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Making Headlines: W&M experts called upon by national media outlets
During the past year, 91心頭利 faculty experts throughout the academic disciplines were called upon by national media outlets for their expertise on political and economic issues, cutting-edge research and news making national and international headlines.
From August 2010 - 2011, W&M faculty garnered nearly 300 national media hits. Articles ran in the New York Times, USA Today, Associated Press and Washington Post – just to name a few – along with network coverage from ABC News Nightline and MSNBC.
2011 began with a rather peculiar event as thousands of red-winged blackbirds mysteriously fell from the sky in Arkansas. Leading ornithologist and Professor of Biology was quoted in the Associated Press and USA Today, and was interviewed by ABC News “Nightline”to discuss the massive wildlife die offs.
History Professor found an error in her fourth grade daughter’s history book and soon found herself in the middle of a national media frenzy. The story first ran in the Washington Post, which led to coverage from MSBNC’s “,” National Public Radio’s “” and a national Associated Press article hitting more than 200 news outlets across the country.
Other faculty throughout the Arts & Sciences received prominent placements, including , assistant professor of psychology, in a national article for her research examining brain waves and stereotyping; Assistant Professor of Government in a article about India’s village-level democracy; economic professors and on , the book chat column and Newsweek for their book “Why Does College Cost So Much;” Animal behaviorist , Chancellor Professor of Anthropology, discussing human-animal relationships with "CBS Sunday Morning" and the ; and History Professor on the History Channel’s “How the States got Their Shapes.”
Three business professors received media attention for their scholarly research. and were featured in the for their insight into why employees reject the 401(k) plan at their businesses, and , assistant professor of marketing, explained the effects advertisements have on memory to . , Clinical Associate Professor of Economics and Finance, discussed the ripple effects of the Egyptian Revolution with , an international multimedia broadcasting service with a worldwide audience of 123 million people. She was also quoted on the soaring gas prices and the future of electric cars in the .
Several professors from the Law School contributed their expertise on current events to national media outlets. Professor Allison Orr Larsen’s law review article was highlighted in the ; Marshall-Wythe Foundation Professor of Law Linda Malone was featured on discussing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange fighting extradition to Sweden; , , and covered Lee Professor of Law William W. Van Alstyne’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee to extend the FBI director’s term; and Laura Heymann, associate professor of law, was quoted in the Chicago Tribune on security breach of consumer data.
Faculty from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) continued to provide timely research and advice addressing issues facing our marine environment. More than 75 media outlets worldwide, including and , covered research conducted by recent VIMS Ph.D. graduate Rob Condon and VIMS professors Deborah Steinberg and Deborah Bronk, on the ecological effects of increased jellyfish numbers; wrote about ’s study showing the decline of oyster reefs is a global problem; and Dr. Jack Musick, emeritus professor, appeared in the flagship journal and for his global study suggesting a third of shark and ray species are threatened.
In the School of Education, Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology , experienced a flurry of media activity for her research on the “Creativity Crisis.” In August 2011, Kim’s research was featured on and , a national outlet feeding two-dozen affiliates across the country.
Jeremy Stoddard, Sallie Gertrude Smoot Spears Distinguished Associate Professor at the School of Education, capped off the year with research on how the 9/11 attacks and their aftermath are incorporated into secondary school curriculum, textbooks, state social studies standards. Stoddard was featured in the and the during this year’s 10th anniversary of September 11.
Throughout the year, though, two W&M faculty members were continuously called upon as experts from the national media. Government Professor , an expert on Mexico and drug trafficking, was quoted more than 50 times in national outlets – including the New York Times, Washington Post, USAToday, Los Angeles Times, CNN and Rolling Stone Magazine – and was featured in three back-to-back articles in the . This year marked a personal record for Grayson, with 12 different mentions in the Wall Street Journal.
Visiting Government and Public Policy Professor appeared live on MSNBC's "Ed Show" and NPR's "On Point with Tom Ashbrook” immediately after President Barack Obama announced the death of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. For the year, Wilkerson was featured 24 times in national media outlets, and appeared on MSNBC on five different occasions.