COM Studies Professor and Students Receive Leadership Training

Last week, Dr. Gwen Hullman, Camille Pollutro, and Samantha Stutzman completed their training in Leadership In Deliberative Democracy, taught by Professor Louise Fleming- Dufala, and sponsored by the Center for Civic Life at Ashland University, which:

strives to involve citizens in deliberating issues of concern and in developing and initiating solutions for their communities. Through this effort, Ashland University will educate people in the region about civic life and engage them in deliberative practices that allow them to meet needs in their communities and to shape their communities' future.

To learn more about the Center for Civic Life, visit their website here. 

Health and Risk Communication Students Meet to Discuss Health PR Jobs

Health and Risk Communication students Cyleen Sharpe, Samantha Stutzman, and Wenyu Zhang met with Dr. Gwen Hullman Wednesday for lunch. 

Topic of the day: statewide health public relations job opportunities and the Bureau of Labor Statistics' prediction on job growth in this sector. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Health Educator opportunities will see a 16% above average job growth over the next 10 years. Those focusing on health communication and public relations will see a 9% projected job growth market over the next ten years. 

Great news for our Health and Risk students!

Students Selected to Lead the AU Bateman Case Study Competition Team

Ashland University’s Communication Department has recently chosen four students to lead the AU Bateman Case Study Competition team. This will be the second year that Ashland’s PRSSA Chapter has competed in this national case study competition. Those selected for the team for this year are seniors Samantha Stutzman of Chardon, Ohio; Erin Staley of Dayton, Ohio; Ricardo Leona of Avon, Ohio; and Cyleen Sharpe of Bellevue, Ohio.

All four members of the team major in either Public Relations & Strategic Communication or double major in Communication at Ashland University.

Shawn Orr, Communication Studies faculty and Bateman Case Study Team adviser, said "This competition provides a great opportunity for our top public relations students to develop, implement and assess a campaign from start to finish. The client this year is the National PRSA Foundation, whose goal is to promote diversity in the fields of public relations and communication. We look forward to partnering with both internal and external communities to move this initiative forward."

The Bateman Case Study Competition was established in 1973 to help provide college students with the chance to compete with their peers across the nation, and gain hands-on experience in executing a public relations campaign. Every year, Bateman selects a worthy company or organization as the client for each participating PRSSA chapter to represent.

The students will conduct their campaign from Feb 11-Mar 11, 2019. The top three finalists of the competition will present their campaign to representative of the selected organization and will be recognized at the PRSSA National Conference. The first-place winning team will receive a prize of $3,500, the second-place team will receive a $2,500 prize, and the third-place team will receive a $1,500 prize. Along with that, twenty other teams will be honorably mentioned at the conference for their campaigns and represented on the PRSSA website.

Communication Studies Professors Present at OCA Conference

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Shawn Orr, professional instructor in Communication Studies and director of the Center for Innovation and Teaching Excellence, and Deleasa Randall-Griffiths, associate professor and director of the Online Communication Studies Program, along with Communication Studies adjunct professors Wendy Hall and Jessica Coleman, presented a panel titled Corrections Education in the 21st Century at the Ohio Communication Association's annual conference.

Deleasa Randall-Griffiths Presents an OCA with Students

Deleasa Randall-Griffiths, Associate Professor and Director of the Online Communication Studies Program, presented at the Ohio Communication Association’s annual conference with Erin Staley and Samantha Stutzman, both seniors majoring in Public Relations and Strategic Communication and Health and Risk Communication. 

The panel titled, Using Narrative Analysis to Explore the Influence of Health Humanities, featured papers by Staley and Stutzman, along with junior Camille Pollutro who was unable to attend.

Why Choose AU's MACSC (Master of Arts in Corporate & Strategic Communication) Program?

Why Choose a Degree in Communication Studies from Ashland University?

