End of Semester Reflections

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Erin Hennessy

Hello and welcome to the Trusted Voices Podcast. I'm Erin Hennessy alongside Teresa Valerio Parrot, and in each episode, we discuss the latest news and biggest issues facing higher education leaders through a communications lens. For these conversations, we're often joined by a guest who shares their own experiences and perspectives, but we also make time for one-on-one conversations about what we're seeing, hearing and thinking.

Good morning!

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Hi, good morning! Happy end of the semester!

Erin Hennessy

Happy end of the semester. I need to finish my grading.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

I hope I pass.

Erin Hennessy

I hope you do too. I hope you do too. We will not be grading on a curve. So old professor hard-ass over here. Hi, I am shocked and surprised that we have gotten to the end of another season of Trusted Voices.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Number three, and number three is my lucky number, so congratulations on ending the season strong.

Erin Hennessy

Yeah, and it feels like forever ago that we sat down with our very first guest, Vince Rougeau. That was, I've done the math, three years ago. And it's amazing. And we had a great season this season. I love the conversations we had. Obviously the Ted Mitchell one is kind of top of mind, I think for both of us, because it was the most recent.

Teresa Valerio Parrot

Yes.

Erin Hennessy

But, we've had some really great conversations and I'm really excited. I assume the network's gonna renew us for a fourth season.

Teresa Valerio Parrot

I would hope so. I feel, you and I have talked about how we've hit a stride this season, that we've not just had more confidence with our own hosting abilities, but also we've hit a stride with the conversations and the guests that we've had. And this season has felt different in how we've approached our conversations and we've trusted ourselves more in hosting as well.

Erin Hennessy

Yes, and I think what's interesting, and you and I see this all the time when we present together, which we don't do often enough anymore. 

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

I agree.

Erin Hennessy

You very much like to have a roadmap and an idea of where we're going.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Yes. Yes.

Erin Hennessy

And I, very much, contrary to my general personality, I'm a lot more laid back about things. But I think it's worked well. 

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Which, I think that always surprises people, yes.

Erin Hennessy

Yes, but I think it's worked out well. I feel like we've had some good conversations and I feel like a lot of the guests that we've talked to, you've had the roadmap and then that gives me a little ability to come in and poke and prod a little bit once we get the initial answer. Do you think people are fascinated by our thoughts on our own performance?

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

I'm sure they would rather that we just go ahead and go straight into our topics rather than our own critique and our own grading of ourselves.

Erin Hennessy

Yeah, I mean, we did pitch this as, you know, letting people come into the conversations that we were having with each other on the regular. So here it is. We talk about ourselves a lot. Thank you. Have a great summer. No, no.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Well, and the way that we pitched this from the very beginning is that people were curious to be a fly on the wall of how we talk about higher ed and sometimes we talk about ourselves. But also a lot of the time we banter or sometimes in agreement, sometimes not about what's going on in the industry. And we banter with those that we know and people have been able to see that because the people that we have on the podcast most often are those that we are interacting with. And this season more than past seasons, you truly have been able to hear who we know more than other seasons. So it's been fun.

Erin Hennessy

It has. I will admit, and I shared this with you the other day, that I had a stress dream about the podcast the other night. Not because I was stressed about the podcast. I think it was just, that was, that's how the stress was represented. But it involved me not being able to get into our little online recording studio. And yet here I am. So, the nightmare did not come to fruition.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Yes, and often I'm the one who has the technology issues more than you do. And so we can still go. Yeah.

Erin Hennessy

So after another five minutes of talking about ourselves, after we said we were done talking about ourselves, what would you like to talk about today? 

Teresa Valerio Parrot

I would like to talk about what you think about me, not just what I think about me and what you think about you. I'm kidding. 

Erin Hennessy

What movie is that from? Enough about me, tell me what you think of me.

Teresa Valerio Parrot

Oh, no idea. But let's talk instead about higher ed. 

Erin Hennessy

Okay, if we must.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

And I'm going to bring it back around to us talking about us. As you know, last episode, we talked with Ted Mitchell. And I'm going to start actually by discussing the most recent ACE HENA, which is the higher education… What does HENA stand for, Erin? 

