By Stephen M. Gavazzi, Ph.D.

The Latest News, Views, and Announcements

What's New at CHRR

CHRR recently hosted visitors from the Korea Labor Institute (KLI), including members of the team responsible for the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS), one of South Korea's premier longitudinal household panel surveys. We were thrilled to have our partners at the Bureau of Labor Statistics and NORC at the University of Chicago participate virtually as well.

The visit provided an opportunity for the exchange of ideas about the design, management, and future of large-scale longitudinal studies. A major focus of the discussion was CHRR's stewardship of the National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS) program. Like the NLSY studies, KLIPS follows individuals and households over time, collecting detailed information on employment, income, education, family dynamics, and related social and economic outcomes. Because both research programs are designed to track life-course experiences across many years, the visiting scholars were particularly interested in CHRR's approaches to respondent engagement, survey operations, data quality, and long-term panel maintenance.

The conversations highlighted the many similarities between the work conducted by CHRR and KLI. Both organizations manage nationally recognized longitudinal datasets that serve as essential resources for researchers, policymakers, and government agencies. Both face common challenges associated with sustaining long-running panels, adapting to changing survey technologies, and ensuring that data remain relevant to emerging questions about work, families, and social change.

We took a group photo of the CHRR and KLI members who participated in the meeting. Not quite sure how we managed to get that tilt in the picture, but after several hours of discussing research, apparently even the camera developed an opinion.

CHRR’s Leadership Team

Quarterly Check-In season is underway at CHRR. Throughout the month, staff and supervisors have been meeting to review achievements, discuss professional development, and set meaningful goals for the year ahead. These conversations help keep us focused, engaged, and moving forward together. As these discussions continue, CHRR's leadership team plays a critical role in helping employees connect their individual goals to the broader objectives of the organization. By providing context about CHRR's strategic priorities and identifying opportunities for staff contributions, leaders can ensure that personal and professional development efforts support our collective mission. When employees see how their work advances larger organizational goals, it strengthens engagement, accountability, and our shared commitment to CHRR's success.

CHRR Team Member Celebrations

August brings no work anniversaries for anyone currently employed at CHRR, giving me another opportunity to thank every member of our team for their commitment and contributions.

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!

Things You Might Want to Know

New Monthly Labor Review Article Co-Authored by Gardecki

CHRR’s Rosella Gardecki teamed up with the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Donna Rothstein and NORC’s Quentin Brummet on a brand-new article published in the Monthly Labor Review. Here is the abstract:

The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) has historically been a key source of information for examining health disparities. As the NLSY79 sample members continue to age, mortality differences within the cohort born in 1957–64 are becoming starker. We examine the age distribution of mortality for these young baby boomers and analyze how demographics, early test scores, and several characteristics collected at age 25 (education, employment, and health) relate to mortality later in life. Cox proportional hazard models with controls for demographics and age 25 characteristics show that being male, having lower cognitive test scores, having lower levels of education, and working fewer than 45 weeks at age 25 are related to an increased risk of mortality by age 58. Likewise, health characteristics at age 25—smoking daily, obesity, and health limitations that affect work—are related to a much higher likelihood of mortality by age 58.

And the full citation:

Quentin Brummet, Donna S. Rothstein, and Rosella Gardecki, "Examining the mortality of young baby boomers by age 58: evidence from the NLSY79," Monthly Labor Review, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 2026, https://doi.org/10.21916/mlr.2026.23

New Commentary Article in Issues in Science and Technology

I was honored with the chance to read and react to the latest article on pluralistic intelligence written by Arizona State president Michael Crow and his ASU colleagues David Rosowsky and William Dabars that was published recently by Issues in Science and Technology. As I noted in my reaction piece: "Ultimately, pluralistic intelligence and public trust are mutually reinforcing. A university that listens broadly learns better; a university that learns better earns trust." 

Click Restoring Public Trust in Universities to read the full article.
 

EdUp Podcast Focuses on CHRR’s Higher Education Research

I recently joined Jay M. Keehn, host of the EdUp Podcast, for an on-air discussion that focused on the connections between enrollment, retention, and donations to institutions of higher learning. The main question we grappled with: What if these factors are all related to the amount of trust that people have in those colleges and universities? You can catch the episode here: Episode 21 - Closures, Mergers, & Acquisitions Through the Eyes of Dr. Stephen Gavazzi