Rockefeller College to Host Panel on Education and Employment Pipelines for Refugees

a sign stencilled in pink spray paint shows three people running and the word "refugees welcome"
(Photo by Markus Spiske/unspash.com)

ALBANY, N.Y. (March 17, 2022) — With an influx of people fleeing war and persecution across the globe, including 76,000 Afghans seeking refuge in the United States after the Taliban takeover and 3 million Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion, the Biden Administration expects the United States will resettle 125,000 refugees in the 2022 fiscal year — a dramatic increase from former President Trump’s 15,000 refugee cap set before leaving office.

Nonprofit volunteer agencies that provide reception and placement services face tremendous challenges due to the rapidly growing number of refugees in need, while refugees are confronted with resettlement hurdles, including finding work and continuing education.

Many refugees who come to the United States are highly educated but lack the professional credentials and English proficiency to get hired in positions comparable to those they left. In order to support their families, refugees often take the first available job, regardless of whether it matches their skillset, and both the refugees and the communities miss out on leveraging that human capital for local and regional economic development.  

Refugee children face numerous challenges as well, including educational disruption due to conflict and displacement, physical deprivations and psychological traumas. Consequently, refugee children must overcome more obstacles than the general U.S. student population to progress from K-12 into higher education and onto prosperous careers.

“Building Higher Education and Workforce Pipelines for Resettled Refugees,” a virtual roundtable hosted by Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy from 1:30 – 3 p.m. April 8, will address education and employment hurdles and opportunities for refugees. Topics include the ways in which colleges and universities can help refugees transition to living and working in the United States and how K-12 schools can offer educational and professional career tracks for refugee children.

The roundtable will be moderated by Rey Koslowski,, a professor of Political Science and the director of the Master of International Affairs Program at Rockefeller College. Panelists include:

  • Enayat Nasir, Fulbright Scholar in UAlbany’s School of Education
  • Bernhard Streitwieser, associate professor, George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development
  • Amy Loyd, senior advisor, Office of the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education
  • Sarah Dryden-Peterson, associate professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education
  • Laura Gonzalez-Murphy, director, NYS Immigration Policy and Research, New York Department of State
  • Miriam Feldblum, executive director, Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration
  • Diya Abdo, professor of English at Guilford College and founder of Every Campus A Refuge

Register in advance to receive the Zoom link to the roundtable discussion. You can also submit questions via the registration form.

The event is co-sponsored by the School of Education.