Erin Hennessy

Higher Education and National Affairs.

Teresa Valerio Parrot

That one, their newsletter, the May 20th newsletter I thought was really interesting. We'll have it in our clips as always. They were discussing the big, beautiful bill. 

Erin Hennessy

Triple B, baby.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

It's big and it's beautiful. The House Reconciliation Bill and how it targets higher ed. I thought it was a really, really good synopsis of what we need to be following with this. And not surprisingly, it's pretty awful to higher ed. And the reason I'm mentioning this is if you aren't subscribed to HENA, I highly encourage you to do so. Follow it this summer, follow it always. ACE gives really good resources to higher ed. Ted talked about a number of those. They have some webinars that you should be listening to as well. And they really talk about in the May 20th newsletter, but then they also link to something that they wrote on the 16th of May, how this impacts student aid. I was really gobsmacked by what the big, beautiful bill does to student aid. I'm going to talk about this really quickly. Some key provisions for the committee's proposal. It includes limiting Pell eligibility. It would really force hundreds of thousands of students out of Pell eligibility. It eliminates subsidized student loans. It eliminates Grad PLUS and restricts Parent PLUS loans. It imposes new limits on federal aid. It reduces forbearance and deferment options. There's a whole bunch more in there. I just wanted to mention that because I think the impacts on student financial aid have kind of been pushed under the rug as we've talked about what the big, beautiful bill will do. And people are talking rightfully so on what it does to Medicare, Medicaid, and some other components of society. We need to be talking about this. We have been talking about what it means for the endowment tax for a number of institutions. That's also in this newsletter. It talks about the modifications of the endowment tax, talks about the impact on charitable giving, talks about the expansion of tax on executive compensation, which is also in here, social security numbers. It also talks about some of the ways that this impacts Medicaid cuts, also talks about energy cuts. I highly encourage you to subscribe, so that you can see the totality of what it does to higher education, because the big beautiful bill is big, but it's not beautiful. So, think about subscribing. I highly encourage if you haven't listened to our last episode with Ted Mitchell that you do that as well. There's some stuff in here that I really think you should be thinking about.

Erin Hennessy

I agree and I'm gonna amen and add two points there. One, that all is in the big beautiful bill and yes, it's moving through the House and obviously it'll change a ton if and when it heads over to the Senate. But that's, all of those nightmares are gonna be layered on top of whatever nightmare we're currently living. And you rightly bring up all of those impacts on student aid, but we're also, today, starting to hear stories of slowdowns in processing, slowdowns in delivery of aid. 

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Yes. Yes.

Erin Hennessy

And as we continue to move through the summer, and all of our institutions are very anxious about summer melt, even those that had a great application cycle and are sitting on top, you know, historically sized classes, just keep an eye on that current reality as you are keeping an eye on that nightmare reality that's potentially a little further in the future. The other thing I would say, and I say it often on this podcast, as an ACE alum, I am very proud of the work that they continue to do. And if you are listening to us, that tells me that you are either one of our mothers or you are a podcast person. And ACE puts out a great podcast called dotEDU that you can register for. If you subscribe to HENA, they include the registration link when they have episodes planned. So I encourage you to dig in and go back, listen to a couple of the most recent episodes, because they do really good work there, sort of summarizing and forecasting to the best of their ability what is happening in the federal policy sphere.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Yes. So, a couple more subscriptions that I would encourage. One is this morning there was a really good, and we're recording this on May 21st, a really good newsletter from The Chronicle that was also talking about financial aid and some of the fallouts. As Erin was saying, it's not just the big, beautiful bill that is impacting student financial aid. We're still seeing, if you listened to last season, this was my big soapbox, talking about what was coming out of all of the impacts of the federal financial aid rollout. We're still seeing some of the impacts of that. The Chronicle's newsletter this morning was really sharing how this is impacting our financial aid offices. So, if you aren't subscribed to the Chronicle daily newsletter, highly encourage you doing that. Today's newsletter, those are archived. This one was focused on what this means on the campus level. And that link will be in our show notes. Look at that, and also once again, please buy a cup of coffee for your financial aid office, whoever your contact is in that office, because they are still going through it. And the number of calls that are coming into those offices are going up. 

