University Press Offices Seem Out of Touch

Universities spend a lot of money to hire a team of people to promote feel good stories about the institution.

Columbia faculty unlocks a potential key to colon cancer, the press release will read. And it will be supported by a flimsy mouse study that may or may not contain photoshopped western blots, be reproducible, or translate to humans. The PR office doesn't really know any better or seem to care.

Whenever there is a nobel prize and the faculty works at Berkeley, Harvard is quick to point out he did a masters there, and MIT notes he once used their toilet. “We count 144 Nobel prize winners linked to MIT”

So I chucked recently when I saw a Cornell had this post.

Congrats on having more graduates than ever in one of the most unpopular, corrupt and unhelpful places in America. I am sure this will make people forget about why Cornell is so much in the news these days.

In the spirit of any time you point out a problem, you should offer a solution, I offer this.

Instead of spending money on the press office, universities should offer a prize. (Or many prizes). Whichever student or faculty or staff makes the most viral video about the institution, which 3/5 people would consider positive, they will a cash prize.

Press releases about science will be done by student journalists trained to point out the limitations and shortcomings.

Q&As will ask hard questions and universities will celebrate debate and dialog and not pseudo-innovation.

But some scandals and problems are so bad none of this will help, so targeted firing is probably needed.