Villanova’s distinctive academic programs, world-class faculty, cutting-edge research and super-star students place the University in the national media spotlight. Below is a sampling of media highlights from August 2017:
The DNC IT Scandal And The Jackpot Lottery Fraud
Forbes – 08/31/2017
Professor Brett Frischmann at Villanova University states, "the problem some companies face with self-dealing by IT professionals is complex because it is an area where contract and trade secrecy laws' protections may be inadequate. In some cases, other laws such as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act can be helpful.”
Hurricane Harvey and climate change: Is there a connection?
USA Today – 08/29/2017
Aside from climate change, humans may have contributed to the disaster in other ways: Houston is an example of how historically increasing development has created a “concrete jungle” that exacerbates flooding, said Stephen Strader, a professor in Villanova University’s Department of Geography.
Texas Flooding Expected to Worsen
BBC – 08/28/2017
Flooding in Texas - already described as catastrophic - is expected to get worse as the waters continue to rise. We examine the situation with Dr. Stephen Strader, a geographer and environmental scientist at Villanova University in Pennsylvania.
Lawmakers should begin cracking down on hate speech
The Hill – 08/25/2017
In addition to condemning the horrific violence and tragic death of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, it is important to understand the communicative elements surrounding white supremacists’ hate speech and begin the difficult conversations about how we might address this growing problem in new ways … Billie Murray is an associate professor of communication at Villanova University.
3 Things to Do When Stocks Lose
U.S. News & World Report Money – 08/25/2017
What do you do with a stock that falls below purchase price? Hang on to it or sell it? Some would say buy more so that you can lower the average cost … Meg Luo has a Ph.D. in finance and is an associate professor of finance at Villanova School of Business, Villanova University.
Do human billboards actually bring in customers?
Marketplace – 08/25/2017
Holding giant cardboard signs, more than a dozen sign spinners stood at a Los Angeles intersection, trying to get drivers to honk, wave or smile at them … “As drivers, we’re completely trained to notice other people,” said Charles R. Taylor, a professor of marketing at Villanova University. “And when you put human interaction in marketing, in general it leads to more ability to appeal to people’s empathy and raise emotions.”
Millions in U.S. Look Skyward During Solar Eclipse
The Wall Street Journal – 08/21/2017
Eyes skyward, millions of Americans were transfixed by the spectacle of a total solar eclipse midday Monday, as the moon’s shadow raced from coast to coast like a brush stroke across the canvas of the continent … “There were maybe 40 million people across the U.S. looking at the same thing at the same time,” said astrophysicist Ed Guinan at Villanova University who has seen eight total eclipses. “That gives me goose bumps.”
Op-Ed: STEMming the Tide of Cultural Influences
U.S. News & World Report – 08/21/2017
Cultural forces are one of the strongest barriers to girls deciding to pursue science, technology, engineering and math careers. The constant drip, drip, drip of cultural influences surround us every day, each a small drop in and of itself, but ultimately leading to an ocean of expectations … As the Mechanical Engineering department chair at Villanova University, I know firsthand the importance of representation and normalizing science and engineering interest. We have worked hard to do outreach to girls and young women, and as a result our enrollment numbers of women are far above the national levels.
Villanova dean says to grow female CEOs, get girls interested in finance
Philadelphia Inquirer – 08/19/2017 (Second of three-part interview series with Dean Russell)
Kudos to the STEM movement (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) for building girls’ interests in science, engineering and technology, says Joyce Russell, dean of Villanova University’s nationally-ranked business school.
What scientists hope to learn from the eclipse
CNN.com – 08/18/2017
The Eclipse of the Century may also turn into the Science Experiments of the Century. For years, scientists have been planning the studies, experiments and observations that will finally be underway on Monday … "Since 1979, an armada of solar telescopes have been deployed in orbit around the Earth and Sun to continuously monitor the Sun," Ed Guinan, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Villanova University, wrote in an email.
