President Barron creating conversations with talk show

Note: This story originally appeared in AlumnInsider, the Penn State Alumni Association's monthly member e-newsletter.UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Eric Barron’s position as president of Penn State carries with it multiple responsibilities. The University he oversees just received 127,000 applicants, boosting its popularity once again. His life is composed of meetings, interviews and appointments, all with the aim of, in his words, “making a great University even greater.”

But what he really needs now is an ink pen.

Barron is sitting on a platform in the main studio of Penn State Public Broadcasting, at Innovation Park. To his left is Patty Satalia, a senior producer for the station. The two are preparing to host their monthly talk show titled “Higher Education In Focus,” and to his right are today’s guests: Renata S. Engel, associate vice provost for Online Programs, and David Christiansen, associate vice president for Commonwealth Campuses and senior dean for academic programs.

The next episode of “Higher Education In Focus” will air 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19, and will feature Steve Sheetz, a 1969 Penn State graduate, and an honoree from the Sheetz Fellows Program.

The show adheres to a live-to-tape format, meaning the production is taped and aired at a later date, with a minimal amount of editing. It’s a multi-layered process with lots of moving parts, featuring five cameras and dozens of lights. Video and audio cables clutter the floor and a producer and technical director oversee the action from a nearby control room.

Everyone is situated appropriately, with production nearly ready to start. Countdown is imminent. Except one thing: the ink pen on set isn’t working for Barron. So producer Whitney Chirdon dashes into the studio, hands a new pen to him and the cameras roll shortly after.

An approximate 20-minute roundtable discussion follows, with Barron and Satalia asking questions and adding to the dialogue with their own questions and insights. The two play off of one another’s comments like a veteran news team, belying the fact they just teamed up for the first time last fall.

This episode spotlights an especially important goal of Barron’s: making Penn State education both accessible and affordable. The guests are part of a committee that’s overseeing pilot programs put into place. The fact they are having a discussion set for the airwaves is particularly noteworthy.

“From my viewpoint, it’s really important on a lot of fronts; this is talking about the University being strategic -- Where are we trying to go? What are we trying to do? What is the goal?” Barron said after production wrapped. “In the program, I stated it. I want to look everybody in the eye and say, ‘You can come here, graduate on time and graduate at the same high rate as anyone else. I don’t care what you look like or what your background is, whether you’re first in your family to go to college, whether you’re poor, whether you’re rich, you can be successful.’"

“This is a great public, so we’re putting that bar out there in front of us on what a great public is all about. Then the idea is: If that’s the bar, how do we get there?”

The discussion ends, the set is re-arranged, and Barron and Satalia finish the episode with a shorter back-and-forth conversation between themselves.

Before and after they tape the show, the two hosts chat informally with the guests as production details are set. There’s nonstop banter between the group, helping the downtime seem not as long, and the free flowing feel that permeates the studio also exists during production.

“He’s very comfortable in that kind of setting,” Chirdon said of Barron. “It’s a very casual dialogue among all the guests and he jumps in as much as Patty does. They all go back and forth and we like to keep it a very fluid conversation. Dr. Barron is very comfortable with that, and I think that’s what makes it a more dynamic program.”

“Higher Education In Focus” is based on a similar show that Barron hosted at Florida State, and deals with topics that are both serious and fun. He met with Chirdon and two station producers last summer to discuss his expectations for this show, as well as format, set design, and topic and guest ideas.

Chirdon could tell Barron would be comfortable in front of the camera and not need any coaching; and to her point, Barron made quick observations during the latest production and understood his cues immediately.

Athletic Director Sandy Barbour served as the guest for the show’s inaugural episode in September, and other guests have covered topics such as the Lunar Lion team, sustainability, and civility and ethics in the classroom, workplace and society.

“What I really like about the show is we’re tackling the kinds of topics that I think Penn Staters want to hear him address, so I think that’s terrific,” Satalia said.

“Dr. Barron is very passionate about making Penn State the best university it can be and that comes across in my conversations with him. He talks to everyone with the same regard and respect. He could talk to a parent on the street or a student, and he’d have the same conversation with them as with another university president.”

After Barron and Satalia finished their latest episode, the two spoke with Chirdon on possible future topics, such as philanthropy, economic development, job creation and student career success, topics directly related to Barron’s six imperatives. There’s enough relevant information available to sustain a three-part series, they feel, so that will be the direction of the show for the next couple episodes.

It’s typical for the trio to continue the conversation after each show wraps. After last month’s production, they stayed on set, making notes and discussing future topics for about 15 minutes.

“That’s very valuable time we get to spend with him,” Chirdon said. “The three of us talk about what we might want to focus on for the next few shows. He’s open to our ideas, he has his own ideas, and together we come up with topic ideas and possible guests for the season.”

After a topic is selected, Chirdon will initially speak with the guests, and then draft a preliminary list of questions for the show, which are sent to Barron. He’ll make edits and suggestions before production, though as he said, the list of questions is usually in pretty good shape by the time he sees it.

There’s already been plenty of thought pored into the episode before anybody shows up at the studio and turns on a camera, so when that time does arrive, the organic conversation comes easily because this isn’t new territory for anyone.

“They do a very good job, so it isn’t stressful for me,” Barron said, referencing Chirdon and Satalia. “Sometimes I’ll write a question out, but we tend to have that in our head. If you watch the show, we’re not following a script -- we have it in front of us, but we’re not following a script. We’re letting the show evolve naturally, so it’s a good partnership.”

Both Chirdon and Satalia have heard positive feedback from the community; Satalia has had people stop her and say they’re looking forward to the next episode, or that they enjoy Barron discussing issues that are important not just to Penn State, but to universities nationwide. “I think that’s a really good sign for a show that’s aired only four episodes,” Satalia said, adding that Barron is ahead of the curve in addressing such topics.

“Higher Education In Focus” also fits into Barron’s overall mission of making himself available for exactly these types of conversations.

One example:

A half-dozen students recently contacted him for individual appointments -- doing so since they knew of Barron’s interest in entrepreneurship -- as did a faculty member whose class worked around Barron’s schedule to share 12 new business ideas with him.

Barron’s assistant wasn’t sure he could fit the class time into his regular schedule, so the students improvised and made themselves available later in the day. Barron then met with the students, saying, “I think it’s very important to be out there and to be accessible.”

On the way back to campus after recording last month’s show, Barron used the following analogy: He called himself a sponge, though he extended the comparison by saying it’s necessary for him to hear from a wide range of groups, including alumni, staff, faculty and students. For him to know what’s going on, he said, he can’t be a passive listener, but listen actively and then ask the right questions.

With “Higher Education In Focus,” that’s the exact blueprint they follow. And while everyone expects the show to continue growing its audience -- highlighting Chirdon and Satalia’s point about community feedback -- Barron has been especially pleased with how everything has unfolded so far.

“I think an awful lot of people fail in the fact that they don’t communicate,” Barron said. “I really think you’ve got to find every way you possibly can to get these ideas out there, and I’m really appreciative that this is another way to do it. I think it’s a lot of fun, too. These are interesting people and good topics, and I enjoy it.”

Past episodes of "Higher Education in Focus" as well as upcoming program information can be found online at www.wpsu.org/infocus.