Meet the Penn State deans: Marie Hardin talks marathons, sports — and her ‘last meal’
As part of a collaborative effort with Penn State, which is releasing a monthly video on school deans and their perspectives and passions, the Centre Daily Times is continuing a lighthearted Q&A series that highlights a different dean every month in the hopes the local community gets to know them outside of the classroom.
Up next: Marie Hardin, Dean of the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State.
Hardin first joined Penn State in 2003 as an assistant journalism professor, before moving up the ranks and becoming dean in 2014. She has written more than 60 journal articles and book chapters, with research that’s focused on diversity, ethics and professionalism in sports journalism. She also won the 2009 George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching and served as the 2019 president of the national nonprofit Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC).
Personally, she enjoys running to both clear her mind and find new trails.
Centre Daily Times: You’ve been into running since you were a kid and you ran your first marathon when you were a college freshman. So, looking back on your life, what was the most physically taxing thing you’ve ever done — and would you do it again?
Marie Hardin: OK, so I wish I could tell you that I’ve hiked the entire Appalachian Trail or that I’ve climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. But I can’t. Honestly, the toughest thing I do are these marathons. I’ve done two marathons a year, on average, for the past 15-20 years. So, for me, it gets a little harder every year to do these. (laughs)
I am an outdoorsy person, and I’ve got a lot of things on my bucket list, including the Appalachian Trail. But, yeah, I would tell you it’s tough enough for me to just run a marathon. ... I try to mix it up. So, every year, I go run the Houston Marathon and that’s in January. And I do that because I’m from Texas; my parents are still there. I get a kick out of it when I get there, and my dad tries to talk me out of doing it because he tells me I’m getting older and I shouldn’t be doing it anymore.
CDT: Let’s stick with the sports theme for a little bit, since you’ve taught a number of sports-related communications courses. If you had a time machine for a day and could attend any sporting event ever, what one are you going to and why?
Hardin: Immediately what I think about is the 1936 Olympics, which may sound like a strange answer. But when I think about sports — because that’s my area of research and I’ve taught classes that really kind of dive into the relationship between politics and sport, and social issues and sport. If you think about the 1936 Olympics, what a moment in history.
The world was an incredibly dangerous place but also a place of great denial. Adolf Hitler had a clear agenda for that Olympics; we know the Olympics is a place for political theater. You had the drama around Jesse Owens, who ended up winning more medals than anyone at that Olympics. There’s also a media angle to it, too; it was the first Olympics that was televised. ...
I think what a moment, really, in world history and in the history of sport.
CDT: You told me earlier you’ve been at Penn State since 2003, so you’re familiar with your Penn State sports here. If you were building a PSU Mount Rushmore of sports figures, what four people are you picking?
Hardin: OK, here’s my four: Kelly Mazzante, women’s basketball; women’s soccer, Ali Krieger; track and field, Shana Cox and, volleyball, Megan Hodge.
First of all, I think it’s important to recognize female athletes who, oftentimes when we think about sports and great athletes, it’s easy to go to male athletes. And I think there are so many great stories for the women who compete here at Penn State. And the women I mentioned made a name for themselves.
Here at Penn State, they excelled on and off the field. They also made names for themselves at the national, and even international, levels and I just think each one is a role model for athletic and academic success.
CDT: Let’s take a break from the sports questions. What is the best or most memorable question you’ve ever heard from a journalist and, if you need more time to think of that, can you tell me who your favorite interviewers are?
Hardin: I don’t know if I can think of a single question. I think of great interviewers who are good role models for students in journalism. When I think of sports, I love to watch Lisa Salters. And, of course, she’s one of ours. I think Bob Costas is a great interviewer. When we think about other interviewers in broadcast journalism, I think Oprah Winfrey is a great — she’s not a journalist, but she’s a great interviewer, too.
They do their homework, which I think is very, very important. They have a depth of experience that they draw from themselves, which I also think is important. I wouldn’t say this of all three — and this is where they’re a little different — but Salters and Costas, to me, do a really great job of making it about the person they’re interviewing.
Oprah is a different kind of interviewer in a way, in that, who she is and her persona — because of her fame — always comes through in the interview, and she ends up being very much a part of the interview process. And I think that’s fine, too. Oftentimes, you learn as much about her as the person she’s interviewing. And, again, that’s fine. ... All three of those folks know how to draw things out of people they’re interviewing.
CDT: We’ve saved the toughest question for last: What would you have for your last meal — if you could only choose from Centre County foods and restaurants? Bonus points for creativity.
Hardin: I’d like to think of it as my last meal leaving Centre County, not my last meal, because I probably wouldn’t want to eat. I’d be too depressed. But if I were leaving Centre County and I knew I wasn’t going to be back for a while, well, for me it’s not about — we have great restaurants in Centre County and places to get a great burger and that sort of thing, but I think about the neighbors and friends I have who have gardens or are great cooks. And that’s always been special to me.
So I have a staff member here in Carnegie (Building) who has a wonderful tomato garden. And I have neighbors across the street; they give me tomatoes every year. I would want some of those tomatoes. I have a friend, the dean of the College of Engineering, Justin Schwartz, who grows a great array of hot peppers and gives me these peppers and makes incredible salsa. I would ask Justin to let me have some of those from his garden.
I think the best corn I’ve ever eaten is grown locally here in Centre County, so I’d maybe want some grilled corn on the cob I purchased from a local farmers market. I just think our farmers markets here in Centre County are absolutely terrific. ... And, of course, I would have to have ice cream from the Creamery. Of course. My absolute favorite flavor from the Creamery is Peppermint Stick, which is only offered once a year. But, once a year, I get to the Creamery and make sure to get Peppermint Stick. But, if it’s summer, maybe it’s the Alumni Swirl or Arboretum Breeze. I love WPSU Coffee Break. But if I had to choose one, it would have to be Peppermint Stick.
