UD in the News
From our campus to your newspaper — the University of Dayton and members of its community are frequently referenced by the national media. See where we've been making news lately.
Winter 2007
Maya Angelou, Tina Turner — and UD's Kathleen Henderson
PBS, The New York Times
In February, UD's own Kathleen Henderson, director of the office of first-year student engagement, was featured as the only non-celebrity in the national PBS series African American Lives 2. A UD graduate, Henderson was selected from 2,000 applicants to have her family history traced and spoke to a variety of news outlets about the experience. The New York Times on Feb. 5 mentioned her involvement, and she's been featured in stories around the nation, including The Columbus Dispatch, The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and Philadelphia Daily News. "(Henderson) just stood out as somebody not only who cared about her family story but knew enough about her family story to get us started and came across like a real genuine person on television," producer William R. Grant told The Columbus Dispatch on Feb. 6.
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Oprah, Friends — and Alex Orlowski
XM Satellite Radio
Talk show host Gayle King invited junior sociology/political science major Alex Orlowski to discuss the youth vote Jan. 10 on the Oprah & Friends Radio show carried by XM Satellite Radio. "The study was really encouraging. It's full of promise, it's full of great hope for the future of America that a lot of these students don't even have their degrees yet, they're not even out in the working world, and they're ready to get out there and do what they can," said Orlowski, who co-wrote Millennials Talk Politics: A Study of College Students Political Engagement and another study that focused on television consumption and civic engagement among 15- to 25-year-olds. Both were released by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.
Demographic news blog www.demodirt.com featured Orlowski and his research in a story Dec. 3. "As for Gen Y escaping from becoming cynical or jaded, I think it deeply stems from their desire to get involved and make a positive change. They still view the political system as somewhat frustrating, dissatisfying and inaccessible, but still seek ways to engage it and their communities," Orlowski explains. "In a way, I think that Millennials realize that they need to get involved in these issues, because they are concerned about them and they realize they can affect their generation in very real ways."
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More from the Campaign Trail
More from the Campaign Trail
In a national Associated Press story in November about the pope's upcoming visit to ground zero, Chris Duncan, chair of the political science department, reflected on what this may mean to presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani if he were to stay in the race. Duncan said the visit could hurt Giuliani's relations with the Republican Party's important conservative Christian base by "calling specific attention to the fact that he's living well outside the faith." The story was picked up by The Wall Street Journal, Forbes.com, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, among others.
David Darrow, director of UD's international studies program and native Iowan, talked to WLW-AM, Cincinnati, on Jan. 2 about the Iowa caucuses.
The Catholic News Service quoted the Rev. John Putka, S.M., lecturer in political science, in a story about the inability of Catholic presidential candidates to gain traction. "They did not meet the criteria to be major presidential candidates," he said, citing the need for an "extensive political network," a significant donor base and "dynamic, marketable personalities." Giuliani, the most prominent Catholic remaining in the race, might have difficulty obtaining the Republican nomination because he "cuts against the mainstream of the Republican Party" on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage, Putka said in a Jan. 15 telephone interview. "He's a Republican in terms of economics and finances, but on the social issues, he's very secular, more like a Democrat."
Investment Gurus
Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education reported twice on the success of the University of Dayton's student-managed investment portfolio. The Chronicle featured UD's student managed fund in a Dec. 14 story on the growing trend to turn over a portion of college endowments to student managers. A Jan. 10 story highlighted the UD trustees' new $4 million commitment to the fund, which will bring the student-managed total to $11 million and make it one of the largest in the nation.
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Christmas Traditions, Toys and Stress
The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, USA Today, Religion News Service, Columbus Dispatch, Ohio News Network
In a December story about the world's largest market of Nativity scene figures in Naples, Italy, The Wall Street Journal sought out the expertise of the Rev. Johann Roten, S.M., director of the Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute. "People are looking for something tangible, something tactile that tells them what Christmas is all about. The Nativity is a clear, visual expression." The Columbus Dispatch on Nov. 2 carried a feature about UD's expansive collection of crèches, and during the Christmas season WMUB-Radio, an NPR affiliate at Miami University, interviewed Roten about the Marian Library's collection of all things Mary.
