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Week in Review: Where’s My Name Badge?

Erin Hennessy

In the last 10 days, I’ve attended three conferences, worn three name badges, and given three presentations. It’s funny to me that when I joined TVP Communications almost three and a half years ago, public speaking was a source of sheer terror for me. Now, if you give me 30 minutes and a lavaliere microphone, I don’t bat an eye at taking the stage. Of course, it always helps when I’m joined by great colleagues, as I was at each of my three recent presentations. Many thanks to Paul Fain of Inside Higher Ed, Binti Harvey of Scripps College, President Jeff Weiss of Lesley University, and Hilary Douwes of Mount St. Mary’s University for joining me to talk about pressing issues for our industry.

If the only thing that makes you nervous is not enough higher ed news, scroll down for the latest.

What’s new this week:

Mark Laver, professor of music at Grinnell College, explains the swift and overwhelmingly negative reaction to Pepsi’s ad featuring Kendall Jenner for Fortune.

Professor Mary McCarthy of Drake University explained in a piece for the Foreign Policy Journal why a fresh approach to relations between the U.S. and North Korea is needed now.

Drake professor Keith Miller weighed in on U.S. sports leagues and the possibility of legalized betting in an article for the Wall Street Journal.

Similar college and university names can cause confusion for a host of institutions, including Mount St. Mary’s University, College of the Holy Cross, and Augustana College. This Wall Street Journal piece looks at the challenges faced by institutions with similar names.

In a piece for The Conversation, Professor Matthew Russell of Drake University explained how farmers could profit economically and politically from addressing climate change. The piece was also picked up by Business Insider, the San Antonio Express-News, and SFGATE.

With the Boston Marathon just over a week away, the College of the Holy Cross shared an inspirational story and a clip from Worcester News Tonight on why two of its employees are running the race.

This week on Inside Higher Ed’s Call to Action blog, be sure to catch posts on building a marketing team, telling your brand’s story, making brand decisions with methods and materials, and communicating the value of university research.

What we’ve been talking about:

Kristine shared some thoughts on her four-year anniversary at TVP Communications in a Quick Hit.

Teresa shared tips on creating communications that work for today and tomorrow, inspired by the video created to mark American University President Neil Kerwin’s retirement.

 

Our selfie game needs work but we’re thrilled to be with friends and colleagues at #prsache!

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What’s next on our calendars:

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.

What we’re recommending:

Cristal Steuer

It has been cold and rainy in New England for most of this week, so when I came across this National Geographic piece on the 21 most beautiful beaches, I just sat and stared at my computer for a while. I’ve only been to two of the beaches on the list: Bowman’s Beach on Sanibel Island in Florida and Carmel City Beach in California. So, it looks like I have a lot of tropical vacations to plan soon. While all of these beaches look absolutely amazing, Playa del Amor in Marieta Islands, Mexico and Papakōlea Beach in Hawaii look like paradise.

Ali Lincoln

I love some good dirt—in my garden, that is. Unfortunately, I’m currently in the long process of trying to transform the acidic, clay soil into something more amenable to growing. It’s slow going, but eventually it’ll be worth it because healthy soil leads to higher yields and fewer pests. This piece on soil amendment in farming from The Conversation caught my interest (and gave me some ideas to try out in my own backyard), and it gave me some insight to just how important healthy soil is on a global scale.

Kristine Maloney

I’ve read a number of articles lately inspired by the popularity of the hashtag #ThanksforTyping, which drew attention to the number of academics’ wives who type their husband’s articles and books. As a woman, the practice has stirred up a range of emotions in me, particularly considering how widespread it still seems to be. And that’s one of the reasons I want to share this compilation of amazing women—people like Sophia Tolstoy, who gave birth to 13 of Leo’s children, but also hand wrote War and Peace seven times. Some were acknowledged and appreciated for their work (though certainly not in the same ways as the men they wrote for), but others were treated pretty badly. In any case, the list is an enlightening look at literary history.

Erin Hennessy

As many of us who are north of our…ahem…20s know, sleep can be a cruel and elusive mistress. I’ve tried a lot of methods to battle occasional insomnia and have found success with lavender essential oil, a Sleep Number bed and, most recently, the Headspace meditation app. The sleep episode is particularly useful, but I will cop to the fact that the voice of Headspace founder Andy Puddicombe is so soothing that I’ve taken to playing the non-sleep episodes every night.

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