Fly in 4 in U.S. News: "Temple steps up to the plate"
Temple University recently took a major step toward ensuring students lessen their debt and still succeed in the classroom. The school's new initiative, called Fly in 4, aims to provide students with the help they need to complete a bachelor's degree program in four years, while also graduating with as little debt as possible. "Fly in 4 is a partnership between our students and the university," Temple Provost Hai-Lung Dai said. "If students stay on track, maintain passing grades and fulfill their obligations, Temple's schools and colleges will do their part to ensure those students graduate on time."
U.S.News and World Report | Feb. 7, 2014
Thompson discusses conjugal visits with NPR's Michel Martin
Mississippi was the first state to offer prisoners conjugal visits. Now, the state is set to end that program. Temple's Heather Ann Thompson joined NPR's "Tell Me More" to talk about the history of conjugal visits. Thompson cited recent research that conjugal visits are "incentives for good behavior" and "good for reducing violence in the prison." "People who connected with their family tend to do much better and recidivate (or go back to prison again) less frequently," she said. It benefits everyone when prisoners are able to maintain their relationships with their children and their spouses, Thompson argued.
National Public Radio | Jan. 27, 2014
The cost of government regulation for Temple University, Japan Campus
As a part of a series on deregulation, Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun—or Nikkei Industrial Journal, Japan's third-leading newspaper—explored the cost of government regulation for TUJ. Temple's pioneering Japan Campus, now recognized as a "Foreign University" in Japan, is having a difficult time getting official recognition as a Japanese university because of regulations related to university incorporation that require a massive amount funding in the form of donations. There is no such regulation in the U.S., TUJ Dean Bruce Stronach argued.
Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun | Feb. 12, 2014
Faculty column in Slate, No. 1: "Our high schools are a disaster," Steinberg says
"American high schools are a disaster," wrote Temple psychologist Laurence Steinberg, author of You and Your Adolescent. He explained that in international assessments, our elementary and middle-school students usually place above the average. "But our high school students score well below the international average, and they fare especially badly in math and science compared with our country's chief economic rivals. This underachievement is costly: One-fifth of four-year college entrants and one-half of those entering community college need remedial education, at a cost of $3 billion each year."
Slate | Feb. 11, 2014
Faculty column in Slate, No. 2: "It's time for Olympic free agency," Spiro says
Peter Spiro, professor in the Beasley School of Law at Temple and author of Beyond Citizenship, argued that athletes should be allowed to play for any team that would have them in the Olympic games. "Citizenship is leaky these days," he wrote. "Many countries with flexible citizenship rules are all too happy to issue passports to Olympic competitors. Some fast-track naturalization, waiving the usual requirements for those who proffer 'exceptional services' to the state. The system can sometimes be gamed, sometimes not. It encourages 'quickie citizenships' where available."
Slate | Feb. 6, 2014
SMC's McKairnes on the Leno-to-Fallon late-night succession
Why was Jimmy Fallon's first show as host of the The Tonight Show the subject of massive buzz when overall ratings for late-night TV are so much lower than they used to be? Late-night programming "still matters greatly both to networks and advertisers because, quite simply, people still watch late-night TV," said Jim McKairnes, Verizon Chair in Temple's School of Media and Communication. Those people then "talk" about it on Twitter and Facebook, "which is even more important." It also still matters to culture, he noted, "if evidenced only by the very coverage this transition is getting in both traditional and New Media."
Christian Science Monitor | Feb. 6, 2014
Time running out for aging former sex slaves in South Korea
There are only 55 women left who registered with the South Korean government as former sex slaves in Japanese brothels in World War II. As their numbers dwindle and Japanese nationalism rises, the women know they're running out of time to pressure Tokyo to make amends. "It will be much harder to solve or more realistically mitigate the issue after these women pass away," Robert Dujarric of Temple University, Japan Campus, said in a widely distributed Associated Press story. "There will be no one left to receive the apology."
ABC News, Yahoo! News, Denver Post, Kansas City Star, Stars and Stripes, Japan Times, many more | Feb. 11, 2014
Medical advancements in heart healthcare
The Philadelphia Inquirer sought the expertise of leading cardiologists—including Daniel Edmundowicz, chief of cardiology and medical director of the Temple Heart and Vascular Institute—for a report about the current state of cardiac care and recent advances in treatment and research. Though the number of people dying from heart disease has fallen steadily, it remains the leading cause of mortality for both women and men. Most heart disease is preventable, but "we don't pay attention to that disease process" until it's too advanced, Edmundowicz said. "We have to start much earlier if we're going to impact this disease."
The Philadelphia Inquirer | Feb. 2, 2014
Temple youth media program in Philadelphia featured in The Nation
The youth media program POPPYN (Presenting Our Perspective on Philly Youth News) was featured in StudentNation, The Nation's roundup of campus-oriented news. Youth reporters for POPPYN, created by Temple's University Community Collaborative, covered a march and rally in support of funding for Philadelphia's public schools. POPPYN "highlights youth perspectives across the city" and "allows us to capture and amplify the voices, hopes and fears of young people fighting to succeed in a broken school system."
The Nation | Feb. 4, 2014
Proposed Delaware River Basin Commission budget sparks debate
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed budget for 2014-2015 would drastically cut funding for the Delaware River Basin Commission—which despite his urging, has kept in place a moratorium on natural-gas drilling in the basin. Jeffrey Featherstone—director of the Center for Sustainable Communities at Temple and a former deputy executive director of that commission—said the budget cut might be counterproductive. "Slashing the staff budget will not change the positions of the five members," he said. "Instead, it will seriously limit the agency's ability to do its work."
The Philadelphia Inquirer | Feb. 8, 2014
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