limits or crosswalks when you’re late for class. And in times when the campus is quiet, we all get complacent about looking both ways.
Establishing good habits can avoid citations, or worse, an accident. Watch for the new flashing caution lights and do your part to keep our campus safe for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists alike.
Story by Becky Deakins, University Communications. Photos by Sean Norona, University Communications.
Rebecca Mathews is on a mission to prevent suicide by training community members to recognize the signs in their students, friends, ...
UNCG Professors Help Moms Guide Girls’ Body Image Development
Posted on November 06, 2024
Growing up, girls’ lives are full of friends, memes, social media trends, and influencers all telling her the “right” way to think of her looks, her body, and her health. It may leave Mom feeling like she can’t get a word in edgewise.
Two UNC Greensboro faculty say mothers should not feel that way. “Moms are the biggest influencers on their daughters’ body image development,” says Dr. Janet Boseovski, UNCG Department Head of Psychology.
It is available now on Kindle with the hard cover going on sale on December 3. (But anyone interested in a free print copy can enter to win one on Goodreads through November 14.)
Making Sense of Science
There are already lots of books, articles, and blogs claiming to know how to give girls a healthy body image, but Boseovski and Gallagher noted how most of them are only written for the daughter or for the mother, not for both. Furthermore, these books often glossed over the importance of the mother-daughter relationship.
Boseovski (left) and Gallagher (right), co-authors of the new book “Beyond Body Positive.”
It hits on a lot of points that might sound familiar to moms: a balanced diet, skepticism of media depictions, body positivity, and navigating peer groups, but they emphasize a science-backed approach. “Some of the advice out there is wrong,” says Gallagher. “We’re adding a lot just by telling moms what the science says, which may not otherwise be easily or readily accessible to them.”
To make sure they understood the genuine concerns of mothers, Boseovski and Gallagher held focus groups, inviting women to come to the UNCG campus and talk about the concerns they have for their girls. “We worked really hard to make this a book for moms, not academics,” says Boseovski. “It is readable and friendly with concrete tips they can use.”
Boseovski’s research has centered on social and cognitive development from early to late childhood, while Gallagher is a social psychologist with expertise in group processes in social comparison and in culture. Their backgrounds made them the perfect co-authors on a book that appeals to all ages.
Never Too Old, Never Too Young to Learn
The book does not talk down to the daughter. In fact, the first chapters ask the mother to re-evaluate her own body image. “We laid out some of the things a mom can be on the lookout for, like perfectionism and neuroticism,” Gallagher explains. “The social psychology angle brings in the driving forces of a negative body image, such as social comparison processes and objectification theory. Moms can understand how those processes work, and how they may vary from woman to woman.”
The second half of the book draws on Boseovski’s expertise to explain how girls develop their body image. They say mothers can start talking to girls as young as three years old, a much younger age than most body image books suggest.
“Most books focus on teenagers or a pre-teen. That is too late,” says Boseovski. “This book is based on rigorous science. We know we need to start early in terms of thinking about yourself as a whole person and not fall into diet culture and appearance.”
They included lists of activities, including games and recipes categorized by age, so that mothers can instill a healthy perspective for their daughters as they grow up. “This can be built into your everyday life,” says Boseovski. “Moms can find those small opportunities.”
Student Contributions
Boseovski and Gallagher credit the conversations they had with UNCG students with shaping the book, as many of the points they make were inspired by a reading group organized by Kestyn Harris ’20, who earned her bachelor of arts in psychology at UNCG.
The contributions of one graduate student, Julianne Peebles ’23, earned her a credit in the book. Peebles’ master’s thesis is about the body image development of pre-professional dancers, whom Boseovski says is a particularly vulnerable group. She contributed to the book’s codices.
“It was great for us to have that voice of a student from a different generation to assist us and give us feedback. And it’s a training opportunity for her,” says Boseovski.
Both researchers hope their research will cut through the noise and set moms and daughters on the right track when it comes to talking about body image. “An important point from the book is to start building early, so that you don’t have to do the reparative work later,” says Gallagher.
Story by Janet Imrick, University Communications Photography by AdobeStock Additional photography courtesy of the College of Arts & Sciences
