Media and Public Relations
The Media and Public Relations Office had another busy and productive quarter. Our new role as a Founding Partner of the non-profit media outlet The Conversation has resulted in a number of massive news hits for the University and its faculty. For example, an article penned by Professor of Psychology Matthew D. Johnson has garnered more than 1 million unique clicks across the globe, a staggering reach, even for The Conversation. In addition, our team pushed out a steady stream of news releases, which further expanded the University’s global reach. Also, the BinghamtonU Facebook page reached a new milestone by passing the 50K followers mark, while photographer Jonathan Cohen swept the photo categories for the SUNYCUAD awards, a remarkable feat.
Binghamton in the news
Craig Morris, research associate for anthropology, was the lead researcher on a study that showed that women who are cheated on are better off in the long run, as they are left with a ‘higher mating intelligence’ that helps them choose future partners. Morris’ work was featured in The Huffington Post, Business Insider, Elle, Shape, Psychology Today, AOL.com, Good Housekeeping, Yahoo! News, Today.com, Newser, Starpulse, Women’s Health Magazine, Cosmopolitan and more. Total Circulation: Over 222 million.
Matthew D. Johnson, professor of psychology and director of the Marriage and Family Studies Laboratory, wrote an article on how children affect marriage for The Conversation that was picked up by publications including The Huffington Post, Quartz, NDTV, Fortune, Inc., The Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, the New York Post and The New York Times. According to Johnson, the belief that having children will improve one’s marriage is “a tenacious and persistent myth among those who are young and in love.” Total Circulation: Over 165.5 million.
Dinesh Sharma, associate research professor, wrote an article for The Conversation titled “America’s exceptional lack of a female perspective,” that was picked up by the Associated Press, The Wire, The New Republic, United Press International and Breitbart. According to Sharma, “While many countries, including Germany, Denmark and even Rwanda have embraced quotas for gender representation in government, the United States has shown no interest in such a policy.” Total Circulation: Over 124 million.
D. Andrew Merriwether, associate professor and chair of anthropology, was recognized in The Huffington Post, The Boston Globe and NBC for his comments related to a new DNA study that found that the ancestors of modern humans interbred with Neanderthals and another type of prehuman not just once, but several times. Total Circulation: Over 106 million.
Loretta Mason-Williams, assistant professor for the Graduate School of Education, was featured in an article for The Conversation for analyzing a nationally representative survey of teachers; 16 percent of special educators were not certified in special education. Her research was also picked up by The Huffington Post and The Good Men Project. Total Circulation: Over 93 million.
Matthew J. Wolf-Meyer, associate professor of anthropology, was featured in a Huffington Post article about the evolution of sleep habits. Wolf-Meyer, author of The Slumbering Masses: Medicine and Modern American Life, says that inflexible sleep standards don’t work for everybody. Total Circulation: Over 90 million.
Harpur’s Ferry, an on-campus volunteer ambulance service, was featured in USA Today. Meir Berkman, a Binghamton University senior majoring in philosophy, politics and law who serves as assistant chief and operations, said: “Volunteering in EMS has been a very rewarding experience. As an EMT or paramedic, you get to see the impact of your work on your campus and community. As a student, it’s certainly beneficial — not only are you learning life-saving medical techniques, you are also acquiring an invaluable skillset.” Harpur’s Ferry is completely staffed and managed by nearly 100 Binghamton students from a wide variety of majors and backgrounds. Total Circulation: Over 50 million.
Jonathan Krasno, associate professor; Daniel Magleby, assistant professor; Michael D. McDonald, professor; Shawn Donahue, graduate student; and Robin Best, associate professor in the Political Science Department, authored an article, that was featured in The Washington Post, about how Wisconsin’s state legislative districts are a big Republican gerrymander. Total Circulation: Over 26 million.
Sean Massey, associate professor of women, gender and sexuality studies, was featured on CBS News, MedicineNet.com, Mississippi News Now and more for his research regarding shifting attitudes on gay adoption. Massey, who studies sexuality, believes familiarity with gays and lesbians has fostered growing acceptance of gay families. Total Circulation: Over 23.5 million.
Joshua Reno, assistant professor of anthropology, spent months visiting and interviewing waste workers at landfills in the U.S. and Canada, as well as working at a landfill outside of Detroit, in order to do research for his recent book, Waste Away: Working and Living with a North American Landfill, as featured in The Atlantic, the Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Academic Minute and more. Reno “seeks to reconnect waste producers to our landfills — to show the many ways in which we are already connected to it without being aware of it.” Total Circulation: Over 15.9 million.
