<p>Janice McCabe shares her research on campus loneliness and college friendship networks on episode 627 of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast.<br /> <div id="" class="one-half first divwrap clearfix" /></p> <h2>Quotes from the episode</h2> <p><!-- PRODUCTION SUPPORT: replace the two lines below with the quote-graphic <img> tag and any plain-text quotes, each followed by -Janice McCabe on its own line --><br /> <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-21448" src="https://teachinginhighered.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/TIHE627-3.png" alt="Something I hear from students a lot is just this appreciation for taking friendship seriously in students' lives. And so that's something that professors, teachers, college administrators can do." width="930" height="620" srcset="https://images.coachingforleaders.com/cb:ztCJ~31fd5/w:930/h:620/q:mauto/f:best/ig:avif/https://teachinginhighered.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/TIHE627-3.png 930w, https://images.coachingforleaders.com/cb:ztCJ~31fd5/w:300/h:200/q:mauto/f:best/ig:avif/https://teachinginhighered.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/TIHE627-3.png 300w, https://images.coachingforleaders.com/cb:ztCJ~31fd5/w:768/h:512/q:mauto/f:best/ig:avif/https://teachinginhighered.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/TIHE627-3.png 768w, https://images.coachingforleaders.com/cb:ztCJ~31fd5/w:600/h:400/q:mauto/f:best/ig:avif/https://teachinginhighered.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/TIHE627-3.png 600w, https://images.coachingforleaders.com/cb:ztCJ~31fd5/w:360/h:240/q:mauto/f:best/ig:avif/https://teachinginhighered.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/TIHE627-3.png 360w, https://images.coachingforleaders.com/cb:ztCJ~31fd5/w:930/h:620/q:mauto/f:best/ig:avif/dpr:2/https://teachinginhighered.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/TIHE627-3.png 2x" sizes="(max-width: 930px) 100vw, 930px" /></p> <p>The previous surgeon general, among others, have declared a loneliness crisis facing the United States, and, in fact, the highest rates are among young adults.<br /> -Janice McCabe</p> <p>Many people that I interviewed told me how they felt like everyone else either had more friends than them, had better friends than them, was having more fun than them, along those lines.<br /> -Janice McCabe</p> <p>Something I hear from students a lot is just this appreciation for taking friendship seriously in students&#8217; lives. And so that&#8217;s something that professors, teachers, college administrators can do.<br /> -Janice McCabe</p> <p>Students often say they don&#8217;t really like group projects, but then, that was a place that many of the friendships that formed in classes that I saw formed.<br /> -Janice McCabe<br /> </div><div id="" class="one-half divwrap clearfix" /></p> <h2>Resources</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo254561755.html">Making, Keeping, and Losing Friends: How Campuses Shape College Students&#8217; Networks by Janice McCabe</a></li> <li><a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo24731955.html">Connecting in College: How Friendship Networks Matter for Academic and Social Success by Janice McCabe</a></li> <li><a href="https://faculty-directory.dartmouth.edu/janice-m-mccabe">Janice McCabe at Dartmouth</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/jbbzccy5jvb6njzoky2mb/What-friendship-network-type-are-you.pdf?rlkey=txibc2nitgz484aaikgbs3gy5&#38;e=1&#38;dl=0">What Friendship Network Type Are You? (PDF)</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/opinion/friendship-markets-new-friends.html?unlocked_article_code=1.glA.rSVl.yjXAeQPI7AbN&#38;smid=url-share">I Study Friendship. Here&#8217;s How You Make Lasting Friends by Janice McCabe, The New York Times</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/well/friendship-make-keep-friends.html?unlocked_article_code=1.glA.2mdh.HPqRyJhfb7j5&#38;smid=url-share">The Friendship Advice Experts Swear By by Catherine Pearson, The New York Times</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf">Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General&#8217;s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.thecommunityofinquiry.org/framework">Community of Inquiry framework</a></li> <li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propinquity">Propinquity (Wikipedia)</a></li> <li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophily">Homophily (Wikipedia)</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/about-cel/center-staff/peter-felten/">Peter Felten</a></li> <li><a href="https://teachinginhighered.com/2025/11/08/network-weaving-as-an-antidote-to-imposter-syndrome/">Network Weaving as an Antidote to Imposter Syndrome</a></li> <li><a href="https://ninabadzin.com/podcasts/">Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship podcast</a></li> </ul> <p></div></p>