Molly Leonard and Cody White Named to the Who's Who List

Molly and Cody were selected by the faculty senate student life committee for Who' Who Among American Colleges and Universities.  This extremely prestigious honor was awarded following a competitive application process that looked at academic achievement., volunteerism, and involvement in student clubs and activities.  Ted Avtgis, Chair of the Department said "Molly and Cody exemplify the Ashland ideal of involvement.  There are few on campus who have not heard of either Molly or Cody or have had interactions with them in some shape or form.  It is nice to see them get the recognition they deserve."  Cody White, upon being awarded this honor said "Being named to "Who's Who" has provided me with a reflection on the past four year of hard work that I've striven to put forth. Simply being recognized for my achievements is more than enough for me, so being included on this list is a fantastic honor. I am humbled by the University's recognition of my efforts."

ACCENT ON PR IS REACTIVATED

The Department of Communication Studies is proud to announce the reinstatement of its public relations club known as Accent on P.R.! This is an exciting opportunity for our students interested in P.R. and we are eager to do great things within the Ashland community and around campus!

Accent on P.R. will actively partner with local non-profits as well as other on-campus clubs/causes to assist with public relations needs in an effort to create a better campus and community.  Such efforts can range from event promotion to comprehensive campaigns.  Accent on P.R. is a club that is not only opened to public relations majors but also people throughout the AU community with an interest in Public Relations.  Thanks to Accent on P.R.'s President Megan Wise for her pioneering efforts in creating the necessary documentation, leadership, and advocacy necessary for the club's approval.

If you are interested, please stay tuned for additional information. We will be starting a membership drive soon, so be sure to sign up as Accent on P.R. is a great way to beef up your public relations credentials while also providing wonderful service to the various publics we will be serving.

Faculty Notes

Dr. Dan O'Rourke co-authored that paper "The Democracy of Boy Life: Theodore Roosevelt's Epideictic Advocacy of Sport," which was a competitive paper in the Public Address Division presented at the annual meeting of the National Communication Association, New Orleans, LA. The paper explored President Roosevelt's rhetorical message to American youth in support of participation in competitive athletics. Beyond its physical training, Roosevelt believed that youth learned teamwork and character from sport. These were attributes he sought to promote in the next generation of citizens and leaders.      

Dr. Theodore Avtgis conducted two seminars at the annual meeting of the National Communication Association in New Orleans, La. These seminars focused on Medical Communication and Organizational Communication. The seminars take a quantitative social scientific perspective targeted at application and marketability of communication skills. He also was one of the primary sources speaking about aggressive communication in the feature article "Opinions vary on anti-bullying efforts" that appeared in the Nov. 9 edition of The Exponent Telegram (Clarksburg, WV).

Public Relations Students Travel To PRSA Event

Nine Public Relations majors from the Department of Communication Studies traveled to a mini-conference to speak with public relations industry leaders to learn about the profession and create valuable networks.  This 1/2 day seminar was full of panels and breakout sessions that included how to land a quality internship, the day in the life of a successful PR professional, resume review, developing and maintaining an effective online persona, and a myriad of other things pertinent to the profession and practice of PR.

As one of our majors put it all too well: "Attending the PRSA event was extremely beneficial since it allowed students to grasp public relations concepts from outside of the classroom and learn how these PR skills are used in the industry. Also, the event helped students develop their networking skills whether it was talking with PR professionals or reviewing our resumes with PR or communication specialists."

                                                                             Sarah Hutson and Angelique Cunningham talk shop

                                                                              Cody White discusses issues with a panelist

                                                                                Angelique Cunningham engages one of the presenters

                                                                             The gang of nine. A good and productive time was had by all!

MEGAN WISE APPOINTED TO COMMUNICATION RESEARCH REPORTS

Congratulations to Megan Wise for being appointed as the next Editorial Assistant for Communication Research Reports (CRR).  This position is one that is generally reserved for graduate students or professors just starting their careers.  CRR is a peer-reviewed journal published by the Eastern Communication Association with readership throughout the United States and several countries throughout the world.  Professor Ted Avtgis, Editor-in-Chief of CRR said "Megan was a logical choice for this position as she has a commitment to excellence, maturity beyond her years, and a passion for learning.  I believe this to be a great thing not only for Megan, but also for the Department of Communication Studies.  We are proud of her!" 

Wise, a junior Speech Communication Major said "It is a wonderful honor and privilege to be chosen as the Editorial Assistant for this esteemed communication journal. This is an incredible opportunity and I am looking forward to being a part of this professional publication.  Being a member of this prestigious team will provide me with an invaluable amount of experience that will be extremely beneficial as I continue my undergraduate studies and look toward a future career."

