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Week in Review

Ali Lincoln

Though I enjoy a good movie as much as the next person, I’m not a big movie-going person. In fact, the last time I went to the movies was in 2013—but I did go three times that year (and I only saw Frozen once, I swear)! Something about instantly available movies has made the movie-going experience less appealing to me. I can watch at home in sweatpants when I want and with whatever snack I want, and I don’t have to shush people near me or glare at them for their phones glowing as they text in the dark…But I admit, some things are truly blockbusters and meant to be seen on screen, which is why I’m SO pumped for my summer movie lineup. The release of The Avengers 2, Pitch Perfect 2, AND Jurassic World is going make 2015 another triple screening year for me!
For the latest on blockbusting news in higher education, read on.
What’s new this week:
Mary Johnson, Higher One’s Vice President of Financial Literacy and Student Aid Policy, has tips for students to make the most of mobile alerts for money management on the Huffington Post.
Is your performance evaluation really about you? Probably not, according to Drake University professor Steve Scullen—more details available in this Fortune feature of Scullen’s research.
And another hit for Drake this week! Professor Jennifer Harvey wrote a piece for The Conversation on the role of public opinion in the Supreme Court decision on gay marriage legality.
What we’ve been talking about:
Last week, Erin Hennessy got a question about student media, and her thoughts are up on the blog this week. Student journalists are journalists, so we should treat them like journalists.
After looking at the new report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and the Society of Professional Journalists, Kristine Maloney offered insight on what the results mean for PR professionals.
What we’ve been reading:
Erin Hennessy
I’ve had a crazy busy spring, so I’m taking the opportunity to crash this weekend—the only things on my agenda are books and walks and cocktails on my roof deck. In honor of this much anticipated break, a couple of lighter articles this week. First, will I pull a muscle hauling longer and longer books around this weekend? BBC looks at the trend of epically long novels like The Luminaries (read it) and The Goldfinch (read it and wish it had been better edited).
And on a really light note, I laughed heartily at this New Yorker column that imagines a day in the life of Pinterest.
Ali Lincoln
Now that I’ve officially relocated to Virginia, I’m trying to get a better sense of the community and my surroundings. I got my library card, visited the farmers market, and, since it’s already summer weather, I’ve been checking out beaches. I went to some less-than-great beaches last weekend, but ended up at Sandbridge in Virginia Beach—lovely, but a haul. I stumbled across this old Washington Post article after the fact and I’m looking forward to checking out these spots, all under an hour from my new digs.
For a higher ed related read, I enjoyed this Forbes opinion piece looking at a different angle of student success.
Kristine Maloney
I started my week by reading Kobi Yamada’s What Do You Do With an Idea to my children on Sunday night. It’s a children’s book (published in 2014) with a truly inspiring message about following your passions to make the world a better place. It was my first time reading it, and quite simply—I loved it. It was a great, positive and motivating way to start the week.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
It feels like articles correlating college major and starting salary pop up quite regularly this time of year, as do stories that say we have too many lawyers and not enough jobs for all of them. Well, if this is what it looks like when someone studies the law, then sign me up! Not sure if you know that Rebel Wilson gained legal knowledge and nunchuck skills in college—top that fellow aca-people. I’m one of the many people counting down to the release of Pitch Perfect 2 and between now and then might just see if I can gain some nunchuck skills, too.
On a much more serious note, The Chronicle article, “Sweet Briar’s Demise Puts New Pressure on College Trustees” was a helpful piece that I forwarded to a couple of colleagues, presidents and board members. It is a reminder of the challenging fiduciary responsibilities board members undertake and their obligation to ask the tough questions and make difficult decisions. I served as a staff officer to a governing board and never minded when a board member dug for additional detail or asked how a number was calculated. After all, financial oversight and visionary guidance are their real jobs as trustees, with the ceremonial functions and sporting events serving as the rewards.
Kyle Gunnels
I have never had a bucket list. The idea of having a finite number of things I “just have to do” is a bit limiting in my mind. Many of the most fun and memorable experiences I’ve had are those that were unplanned or due to making a bold decision without knowing the possible outcome. Because of this, I find that traveling to new places without a plan is one of my favorite things to do, finding awe in places not dictated by a travel guide or to do list. These awe-inspiring moments, no matter how big or small, are sadly becoming more elusive for many people due to the instant, HD access we have to everything. As the author of this piece puts it, when was the last time you saw something for the first time without seeing a picture of it first? I found this to be a very perceptive article on the subject.
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