'Maker of political kings'
UD cited in 'CBS This Morning' discussion about admissions reactions
9:31 a.m., March 18, 2015--Frank Bruni, columnist with The New York Times and author of the book Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be, cited the University of Delaware in a discussion on the program CBS This Morning on Tuesday, March 17.
The program concerned students and parents who can put too much stock in acceptance to the nation’s elite universities, the Princetons and Stanfords, when those might not be the right institutions for them.
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Bruni said that people need to keep things in perspective and mentioned UD as the discussion turned to the alma maters of recent presidents – Barack Obama has degrees from Columbia University and Harvard Law and George W. Bush from Yale University.
Bruni noted that Vice President Joe Biden is a University of Delaware graduate, as is New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. And he added that David Plouffe, a key Obama adviser, is a UD alumnus, as is Steve Schmidt, who was a senior adviser in the presidential campaign of John McCain.
“So why aren’t we talking about this maker of political kings, the University of Delaware?” Bruni said, adding the reason is “because we prefer the other narrative, which is not an accurate one.”
“This is great news and demonstrates what we already know: the work we do at the University of Delaware is consequential and the leaders we produce leave a dynamic imprint on the world,” said Provost Domenico Grasso. “The educational experience we offer is undeniably valuable and on par with the best institutions in the nation.”
During his book tour, Bruni has also mentioned UD through several other news outlets, including National Public Radio's The Diane Rehm Show, CNN, Yahoo News, the Christian Science Monitor and the National Journal.
In 2008, UD gained notice during the Obama-McCain campaign as Bloomberg News called it the “epicenter” of the presidential race given the many ties.
The reporter, Nicholas Johnston, wrote, “The academic epicenter of this year's presidential election isn't, as in some years past, Harvard or Yale. It's located between Baltimore and Philadelphia at the University of Delaware.”
Photos by Kevin Quinlan and Duane Perry