One week ago, President George W. Bush was preparing to make a historic address to the United States Congress. Not only would it be the first State of the Union address Bush had to deliver to a Democratic Congress, but the first time a female speaker of the House of Representatives ever presided over a State of the Union. Throw in hot-button issues like
I’m often asked to get press for different events going on at RIT. It may sound relatively straightforward, but given the many things happening in the Rochester region and the small staffs working at local stations and newspapers, it’s often extremely difficult to get people to cover your event instead of something else. It’s particularly challenging if that something else is a tad
It’s better to be lucky than good. There is little credit that we can take for discovering that the daughter of Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel is an RIT student. That credit goes to the wonder that is Google. All of us at University News subscribe to receive Google News Alerts, via e-mail, whenever Rochester Institute of Technology is referenced in a news story.
Last June, John Follaco and I attended a public relations conference in Baltimore that featured national reporters and numerous academic panelists discussing how to get national media for your university. While I must admit I did have daydreams of going down to Baltimore and coming away with a CNN interview, I truly did not think anything more would come of it than some
Let me start by saying I understand these things happen. I’m not upset, and I’m not blaming anyone. After all, nobody got hurt. No tears were shed. But when a local reporter gets the scoop on RIT news before I do, well, you can bet it becomes the source of some concern. All of us at University News congratulate Ashok Rao on his appointment
It's not just other blogs that talk about RIT. And while we like to tell you about the times that big-name publications interview our experts or mention us -- like USA Today, Business Week and the Los Angeles Times -- there are plenty of lesser-known papers and Web sites that do the same. Sure, they may not reach quite as wide an audience, but
At first, I was at a loss to find something to write about. It’s not from a lack of activity on campus. Far from it! There are just so many good things going on here it’s difficult to focus on any one of them for any length of time. Admittedly, it’s often hard for me to focus, period. (Character flaw, I realize, but
The rankings are coming, the rankings are coming!!! University News is getting ready for the upcoming U.S. News & World Report: America’s Best Colleges rankings. U.S. News is planning to release the rankings on Thursday. This is always good news for RIT. Since the magazine began ranking colleges in 1983, RIT has consistently been listed among the top regional universities. Last year, RIT ranked sixth
One of the most frequently asked questions I hear about RIT stories on national television or in major newspapers is, “How did that happen? How did The New York Times or CNBC find out about RIT?” While the answer is simple, the process for making it happen can be complicated. Reporters are always looking for good stories, which can result in good publicity for
It was one of my first tasks upon joining the ranks of University News. Biljana Mancic, one of our students at the American College of Management and Technology in Croatia, was named Miss Croatia and would be competing in the Miss Universe competition July 23 in Los Angeles. It was my job to interview her. My reaction? ‘Sweet gig. I’m gonna love this job.’ I should
The Chronicle of Higher Education published a cover story July 14 addressing the issue of higher education replacing industry in some cities as the economic catalyst. What better place to tell this story than Rochester, N.Y.? Reporter Karin Fischer wisely selected the University of Rochester as the thread for her story. After all, UR is now the No. 1 employer in the Rochester area,
You remember that game, right? The one your older siblings thought was so much fun. They’d toss a ball back and forth while you scurried between them. You were never quite sure which side to lean toward in hopes of snatching it. But this much was certain—if you stayed in the middle, you’d never get that darn ball. So you picked a side,
Things are quiet now. I always find it—commencement, that is—somewhat of a mixed blessing. The buildup to the end of each school year is always so frantic. You can’t help but look forward to a break in the action. But I miss the students and the energy and the chemistry they bring to our campus community. And I particularly miss those students—now graduates—with
It happens too often! Commencement weekend at RIT is notorious for cool, clammy weather. But if the forecast holds, conditions for this year’s celebration might be darn near summer-like. And you can thank University News because, as I’m now learning, we control the weather! More on that in a moment. I hate to admit it, but I’m one of those pathetically superstitious sports
