Villanova’s distinctive academic programs, world-class faculty, cutting-edge research and high-achieving students place the University in the national media spotlight. Below is a sampling of media highlights from November 2020-January 2021.
How might Joe Biden’s Catholic faith guide his presidency?
NBC “Today”
“It’s the first time they’ve had this issue…the Catholics in the White House represent how Catholics feel on some issues much more than the bishops represent it.” Villanova’s Massimo Faggioli is author of a new book on Biden and Catholicism.
China And Russia Want To Be Vaccine Leaders. How's That Going?
NPR
“China has an enormous vaccine production capacity,” says Deborah Seligson, an assistant professor at Villanova University. That enormous capacity is at least in part because China is an enormous country. And since public health measures have largely kept the virus in check in China, that capacity can be used to send vaccines around the world.
Budweiser joins Coke, Pepsi brands in sitting out Super Bowl
Associated Press
“I think the advertisers are correctly picking up on this being a riskier year for the Super Bowl,” said Charles Taylor, marketing professor at Villanova University. “With COVID and economic uncertainty, people aren’t necessarily in the best mood to begin with. There’s a risk associated with messages that are potentially too light. ... At the same time, there’s risk associated with doing anything too somber.”
Parents Magazine
“They can and are taking the lead," says Jerusha Conner, Ph.D., a professor of education at Villanova University and an expert on issues of student's voices, student engagement, and youth activism.
Egg experiment reveals what happens to your brain when you get hit in the head
Daily Mail (UK)
In the study, researchers from Villanova University in Pennsylvania looked at whether it was possible to break or deform an egg yolk, without breaking the eggshell.
From Coretta Scott King to Ella Baker: These women's ideas were key to MLK's work
NBC News
“Women were significant in his life, their intellectual production, their spiritual accompaniment … Women surrounded him in so many ways," said the Rev. Naomi Washington-Leapheart, a professor of theology and religious studies at Villanova University.
What to Expect When You’re Expecting the Worst
The New York Times
Rayna Markin, a licensed psychologist and associate professor of counseling at Villanova University, recommends therapy. She said that most people who get pregnant after a loss need extra support because they are “put back into the situation that was so traumatic to them before” and “getting pregnant again will just resurrect all the grief from the last loss.”
Just Move On: The Best Leaders Own Their Failures And Learn From Them
Forbes
Failure. No one likes it, yet we all experience it sometime in our lives. Great leaders own their failures and gracefully move on. By Joyce E.A. Russell is the Helen and William O’Toole Dean of the Villanova School of Business.
2020 saw great strides for women, but it also exposed inequities we should fix in 2021
USA Today
Women broke glass ceilings last year, from politics to sports. But we need to fix the cracks in the system that leave women and people of color behind. By Teresa Boyer, founding director of the Anne Welsh McNulty Institute for Women's Leadership at Villanova University.
Joe Biden’s Catholicism is all about healing. Now, he will lead a suffering America.
The Washington Post
But what makes Biden different, says Villanova University theologian Massimo Faggioli — whose spiritual biography of the president-elect is being published this month — is that he’s unapologetic.
The History of Violent Attacks on the U.S. Capitol
Smithsonian
As Judith Giesberg, a Civil War historian at Villanova University tells Business Insider’s Aria Bendix that the flag was appropriated in the 20th century, and continues to this day, to perpetuate the system of white supremacy in America.
Our Health Care Heroes Are Getting Fed Up With Us
Huffington Post
“They use the word haunted,” said Donna Havens, dean of the Villanova University College of Nursing in Philadelphia. “They’re haunted by the COVID-19 experience, and talk about caring for their co-workers who died while they were caring for them.
The Tragedy Of St Joseph’s Senior Home
NPR
"Buses don't have filtration systems like airplanes,” said Melissa O'Connor, an expert in nursing care for older adults at Villanova University's M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing in Pennsylvania. “They were all breathing the same air" and probably contracting the virus in the process.
The Washington Post
New research by the Center for Church Management at the Villanova University School of Business found in three dioceses that the average drop in collections was 7 percent after three years of relatively stable collections.
More US churches are committing to racism-linked reparations
The Associated Press
Shannen Dee Williams, a Black historian at Villanova University, has proposed several steps the church could take, including issuing formal apologies, investing in Catholic schools serving Black communities and requiring that the history of Black Catholics be taught in church schools.
U.S. to shatter record for billion-dollar climate disasters in 2020
CBS News
Strader Professor Stephen M. Strader, a severe storms meteorologist and expert on hazards and disaster at Villanova University, agrees with Bowen and says it is difficult to separate the climate hazard event and the societal exposure and vulnerability aspects of disasters.
The 'bubble' saved the NBA season from Covid-19. But another crisis was waiting inside
CNN
"Adam had to gain consensus from a group of so many stakeholders — it must have been like herding cats," said Andrew Brandt, host of the podcast "Business of Sports" and executive director at Villanova University's Moorad Center for Sports Law.
Villanova Law Will Name Building for Donor John Scarpa After $15 Million Gift
National Law Journal
The building that houses the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law will be named in honor of a big-ticket donor: cellular communications entrepreneur John Scarpa.
Learn Statistics to Unlock Data and Analytics Career Opportunities
U.S. News & World Report
“Statistics is the art and science of learning with data,” says Michael Posner, associate professor of statistics and director of the Center for Statistics Education at Villanova University.
Bloomberg Markets: Legal Aspects of Voting Process
Bloomberg
In America we have this great tradition where people cast their votes and we count every vote. The first thing that has to happen is the process has to run. Mark Alexander is the Dean of Villanova’s Charles Widger School of Law.