Erin Hennessy

Yes.

Teresa Valerio Parrot

And the number of families that are having trouble with the FAFSA transition, those numbers are going up. Students running into issues with federal loan servicing is up 42%. There are a whole bunch of statistics that are just out today about the issues that families are facing and the issues that campuses are facing. So, that's in the links. Please sign up for that. 

One more newsletter that I'm going to give a shout out to is SHEEO, which is the State Higher Education [Executive] Officers. They have a digest that they send out every day that is on state policy issues. That newsletter is fantastic. So if you're curious about how all of this comes together on the policy level, their newsletter is great. I've been encouraging some of our private institutions to also sign up for this. I understand that this historically has been something that our state institutions have been looking at, but in today's world, really our private institutions need to start reading up on this as well because the issues aren't just public institution issues. We're starting to see that they're moving into the private institution space as well. So, please look up the SHEEO, that's two Es, not just one. SHEEO newsletter as well, their policy issue newsletter that comes out daily is fantastic. So as we're looking to summer and you won't see us because we take summers off, please follow us on LinkedIn, but the Trusted Voices Podcast takes a summer hiatus and these newsletters really can help to get you through, when we're not dropping episodes.

Erin Hennessy

We got the lingo down though, huh? We're dropping episodes.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Right? Look at us. It's like we've been around for three years.

Erin Hennessy

Right, dropping the pod, if you will. 

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

I know.

Erin Hennessy

This is an episode, you know, we try and be very balanced and mindful of all of the great reporters at all of the great trade publications that are covering our industry. But this is going to be a Chronicle-heavy episode because there are a couple of stories that I wanted to bring up, that I'm hoping people will read heading into the summer and sort of keep in the back of their mind over the summer. The first two I sort of think about as a twosome. One just dropped today actually, by Eric Kelderman, and the title is Most Colleges Aren't a Target of Trump (Yet). Here's How Their Presidents Are Leading, which I think is a great read and definitely something to share with your cabinet officers, definitely something to share with your board members as well as they continue to wrap their head around how things are changing in the higher ed landscape. And something to keep in mind as you plan for your fall semester. 

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Yes.

Erin Hennessy

And then, the second story is sort of the 180 degrees in the opposite direction, a great piece by Francie Diep, Trump Administration Widens Its Scrutiny of Colleges, With Help From the Internet. And this is a fantastic piece that sort of jumps off from the most recent higher education committee hearing in the House, where there were some less everyday household names in the hot seats, Haverford, DePaul, and Cal State Polytech at San Luis Obispo. And just talks about how it seems like in addition to continuing to lean on Harvard and Columbia and some of the other most prominent institutions, the Trump administration is trying to lean on other institutions in a lot of cases based on headlines that they are seeing out there in the world. 

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Yes, yes, they're going for clicks, right? They're going for clicks.

Erin Hennessy

Which I hate. Yeah. Well, and you know, when I was at ACE and the Obama administration was rather more muscular in their approach to regulation. We often complained, rightly or wrongly, that it was regulation by anecdote, and this is regulation by headline. 

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Yes.

Erin Hennessy

It is what's catching somebody's eye at the department or in the White House policy shop or Heritage Foundation or any number of other places. And so, I hate this for a couple of different reasons, but one of the reasons is we've had a lot of conversations, you and I, with clients this semester about how to continue to tell our institution's stories while not making our institutions more vulnerable. 

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Right.

Erin Hennessy

And this is exactly what we've been talking about. And it's terrifying. It's absolutely terrifying for folks on campus, not just the communicators, who are sitting in their offices trying to figure out how they tell stories in a way that doesn't make them more vulnerable. But it's also, you and I, I think share the perspective and the mindset that institutions and their leaders are sensemakers and should be not weighing in on everything. God knows, we've backed a lot of people off of statements, but should be weighing in on large issues that affect society. 

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

It's their job. 

