Office of Media Relations at the University of San Diego
June 8, 2021  |  View in web browser

June 8, 2021

Good morning newsrooms!

Here's your USD News Connect — where each week the University of San Diego media relations team offers expert voices to speak on stories impacting our community. If you're interested in the stories below, or need experts for any other topic you might be working on, don't hesitate to reach out to us at press@sandiego.edu.*

California is “reopening” on June 15 — but will our supply chain be able to keep up?

When California moves beyond the Blueprint for a Safer Economy on June 15, there will be a delay in the supply chain to get moving in the same direction. Joel Sutherland, managing director at the Supply Chain Management Institute at USD, can share how shortages in labor and supplies will continue for some time after the "reopening" while technology innovations, connected with supply chain trends, will ramp up to align with consumer buying behaviors that have changed during the pandemic — requiring businesses to adapt and innovate to their consumer's new needs.

AMC Entertainment Stock Surges

Meme stock, AMC Entertainment, saw a lot of volatility in the past week. Now, the SEC is keeping a close eye on the wild trading to determine if there have been “any disruptions of the market, manipulative trading, or other misconduct.” Dan Roccato, clinical professor of finance, is available to speak on the meme stock craze, the impact of social media on investors, and the benefits - and risks - of the “democratization” of the markets. 

Starting today, your Amazon devices will automatically share a slice of your WiFi network with strangers’ devices

On June 8, Amazon is rolling out a new feature called Amazon Sidewalk on millions of home devices, such as Amazon Echo and Ring Camera. Despite its innocuous name, Amazon Sidewalk presents many privacy concerns, says Maritza Johnson, a tech privacy expert at USD. The feature will force your home devices to share a slice of your WiFi network with neighbors, creating a “mesh network,” with the goal of keeping devices connected. Despite users being able to opt out of Amazon Sidewalk, Johnson says most people do not change default settings on technology, and questions whether Amazon is doing enough to inform their customers.

For all media inquiries, email our team at

press@sandiego.edu.

* Please note that times of availability will vary according to professors' schedules.

USD Expert Spotlight

Lisa Dawley, PhD, executive director of the Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education and Monte Kalisch, director of technology at the Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education believe every teenager can help build a better world. With that mission in mind, they helped launch the Jacobs Teen Innovation Challenge in Fall 2020 and recently announced the winners. More than 2,800 students and 100 educators from 11 countries took part in the competition.

Learn more →

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