The University of Chicago
Research universities are always striving to educate the public about the importance of their faculty’s research, scholarship and creativity. They want to be known as the places where many of our miracle drugs have been discovered, where great books are written, influential theories propounded, and life-changing technologies invented.
But too often the public is focused on other areas of a university - how much it costs to attend, whether the football team won on Saturday, and increasingly these days - at the urging of some over-zealous governors - how much it spends on efforts related to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Recent public opinion about higher education reveals an interesting disconnect. On the one hand, a growing percentage of Americans express doubts about the value of higher education. At the same time, a majority still credit research universities with being key to important scientific discoveries and their daily practical applications.
A particularly effective demonstration of the value of the research university and the knowledge breakthroughs for which it is responsible is an information campaign unveiled by the University of Chicago late last year. Titled The Day Tomorrow Began, the series highlights the importance and impact of several groundbreaking discoveries made at the university over the years.
The series uses videos, podcasts, and other online explainers to showcase the intellectual contributions pioneered at the University of Chicago and how those discoveries changed and continue to shape the world. It may also help the public understand why the University of Chicago enjoys a reputation as one of the world’s leading research institutions.
The campaign covers an array of topics. As examples, the initial episodes show how University of Chicago researchers helped discover black holes, enriched our understanding of the origins of civilization, and spurred the development of modern quantum technologies.
Another installment features the work of sleep investigators, including Professor Nathaniel Kleitman, who opened the nation’s first laboratory focused exclusively on sleep in 1925. In 1953, Kleitman and his graduate student Eugene Aserinsky discovered REM sleep, an important phase of sleep associated with brain development, dreaming, memory, and emotional processing.
Upcoming episodes will explore topics like cancer discoveries, carbon dating, social work, nuclear reactions, economics, and freedom of expression focusing on how discoveries in these fields laid the groundwork for research that continues today.
"Our scholars do groundbreaking work to shape and define fields of study and make a positive impact on some of the world's greatest challenges,” said Paul Alivisatos, President of the University of Chicago. “ This engaging series, The Day Tomorrow Began, encapsulates how our colleagues' work has changed the world. We hope it builds a broader understanding of critical advances and helps inspire the next generation of discoveries."
The series is the brainchild of the university’s communications team, under the leadership of Paul M. Rand, Vice President of Communications for the University of Chicago. In a recent interview, Rand told me that the initiative, which is written and produced internally, was an outgrowth of the university’s awarding-winning Big Brains podcasts, which he hosts. There are now more than 100 episodes of those podcasts, which have become one of the university’s most popular forms of outreach.
Describing the new campaign, Rand said, “what we wanted to do was present the university’s breakthrough research in a way that’s accessible and helps the public appreciate the importance of these discoveries.”
This University of Chicago initiative is the latest example of how leading universities are working to publicize the impact of their research and scholarship. Futurity features the latest discoveries by scientists at top research universities in the United States, UK, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The nonprofit site, launched in 2009, is supported by its university partners, dozens of which are in the U.S., in an effort to demonstrate the importance of their research directly to the public.
And the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization of 65 leading public and private research universities, regularly showcases the research achievements of its member institutions.
The University of Chicago package stands out as a unique effort, however, both because of its well-curated multimedia content but also because its attempts to show the connections between past breakthroughs and ongoing innovation.