Have you Googled yourself lately? What's available in cyberspace that some stranger can access about you? This is one of the hot stories in the media right now, especially as it relates to graduating college students. Through social networking Web sites, like MySpace and Facebook, prospective employers can retrieve information -- and photos -- on a student's college experience. You may not think
And so I'm back! I'm back from Las Vegas where the National Association of Broadcasts recently concluded NAB 2006, its annual trade show and conference for electronic media professionals. As a former broadcaster, this annual extravaganza still holds some personal appeal, but I found myself attending this year with more of a professional agenda. First, I attended a two-day seminar on podcasting. What
If you've ever wondered what University News Services does, take a peek... Whenever news-worthy events happen at RIT, whether it was the announcement of our men's hockey team moving to Division I or a nanotechnology grant, press releases are written by the University News staff. Once these releases are sent to media outlets, RIT is then featured on television, in newspapers and online,
March Madness has a new meaning at Duke University. The heavily favored Blue Devils exited the NCAA Basketball tournament early with a loss to LSU. Duke fans were in mourning. But this pales in comparison to the turmoil the University finds itself in today with allegations that members of the lacrosse team sexually assaulted a woman at an off-campus party. Duke now finds
Ha....So UNS beat The Chronicle of Higher Education to the blogosphere! Welcome aboard Chronicle. For you neophytes, the Chronicle is essentially the bible of higher education news. It's a big deal when RIT gets a mention in the Chronicle, as it is good exposure in the higher ed world. Mainstream journalists monitor the Chronicle for story ideas. The new Chronicle blog will focus
Congratulations to the Rochester Business Journal on the successful launch of Real magazine, and its website, www.real-rochester.com. This is a great tool for many college students who can further see the benefits of staying in the Greater Rochester area after graduation. It is cool, too, that their first edition mentioned RIT’s cooperative education program. RIT students certainly noticed the magazine around campus. Reporter
One of my regular duties here at University News is something I do anyways because I care about what the media say about RIT. I am the Google girl. A note: I know my self-proclaimed title is not entirely politically correct-sounding, but it was catchy. And if in the future there is a male co-op student who doesn't have quite as large a
I'll begin my post about ”how to give yourself a headache” with a little illustration. Yesterday the University News team met to discuss the next issue of News and Events, as well as several "global issues." The main issue for discussion was the always alarming truth about technology and today's youth. Silandara attended a web conference last month, and brought back details about
Do you know that RIT is a parent university to three other schools around the world? U.S. Business School in Prague (USBSIP) in Prague, Czech Republic American College of Management and Technology(ACMT) in Dubrovnik, Croatia American University in Kosovo (AUK) (Take some time and browse the Web sites. A special congratulations to AUK...the new Web site looks great!) This is a picture of
Today I typed press releases and articles to inform the community of news and events. And today I blogged. I typed information for the community about news and events. There's an event coming up that will examine what I am doing this very second. Sure, I'm blogging. But am I reporting? Is this journalism? And does that mean anyone can be a journalist?
This week, our roving News & Web Specialist (that's me, Silandara) is at the HighEdWebDev conference, conveniently located at the RIT Inn and Conference Center, just down the road from the RIT campus. This year's conference is better than the last, with more topics relevant to what we're dealing and grappling with in University News. Finally, we're talking about blogs and podcasting and
Computer security and identity theft are undeniably among today’s biggest consumer threats. To address this urgent problem, RIT has joined forces with McAfee Inc. to launch a new master’s degree in computer security. As part of the program, students participate in simulated cyber “warfare” with experienced engineers from organizations like McAfee. These interactions, its proposed, will prepare students to one day prevent the
RIT was recently cited in the Chronicle of Higher Education for being a leader in providing athletic opportunites for women. RIT was in the top five nationally among Division III universities. Specifically, 46% of its student athletes are women, while 30% of its student population are women, so that women athletes are overrepresented by about 16%. Of the five universities, RIT had the