Erin Hennessy

Such as equal rights, of course, all of these things. And so I just worry about for how long institutional leaders will be gun shy and at what point they become gun shy about saying anything about anything. And that means that there are great stories going untold. There's great research that is not getting attention and being brought to the public. It makes it harder to do the thing we talk so much about, which is make the case for the value of higher education, because not everybody is Harvard and has all the money in the world and can flip a switch on their website and make it all about research. So, these are sort of the, I don't want to say the devil and the angel, but these are sort of the two poles between which we are trying to find a solid middle ground that allows us to do the work of higher education, tell the stories of higher education without bringing additional scrutiny, outsized scrutiny, in some cases irrational scrutiny, down on our own heads.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

I had the most amazing experience last week. And you know where I'm going to go with this. I did not cry. I did not embarrass myself. I did not embarrass my host for the evening. But I was able to meet and then to have dinner among like 60 people. So it wasn't like it was one-on-one, much to my dismay. 

Erin Hennessy

It wasn't a date. 

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

It wasn't a date, but in my head it was.

Erin Hennessy

It was a meet-cute.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

It was a meet-cute. I got to meet and take a selfie with Ruth Simmons. I'll be coming back to this later in the episode.

Erin Hennessy

I was really hoping we could just get it done all at once.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

This is really what the episode is going to be about, everybody. And when she said, hi, everybody, at the beginning of her talk to a room full of people, what I heard was, hi, Teresa. I think I texted you this.

Erin Hennessy

I'm actually grabbing my phone, so I can read the text aloud to people, although people who know you are not gonna be surprised. Man, I have way too many texts. Here it is. 

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Yes. Yes. What did I say?

Erin Hennessy

Here it is. “Oh my God”, please note this entire text is in all caps. “OHMYGOD,” which is one word, “RUTH SIMMONS SAID HELLO EVERYBODY, BUT I KNOW SHE WAS TALKING TO ME.”

Teresa Valerio Parrot

Yes, that happened. She said “hello” to me. And so one of the things that she said…

Erin Hennessy

Just because the woman has manners, Teresa. Don't get...

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Oh, she's amazing. So one of the things that Ruth Simmons said to me is, “Shame on you if you have an opportunity to make a difference, say something of importance, and to move people forward and you don't.” And she said she has spent her career doing exactly that. And I think that was one of those moments where I just thought to myself, not only was she speaking to me, but she's speaking to every president out there and she has lived her career in that way. And I just thought to myself, all of the presidents who aren't doing that, shame on them, because that's what you're getting paid for.

Erin Hennessy

I am guessing we have both been big fans of Ruth Simmons. Some of us are more, as I said earlier, muscular about it. We've both been big fans of Ruth Simmons and the way in which she has been outspoken in her commitment and her leadership. And I'm guessing, maybe she talked about it, but I'm guessing she would acknowledge she has paid a price for that. So we're not saying that there might not be a price for really taking a leadership position and talking about the things that need to be talked about. And some people will be comfortable with paying that price and others won't. And I literally cast no aspersions. But it's something that I hope folks take time over the summer to really sit with and say, where am I as a leader and where is this institution in terms of who we serve, what we do, and how can I continue to push, in ways that don't make us outrageously vulnerable.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

And she was very clear that her career, at different points has, she's had to make decisions based on what she has chosen to do and the impacts for her personally and professionally. And she said she would make all of those decisions the same way that she has and why I was so excited to meet her. She is a hero of mine. I just have to say she was so gracious. I got to get a selfie during the day. I got to get a selfie at night.

Erin Henness

You got a daytime set. Did you have different outfits? Did you change your look?

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

I had different outfits. I have to say I sent both of them to my daughter and she said, Ruth Simmons had better style than I did, which is true. My smile could not have been any bigger. Thank you, Dr. Ruth Simmons, who now has 41 honorary degrees.

Erin Hennessy

Wow, okay, well, I'm so glad you got to have that experience and I got to have stress dreams about the podcast.

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Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Can I share one more happy, happy clip?

Erin Hennessy

Can I share one more less happy clip and then I'll let you close it out with a happy clip? 

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Yes, go for a not happy clip.

Erin Hennessy

Well, it's not “not happy,” but you're going for the emotional impact and this is not that. This is my third Chronicle piece, so I assume our subscription for the coming year will be free. Thank you very much.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Right, at this point, because we're now up to, what, are we up to four or five? 

