Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling

Van C. Tran, PhD, Associate Professor of Sociology Columbia University, was the co-author of a study that found that although Asian Americans graduate from universities at far higher rates than white Americans, they still are no more likely to hold professional or managerial jobs. He discussed the additional barriers and discrimination that Asian Americans face when trying to climb the career ladder, a phenomenon known as the “bamboo ceiling.”

College Binge Drinking

Nancy Rhodes, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at Michigan State University examined underage and binge drinking at colleges and found that peer approval is the primary reason that students do it. She said students don’t want to admit they’re influenced by friends, but the reality is they are seeking social acceptance. She offered advice to concerned parents.

Indoor Air Polution

Cooking, cleaning and other routine household activities generate significant levels of volatile and particulate chemicals inside the average home, leading to indoor air quality levels on par with a polluted major city, according to research from Marina Vance, PhD, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder She said that most homes are not properly ventilated and that gas stoves cause more indoor air pollution than electric ones.

Van C. Tran

Van C. Tran is a sociologist whose research and writing broadly focus on the incorporation of Asian and Latino immigrants and their children, as well as its implications for American culture, politics and society.



Tran’s research adopts a multi-disciplinary and multi-methods approach to the study of immigrant and urban life. Specifically, his research contributes to three scholarly debates: the integration of the post-1965 immigrant second generation, neighborhood gentrification and urban inequality, and hyper-selectivity and racial mobility.



As an immigration scholar and urban sociologist, Tran’s research and teaching to date are deeply intertwined with the vibrancy and diversity of New York City. He follows a long tradition of scholars who engage with the city as a social laboratory for original research that seeks to inform urban policy.

Learn more about Dr. Tran

Nancy Rhodes

Dr. Nancy Rhodes comes to Michigan State University from the School of Communication at the Ohio State University. Her research interests are broadly focused on persuasion and social influence – particularly how they affect health and safety behaviors. She has published work on the effects of attitudes and norms on cigarette smoking and risky driving behavior, and has ongoing projects in these domains. Her work has recently focused on how normative influences contribute to substance use, and on how norms might contribute to resistance toward health-related messages. Dr. Rhodes was trained as a Social Psychologist at Texas A&M, earning her Ph.D. in 1991. She worked pharmaceutical marketing research and other applied contexts for a number of years before returning to academia full time. Her work has appeared in journals such as Communication Research, Communication Monographs and Media Psychology, as well as in specialty health and safety journals.