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Week in Review: Sláinte! Éire go Brách!

Ali Lincoln

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Even though I know it’s not truly traditional, my family is celebrating by wearing green and whipping up some Irish soda bread to go alongside corned beef, cabbage, and shamrock shakes. (Sorry, not sorry. I can’t convince my brain that Guinness isn’t chocolate milk and I’m disappointed every time.) I did get a chance to celebrate March 17 in Ireland one year, and it was very different from most U.S. celebrations. Except for churches, which were packed, a lot of places were closed—and pubs that were open wouldn’t deign to have beer light enough to dye green. But we did get some thrills—as luck would have it, my family accidentally drove into a parade route and joined in for a few blocks before we realized what was happening.

If you’re only interested in the latest in higher ed news, then you’ve got a little bit of Irish luck! Scroll down for more.

What’s new this week:

Professor Mathew Schmalz of the College of the Holy Cross weighed in on the Pope’s potential openness to ordaining married men as priests for the Washington Post.

Raymond Crossman, president of Adler University, shared his HIV status in a thoughtful and heartfelt piece for Salon. His words resonated across the higher ed and beyond, and both Inside Higher Ed and The Chronicle of Higher Education featured additional commentary on his personal disclosure.

Drake University professor Jennifer Harvey asked a tough parenting question in her NYT op-ed: Are we raising racists?

Grinnell College professor David Cook-Martin’s expertise was featured in an AP piece on the effect of Trump’s proposed refugee reduction on Myanmar. The article also ran in national and regional outlets including ABC News, Yahoo Canada, the Washington Post, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

In a co-authored piece for the Chronicle of Higher Education, Karla Erickson of Grinnell took a look at both academe’s fixation on midcareer malaise and the very different picture her research paints of post-tenure faculty members.

This week on Inside Higher Ed’s Call to Action blog, be sure to check out great posts on how to create a design toolkit, marketing lessons from clickbait, how marketers can help break down silos, and how to get around the Great Firewall of China to connect with international students.

What we’ve been talking about:

In the wake of the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) outage on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), Ali has next steps in a Quick Hit.

Cristal shared five things she learned at her first job as a TV production assistant that she still uses today.

It’s never a #snowday at TVP Comms, but three out of the five of us are seeing flakes today.

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What’s next on our calendars:

On March 30, Erin will be presenting with Inside Higher Ed’s Paul Fain on crisis communications at CASE’s 25th Annual Conference for Institutionally Related Foundations.

On April 1, Erin will be presenting with Scripps College’s Binti Harvey at the Association of Governing Boards’ Workshop for Board Professionals. They will talk about the anatomy of a crisis and how to respond appropriately.

On April 4, Teresa will be presenting at the CASE Institute for Senior Marketing and Communications Professionals.

Teresa is a member of the planning committee for PRSA’s Counselors to Higher Education Senior Summit, which will be held in Washington, DC, April 5-7. At the Summit, Erin will participate in a panel discussion on the importance of a smooth presidential transition.

What we’re recommending:

Ali Lincoln
Before I settled on English as a major, I briefly contemplated pursuing environmental studies. My latest read kind of makes me wish I had done it. On a recommendation from Erin, I picked up Lab Girl by renowned scientist Hope Jahren, and I didn’t put it down until I had read the whole thing. It was a blend of memoir and science, touching on poignant issues of mental health, sexism, and climate change along the way, but it was first and foremost a captivating read.

Kristine Maloney
News stories about unique college courses or assignments usually pique my interest. Not only are there some really fun and intriguing courses out there, but it’s also part of my job to pitch stories about the one-of-a-kind classes being offered by our partner campuses. With the proliferation of fake news recently and the dangers associated with it, this KQED report on college students at several institutions across the country being asked to write Wikipedia entries as a lesson in digital literacy was particularly timely—and a concept that makes a lot of sense.

And for the foodies out there, be sure to check out Boston Magazine’s “Starch Madness” bracket and add the winners to your “carb dishes to try next time I’m in Boston” list. While the TVP Comms staff has shared cannoli at Mike’s Pastry, we clearly have to plan some dinner meetings soon. 

Erin Hennessy
Like so many Americans, I’m fascinated by the rituals of the British monarchy. I remember waking early as a child to watch Charles and Diana’s wedding, can tell you where I was when Diana was killed, and of course watched William and Catherine’s wedding. But sometime in the next few years, the world will experience something that hasn’t happened since 1952—the death of the British monarch and the crowning of a new one. That’s why this (looong) piece from The Guardian is so fascinating; it describes so many details of what is referred to as Operation London Bridge (did you know that all British monarchs are buried in lead-lined coffins??), the code name for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, but also considers the role of the monarchy, the perception of the Commonwealth’s decline during her reign, and the challenges facing the soon-to-be king. This is a piece I will be rereading and telling people about for weeks.

Cristal Steuer
It’s March Madness and there is no shortage of college basketball stories to read and brackets to fill out. I can’t resist a story about sports and fashion. If you haven’t met the freshman forward behind No. 1 seed UNC’s homemade fedoras, check out this USA Today piece by Nicole Auerbach‏. After watching NBA post-game press conferences, Shea Rush wanted to create a style of his own. He decided to make himself a fedora to wear to games with his suit. Pretty soon all of his teammates wanted one, so he got to work creating a hat for each player. The whole team will be wearing them for good luck before they take on Texas Southern today.

Teresa Valerio Parrot
My travels with Erin have plenty of inside stories and memories that make us both dissolve into giggles. Well, apparently we aren’t the only two who have had unexpected travel woes and adventures come our way and bonded over ridiculousness. The story of the unintended road trip for two members of Congress made me think of our trips across New England and the Midwest and look forward to our next adventure.

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