Erin Hennessy

Seven, eight, I don't know.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Should I just also say for all of the people who have written, what great journalists they are? Because that's not me just kissing up, they really are. So, thank you to all of them.

Erin Hennessy

Sure. And as I said at the top of this, we love all of our trade publications and all of our reporters. 

Teresa Valerio Parrot

Yes, that is correct. That is correct.

Erin Hennessy

And I'm sure that we will continue to lean heavily on your excellent journalism. But one of the things that differentiates you and me is that you are deep into college athletics. 

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Yes.

Erin Hennessy 

And I like the Villanova Wildcats men's basketball program. And that's about where it ends for me.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

And now they have the Pope on their side, right? 

Erin Hennessy

And now they have the Pope on their side. Yeah.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

I texted you again, texted you, this is why you have so many texts. And I was like, wow, Georgetown and Seton Hall now have to just be saying they have the Pope on their side.

Erin Hennessy

Ticked. They're ticked. And, because so many of the recent stars of Villanova's men's basketball team have moved on to the New York Knicks, my mother is also very excited for her beloved New York Knicks, only because of the Villanova connection. And they've got the Pope on their side. Anywho, my interest in college athletics does not run as deep as yours does. And so, I don't follow all of the twists and turns and ins and outs. But I did want to call out a great piece by Nell Gluckman that ran in the Chron this week. And I'm constantly beating myself up for how little I know about the larger landscape for college athletics. And so I thought, I'm going to just, going to read this piece and figure out what I don't know and fill in some of these gaps. And Nell, I don't think this was her intention, but she wrote a really great primer on where things stand with the House settlement, what's involved in the House settlement, how that connects to NIL. So, really great piece. The title was A New Normal Looms in College Athletics. Can Trump Help Shape It? Gets a little bit into the presidential commission on athletics that Trump is allegedly pulling together.

Teresa Valerio Parrot

Yikes.

Erin Hennessy

It was just, it was a really good piece. So, if you are one of those people that's constantly sitting there going, I should have read Moby Dick. I've never read Moby Dick. I should know more about college athletics. This is a piece that can at least help with the college athletics part. Moby Dick, you're on your own. So I recommend that piece as well as you are starting to think about the fall and folks coming back for competition in collegiate athletics next semester.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

So if you want to scale, Nell has this great piece, I agree, in the Chron. She also has a great report. So if you want to go a little bit deeper, she did a really great dive into athletics that came out earlier this spring. I think it was in March. A number of people that we know are in that piece. I'm in that piece. So a deeper dive into athletics. If you want to go really deep into athletics, read my dissertation. I would love for you to read my dissertation. That goes deeper.

Erin Hennessy

No. No. No!

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

That's now two years old. We'll put that in the show notes. So Nell's piece is fantastic. The report is excellent. And then, go ahead and read my dissertation. Let me know what you think. There you go.

Erin Hennessy

DJ, don't you even dare link to that dissertation. That is too much.

Teresa Valerio Parrot

Because then you can be one of five people to read the dissertation. Five. Yeah. My mom read it. 

Erin Hennessy

Yes, yes, including your mother. Yep. 

Teresa Valerio Parrot

My mom, yeah. She sent me notes. She annotated it for me, sent it back to me. So there you go.

Erin Hennessy

Your husband and your daughter, so I don't know who the other two.

Teresa Valerio Parrot

No, no. My husband has not read it. He said he felt like he'd lived it, so he didn't read it. And Savannah has no desire. So there you go. 

Erin Hennessy

All right.

Teresa Valerio Parrot

Let's end this part on a positive. I thought this was just fantastic. I love commencement season. It is my favorite. And my favorite favorite from this season is from Clemson. And I'm going to include where I first was introduced to it. And it's from the Today Show. And the link is, College president is knocked to the ground by enthusiastic student during graduation — his own daughter. So this clip I posted on LinkedIn as well. It is the most fantastic clip of Jim Clements. He's the president of Clemson University and his daughter graduated from Clemson. She's part of the Clemson Life Program, which is a program for students with intellectual disabilities. And she walked the stage at graduation and instead of shaking hands with the president, she instead jumped into his arms. He wasn't expecting it and the two of them fell to the ground. And the smile on her face and the look on his face is everything. And she started giggling and said, dad, you didn't catch me. And it is everything. And this program is great. We know others who have had children go through similar programs. And I love that this program is on campus. I love that these programs are in higher education. And the joy for both of them is just, I'm tearing up thinking about it because it is everything. And congratulations to both of them.

