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Week in Review: Turning up the heat

Ali Lincoln

It’s technically just over a month into spring, but it feels like summer already down south. This weekend is set to be a scorcher in Williamsburg. The downside—we have to turn our AC on a week after we stopped turning our heat on at night. The upside—we’re going to have some great beach weather, and the summer crowds haven’t hit Virginia Beach yet. So with temps hitting the mid-90s this weekend, we’re packing up our beach buggy cart (yep, we got one, and I regret nothing) and slathering on the sunscreen for some play in the surf.

If the only thing you’re surfing is the web so you can find the latest in higher ed news, scroll down for more.

What’s new this week:

In a piece for Fortune, Drake University professor June Johnson explained why we won’t see an Apple watch for diabetics any time soon.

The Boston Globe gave a shout out to Working for Worcester, a nonprofit that started in a dorm room at College of the Holy Cross. The group, celebrating its fifth year with an annual Build Day this Saturday, is dedicated to improving public spaces like playgrounds and parks.

Raynard Kington, president of Grinnell College, considered creative ways to help students recover from failure in a piece for the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Professor Mathew Schmalz of Holy Cross discussed the death penalty and Christianity in an article for The Conversation.

This week on Inside Higher Ed’s Call to Action blog, be sure to check out posts on what higher ed media relations can learn from Disneyland and Facebook and why yield season may be too late.

What we’ve been talking about:

Cristal shared tips for nailing an interview using Sheryl Sandberg’s excellent example on NPR in a Quick Hit.

In a piece for Fortune, Teresa warned against jumping to conclusions and too-quick criticism in the wake of United’s latest issue with the death of Simon the rabbit.

Erin considered what Aretha Franklin teaches us about media relations.

What’s next on our calendars:

Erin will be guest lecturing on media pitching at the Department of Defense’s Defense Information School at Fort George G. Meade on May 11.

Teresa will serve as a panelist to discuss responsive leadership during American University’s summit for higher ed thought leaders, the NEXT University: A Summit for Innovators, on May 22.

Erin will be facilitating a session on understanding media relations for the American Council on Education’s National Women’s Leadership Forum in Washington, DC, on June 22.

What we’re recommending: 

Kristine Maloney
I am fascinated by the power of investigative reporting and am often just as interested in the behind-the-scenes details of how major stories broke as I am in the news itself. The Bill O’Reilly story is one example. This week, Marie Claire spoke with Emily Steel, the 33-year-old New York Times reporter that exposed O’Reilly, about how she reported the story. I loved so many things about this interview, but my favorite part is how she got Wendy Walsh to give her an interview.

Erin Hennessy
This weekend, I’m going to perform a little experiment. I’m going to take a two-day social media sabbatical—at 5 PM today, I’m going to delete Twitter, Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and Snapchat from my phone for 48 hours. (Just drafting that list tells me I am active on way too many social media platforms.) Like so many of us, I’ve become too dependent on social, not just to bring me news and photos and silly lenses, but to fill the moments of downtime that I should be savoring with my head up instead of bent to the screen. While I realize it’s only a short break, I’m hoping to garner some of the benefits described in this Fast Company article, especially time for “deep thinking” about nascent ideas that usually get pushed away by the latest cute photos of my nephew on Facebook. Wish me luck, and I’ll be back on the blog next week with a Quick Hit describing my success (or, let’s be honest, utter failure). Happy weekend!

Cristal Steuer
I love WCVB’s Chronicle and this week it featured two innovative ideas I just had to share. The first is a fish tank that actually grows your vegetables inside your house for you. It’s powered by the fish water and fans, which takes vegetable growing to a whole new level. Second, WrightGrid is manufacturing cell phone charging stations powered by the sun. Right now, they are making them to bring to Africa and other places where electricity isn’t as reliable or available.

Teresa Valerio Parrot
I worried this Heineken ad about commonalities that bring us together would be hokey, but it drew me in and I loved it. It includes the powerful message that it is so easy to characterize opinions or people, but perhaps instead we need to get to know individuals. I appreciated the honesty of the participants about their worldviews and then the shifts they experienced. It’s worth a watch.

Ali Lincoln
My daughter recently got this Pantone: Colors board book, and it’s a really cool idea—add it to the list of things that are simple but awesome and I’m mad that I didn’t think of it first. Instead of just basic colors, the book introduces young children to twenty different shades of each color. And while they may not be true Pantone names (like macaroni and cheese orange and worm pink), the numbers do correspond with Pantone’s system. If you know any little kids learning colors, I’d recommend this as a neat gift.

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