In words and sumptuous images, New York Times showcases Temple landscape architect’s rain garden
When Mary E. Myers, an associate professor of landscape architecture at Temple, created a 200-square-foot rain garden beside her sloping lawn in Wyncote, she had more than just absorbing stormwater in mind. “I wanted to increase biodiversity, but I wanted it to be aesthetically appealing, so that people would accept it and want to do it,” said Myers. With the shapes, colors and textures of more than 50 native species, Myers’ dynamic landscape is nothing like the scruffy patches of weeds that too often are referred to as rain gardens. As Myers said, “It looks intentional and maintained.” The story in the NYT’s Home & Garden section includes 19 photographs.
The New York Times | Oct. 7, 2014

Washington Post: SMC’s McKairnes and his students among critics of violent show
Despite poor reviews and criticism for its depictions of graphic violence against women, the pilot episode of the new CBS television show Stalker pulled in 9.1 million viewers. That’s not surprising, according to Temple’s Verizon Chair in Global Broadband and Telecommunications Jim McKairnes, a former top executive at CBS who led a fight against what he calls “gratuitous, misogynistic violence” at the network. “It’s perfectly scheduled after Criminal Minds," he said. McKairnes screened an advance copy of the pilot to a class at Temple, and students gave it “a thumbs down.” He added, “A handful were fully reviled by it.”
The Washington Post | Oct. 2, 2014

Temple Option continues to earn national headlines
Bloomberg’s Janet Lorin highlighted Temple as one of the high-profile colleges and universities that have recently decided to offer applicants an alternative to submitting standardized test scores as part of the undergraduate admissions process. For applicants who don’t submit SAT or ACT scores, Temple requires they provide short answers to four online questions to show qualities of “grit” such as self-awareness and coping mechanisms, said Senior Vice Provost for Enrollment Management William N. Black. Lorin’s story was published in dozens of media outlets.
Bloomberg Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, Charlotte Observer, The Baltimore Sun, The Fresno Bee, Centre Daily Times, many more | Oct. 3, 2014

Economist Leeds tells New York Times why NFL needs to respond to PR challenges
Despite recent public relations disasters, the National Football League’s television ratings are up. The league has recently turned its attention to encouraging international interest. But building a foreign fan base takes time, so the NFL has tried to appeal to the wives and girlfriends of existing fans. “The league has decided it’s a lot easier to convince women in Ohio to watch football than it is to persuade someone in Beijing to tune in,” said Temple economist Michael Leeds. That’s why, Leeds says, the NFL has a fiscal motivation to quickly and forcefully police its latest PR challenge: the Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson incidents.
The New York Times | Oct. 7, 2014

NPR Q&A with Steinberg on mysteries of teenage brain
Temple psychologist Laurence Steinberg’s new book, Age of Opportunity: Lessons from the New Science of Adolescence, explores what recent research tells us about the adolescent brain. In an in-depth Q&A entitled “Plumbing the Mysteries of the Teenage Brain” on NPR, Steinberg explored subjects ranging from rethinking high-school curricula to risky behavior. “The studies we’ve done at Temple have been to understand why adolescents engage in more risktaking with peers than alone,” Steinberg said. “It’s not so much that peers influence kids to take risks. It’s that by activating their reward centers, peers make adolescents more sensitive to rewards in their immediate environment.”
National Public Radio | Oct. 8, 2014

Historian Simon discusses Atlantic City’s past and future on Radio Times
Atlantic City is in trouble. Four casinos have closed in recent months, and the city’s credit rating has been reduced. With Gov. Chris Christie calling for Atlantic City’s reinvention, Temple historian Bryant Simon (author of Boardwalk of Dreams: Atlantic City and the Fate of Urban America) joined Radio Times to discuss the city’s past—and its future. In the 1970s, the city turned to gambling to stem tourism declines, Simon explained. But despite “a period of sustained growth for casinos for 20 years…the city itself withers,” Simon said. “That contradiction of private gain and public atrophy is something that takes us to the present moment.”
WHYY-FM’s Radio Times | Oct. 3, 2014

Fox human resources experts on local hospital’s “engaged workforce”
Many employees at Philadelphia’s Einstein Hospital have been on the job for more than half a century—and not because they can’t afford to quit. Kathleen Davis, an assistant professor of human resources at Temple’s Fox School of Business, isn't surprised. "Einstein has worked hard to build an engaged workforce," she said. Katherine Nelson, who also teaches human resources management at Fox, said that administrators value long-term employees’ institutional knowledge. "It's like having the Encyclopaedia Britannica sitting on your desk. They know what's been tried in the past and what has worked and what has not," she said.
The Philadelphia Inquirer | Oct. 3, 2014

Boyer’s Stafford profiled by WRTI
To highlight Boyer Professor Terell Stafford’s upcoming appearance as host of Philadelphia Music Makers, WRTI shared a profile of the celebrated jazz trumpet player (including a recording of a Stafford performance and an interview segment). Stafford, who has been hailed as “one of the finest instrumentalists of his generation,” has been fascinated by the trumpet ever since discovering one in his grandmother’s closet as a young boy. Although his love for the trumpet started in childhood, he didn’t discover jazz until relatively late in his musical education.
WRTI-FM | Oct. 7, 2014

Temple Law student op-ed on Supreme Court and marriage equality
Aaron James Spencer, a student at Temple’s Beasley School of Law, contributed an essay on the Supreme Court’s recent decision on same-sex marriage cases. The court “gave another big boost to the fight for same-sex marriage equality in the United States, and it did so by doing nothing,” he wrote. “In a startling move, the Supreme Court declined to hear any of the same-sex marriage cases brought before it. This means that the decisions of the circuit and district courts are automatically upheld and become final.” The short-term consequences? Same-sex marriage immediately became available in Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, Indiana and Utah.
WHYY/NewsWorks | Oct. 8, 2014

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