Guangwen Zhou, a mechanical engineering professor, was highlighted in Breitbart and United Press International for research to better understand the process of corrosion and to serve as a key in preventing another situation as the one that occurred in Flint, Mich. Because the vast majority of water-carrying pipes are made of copper, scientists at Binghamton have been working to understand the oxidation of copper at the atomic level. Total Circulation: Over 8 million.
Celia Klin, associate professor of psychology, conducted research showing that text messages ending with a period are seen as less sincere than those with no punctuation. The research was featured in Reader’s Digest. Total Circulation: Over 4.5 million.
Lina Begdache, research assistant professor, penned an article for The Conversation titled “The hefty price of ‘study drug’ misuse on college campuses,” that highlights the fact that nonmedical use of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) drugs on college campuses, such as Adderall, Ritalin, Concerta and Vyvanse, has exploded in the past decade, with a parallel rise in depression disorders and binge drinking among young adults. The article was picked up by IFL Science, PsyPost, Associated Press and Digg. Total Circulation: Over 3.9 million.
Tara Dhakal, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and Binghamton University’s Center for Autonomous Power (CASP), was recently featured in The Conversation for the article “Getting more energy from the sun: how to make better solar cells.” This article was also picked up and published in The Huffington Post, World Economic Forum and Research and Development. As outlined in the article, Binghamton University is investigating ways to make thin film solar cells, using materials that are abundant in nature and nontoxic. Total Circulation: Over 3.7 million.
Binghamton University was recognized in Essence, through a partnership with Money Magazine, for being one of the 50 Best Colleges for African-Americans, ranking at #41. Drawing on the federal data that Money compiles for its annual Best Colleges rankings — including graduation rates, net college costs after financial aid and graduates’ early-career earnings — plus their own criteria for racial climate on each campus, they found that Binghamton University was one of the best schools to provide Black students with the best combination of representation, affordability and postgrad earnings. Total Circulation: Over 2 million.
Maria Mazziotti Gillan, professor of English, returned to her grade school in Paterson, N.J., to tell detailed stories about her childhood and to share her poems. Her visit was featured in The Record and NorthJersey.com. Total Circulation: Over 1 million.
Nicole Rouhana, assistant professor and director of graduate programs for the Decker School of Nursing, was featured in a Nurses.com article arguing that nurse midwifery is a calling to support women. In the late 1970s, nurse midwives were gaining attention as a new generation of women began turning away from the extensive drugs and technology that seemed to be the norm in U.S. hospital births, and looking for more natural ways to deliver after an uncomplicated pregnancy. More than 40 years later, healthcare reforms emphasizing preventive care and incentives to reduce unnecessary Cesarean sections are spurring a new interest in the specialty, said Rouhana. Total Circulation: Over 600,000.
Yu Chen, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, was featured in an article on homelandsecuritynewswire.com for his research related to algorithms to help detect and reduce power grid faults, since today’s power grids are aging, overburdened and seeing more faults than ever. Total Circulation: Over 60,000.
Social media
The University had several popular posts on all of its social channels during the quarter. A Facebook post featuring student Marlon Beck acting out the popular “Running Man Challenge” had a reach of more than 647,000. Our top tweet, which announced that Forbes had named Binghamton the #15 Best Value college in the United States, earned 17,000+ impressions and over 800 engagements. On LinkedIn, a photo of the crew team practicing during a stunning sunrise earned 115 likes. During the quarter, the University surpassed 51,000 followers on Facebook, 13,000 followers on Instagram and 77,600 followers on LinkedIn. The University’s Snapchat account also saw a sharp rise in followers thanks to our new student takeover feature.
Blog
The Binghamton University Blog published 21 blog posts, on topics ranging from Binghamton’s environmental efforts to day-in-the-life looks at our students.
“Binghamton Then & Now: An Interactive Photo Gallery” that featured before-and-after images of campus buildings and locations, had a reach of over 74,000 on Facebook.
Other posts published this quarter include:
• 10 top-notch graduate programs at Binghamton University
• A day in the life of Douglas Harrington: A marketing major with a creative streak
• 11 reasons to get excited for Spring Fling 2016
Ask a Scientist
A total of 12 “Ask a Scientist” columns were published in the Press & Sun-Bulletin throughout the quarter. Faculty, staff and graduate students from across various schools and departments at Binghamton contributed answers to questions ranging from “How does your brain send messages to the rest of your body to move?” to “Why do some animals turn white in the winter?”