Megan will be charged with processing all incoming manuscripts through the peer review process, interacting with submitting authors and editorial board members as well as compiling compliance reports for the journal.  She will spend the next several months learning protocol and the automated manuscript system (ScholarOne), taking over full Editorial Assistant control by May of 2012.

Lambda Pi Eta Arrives at Ashland and its Name is Alpha Alpha Rho!!!

The Department of Communication Studies is proud to announce that it has been awarded a chapter of the honor society Lambda Pi Eta.  This organization was started in 1985 to recognize outstanding academic achievement in the field of Communication Studies.  Lambda Pi Eta represents the first letters of what Aristotle described in The Rhetoric as the three modes of persuasion -- Logos, Pathos, and Ethos.
The Ashland University chapter, hereby known as Alpha Alpha Rho will begin to invite our majors to apply based on academic performance.  We will be posting more information regarding eligibility soon.  Thanks to the Alpha Alpha Rho's first President Mr. Cody White for taking the lead on creating our chapter.  This is truly a wonderful thing for our students.  Our faculty is very proud to be associated with an association that will honor excellent achievement by our Communication Studies majors.   

Faculty Research Updates

The faculty of the Department of Communication Studies have been busy traveling around presenting research, being elected to leadership positions, publishing, and acquiring needed materials for upcoming research studies.  Here are some highlights from October, 2011. 

Dr. Deleasa Randall-Griffiths has been busy listening to and telling stories this October.  The first weekend of the month she attended the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN where she enjoyed listening to some of the top-rated storytellers from around the world.  This year marked the 20^th anniversary of her first attendance in Jonesborough.  Later in the month she attended a workshop at Akron City Hospital presented by The Palette of Faith and the Summit 2010 Quality of Life Project  titled “Honoring the Stories: Enriching Meaning at the End of Life.”  The workshop focused on finding meaning in the end of life journey by harnessing the power of storytelling and listening as tools for grief and healing.  Dr. Randall-Griffiths also spent her fall break telling folktales to over 80 fourth-graders at Hillsdale Elementary School.  And, for the third year in a row she was the featured storyteller telling ghost stories for Ashland’s downtown Costume Capers event.   While she loves October and all the storytelling events it brings, Deleasa wants to remind everyone that “Any day is a good day to tell a story!”

Dr. Theodore A. Avtgis has been doing a bit of traveling. He presented a paper titled "Assessing the Effects of Affirming Communication Education on Surgical Residents"at the joint conference of the International Conference on Communication in Healthcare and the American Academy on Communication in Healthcare held in Chicago, Ill. The paper traces an ongoing longitudinal effort targeted at assessing surgical resident communication competency with both patients and members of the surgical team. The results of this study aretargeted at documenting compliance for ACGME core communication competencies required of all medical residents in the United States. The abstract for this paper was published in the journal Medical Encounter.  Avtgis believes that the contribution that communication scholars have a lot to offer the medical community and believes that "the possibilities for communication in the everyday practice of medicine are limitless should we choose to realize them."  He also traveled to the University of Findlay to the Ohio Communication Association annual meeting where he participated in a panel of journal editors on how to get published in communication peer-reviewed journals.  This panel was targeted at giving younger scholars advice on how to navigate the world of academic publishing.  He is the Editor-in Chief of the journal Communication Research Reports.  Avtgis was also elected to serve on the Executive Council of the Ohio Communication Association.

Dr. Ric Jensen wrote several articles related to sports media that recently appeared in The Encyclopedia of Sports Management and Marketing, which was published in September 2011 by Sage Press.

The articles Jensen wrote describe such issues as the ways in which national and sport-specific sports festivals are promoted and marketed; the need for sports organizations to market their teams to specific segments of fans; the growing strategic role of websites and new media by sports organizations; and the diverse ways that sports-related organizations market themselves to other businesses and trade associations.

The Encyclopedia was edited by Linda Swayne of and Mark Dodds of The University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Mark Dodds of the State University of New York at Cortland. The web address for the encyclopedia is http://www.sagepub.com/books/Book230738?siteId=sage-us&prodTypes=any&q=encyclopedia+of+sports+management+and+marketing&fs=1

SPORT COMMUNICATION CLUB IS BACK IN ACTION!!

GOT SPORTS?

