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 Sept.-Oct. 2021.
‘Squid Game’ Halloween Costumes Are Banned by Several New York Schools
The New York Times
Patrick Markey, a professor of psychology at Villanova University, said that violence in popular culture is often an “easy scapegoat” for violence in the real world. “It’s much easier to be upset about violent video games or ‘Squid Game’ than it is to try and tackle gun ownership or mental health issues,” he said.
States rethink 'prison gerrymandering' in 2020 redistricting process
NBC News
"When you have people sharing their stories about what it feels like to have your body counted to inflate the vote of prison staff who honestly might be abusing you on any given day, to hurt your family and community's representation back home is just so emotional and really moving," said Villanova University Professor Brianna Remster, who has studied the effects of this practice on states.
Biden's meeting with the pope carries resonance as disputes divide U.S. Catholics
The Washington Post
They have in common that it has become visibly harder for them to keep together their people,” said Massimo Faggioli, a Villanova University theology professor and author of “Joe Biden and Catholicism in the United States.”
How Isabelle Freidheim Is Finding Economic Opportunities For Women Through SPACs
Forbes
Corinne Post, a management professor at Villanova, has studied the effect of state-imposed gender quotas for corporate boards and suggests that active initiatives targeted at changing the status quo in the boardroom, or in the c-suite or even SPAC market, are necessary and effective.
The US president and the pope don't agree on everything
Public Radio International (PRI), ‘The World’
On Friday, President Joe Biden will visit Pope Francis at the Vatican for the first time since his election. The two leaders are likely to discuss vaccine access, climate change, migration, war and poverty. But Massimo Faggioli, a professor of theology at Villanova University, tells The World’s Marco Werman that other issues not on the official agenda are causing some real anxiety for US Catholics.
The Bronx tries new way to cure violence as US shootings surge
Financial Times
Kelly Welch, a criminologist at Villanova University, said programs that treated violence as a public health issue had “the potential” to be more effective than traditional law enforcement techniques.
Villanova Law's biggest donor ponies up another $13 million
Reuters
Villanova University’s largest law school donor is back at it this week, giving $13 million to the school that already bears his name. The latest gift from Charles and Barbara Widger will be used to bolster professional development and leadership training, including by endowing a new associate dean and three other positions focused on those areas.
How the executive MBA travel bug was bitten by Covid
Financial Times
Jonathan Doh, associate dean for research and global engagement at the Villanova School of Business, near Philadelphia, developed alternative international experiences with “integrative virtual global consulting projects” for the full-time MBA and executive MBA programs.
Leaders: Don’t Forget To Take Care Of Yourself
Forbes
For too long we have judged leaders and employees according to “face time” and the hours they were in the office, assuming that the longer times that they were physically in the office the more productive they must be. ... Joyce E. A. Russell is the Helen and William O’Toole Dean of the Villanova School of Business.
US, China unveil separate big steps to fight climate change
Associated Press
“The Chinese are going to respond to international pressure, rather than just American bilateral pressure right now,” said Deborah Seligsohn, an expert on China’s politics and energy at Villanova University.
Pandemic impacts on career planning for students
Inside Higher Ed
“Having to be more isolated does lend itself to more introspection,” notes Kevin Grubb, executive director of the career center as well as associate vice provost for professional development at Villanova.
Children of 9/11 first responders are saving lives themselves as health care workers
TODAY
Thomas Caputo, 19, who is a nursing student at Villanova University, was born six months after 9/11 into a family devastated by the terrorist attacks. His grandfather and uncle, both battalion chiefs in the New York City Fire Department, died when the South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed.
The Latest IRS Headache for Taxpayers: 11 Million ‘Math Error’ Notices
The Wall Street Journal
“The IRS is at risk of having courts rule that these assessments are illegal because the notices seldom comply with the law’s language requiring them to explain the error,” says Leslie Book, a tax professor at Villanova University’s law school.
The Supreme Court Heads Toward Reversing Abortion Rights
NPR
The Supreme Court's conservative majority tossed a legal bomb into the abortion debate last night. In a 5 to 4 vote, justices upheld, for now, a Texas law banning abortions after roughly six weeks. … Villanova University's Michael Moreland notes that the law is not just bizarre in his words, but broad.