Erin Hennessy

Yeah, it was a great story and I'm glad it's gotten so much pickup. This is really one of the times in the year where it's really easy to fall in love with higher education and the work that it does and all of these stories. I love the twins or multiples graduating together and the moms and daughters or granddads and daughters who are graduating together and just all of those really wonderful stories. It's a really easy time to love the work we do.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Yes, I agree.

So let's talk about what we're learning and what we're doing this summer. Do you want to kick off, or do want me to kick off?

Erin Hennessy

I'm happy to jump in. I don't want to, I don't want to learn anything this summer. I just want to read novels and sit in the pool. But, one of the things that is top of mind for me for a couple of different reasons is getting smarter about AI. And I feel like everybody has been saying this for years. I'm going to get smarter about AI, but we were all together. The TVP Comms team were all together last week, week before, I don't know.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Two weeks ago? Yeah.

Erin Hennessy

Two weeks ago? Sure. We were all together, in May, and had the opportunity to hear from Rebecca Emery, who is an expert in sort of marrying AI and communications and marketing and public relations. She's based in New England, very active in the Maine PR council. And she spent, I don't know, an hour and a half, hour and 45 minutes with us talking about AI and the ways in which we can harness it to do our jobs as communicators better. And this isn't just about generating language. 

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Right, right.

Erin Hennessy

This is about getting smarter about research, getting smarter about voice and tone and audiences and it just… As an AI skeptic, which I think we both are, it was a really mind-boggling presentation because it gave us the opportunity to think about AI in a purely sort of, I don't know, efficacious kind of way, not worrying about it and fearing it, but really thinking about how we can use it as a tool to make our work better. Not to do our work, but to help us be better. And I'm thinking about this so much because of the work that we do, but also because of my role as an adjunct at Georgetown. And I am in the fall gonna be teaching my third semester of PR ethics and this obviously needs to be a huge part of the curriculum. And so this is gonna be my summer of thinking about AI. We'll put a link in the show notes to Rebecca's website because if you scroll all the way down on it, there is, again, sort of a primer available for free that you can download that sort of gives you an introduction to the way that Rebecca thinks about AI and she had this great sort of metaphor about thinking about a football field and where the goal posts are and where on that field it's okay to use AI and where you shouldn't be. And it's just super smart. So I highly encourage you as you look at AI resources, if you are doing this kind of work over the summer as I am, to visit Rebecca's website and take advantage of the free resource there.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Excellent. I am going to take us, as I think about my summer reading and my summer learning, on my travels this past week, because I had a set of trips that are very reminiscent of travel that I do. And so, let's talk about where I traveled this past week. As you know, I'm on the Public Relations Society of America National Board. I'm the treasurer, or wait, no, I'm the secretary. That's what I am. This is how you know I am sleep deprived from my travels.

Erin Hennessy

You really want your treasurer to be confused about whether or not they're treasurer.

Teresa Valerio Parrot

No, he's treasurer because I would rather be the words person than the numbers person. And they would rather have me be the words person than the numbers person, but I'm secretary. And we had this really, really great presentation from Fred Cook, who is at the USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations. I wanted to make sure I got all of those words right. And he was talking to us about this report that they put out that's called Mind the Gap. And we'll have a link to it. And it's about the four issues that are most impacting and disrupting in-house and agency communications. And I thought it was really interesting and I just thought I'd raise it here. I know we're talking about leadership as well as communications on the podcast, but it's about these four issues that I think really are transcending comms, but also a lot of society. So it was talking about artificial intelligence, hybrid and remote work, changing media landscape and political polarization. And he talked about how they're really facing generational gaps. And we need to be thinking about how these major disruptions are going to redefine the purpose and professionalization of public relations and communications over the next decade. And I think that what we're really seeing is that it's not just public relations, but it's really how we all interact with each other and communicate. So I would encourage everybody to go and look at the link to this report, because it's more than just how we push information out. It's how we relate to each other. These generational divides are bigger than just sharing information. 

