HOFSTRA – THE MASTER ATTRACTOR
Hofstra University – is a Master Attractor.
When I wrote five years ago my blog titled: “Who Is A Master Attractor?” I had in mind, people; individual people. Persons, each as a Master Attractor. Now I reconsidered my notional definition to include organizations. Organizations are made up of people.
Hofstra is a mid-sized university with 11,870 students in ten schools. In the fall of 2011, the university welcomed the first class of students in its new Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine. In 2012, it established its School of Engineering and Applied Science. Its endowment is a modest $411 million. Of its notable alumni I could identify two: Francis Ford Coppola and… Bernard Madoff…
However the university has a visionary talented president – Stuart Rabinowitz.
In 2008 he saw an opportunity to host on campus a presidential election debate. In 2012 he repeated the effort and hosted a second presidential debate.
From then on, Hofstra U. gradually acquired a celebrity stature – it started to attract presidential scholars and past White House officials. HU has now established itself in the field of American presidential politics, presidential historians and scholars.
Based on his past experience Stuart Rabinowitz made it known that if something will go wrong with 2016 debate preparation in another university campus, HU will be available and ready as alternate site if others may fail. And so it happened,. Last July When Wright University cancelled its plans to host the debate, HU took on the challenge.
The student body enthusiastically volunteered to serve as event staff and help thousands of journalists, and video/TV media anchors and producers. Past experience on the campus facilitated the transformation of the campus to one big, live political science laboratory. Construction and conversion of facilities and arena into TV studios happened on time. HU campus was festooned with Hofstra banners and posters. Since the fall semester began two weeks ago, campus speakers have included Gov. Bobby Jindal, Democratic strategist David Axelrod, Pulitzer Prize-winner Eugene Robinson and Stephen F. Hayes, a Fox News personality.
“The educational benefits for students are the primary reason why we do this,” said Hofstra U spokeswoman Karla Schuster.
Is that all? What about the Hofstra U marketing opportunities? Today on the debate day all I see is the media – TV, radio, print and SM giving their full relentless attention to Hofstra University campus, to its students and to the dignitaries in and around HU campus. HU blue banners are everywhere. Global HU brand identity.
It is estimated that 100 million TV viewers in the U.S and around the world, will watch and see HU today, all day. A marketing bonanza to a relatively medium size university, whose only claim to fame is live quadrennial presidential debates.
Get this: A dream come true to any university marketing and development office. Anywhere. Free national and international TV HU brand advertising. HU probably made a profit from facilities and utilities rental.
And this is just the beginning. The university development office will continue to solicit and harvest charitable gifts from the generous media viewership for years to come.
College freshmen will find that admission to HU has now grown very competitive. The HU political science professors will find many appearances invitations at their doorstep and book publishing offers with royalties advance.
Going back to the Master Attractor.
The criteria are:
- A Master Attractor is a person who draws a large number of fans, admirers, or devotees.
- A Master Attractor creates new value in the domains of technologies, health and welfare.
- A Master Attractor is perceived as a spiritual or inspirational source by society.
- A Master Attractor manifests material abundance through ethical means.
The original criteria are fulfilled by HU – the Master Attractor. HU is a Master Attractor even if it is a collective of organized people. All it required was leadership by one mind with a vision – the university president – Stuart Rabinowitz.
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