By Jonathan Stankiewicz
Some have pictures. Some are just lists with names and email addresses. Some even have profiles and backgrounds.
“Faculty expert lists started many years ago,” said Janice Palmer, CCSU’s media relations officer, “dozens of years ago.”
The listings are there to help the media find someone with an expertise they need, said Palmer.
Is someone certified in a specific area? Does that faculty member have a Ph.D? What’s their work experience?
The list can answer those questions and more. But the listing serves another purpose.
“Colleges and universities use the list to promote their faculty…their experts,” said Palmer.
According to Palmer, CCSU’s faculty list is done the “democratic way.”
Teachers are able to e-mail the news and media relations office, run by Mark McLaughlin, and request to be put on the list.
“All they have to do is share their background and we will put them on the list,” said Palmer.
Palmer’s only request to faculty who want to be on the list is that they need to be comfortable with interviews and possibly being on-camera.
CCSU’s faculty expert listing is easy to find with a Google search. The list has topics ranging from the Russian langugage to Astronomy.
“I’m not sure the list is doing what’s it’s supposed to do, but I don’t really know how it works,” said Michael Alan Park, CCSU professor and chair of anthropology.
Park said that he was contacted several years ago and was asked for some information about himself to put on the list, but hasn’t heard anything more.
“I guess I can say it could work better,” said Park.
The faculty expert listing webpage for CCSU has only names, titles and phone numbers.
Quinnipiac University’s faculty expert list has pictures, backgrounds and mini-profiles of faculty members.
The University of Connecticut offers a how-to guide for journalists who are looking for specific faculty.
And Connecticut College allows someone to search for faculty by keyword and has links to select faculty members’ webpages.
“It took me awhile to get on the list,” said Charles Button, assistant professor of geography at CCSU. “They don’t update it really…it takes a real long time to get anything even changed on it.”
Button noticed over six years ago, after he began teaching at CCSU, that there were some inaccuracies with the faculty expert list.
“I introduced who I was and gave them a list of things that were way out of date for other colleagues,” said Button. “It took them probably well over a year just to even take a name off of someone who wasn’t even here anymore.”
Button spoke of how every week he and other faculty members, who listen to WNPR, always hear people from specific universities.
“Hardly a week goes by that you don’t hear Quinnipiac or UConn professors,’ said Button. ‘I’ve always wondered, ‘Why is that?'”
Park also noticed that a notable amount of articles in the Hartford Courant that seem not to call on experts from Central, rather choosing faculty from Yale, UConn or even out of state.
“A lot of people really don’t think much of that list,” said Button. “They don’t see it as what it could be, not that I don’t think its a good idea because it is a good idea.”
“Colleges and universities use the list to promote their faculty…their experts,” said Palmer. “Can we do a better job? You betcha.”
Palmer would like to see more information on the website to showcase what CCSU has to offer.
“It used to be standard to print experts lists in the 80’s and 90’s,” said Palmer, “and send them out to all the media outlets.”
Palmer added that being severely limited in staff and thus being overworked are to blame for the faculty expert list.
“We have lots of good faculty,” said Palmer. “We are just so overworked that it is the last thing on my mind.”
Palmer alluded to the fact that there is a bias for news outlets to go to UConn because it is a research university and is the “flagship” of Connecticut.
No matter the reason, faculty aren’t happy.
“I certainly don’t think its being presented or treated in a way that it could have a much bigger impact if it was handled properly,” said Button.
“Maybe someday someone will want some information I have,” said Park.