North Central News

North Central College experts share input on national and global issues, setting historic marks for media exposure

Kelly Murphy

Nov 30, 2022

North Central College subject matter experts (SMEs) once again shined in the media spotlight in November, providing illuminating analysis on key national and global topics. From the overall impact of the midterm elections, to ongoing war tensions abroad, to new programs on campus, North Central’s faculty was a fixture in media outlets throughout the month, achieving new highs in exposure for the College. All the while, North Central football continues its march towards a second national championship in four years, attracting the attention of Midwesterners hungry for a champion. Here are the highlights of North Central in the media in November.

Cardinal football advances to the NCAA Division III quarterfinals

After an impressive regular season and a dominating start to the postseason, the North Central College football team looks to keep their winning momentum going as they advance to the NCAA Division III quarterfinals. The Cardinals will face off against the Ithaca College Bombers (New York) on Saturday, December 3 at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium on the North Central campus. The Bombers (12-0) defeated Springfield College (Massachusetts), 31-20, in their second-round game. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 noon.

Check out the media coverage the Cardinals have secured throughout their postseason run so far:

Cardinals vs. Carnegie Mellon University

Cardinals vs. Lake Forest College

Cardinals vs. Augustana University

Muck examines missile strike on Poland on WGN-TV, WGN-AM radio and the Associated Press, leading to nearly 200 media hits

In mid-November, as world leaders were gathering together at the G20 summit in Bali, their initial agenda was halted when fellow NATO member Poland fell victim to a ballistic missile attack. The leaders worked to diffuse a potential escalation in the months-long conflict in Ukraine after an allegedly Russian-made missile struck Poland, killing two people.

The missile landed outside the rural Polish village of Przewodow—about four miles west of the Ukrainian border—at roughly the same time Russia launched its biggest wave of missile attacks on Ukrainian cities in more than a month. After further investigation, it is believed that it was Ukraine who fired the Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles that landed in Poland.

William Muck, professor and chair of the political science department, spoke with WGN-TV to provide expertise on whether this missile strike could incite more violence or be the next Cuban Missile Crisis. Muck’s interview with WGN-TV was also shared on WGN-AM radio.

Watch the full interview on WN-TV.

Listen to the full interview on WGN-AM.

The story took on an added dimension, as the Associated Press (AP) fired a reporter and will be reviewing their standards for anonymous sources after an error in their story about the fatal missile strike. James LaPorta, former national security reporter, was found primarily responsible for the story blaming Russian forces for the strike made by Ukraine on November 15.

AP was the first news organization outside of Poland to report on the strike and thus the error quickly gained traction. This potential slander against Russia is particularly dangerous because of NATO’s commitment to respond to any attack on a member country. 

Muck was quoted about the incident in the AP, where he discussed the importance of why journalists need to take care of their stories in “fog of war” situations – given the potential consequences.

“We forget that the nature of conflict is that there is a lot of ambiguity and uncertainty,” Muck said. “There is reason for caution and to slow things down.”

The AP piece generated a total of 191 media placements:

Caliendo and Chod in high demand across Chicago networks to provide analysis on 2022 election

Shortly after election night in early November, Republicans were narrowly ahead in the race to take the House of Representatives, but Democrats held onto key seats and dozens of races were yet to be called. Midterm elections are often seen as a referendum on the party in power. With the economy top of mind for many voters, President Biden entered the midterms with low approval ratings. Many were expecting Republicans to not just take the House but win it by more than a dozen seats—that didn’t play out as anticipated.

North Central College’s political scientists were once again in high demand to provide analysis on the close races, the impact of run-off races in key states, and the larger national landscape with former President Donald Trump announcing his candidacy for the presidential race come 2024.

Heading into Election Week, both Stephen Maynard Caliendo, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Suzanne Chod, professor of political science, had already fielded 24 media placements across Chicagoland. Throughout Election Week, Caliendo and Chod participated in 33 media placements, which resulted in a total of 2 hours and 43 minutes of on-air coverage across every broadcast network in the no. 3 media market in the country.

The TV, radio and internet coverage included:

Find out more about the pre-election media coverage.

North Central’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program accreditation featured in WBBM-AM Radio and Naperville Patch

North Central College’s Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program received its Candidate for Accreditation from the Commission of Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), the accrediting body for entry-level physical therapists and physical therapist assistant education programs. This important distinction means that the College can welcome its first cohort of DPT students this January in compliance with the high standards of excellences and innovation established by CAPTE.

North Central’s DPT program spans 28 months and is competency focused, being the only pass/no pass program of its kind offered in Illinois. The focus of the program will be on mastery of knowledge, critical thinking, and skill acquisition. The program is committed to educating a diverse workforce, embracing current technology, and offering a flexible, semi-self-paced and personalized approach to learning that meets students where they are.

The College’s exciting news was shared in WBBM-AM Radio and in the Naperville Patch.   

Learn more about the College’s DPT accreditation.

North Central Theatre Department showcases classic horror with a modern twist in production of ‘Witch’

Halloween may have come and gone, but North Central kept the spooky season alive with its fall theatre performance, “Witch.” The College presented its fall theatre production November 3-5 in the Madden Theatre on campus.

The theatre faculty provided the following synopsis of “Witch:”

“Mischief is afoot in the sleepy village of Edmonton and the fate of the world is at stake in this smart modern fable. When the emotionally conflicted son of the local lord and an ambitious newcomer come into conflict, help presents itself to both of them in the same guise - as the Devil himself. But while these two young men take advantage of the Devil's bargain to accomplish their own questionable ends, someone else in town stands her ground - Elizabeth, an outcast whom everyone believes to be a witch. Jen Silverman boldly transforms 'The Witch of Edmonton,' the classic play by William Rowley and Thomas Dekker, using a contemporary lens to make the distant past strikingly relevant today. Silverman, an exciting new voice for the theatre, is a 2022 Guggenheim Fellow for Drama and Performance Art and a past Fellow of the New York Foundation for the Arts. Silverman's plays have earned the Helen Merrill Award, the Yale Drama Series Award, and the Lilly Award.”

Naperville media outlets shared the details of the performance: