At Gettysburg College, our passionate community leans into important conversations. From our faculty and staff to our students and alumni, we witness experts, leaders, and innovators at work. They’re newsworthy in their endeavors and are recognized as such—consistently featured by both local and national media outlets.
From mid-June to mid-July, the College received more than 31 media hits, with seven of them being national mentions. Each mention is a testament to the great work that happens here and in ripple effects across the world.
Explore some of the top media mentions from the last month:
Fortune: ‘New bill aims to ban NDAs for victims of workplace harassment’
Public Policy Chair Anne Douds was an expert source in a Fortune piece about a recent bipartisan bill, the Speak Out Act. The bill aims to stop employers from forcing workers to remain silent about instances of sexual harassment and assault in the workplace, resulting from nondisclosure agreements. In the article, Douds said that forcing employees to promise upfront that they won’t discuss “any future, hypothetical sexual harassment or abuse” seems “fairly insane.” Furthermore, she argued that the arrangement implies that the company anticipates nefarious activity might occur.
The Strategy Bridge Podcast: ‘On Iroquois War and diplomacy with Timothy Shannon’
History Prof. Timothy Shannon was a guest on The Strategy Bridge Podcast—a podcast about strategic affairs and diplomatic and military history. In the episode, Shannon explains how the Iroquois, a Native American confederacy in the 1600s and 1700s, waged war and engaged in diplomacy to advance their interests. Author of “Iroquois Diplomacy on the Early American Frontier” and most recently, “Indian Captive, Indian King: Peter Williamson in America and Britain,” Shannon referenced the research he conducted and topics he explored in these two books during the podcast.
Financial Times: ‘Employers urged to help workers navigate stresses of cost of living crisis’
Management Department Chair Heather Odle-Dusseau was featured in a Financial Times article about how the ongoing cost of living crisis is affecting workers’ financial well-being and overall health. Odle-Dusseau has studied how financial distress impacts workers and shared in the article that she found healthcare bills as the largest source of financial hardship, followed by job loss and student debt as the second and third stressors.
Stat News: ‘Never forget that early vaccines came from testing on enslaved people’
Gilder Lehrman NEH Chair of Civil War Era Studies and History Jim Downs recently wrote an opinion article for Stat News in which he explored the history of early vaccinations and their ties to slavery. Furthermore, Downs brings attention to a process known as variolation, which infects a susceptible person with the smallpox virus in hopes of their developing a milder version and surviving. In 18th-century Boston, Downs said people considered it superstitious and scary, and that many initially refused to get vaccinated against smallpox, prompting then-doctor Zabdiel Boylston to experiment on enslaved people.
“The modern world depends on vaccinations for a range of maladies, distributing them eagerly and praising their effectiveness, without acknowledging that the beginning of these medical interventions can be traced to slavery.”
— Prof. Jim Downs, Stat News
Four more stories worth reading:
- Kaleen Allyn ’06, who is director and head of private market investing for 50 State LLC, was featured in Family Business Magazine’s 2022 list of NextGens to Watch.
- Sunderman Conservatory of Music Prof. Avner Dorman was interviewed about his New York premiere of “Nigunim,” working through the COVID-19 pandemic, writing music for kids, and more.
- Operation HOPE Executive Mary Ehrsam ’90 was highlighted for receiving the 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award from Gettysburg College.
- Sam Herley ’00 was featured in an article by the Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan, his hometown newspaper, about a local veteran of Gettysburg who will be receiving a Grand Army of the Republic grave marker.
Come back next month for a new recap of monthly media mentions.
By Molly Foster
Photos by Shawna Sherrell, Miranda Harple, and courtesy of Jaci Downs Photography
Posted: 08/15/22
