Benton Scholars and staff on the set of WCNY’s “Ivory Tower.”
A small group of Benton Scholars and Colgate staff visited the studios of local PBS affiliate WCNY last Friday, May 9, 2014. Students attended a taping of The Ivory Tower, a weekly political and current events round-table featuring a panel of local academics, hosted by David Rubin, Professor and Dean Emeritus of the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, and featuring Tim Byrnes, current Faculty Director of the Benton Scholars.
Following Nicholas Kristof’s recent critique of academia’s apparent insularity, students in the Benton Program saw first-hand how scholars from a variety of backgrounds could gather to discuss local issues in an engaging and public forum. They also received a behind-the-scenes tour of television broadcast operations at WCNY’s stunning LEED Platinum facilities–including sound stages, meeting rooms, and the broadcast control and editing room.