Faculty Seminar Explores COVID-19’s Lasting Impact on Young Adults

The Faculty Research Seminar Series continues Friday, Oct. 30 at 3:10 p.m. in the Loyola Science Center, room 334 with "The New Normal of Emerging Adulthood in a Post-Pandemic World: Challenges, Opportunities, and Recommendations" presented by Dean Carolyn Barry, Ph.D., C.A.S. Faculty and staff are invited to attend.

"Understanding the historical effect of COVID on young people and how best to support them now within college contexts has been a burning question for me since I became an associate dean in 2019-2020 when COVID hit," said Dr. Barry when she discussed the topic with Royal News in 2025.

Abstract: "The COVID-19 pandemic inverted normal developmental processes. My talk reviews the psychological research that has been done on this historic moment's effects on emerging adults' physical, cognitive, social, and psychological domains that have been shaped by the pandemic and what this new normal entails. The challenges and opportunities for emerging adults today will be articulated. Lastly, I will provide recommendations for practitioners in structuring contexts that support emerging adults given this new landscape."

Dr. Barry is the president of the Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood (SSEA).

For more information, contact coordinator Amelia Randich at [email protected].