Erin Hennessy

Yeah.

Teresa Valerio Parrot

So what the USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations is doing is really, really interesting. And these generational divides really tie also to some of the work that we're seeing Megan Gerhart do, at Miami of Ohio in Gentelligence and the work that she's doing. I just sat there and my brain was kind of exploding, seeing different types of work from a communications and a business frame come together in one. So if you are a data nerd and you want to see worlds kind of intersect, what the Annenberg Center is doing and what Gentelligence through Megan Gerhart is doing, kind of are coming together with this cross-generational work. So that was one. So that was me in New York working with PRSA. Then I got on a plane, I flew from Newark to Atlanta. So God bless United for bridging two airports that are having issues and flying me across the country, because then I was able to go to the Emory Center for Public Scholarship and Engagement that my friend Ken Carter runs. And I was able to present to their public scholarship academy. And the presentations the day before were from the Alan Alda Center. I was able to get up. Look, I have visual guides. This book, which is from Alan Alda. And so this is on my summer reading list. If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look On My Face? So I'm going to read this book. It's about the art and science of relating and communicating. So this is on my summer reading list. 

Erin Hennessy

Great.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

As is this Emory magazine, next visual guide, Emory Magazine about sharing the path to knowledge, which outlines the creation of the Emory Center for Public Scholarship and Engagement. So I was really excited that Ken gets to be featured talking about the creation of the Center for Public Scholarship and Engagement. Kristine and I got to present on media relations and on writing op-eds and also on why and how scholars should be participating in social media. And that was fantastic to get to present there. And then, I got to get on a plane…

Erin Hennessy

But wait, there's more.

Teresa Valerio Parrot

And I got to meet Ruth Simmons, which we talked about and I got to get… 

Erin Hennessy

Did you meet Ruth Simmons? Ugh.

Teresa Valerio Parrot

I did, I got to get a copy of her book Up Home, which is signed, here it is.

Erin Hennessy

Did you get any selfies? 

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

I got two selfies.

Erin Hennessy

Did you get a daytime selfie and a nighttime selfie? 

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

I did, and I'm smiling so big. But here's what I want to say is, I started reading her book and then I stopped, and first of all, it's phenomenal. So if you haven't read Up Home, it's really great, talking about how she is one of 12 children of a sharecropper. And then I thought, you know, I got to hear her speak and she's phenomenal. And then at night, she just gave us a comedy sketch and I'm not kidding. She is hysterically funny and she just ripped on all 12 of her siblings. And I thought, I don't want to read Ruth Simmons' book. I downloaded the audio version because she reads it and it is just soothing for my soul. So I'm listening to Ruth read her book to me because, you know, now we're besties, and it's everything. So I got to listen to Ruth and I also got to go to commencement, which was one of the last members of my cohort for my doctoral program graduate, which again, I love commencement. So that was fantastic. So a couple more things that I'm reading. Still more.

Erin Hennessy

Listen, I'm going to go and...

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

No, I'm almost done. Case Currents, please read the May and June issue of Case Currents. There's a couple of things in here I want you to know. One is, there is an article called Building Trust, and I'm holding it up for Erin. And it is written by my friend Melissa Richards. It's an excerpt from her book. And it's about building trust, a checklist for new leaders about building and maintaining trust. And also in here is an article that features Jenny Petty, who is from the University of Montana. Both her and her president Seth Bodner are featured in here about United in Mission and about how they partner together. So if you get that May and June edition of Case Currents, please read that. And my last thing for everybody to read this summer features both me and you. And that is The Caring University from Kevin McClure. It's out June 1st. And I have a discount code for everybody. If you put in “UNIVERSITY,” if you go to Kevin's website, and we'll put that in the show notes, you can get a 25% discount on his book. So UNIVERSITY is the discount code. Comes out July 1st and it includes insights from both of us. There you go.

