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Saint Vincent College Faculty Blog

Operational Excellence in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe

Posted by Michael Urick on Mon, Jan 6, 2020 @ 12:01 PM

Over Christmas break, I had the opportunity to see the movie “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” in the theater and really enjoyed it. I especially liked the scenes where Mr. Rogers (played well by Tom Hanks) referred back to the songs that I remembered on his show from my childhood. I have come to know these songs and other Neighborhood of Make-Believe songs well. My daughter loves the “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” show (produced by Fred Rogers Productions) and I enjoy the music because I like how several of the songs are slight updates of Mr. Rogers’ originals. My family and I listen to Daniel Tiger songs all the time – and in them I hear a lot of Operational Excellence (OE) principles. After listening to these songs, I believe that OE is alive and well in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. In this blog, I will share how some of the lyrics to Mr. Rogers’ and Daniel Tiger’s songs illustrate the OE philosophy.

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Topics: fred rogers, Saint Vincent College, SVC, Michael Urick, Daniel Tiger, Saint Vincent, Operational Excellence, blog, saint vincent professor, st. vincent professor, Faculty Blog, Dr. Mike Urick, svc blog, Mr. Rogers

Early Literacy Quick Clips | Video Production

Posted by David Safin on Mon, May 20, 2013 @ 14:05 PM
On occasion, I have the privilege of collaborating with the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media. My most frequent collaborative effort is serving as the voice of their app videos. Here's my voice in their video for the app, Go NiNi!



Last summer, I lent my skills as a videographer for two days worth of shooting for their video series, Early Literacy Quick Clips. These videos, which were created for the Fred Rogers Center Early Learning Environment™, use real world examples to illustrate best practices in early literacy in a variety of settings.

I shot the videos in a handheld direct cinema style for a variety of reasons.
  1. I wanted the videos to feel fluid and natural.
  2. I was able to react quickly to what the children and their caregivers were doing.
  3. I felt a tripod would distract, intimidate and possibly frighten the children.
In this video about phonological awareness, I am sitting on the floor behind the children, shooting from their point of view.



The videos were produced by Jude Shingle, a talented artist/filmmaker and an Early Career Fellow for the Fred Rogers Center. He and I worked together to craft the look of the videos. It was a pleasure working with him. He was cheerful, energetic and open to any ideas thrown at him. Here is Jude introducing the videos (yes, that is my voice preceding Jude).



The experience of going to these daycare centers was also very rewarding. To see the time, effort, energy and enthusiasm put out by these caregivers gave me a greater appreciation for the work they all do. We were there for two days, and I left exhausted. They do this EVERY day.

Take a few moments and check out all of the Early Literacy Quick Clips (and please pass them along to anyone who might find them useful).
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Topics: digital media, video, videos, media, pennsylvania, fred rogers, ele, child care, daycare, fred rogers center, Pittsburgh

About the Authors

Michelle Gil-Montero is an associate professor of English and director of creative writing at Saint Vincent College. She runs the visiting writers series on campus, oversees the student literary magazine, and serves as guru to aspiring poets on campus. She received her MFA from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop in 2007, and she has been on the Saint Vincent faculty since that year. She is an active poet and literary translator from Spanish. She is spending part of the 2016-17 school year travelling to Argentina on a Howard Foundation fellowship and Fulbright grant. 

Dr. John J. Smetanka has been a member of the full-time faculty since 1997 and currently serves as the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Academic Dean of Saint Vincent College, a position he has held since January 2008. Dr. Smetanka has taught courses in Physics, Astronomy, Chemistry and Geology as well as interdisciplinary seminars. He has published scientific research articles in physics and astrophysics journals, numerous conference proceedings and also works in science education reform and the interaction between science, technology and theology.

Jim Kellam is an associate professor of biology at Saint Vincent College and our resident ornithologist. He received his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 2003, and is taking this semester as a sabbatical. What does that mean? He'll explain in his blog posts.

Dr. Michael J. Urick is Graduate Director of the Master of Science in Management: Operational Excellence program, and Associate Professor of Management and Operational Excellence at the Alex G. McKenna School of Business, Economics, and Government. Dr. Urick teaches courses related to organizational behavior, human resources, culture, leadership, diversity, conflict, supply chain, operations and research methods. Professionally, Urick serves on the board of the Institute for Supply Management (Pittsburgh) and belongs to the Society for Human Resource Management and APICS. For fun, Urick enjoys music and, since 1998, has led and performed with Neon Swing X-perience, a jazz band that has released multiple albums and toured portions of the US. He enjoys watching movies, is an avid reader of fantasy and science fiction, and also likes to fence.

David Safin, C'00, has been a lecturer in the communication department since the Fall of 2003, and has served in a variety of administrative roles since the summer of 2004. Currently, he teaches multimedia in the communication department as an assistant professor. 

Dr. Michael Krom received his Doctorate in philosophy at Emory University in 2007 and is currently the chair of the philosophy department at Saint Vincent. He has authored a book on religion and politics and continues to publish works in Catholic moral and political thought. Dr. Krom also directs the Faith and Reason summer program every summer. 

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