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 April 2019.
She Faced Sexism at Work. Now She’s Helping Women Become Leaders.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
It’s hard for Anne Welsh McNulty not to laugh a little when she considers the name of a leadership program she seeded with a $5 million gift to her alma mater, Villanova University. "The very modestly named Anne Welsh McNulty Institute for Women’s Leadership," she says ruefully. While the name makes her a bit uncomfortable, it is a fitting capstone to a long and successful career in finance. So few leadership institutes are named after women, McNulty notes, that the name itself is a testament to the ethos of the Villanova program. "Women should step up, have their name out there, and take credit," she says.
Smart NFL teams trade down at the draft. Most NFL teams aren’t smart.
The Washington Post
At some point in every NFL draft, executives, scouts and coaches abandon quantifiable data and become irrationally human. Armed with the most sophisticated fact-gathering, they will go directly against science and economics because they stare upward with eternal hope at the first-rounder they believe will rip out of his suit like a superhero for them. “It takes a lot of willpower to trade out of that first-round pick, because there’s a lot of pressure, a lot of gravitas goes with that,” says Andrew Brandt, a former vice president of the Green Bay Packers who is now a sports business analyst and director of the Moorad Center for Sports Law at Villanova University.
Can Memorable Brand Characters Be Built Without Using Television? Wholly Guacamole Says Yes
Forbes
The likes of Mr. Clean, Tony the Tiger and the Morton Salt Girl, have shown us that brand characters can be a key corporate asset. As Kevin Keller observes in his book Strategic Brand Management, some key benefits of having a brand character include enhancing awareness via rich imagery, breaking through promotional clutter in competitive environments and enhancing likeability. Charles R. "Ray" Taylor is the John A. Murphy Professor of Marketing at the Villanova School of Business and Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Marketing and Consumer Insights.
Mueller’s Bombshells Are About Putin, Not Trump
Foreign Policy
For as long as the storm clouds of Russiagate have swirled over the Trump White House, the key question has been: What did U.S. President Donald Trump know, and when? Yet the report on Moscow’s interference in the 2016 presidential election written by special counsel Robert Mueller and his team and released to the public on Thursday confirms that he was focused on a related, but different, question: What did Russian President Vladimir Putin do, and when? By Mark Lawrence Schrad, Ph.D., associate professor of political science at Villanova University.
Taxpayer spending on U.S. disaster fund explodes amid climate change, population trends
The Washington Post
Hawaii needs funding after volcanic eruptions sprayed lava on homes, bridges and roads. Thousands of farmers in Georgia and Florida were wiped out last year by Hurricane Michael, one of the strongest hurricanes to ever make landfall in the United States. … Many more Americans have moved into harm’s way, with growth exploding in the Gulf Coast region and along the Continental Divide, where tornadoes frequently occur, according to a study on the “expanding bull’s eye effect” by Stephen M. Strader of Villanova University and Walker S. Ashley of Northern Illinois University.
Villanova church historian discusses historical and religious artifacts inside Notre Dame cathedral
BBC World News
This is an 850-year-old building. The arts, the artifacts, the religion icons that are within it are just absolutely priceless. We speak to Dr. Massimo Faggioli, who’s in Philadelphia, professor of historical theology at Villanova University.
Is A Gigging Life An Unstable One?
Forbes
A few years ago, the financial services giant Prudential released a report looking at the financial security of people working in the gig economy. It found that not only are gig workers in the US earning around 58% of what those in full-time jobs earn, they miss out on the employer-sponsored benefits such as healthcare and pension policies. All of which doesn't necessarily mean that gig work is inherently bad. After all, research from Villanova University found that gig workers were happier than most other forms of worker, due in large part to the autonomy and flexibility mentioned previously.
BBC Weekend
Donald Trump’s pick for the World Bank presidency, David Malpass, has officially been approved for the role. Mr. Malpass, a Trump loyalist, was a senior economic advisor to the U.S. president during his 2016 election campaign. I’ve been speaking to professor Christopher Kilby, an expert on the economics of foreign aid at Villanova University, near Philadelphia.
Retired Pope Benedict wades into clergy sex abuse debate
The Associated Press
Retired Pope Benedict XVI has published an analysis on the Catholic Church’s clergy sex abuse scandal, blaming it on the sexual revolution of the 1960s and church laws that protected priests. The essay immediately raised eyebrows, seeming to interfere with or even contradict Pope Francis’ own efforts to confront one of the most critical issues facing the church. Villanova University theologian Massimo Faggioli said the essay was thin in its analysis by effectively attributing the scandal to the sexual revolution. He said it omitted key cases, such as the Legion of Christ founder’s pedophilia, which began well before then.
HIV Pill Patent Gives Trump Team Leverage in Gilead Price Talks
Bloomberg
The Trump team has a secret weapon as it tries to bargain down a pricey pill that prevents the spread of HIV: It owns a patent on the drug. It’s a battle with billions at stake for Gilead Sciences Inc., which has cornered the HIV prevention market with Truvada. The pills can cost as much as $1,700 a bottle and earned the company $2.6 billion in U.S. sales in 2018, according to Bloomberg data. Michael Risch, a professor and associate dean of faculty research and development at Villanova University’s Charles Widger School of Law, is a bit more skeptical about the government’s ability to bring about a price reduction.
First-Ever Black Hole Image: Why It's Such A Big Deal
International Business Times
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) team has released the first-ever image of a black hole and its shadow. According to Vox, directly imaging a black hole has been impossible since they are either too small, too far away or both. However, people and telescopes from all over the world worked together to make history and capture a supermassive black hole in the center of Messier 87 (M87) in an image. … "X-rays help us connect what's happening to the particles near the event horizon with what we can measure with our telescopes," Joey Neilsen, an astronomer at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, who led the Chandra and NuSTAR analysis on behalf of the EHT's Multiwavelength Working Group, said in a statement.
David Malpass sails past doubts to secure World Bank presidency
Financial Times
“How China reacts to a sharp drop in its World Bank lending will be interesting. Will it be that they double down on the institutions that they started themselves, or will they take a different approach and maybe reconsider whether they want more formal power within the World Bank,” said Christopher Kilby, a professor of economics and an expert in development aid at Villanova University