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Week in Review

Ali Lincoln

Week in Review
Ahhhh summer. Okay, we still have a few weeks until it’s officially summer, but between my Memorial Day s’mores, national burger day this week, and a plethora of ice cream news (Ben and Jerry’s launched a new flavor AND there were some terrible omissions on this best ice cream shop list), summer food is in full swing. Summertime is a bonanza for eating—fresh strawberries, corn on the cob, anything on the grill, popsicles…I’m salivating thinking about it. I honestly don’t know what I’d choose as the definitive summer food. I guess I’ll just have one of everything, please.
If you’re not dreaming of your favorite summertime treat, scroll on down to see the higher ed treats we’ve rounded up for you this week.
What we’ve been talking about:
I’m not the only one with summer on the brain! Erin Hennessy offers advice on how to take advantage of the slower pace to set up for a successful fall.
Don’t forget to check out the Inside Higher Ed’s Call to Action blog, this week featuring a post from Michael Stoner and the very first guest post from David Baker, director of interactive communications at Oregon State University.
What we’ve been reading:
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Just in case you haven’t noticed, I’m pretty competitive. And board games bring out the worst in me. For that reason, I was hoping to earn an advantage by learning the words added to the Scrabble dictionary and I was underwhelmed. Lolz, pwn and wuz have no place in our written language and really shouldn’t be in my sacred Scrabble dictionary. It’s obvs ridic, right?
And, I wasn’t aware of the push for “femojis” before reading this article, but I would use the proposed Ruth Bader Ginsburg emoji more than any other currently available. And I if I could only vote for one to be created, I would cast my vote for RBG before the elusive taco emoji. That’s a lot of love. 
Erin and Ali represented TVP Comms at this year’s EWA conference, which includes a number of reporting awards for the journalists who cover education and higher education. In this article, four recipients shared how they approached their stories. I always like to read these pieces and take notes, because they are a great reminder of how to partner with reporters for good news pieces and be of assistance during a crisis.
Ali Lincoln
I remember reading the IHE article about the Texas A&M professor failing his entire class back in April, and I was flabbergasted that college professors could have trouble with classroom management. That was probably my biggest weakness as a high school teacher, and my first two quarters were hellish as I tried to navigate the landscape of classroom management (not surprisingly, being my super-strict, type-A, uptight self got better results than me trying to be laid back and friendly). I guess I incorrectly assumed that most professors were seasoned teaching pros and college students were adults, so I enjoyed reading this follow up on collegiate classroom management. 
Due to forces beyond my control (and by that I mean being married to a soccer-obsessed soccer coach), I’ve reluctantly been following the FIFA scandal as it unfolds. But buried in the news of corruption and arrests was the exciting announcement that some women’s national teams will be included in this year’s edition of the popular FIFA video game! Go ladies!
Erin Hennessy
I’m headed home to New Jersey this weekend to attend my 20th college reunion. It absolutely blows my mind that it’s been 20 years since I ruined a perfectly good pair of heels on a soggy Mead Hall lawn before receiving my degree. It also boggles my mind to review this list of other things that are marking their 20th anniversary this year, including Toy Story and eBay. Read it and weep, my friends.
One of the things I’ll get to do while I’m on campus for reunion is thank some of the people—faculty and staff—who opened my eyes to the possibility of a career in higher education. So this piece from a Marquette University student about what working at the information desk taught her about how an institution functions really hit home for me. Yup, one of my college jobs was working at the UC (University Center) Desk. In addition to providing phone numbers for take-out places and schedules for the train to New York City, I got to see how student affairs professionals worked to provide programming and develop student leaders. I was grateful for the opportunity (and the cash!) and hope I can adequately express that gratitude this weekend.
Kristine Maloney
This short piece from New York magazine made me smile. It cites a few different studies, with similar results, that show we all think we’re doing the majority of the work, both in the office and at home. I’m very thankful to have extremely hard-working partners in my personal and professional life, but this is a good reminder to “step out of our own egocentric heads for a minute” and recognize the contributions of others.
This story has gotten a lot of attention this week, and for good reason in my opinion. If you haven’t read Eric Hoover’s look at the state of college admissions, notably what hasn’t changed in the process for the last half century, I highly recommend it. It’s easy to assume that technology has improved the evaluation and selection of incoming students, but the complexities of college admissions seems to have transcended technology for most institutions:
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