I’ll never forget one of the lessons of “Working Girl.”
Tess McGill, played by Melanie Griffith in this 1988 film, weaves a brilliant Wall Street deal because of her reading habits, and *spoiler alert*, she crafts a winning merger based on information she learned from a gossipy entertainment column.
I spend most of my time reading in the grants office. Not so much People or Entertainment Weekly … but a wide variety of sources that span industries and disciplines with the hopes that I will make similar creative connections. I might not use all of these ideas immediately … but it plants seeds that could sprout into something later.
To help with my daily reading habits, I’ve created a bookmark bar across the top of my Chrome browser. Along with my color-coded Google calendar, I open about 50 tabs all at once every morning, and I’m always adding/subtracting to this dashboard as
necessary.
So as we start a new academic year, here are at least five sources that you might add to your daily list:
1. Virginia Western’s websites
Let’s start at the microscopic level. I want to know what’s happening on this campus — what the students are doing, which faculty and staff are being recognized, how the public sees our digital front porch. I read the Daily Bulletin email of course, but I also
check the college’s web page and VWCC’s Facebook page daily.
2. Roanoke news
In order to do my job well, I have to stay connected with the greater community — we’re a community college after all. Local news stories and editorials reveal the education, business and workforce needs around the Roanoke region. I scan the headlines of www.roanoke.com daily.
3. News from Virginia Community Colleges
Have you signed up for the “News from Virginia Community Colleges” email yet? This is an effortless way to see what our colleagues at our VCCS sister schools are doing … and any time Virginia Western gets mentioned in the news. Get on the list by emailing Craig Butterworth: cbutterworth@vccs.edu. You’ll get an email each weekday morning.
4. Education trends
As Virginia Western is connected with both K-12 and four-year institutions, I check a variety of sources that cover the entire educational spectrum. I scan the Chronicle of Higher Education’s Twitter page daily (and bonus: free 24-hour access to tweeted links), along with the American Association of Community College’s Daily blog and 21st Century Center page. Also: The prolific Hechinger Report (“Covering Innovation & Inequality in Education”). Edutopia has been another excellent source for trends happening in K-12 — our critical dual-enrollment partners.
5. BIG ideas
These are the most inspiring and serendipitous of my daily websites … I never know what might find in the “5 Best Ideas of the Day” at The Aspen Institute … or the “Big Ideas That Are Changing the World” at Fast Company. I’ve also fallen in love with the Library of the Future Blog, which includes a weekly list of fascinating headlines spanning education, the economy, and technological trends impacting our lives, including drones, virtual reality and artificial intelligence. Librarians are really the smartest among us.
And proof that it pays to read to the end: Did you know “Working Girl” is coming to Broadway? We should have Amtrak service by then. Lettttt ….. the river runnnnnnnnn!
Which blogs or email lists should I know about? Email sseagle@virginiawestern.edu.
Shelley Lyons is glad to be back on campus as she is a Virginia Western alum, and has served as the Administrative Officer for Grants Administration at Virginia Western since early 2022. Prior to VWCC, her career focus was within the Human Services and Arts fields. She wrote her first grant in 1996 on a whim and has continued to plan and learn since that time. She most enjoys seeing a well-planned project come to fruition, where funder, project manager and beneficiaries can all feel success and see impact.