‘A Thinking Man’s Choice’
SPOTLIGHT ON LARRY REEDY, DEVRY UNIVERSITY
An academic with an interlude in politics, Larry Reedy has been using his Academia.edu profile to show he’s got a brain, something that’s helped not only his academic endeavors, but his political ones too.
Winning a nomination to run for the Colorado House of Representatives at the end of his Master’s, Larry, who was looking into PhD programs at the time, decided to switch gears and jump on the opportunity. Up against a huge Republican stronghold, running third party, and operating on a budget close to nil, Larry knew he needed extra ammo to beat the odds, something that would show voters his potential to lead despite his lack of a million-dollar backing. And that’s when he discovered a secret weapon– his Academia.edu profile and its analytics, public proof of his smarts as well as a tool to track his campaigning success.
Initially joining Academia.edu one year prior while working on his Master’s, Larry had been using his analytics as a way to gain an edge as he prepared to apply for PhD positions.
“I know that PhD applications are getting tougher and tougher, particularly with the economy. So I was looking for a way to bring some kind of data to the table for a PhD application and show the type and level of work produced and that it is interesting enough to stand on its own two legs on the internet,” says Larry.
“And,” adds Larry, “things like my Academia.edu analytics show that the level and quality of the work I produce is not only high level, but it’s also interesting to a wide variety of audiences.”
So when Larry decided to press pause on his PhD and run for a House seat, he quickly realized that his scholarly work and the interest it has drawn could not only give him an edge in academia, but also in politics.
“I thought that my analytics– that wonderful function that lets you know how people end up on your page whenever someone searches for you– might be a tool that I could use so that whenever I would make blog posts or do virtually anything to instigate some kind of web buzz, I would see it come through my Academia.edu page. I thought it could give me an idea of what’s working and what’s not,” says Larry.
And it worked– every time. Seeing spikes in profile views from people based in America who landed on his Academia.edu page with a succinct Google search of his name, Larry had a strong feeling he was attracting the thoughtful voter.
“I had a great response from many voters who were likely to go in and do research on candidates. Those voters were the ones I think I earned primarily because of my Academia.edu page, a place where they could take a look at what I brought to the table or what contributions I had made to some field of scholarly inquiry. From that they could say, ‘Well, this guy obviously has a brain in his head,’ which is more than what people can say for most politicians.”
Finding his research through Academia.edu, one media member even called Larry “the thinking man’s choice,” a pretty good indicator that his Academia.edu profile was indeed showcasing his smarts and helping him build a reputation.
While Larry was eventually beat by a Republican candidate, he still pulled off a remarkable feat. Running third party and faced with a voter body that was 90% Republican, Larry pulled in approximately 20% of the votes.
Since the campaign ended Larry returned to his position as an adjunct lecturer at Devry University and is once again one the hunt for a suitable PhD program. He plans to include his Academia.edu country analytics and documents views into each and every PhD application.
“The country analytics are the most fascinating part in my mind. Looking at the overall breadth and width of one’s output is simply fascinating. I’ve had quite a few page views from places that I never would have expected.“
And one of those far-reaching views recently came from the Head of the philosophy department at a Durham University. Intrigued by Larry’s work, the Department Head invited Larry to be a guest lecturer if he ever makes it over to the UK.
When asked if being on Academia.edu has helped him build his name, both in academia and beyond, Larry says, “Absolutely. There’s no question about it.”
Academic Bio:
Larry Reedy received a MA in History from the University of Colorado- Colorado Springs in May 2012 and jumped right into running for the District 15 seat in Colorado’s House of Representative election. Following the end of the election in November 2012, Larry joined DeVry University as an adjunct professor of humanities and liberal arts and sciences, as well as is a business analyst and historian for a major hospital in Colorado. Larry completed a tripartite Master’s which assessed: 1) folklore and Medieval British identity; 2) redating the chronology of Heraclitus of Ephesus; and 3) the third pandemic and its effects on India. Larry is currently looking to join a PhD program in Classics.
Larry’s work can be viewed here.
