VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY NEWS

Forbes
Seven Ways AI Would Have Stopped First Brands' $2.7 Billion Fraud

February 2, 2026 - "Intentional complication often signals, shrouds and eventually sinks skullduggery. First Brands, the after-market auto parts distribution conglomerate, epitomizes such design, deployment and demise." Noah Barsky is a professor in executive and graduate business programs at the Villanova University School of Business.

The New York Times
Trump's Lawsuit Against I.R.S. Creates "Enormous Conflict of Interest"

January 30, 2026 - Under federal law, people have two years to sue the government after they discover that their tax returns have been improperly disclosed... "There was quite a bit of litigation and press coverage concerning the nature of the disclosure that Littlejohn engaged in," said Leslie Book, a law professor at Villanova. "To argue, as Trump is arguing in the suit, that he wasn't aware of this, that he didn't discover it until the I.R.S. sent that letter, frankly, I find hard to support."

USA Today
Weight-Loss Drugs Draw Thousands of Lawsuits Alleging Serious Harm

January 28, 2026 - Suits target Novo Nordisk, the Danish manufacturer of Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus, Victoza and Saxenda, and Indiana-based Eli Lilly, which makes Trulicity, Mounjaro and Zepbound... Ana Santos Rutschman, a health law professor at Villanova University, said proving the drugs caused certain outcomes will be an issue as the legal battle unfolds, along with the extent and timing of warnings.

The Conversation
Oversalting Your Sidewalk or Driveway Harms Local Streams and Potentially Even Your Drinking Water

January 27, 2026 - "Snow has returned to the Philadelphia region, and along with it the white residues on streets and sidewalks that result from the over-application of deicers such as sodium chloride, or rock salt... Working with other researchers at Villanova University, I have measured spikes in sodium levels in Philadelphia region tap water during and immediately after snow melts." Steven Goldsmith is a professor of environmental science in the Department of Geography and the Environment at Villanova University.

Forbes
How the Super Bowl and Olympics Let Brands Capture Cultural Moments

January 24, 2026 - "For many well-known brands with strong attribute associations and high equity, reach still matters... For these brands, mega-events such as the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics offer considerable opportunity not only because of their reach, but also because they can link themselves to critical cultural moments." Charles R. "Ray" Taylor is the John A. Murphy Professor of Marketing at the Villanova School of Business.

CNN
Supergiant Star Betelgeuse Is Full of Mysteries. New Observations Might Solve the Biggest One

January 20, 2026 - A hydrodynamic analysis would provide the vital information needed to interpret the new observations, such as what to expect from the motion of a solar-size companion moving through the outer atmosphere of a huge red supergiant, said Edward Guinan, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Villanova University in Pennsylvania.