Villanova in the Media

Media Highlights from April - June 2024

Villanova’s distinctive academic programs, world-class faculty, leading research and scholarship, and high-achieving students place the University in the national media spotlight. Below is a sampling of media highlights from April - June 2024.

This Tiny Florida Gecko is Disappearing—Can We Save It Before It’s Too Late?
National Geographic
In a phenomenon called coastal squeeze, sea level rise will begin to swallow parts of the state of Florida, promoting people to move inland. But geckos can’t follow... “If you can't travel more than a hundred meters in 10 or 20 generations, you're not really going to be able to outrun potential problems like sea level rise,” says Aaron Bauer, a biology professor at Villanova University who reviewed the Florida listing proposal as an outside expert.

Voice Assistants and AI Chatbots Still Can’t Say Who Won the 2020 Election
The Washington Post
Who won the 2020 presidential election? Alexa can’t always say. And chatbots built by Microsoft and Google won’t answer at all... “It’s a totally different architecture,” said Grant Berry, a Villanova University linguistics professor... When Amazon and Apple launch their new assistants, Berry said they’ll be combining the “objective-oriented” assistants with the “socially-oriented” chatbots.

‘It is Alarming:’ AT&T Suffers Second Prolonged Outage This Year
CNN
AT&T’s second prolonged outage this year left customers irate last Tuesday. Though outages can affect any company, it’s not normal to have two long outages in a short period of time, said Mojtaba Vaezi, a professor and director of the Wireless Networking Laboratory at Villanova University. “When it takes longer than 10 to 15 minutes, it is alarming.”

Crushes Make Everyone Embarrassing, Not Just You
Glamour Magazine
Regardless of age, gender, or sexual orientation, almost everyone has done something foolish to get closer to a crush. According to Erica Slotter, PhD, a social psychologist and associate professor in Villanova University’s Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, that’s because initial attraction—as in, a new crush—typically activates different neural circuits in our brains.

NFL Wants $25 Billion in Revenues by 2027. Netflix Deal Will Likely Make It a Reality.
USA Today
The NFL struck its existing broadcast deals in 2021 for $113 billion over 11 years but can opt out after seven years. "My reaction at the time was, 'What a windfall, what a boon for the NFL,'" said Andrew Brandt, executive director of the Moorad Center for the Study of Sports Law at Villanova. "The way we look at it now, it's the networks that got the bargain."

All Aboard the Train to Nowhere Cutting Through Pristine Mexican Jungle for Votes
The Telegraph
Newly elected Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum's low-key style is the antithesis of her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador's personality cult... "She's more moderate, more thoughtful. She deals well with tough questions and can engage respectfully," says Raúl Diego Rivera Hernández, a professor at Pennsylvania's Villanova University.

S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow All Hit Record Highs After Encouraging Inflation Data
CNN
U.S. retail sales were flat in April. "Potentially, that's an indication of consumers getting tapped out," Villanova University's John Sedunov said. "At the end of the day, that retail softening is an indicator that maybe there's going to be less pressure on prices in certain areas going forward, which could have a continuing moderating effect on inflation."

Vatican Moves to Assert More Control Over Supernatural Manifestations
The Washington Post
With the backing of Pope Francis, the Vatican on Friday issued sweeping new guidelines on unexplained religious phenomena... "I think they figured out how the internet revolution has reshaped Catholicism," said Massimo Faggioli, a Catholic theologian at Villanova University. "It used to be that someone would say, 'I saw the Madonna,' then the local newspaper would drop by, then the national one, then maybe an international one. Now anyone who has a mobile phone and is savvy enough can cause a sensation."

Tornadoes Tore Across the Country. Why Weren't They Deadlier?
The Washington Post
There are still occasional examples when tornado victims say the disaster struck without warning, said Stephen Strader, an associate professor at Villanova University. But "that’s becoming less of a common thing," he said. Instead, meteorologists and emergency managers in tornado-prone areas have stressed the importance of residents getting severe weather updates from multiple sources, whether from local TV news, social media or the wireless alerts the Weather Service issues to cellphones in the path of a tornado.