On the heels of the massive recall of millions of toys earlier in the fall, the Associated Press turned to the University of Dayton's Keri Brown Kirschman, assistant professor of psychology, for advice on purchasing safe toys. "It certainly is a scary time to be thinking about toy purchases. But parents have to remember while there have been a number of recalls, there are still some good, safe toys out there," Kirschman said. Her remarks were picked up in numerous media outlets.
To combat holiday stress and put it in perspective, UD campus minister Sister Mary Louise Foley F.M.I., advised readers of USA Today to think about what an Iraqi woman might feel like as she gets up this morning. "It makes some of our worrying so small in comparison." The Religion News Service story also ran in The Washington Post on Dec. 8.
Sister M. Jean Frisk, S.S.M., talked to The Columbus Dispatch about the tradition of holiday lights. "There are hundreds of little stories about welcoming strangers or people in trouble because of a candle in the window in the dark forests."
Ohio News Network covered Christmas on Campus for a Christmas Day story.
Helping Students Succeed
The Plain Dealer, InsideHigherEd.com
In a front-page story in the The Plain Dealer in Cleveland on Dec. 14, Tom Lasley, dean of the School of Education and Allied Professions, analyzed the state's value-added models that measure student improvement. "The value-added models focus on student growth and not on student achievement," he said. "The former is more directly impacted by the teacher. The latter is primarily influenced by parents."
InsideHigherEd.com quoted Molly Schaller, associate professor of counselor education and human services, in a Jan. 31 story about the "Lost Year" or what's known as the sophomore slump. "We're getting to the point where institutions are articulating to students and faculty that it's not just another year — there are special programs for them," said Schaller, who's written extensively on the topic. UD's criminal justice program, for instance, provides seminars and luncheons for students who have declared the major but who are still not taking many classes in the field.
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On the Legal Circuit
San Jose Mercury News, E! Online
In a November syndicated story about the cybercrime epidemic, the San Jose Mercury News sought out law professor Susan Brenner, who studies policing on the Internet. "If I steal your car, you don't have it anymore," she said. "If I steal your data, you'll never know unless you stumble over it being used somewhere."
Criminal law professor Dennis Turner told E! Online on Nov. 22 that celebrities who retaliate against paparazzi could be breaking the law. "Maybe if the person felt threatened, if the paparazzi were really pushing and shoving, but even then, it can be a murky thing," he said.
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Honoring Courage
Associated Press
Newspapers around the state in November carried a feature about alumnus Gordon Roberts, the youngest living Medal of Honor winner and the only one on active duty. Less than a month after his 19th birthday, Roberts silenced four enemy bunkers on a ridge in central Vietnam. He saved two pinned-down platoons and helped evacuate wounded soldiers from an exposed hill, all under intense fire. He enrolled at UD after the war because administrators promised him anonymity. "It's not something that I had any tremendous desire to talk to anyone about," he told AP.
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Spreading the Faith
Columbus Dispatch
The Columbus Dispatch on Nov. 9 quoted the Rev. Johann Roten, S.M., director of the International Marian Research Institute, about the power of the rosary. "People are looking for a concrete expression of their faith," he said. "This is something tangible they can hold in their hands."
The Columbus Dispatch's religion blog on Dec. 4 featured a story of UD student Joe Melendrez's burrito ministry. In 2006, Melendrez won three free Chipotle burritos a day for a year, plus four burrito parties. He used his winnings to help spread UD's Marianist message. One of Melendrez's burrito parties fed homeless people in Dayton.
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This and That
Christian Science Monitor, Newhouse News, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Jan. 9 sought out Ronald Hoffman, senior research physicist in the University of Dayton Research Institute, for insight about lightweight military vehicles to replace the current fleet of Humvees.
Nina Huart, UD textbook manager, told Newhouse News Service on Dec. 12 that a rapidly changing world forces textbook revisions, for which students need to shell out more money. "In September 2001, history, sociology and political science titles became obsolete overnight,'' she said. "As information changes, so, too, must textbooks.'' Michigan's statewide news Web site and the papers in Syracuse, N.Y., and Springfield, Mass., ran the piece.
Most of the best-picture nominees for this year's Academy Awards feature "merciless, unsentimental endings," according to the Jan. 23 Christian Science Monitor. Don't expect a slew of new movies with unhappy endings, predicts Jim Farrelly, director of UD's film studies program. "The dark side portrayed in movies such as 'There Will be Blood' and 'No Country for Old Men' is a mere passing fancy," he said.