 

The Sport Communication Club has reformed and is hard at work planning another year of exciting events.  This club is open to all students who love sports and want to be more than just a regular fan.  If you are interested in joining please contact Marcus Walsh, Katie Lentz, or check out the club on Facebook https://mail.ashland.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=5b39db7a1d454881949e87b7f3d383e7&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.facebook.com%2fgroups%2f159188990837679%2f 

ATTENTION JUNIOR AND SENIOR PUBLIC RELATIONS STUDENTS

Attention junior and senior Public Relations students.  This is an incredible opportunity to get connected to working PR professionals in the Cleveland area and across the United States.  The Public Relations Society of America is holding their annual Student Day to be held on Friday November 11, 2011 from 8am to 1pm at the Wolstein Center at Cleveland State University.  The Department of Communication Studies will pay for your $35.00 registration fee and provide transportation to and from the event.  If you are interested in attending, please see Ms. Carolyn Yannayon in the Department of Communication Studies office on the first floor of CFA to complete the registration form.  We must have all of the names and information for those attending by OCTBER 7, 2011. Hoping all of those eligible will take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.

Call For Abstracts

The Council on Undergraduate Research has issued a call for students to submit an abstract of their research to be considered for presentation at the 16th annual undergraduate poster session on Capitol Hill. This event, to be held during the Spring of 2012, will help members of Congress understand the importance of undergraduate research by providing them the opportunity to interact with the students who are directly impacted by undergraduate research programs.  If you are interested and/or need help preparing an abstract for submission, please see Dr. Avtgis for more information. Abstracts are due by October 18, 2011.

More information on the Posters on the Hill program can be found at: https://mail.ashland.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=692496a84a304d6e8da668f5be5b9675&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.cur.org%2fpostersession.html

COMMUNICATION STUDIES IS THE 5th MOST EMPLOYABLE MAJOR!!

A recent poll conducted by the consulting firm Challenger, Gray, & Christmas found that the Communication Studies Major is among the most employable of all college majors.  According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Communication related fields and positions are among the last to be downsized as graduates have  very adaptable and valuable skill sets.

SENIOR SUCCESS DAY

Attention Seniors:  On Wednesday, September 28, 2011 Senior Success Day will be held in the Student Center from 3-7pm.  This event is being sponsored by Career Services.  They will be there to assist with all phases of transitioning from your current role as college senior to the workplace or graduate school.  The range of services being offered will include resume writing, interviewing skills, networking, using particular search engines to assist you in looking for a position, among other things.   These resources are free and can make the difference come time for applying for a position or to graduate school. 

Golf Anyone??? Exciting Internship Opportunity with the AJGA

The American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf.  The association is the largest organization of its kind with a membership of more than 5,000 juniors from 49 states and 49 foreign countries.  In 2012, the AJGA plans to conduct more than 90 tournaments and 45 qualifiers across the United States.

The AJGA is looking for talented and well-rounded applicants to work in an entry-level position as communications or tournament operations interns and travel throughout the United States to help conduct national junior golf tournaments.

If interested, see Dr. Avtgis for a brochure and contact information.

Dr. Rodrigues has been busy...

 Dr. Pravin Rodrigues recently published a case study entitled "Resistance to Change: Assessing Readiness for the Implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System at Meddev Inc." The case was published in the 2011 book, Cases and Exercises in Organization Development and Change, edited by Donald L. Anderson (SAGE publications). The case referred to the implementation of an ERP system at the North American location of a global manufacturing company.

Dr . Rodrigues also traveled to South America  and presented a keynote paper entitled, "Popular culture at and across Borders: Hazards and opportunities in a new information landscape" that opened the International Popular Culture Association Conference held in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Great Job Dr. Rodrigues!!

Projections of the Future Marketplace- Looking Good for Communication Majors

In the September, 2011 issue of Spectra, the official news letter of the National Communication Association, Martin Carcasson, Associate Professor at Colorado State University, states that "the key growth careers communicaton majors should consider are facilitators, mediators, moderators, conveners, and other process-focused experts that improve the overall quality of communication and support collaborative problem-solving in their organizations and communities."

Such positive projections are common as communication majors, whether it be in Strategic Communication, Sports Communication, or Public Relations, are well prepared for applying their communication-skill sets in most organizational and corporate contexts.

WELCOME TO THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION STUDIES

The Department of Communication Studies at Ashland University welcomes you to our new blog.  Here you will find the latest information on happenings, achievements, and other timely events that are occurring in and around the department.  Enjoy and please check back often as we will be posting many new things as our blog gets up and going.