How a New Trial for Harvey Weinstein Could Again Test the Legal System
The New York Times
New York’s highest court ruled last week that the trial judge who presided over the Harvey Weinstein case erred when he let several women testify that Weinstein had assaulted them, even though their accusations were not part of the charges brought against the producer. Michelle Madden Dempsey, a law professor at Villanova University, says the district attorney’s office should not have difficulties starting over as long as the individuals Weinstein was accused of assaulting are willing to move forward with a new trial.

What Bill Cosby’s Overturned Conviction Could Signal About Harvey Weinstein’s Case
NBC News
A New York appeals court overturned Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction last week, paving the way for a new trial. Michelle Madden Dempsey, a law professor at Villanova University and a former domestic violence prosecutor, dismissed the New York appeals court’s reasoning as “shocking and nonsensical.”

Decades Ago, the NFL Draft Dialed up its ‘Pizazz’ on Giant Helmet Phones
The Washington Post
By bringing some flavor to the NFL Draft, now a major public interest event in the sport, helmet phones helped shape league history in greater ways than their playful nature suggests. “It’s a quaint reminder of the evolution,” said Charles Taylor, a professor of marketing at Villanova University who specializes in sports advertising. “Those helmet phones were a way to draw attention, but the draft has wisely evolved into this really glitzy event.”

The Magnetic Heart of the Milky Way
The New York Times
Embedded in a new map of the magnetic fields at the center of the Milky Way could be clues to some of nature’s deepest, most complex processes, including how stars, the sources of all light and life in the universe, come to be. “The next step is to figure out what this all means,” said project lead David Chuss, chair of Villanova University's Department of Physics. “It will provide the ability for new theories to be tested and guide the development of the next generation of astronomical exploration.”

The ‘Halving’ — Bitcoin Bros’ World Cup — is Nigh
CNN
Every four years, bitcoin undergoes a "halving." It's an automatic 50% reduction in the number of bitcoin entering circulation which should, in theory, push the value of the cryptocurrency higher while keeping its inflation in check. But Villanova University finance professor John Sedunov says there’s no guarantee bitcoin’s past performance would repeat itself, “especially in light of the macro environment and potentially rising costs of mining.”

Who was Mary Magdalene? Historians are Still Trying to Figure That Out.
National Geographic
Mary Magdalene may be one of the most recognized figures in the Bible, yet so much about her remains shrouded in mystery. “Mary Magdalene resonates deeply with many people who feel that their voices and stories have not been heard or valued,” says Elizabeth Schrader Polczer, assistant professor of New Testament at Villanova University. “By bringing Mary to light, we may be recovering crucial and overlooked aspects of Jesus’ vision for humanity.”

Pope Francis’ Culture Wars Divide Catholic Church
Newsweek
The types of actions that Francis has taken against his conservative American critics have not been seen in centuries, said church historian and Villanova University professor Massimo Faggioli. “In terms of the relations between a pope and the United States, it’s unprecedented,” Faggioli told Newsweek.

Eclipse Maps Can't Be 100% Accurate. Here's How to Ensure You Don't Miss the Big Event
CNN
If you're planning to see the epic total solar eclipse that will dance across the skies of North America on Monday, you should aim to travel as close to the center of the celestial spectacle's path as possible... "I would never, never be near the edge of where that totality is because it's a difference between night and day," said Dr. Edward Guinan, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Villanova University.

New Blue-and-Yellow Gecko Found, Named After Van Gogh
National Geographic
The first C. vangoghi specimen, found in the Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve, was a male that resembled another recently discovered Cnemaspis species named C. galaxia... From a global perspective, at least 2,300 Cnemapsis species exist in the scientific literature, a major increase from a thousand species only a few years ago, says Aaron Bauer, an ecologist at Villanova University and gecko expert.