Erin Hennessy

Great, great Christmas present, holiday gift.

Teresa Valerio Parrot

Summer read, read it with your colleagues. It's about how to really think about having an institution that is focused on your colleagues, having a climate and a culture that is based on really the mission that we all say that we live and we focus on.

Erin Hennessy

Yes, and I know Kevin, were he to listen to this, would probably curse me for saying it, I feel like the Caring University came out of the COVID crisis and I feel like we are already in a place because of the external environment where we need a second edition, where we revise a little bit to talk about how we continue to construct caring universities when we are under attack from our federal partners. So Kevin, maybe it's like an epilogue, maybe it's the second edition, but there is more work to be done, my friend. Sorry to say.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Yes. And go back to the episode that he and Jorge were on for the Trusted Voices. They were one of our first guests this season. And you can just hear the empathy that he has for his colleagues, for the industry. He was talking about presidents and what those traits are for that role in today's world. And you can just hear the understanding that he has for what the industry is today, for what leadership means and the ways in which he pulls apart what we need from higher education right now. And it gives you a great sense of where higher education needs to be moving. And I think you'll have a great sense for what The Caring University is about.

Erin Hennessy

Yes, yes. I'm debating whether or not, every summer I debate with myself about whether or not I should do like a project read, which is something that's going to take me weeks and weeks and weeks. Like, should I read Great Expectations this summer? Should I try Middlemarch for the fourth or fifth time? But, most of my reading will be novels, some nonfiction, probably very little higher ed, but if folks have reading recommendations for either of us, please send them. I am gonna be reading The Thornbirds because somebody left a copy of it in my little free library. 

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Yes.

Erin Hennessy

So I'm very excited to hit the beach with that one in August. But this is also the time where we remind you that we are always open to recommendations or suggestions of topics we should talk about, guests we should include in season four, which will show up in your feeds sometime in the fall. And also remind you that we are around and eager to have conversations with folks who are working in the field, facing these same challenges. You can connect with either of us on LinkedIn. You can connect with the agency there as well. We're both on Bluesky. 

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Yes.

Erin Hennessy

Though I'm really having trouble getting into a Bluesky habit. I need to work on that. Or maybe I don't. Maybe it's a good thing.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

I am there and this is where I encourage everybody to join me in the Fight for Higher Ed, because I'm ready for a fight. I'm here for a fight.

Erin Hennessy

So on that note, I think we've just wrapped season three, yeah?

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Yes, everybody, have a peaceful, a joyful, and a fighting summer.

Erin Hennessy

Yes, rest and productivity can coexist.

Teresa Valerio Parrot

Yes.

Erin Hennessy

And we're gonna try and figure that out this summer. We want to thank everybody behind the scenes from our recently departed colleague, she's not dead, she just left us, Nicole Reed. Maryna and DJ who are behind the scenes here making us sound good and organized and on the ball. To our partners at Volt and the rest of the TVP Communications team, and to everyone who has stuck with us through three seasons or joined us in the third season, we are grateful that you are listening and we're grateful for the work that you're doing out there in the field.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Thank you to every guest, who was so gracious to trust us with their voices this season. 

Erin Hennessy

Oh, that was nice. 

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Thank you.

Erin Hennessy

That was nice. We should write that one down for season four. Okay, friends, have a wonderful summer. We'll see you in the fall.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Bye-bye everybody.

Erin Hennessy

Bye-bye.

Teresa Valerio Parrot 

Thank you for joining us for this episode. You can find links in the show notes to the topics and articles referenced, as well as a copy of the show’s transcript on the Volt website, voltedu.com. Remember that you can always contact us with feedback, questions or guest suggestions at trustedvoices@tvpcommunications.com. Be sure to follow Trusted Voices wherever you get your podcasts. And we invite you to check out Higher Voltage, another podcast on the Volt network that is hosted by our friend Kevin Tyler. Kevin explores the evolution of higher education that is happening right before our very eyes. Until next time, thanks to Erin Hennessy, DJ Hauschild, Aaron Stern, Nicole Reed and the Volt team for a great episode, and thank you for listening.