Trump Lawyer Forwards Email Echoing Secessionist Rhetoric
The New York Times – 08/16/2017
President Trump’s personal lawyer on Wednesday forwarded an email to conservative journalists, government officials and friends that echoed secessionist Civil War propaganda and declared that the group Black Lives Matter “has been totally infiltrated by terrorist groups” … The email’s comparison of secessionists to the nation’s Founding Fathers echoes an early Confederate rallying cry, said Judith Giesberg, a Villanova University historian and editor of The Journal of the Civil War Era.
Social Media Harnessed to Expose White Nationalists at Rally
Associated Press – 08/15/2017 (Picked up by more than 100 outlets, including The Washington Post and The New York Times)
One of the social media posts resembled a wanted poster or a missing-persons flyer: Photographs of men were arranged in rows, seeking their names and employers … Gordon Coonfield, communications professor at Villanova University, said there is an important difference in the reasons people get doxed.
Is America Headed for a New Kind of Civil War?
The New Yorker – 08/14/2017
A day after the brawling and racist brutality and deaths in Virginia, Governor Terry McAuliffe asked, “How did we get to this place?” … “When you look at the map of red and blue states and overlap on top of it the map of the Civil War—and who was allied with who in the Civil War—not much has changed,” Judith Giesberg, the editor of the Journal of the Civil War Era and a historian at Villanova University, told me.
Goldman Givers: Seven Things To Know About Donors from Goldman Sachs
Inside Philanthropy – 08/12/2017
Recently, we offered an overview of things to know about donors who hail from the finance world. We've profiled more than 100 of these donors now, and are discovering new ones all the time … And Anne McNulty, a strong supporter of leadership education, recently gave $5 million to establish the Anne Welsh McNulty Institute for Women’s Leadership at her alma mater Villanova.
Is It Time to Bet on Fantasy Sports?
U.S. News & World Report – 08/08/2017
On paper – and fantasy sports fans know all about great matchups on paper – the prospective merger of FanDuel and DraftKings looked tantalizing … One secret to the big growth lies in establishing market share via "mindshare," says Andrew Brandt, executive director of the Moorad Center for the Study of Sports Law at Villanova University in the Philadelphia area.
Dr. Teresa Boyer Discusses Tech Industry Culture
CBS Radio San Francisco – 08/04/2017
A 10-page paper, published on an internal Google forum, criticizing the company’s efforts to diversify and build an inclusive environment is under fire in the latest scandal surrounding the tech industry’s culture … let’s talk more about this by talking with Dr. Terri Boyer, founding director of the McNulty Institute for Women’s Leadership at Villanova University.
A Vatican Shot Across the Bow for Hard-Line U.S. Catholics
The New York Times – 08/02/2017
Two close associates of Pope Francis have accused American Catholic ultraconservatives of making an alliance of “hate” with evangelical Christians to back President Trump, further alienating a group already out of the Vatican’s good graces … Massimo Faggioli, a professor of historical theology at Villanova University and a contributor to liberal Catholic journals, said the Civiltà Cattolica article would “be remembered in church history as one of the most important to understand the Vatican of Francis and the United States and American Catholicism.”
25 Top Colleges That Dominate Academically And Athletically
Forbes – 08/02/2017
When deciding on a college, most high schoolers and their families think about academics first and foremost. But for many others, a college tradition rooted in athletic prowess is equally important … 19. Villanova University.
Trump’s Recess Appointment Power Limited by Labor Case
Bloomberg – 08/01/2017
If Republicans want to block President Donald Trump from using the upcoming summer break to replace embattled Attorney General Jeff Sessions without Senate approval, the Supreme Court has already provided a blueprint … “If the Senate were inclined, it could block a Trump recess appointment of a Sessions replacement if it held a short pro forma session every three days,” Tuan Samahon, a Villanova University law professor, told Bloomberg BNA.
On Prohibition’s 100th anniversary, here’s a distillation of 3 myths about the temperance movement.
The Washington Post – 08/01/2017
One hundred years ago today, by a bipartisan vote of 65 to 20, the U.S. Senate submitted to the states what would become the Eighteenth Amendment. A century on, the common understanding of the Prohibition Era is based more on folklore than fact … Mark Lawrence Schrad, an associate professor of political science at Villanova University, is the author of “Vodka Politics: Alcohol, Autocracy, and the Secret History of the Russian State.”