The Communication Studies Department Welcomes Dr. Cory Hillman

Dr. Cory Hillman (Ph.D, Media and Communication Studies, Bowling Green State University) joins the Ashland University Communication Studies Department as an Assistant Professor in Communication Studies after spending the last six years as a faculty member at Central Michigan University. 

His research addresses how the commercialization of sports is impacting the relationship between fans and sports, the daily fantasy sports industry and its impact on sporting culture, as well as sports video games. His work has appeared in the Communication and Sport Journal, various edited sports anthologies, and his book American Sports in an Age of Consumption: How Commercialization Has Changed the Game was published in 2016. 

Dr. Hillman played baseball for four years at Saginaw Valley State University, and worked as a Scout.com writer for the Los Angeles Dodgers, as well as training camp security for the Detroit Lions. 

Dr. Randall-Griffiths and students Hannah Stryker and Maggie Andrews attend conference

Dr. Deleasa Randall-Griffiths, associate professor and director of the Online Communication Studies Program in the Department of Communication Studies, participated in a panel titled "'What Makes Us Different?': Sustaining Relevance in Progressive Communication Programs" at the Central States Communication Association Convention in Milwaukee. The panel was voted Top Panel for the Undergraduate Education and Administration Section.

At the conference, Hannah Stryker and Maggie Andrews, two undergraduate students from the Department of Communication Studies, presented a paper titled "Patient-Centered Communication: A Catalyst for Disclosure" as part of the Undergraduate Honors Research Conference. 

Stryker, Andrews and Dr. Deleasa Randall-Griffiths also attended the undergraduate honors awards luncheon on Saturday. 

(l-r) Dr. Deleasa Randall-Griffiths, Maggie Andrews and Hannah Stryker.

A co-presenter, Hannah and Maggie before their presentation.

Communication Students to Present at URCA

The Communication Studies Department wishes the following department majors the best of luck as they present their scholarly works at the 2018 CAS Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Symposium.

Jacob Smith, Sport Communication & Digital Media Production major

Seth Ansell, Health & Risk Communication

Topic: Media and Ethical Communication During Crisis in the United States

The students’ study examines mass media coverage of natural disasters in the United States, using Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy as content analyses.

Hannah Stryker, Biology

Maggie Andrews, Public Relations & Strategic Communication, English, & Creative Writing

Topic: Patient-Centered Communication: A Catalyst for Disclosure

The students’ study investigates the link between patient-centered communication and disclosure patterns.

Dr. Gwen Hullman Accepts Position as Associate Professor, Chair of Communication Studies Department

Dr. Gwen Hullman has accepted the position of Associate Professor and Chair of the Communication Studies Department at Ashland University. Gwen and her family recently re-located back to the northern Ohio area after living in Nevada for several years. She currently serves as the Associate Dean for Liberal Arts at the Metropolitan campus of Cuyahoga Community College. Prior to that, she was a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno. Gwen served as the chair of the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Nevada for seven years and has been active in additional committee work and faculty senate. She also volunteered for eight years as a mediator in the local Reno community and court system.

 Gwen was recognized by the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Nevada with the Dean’s Special Award for Extraordinary Service in relation to the departmental growth and student-centered activities, and she has received multiple teaching awards and nominations from the National Communication Association, the University of Nevada, Case Western Reserve University, and Kent State University.

Dr. Hullman holds a bachelor’s degree from ​t​he Ohio State University, a master’s degree from Cleveland State University, and a PhD in Communication Studies from Kent State University. She has additional certification and training in mediation and conflict resolution from The University of Nevada. Her research encompasses interpersonal communication, conflict resolution, health communication, and message design.

Shawn Orr Presents Keynote Address

Shawn Orr, director of faculty services for COAS and interim department chairperson for communication studies, recently presented a keynote address at the Limitless Learning Social Sciences Summit in Houston, Texas. Orr's keynote, Unleashing Student Success for the 21st Century, focused on creating an impactful 21st century classroom to truly engage a new era of students.