Photography
This quarter, University photographer Jonathan Cohen won two awards from SUNYCUAD (State University of New York Council for University Advancement), sweeping the photography category for “Best Single Photo” and “Best Group of Photos.” ‘Sweeping the category’ is a rare occurrence that happened only once before, in 2012. The image that won “best single photo” was taken from above and included a diverse group of students praying for peace at the Pegasus Statue after the terrorist attacks in Paris, in November 2015. The “best group of images” were taken around campus: the Nature Preserve during a snowstorm, the blood super moon near the Library Tower and the Clock Tower’s refection in melted snow, on the Lois B. DeFleur Walkway.
Binghamton had a strong presence on all social media platforms during Commencement weekend. With help from alumnus Jonathan King ‘15, the team photographed and edited all ceremonies and uploaded images to Facebook, in record time.
Video
From filming and editing TEDx to launching a new video series, it was an exciting and busy semester for video production.
A newly introduced video series, Binghamton Shorts, engages viewers with an in-the-moment vibe to showcase events throughout the University. From Commencement, to crew practice, to a celebration of spring, these brief highlight videos capture the energy surrounding campus happenings for distribution on the University’s social media channels.
Binghamton University’s 2016 Commencement speaker was Marc Lawrence ’81, screenwriter, producer and director of films including Miss Congeniality (2000), Two Weeks Notice (2002), and Music and Lyrics (2007), as well as The Rewrite (2015), his homage to Binghamton University.
A new series of videos was developed to share the Student Experience and to inform and encourage students to be aware of the abundance of resources offered within the campus community. These videos highlighted B-Healthy: The Healthy Campus Initiative, the Dean of Students’ Emergency Fund, high-impact internships at the Fleishman Center and the new Emerging Leaders Program.
Working under the direction of Binghamton University’s student-run TEDx team, our video production crew filmed and cut together this year’s TEDx series, Flip the Script, that featured a total of eight speakers, including two students and chief NASA scientist Ellen Stofan.
The Food Recovery Network is the largest student movement against hunger in changing the norm from food waste to food recovery.
Join students Klaudia Sarwinkski and Albert Rojas in this video featuring the Binghamton University Ballroom Dance program.
Binghamton Buzz: Episode 26 - Trey Runs for President. With all of the hype of presidential primaries, sophomore Trey Santiago decides he wants a piece of the action. In this episode, he searches Binghamton University low and high for someone to assist him in developing his presidential campaign. Follow Trey as he presents “Picture yourself in college.”
High-profile University/President Harvey Stenger activities
On May 19, President Harvey Stenger presided over a news conference to announce the University’s new Smart Electronics Manufacturing Laboratory in the Center of Excellence Building. Our new IEEC partner, Koh Young Technology, from South Korea, was also introduced. Koh Young actually donated a significant amount of the equipment for the new lab. The news conference was attended by New York State Sen. Fred Akshar, Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, Broome County Executive Debra Preston as well as Koh Young representatives and other industry partners from Panasonic, Speedline, BAE and Lockheed Martin.
On April 16, the Hillary Clinton Campaign rented our West Gym to hold a campaign rally featuring former President Bill Clinton. As it was a political event, Stenger was not involved in the rally, but because it was a visit from a former U.S. president, Stenger did greet Clinton when he arrived on campus.
Stenger also welcomed U.S. Sen. Charles “Chuck” Schumer at two Commencement ceremonies in May. Schumer spoke at the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 20, and at the final Harpur College of Arts and Sciences ceremony on Sunday, May 21.
Also, in the second quarter of 2016, Stenger presided over one Regional Economic Development Council meeting, on May 11.
Other notable activities
Binghamton University was represented at SUNY Days in Washington, D.C., by Federal Relations Director Darcy Fauci. The University had an information table (marketing materials and giveaways) set up at the Congressional and SUNY Alumni Reception, held at the Canon House Office Building on Tuesday, April 19. Fauci also attended the SUNY meetings held at the Capitol Visitor’s Center on Wednesday, April 20.
On May 6, NYS Sen. Fred Akshar returned to campus to continue his information-gathering visits, this time meeting with Athletic Director Patrick Elliott and Ray Romanczyk, distinguished service professor of psychology and executive director of the Institute for Child Development.
On April 13, Binghamton University “hosted” a NY Global Event sponsored by Empire State Development. This was another outreach effort to educate businesses in the Southern Tier about how to do business with companies (import and export) outside of the United States.
On April 27, Binghamton University once again hosted an Empire State Development-sponsored event. The topic was MWBEs in New York state. Area businesses were invited to learn how to become an MWBE company or how to do business with an MWBE company.