2016 College Report

A YEAR IN REVIEW August 2015 | In the College of Fine Arts and Communication nearly 400 faculty and staff welcome 5,000 majors and over 1,300 minors to campus for the Fall semester; university enrollment close to 38,000 students; a School of Journalism and Mass Communication team begins work on a $448,000 contract from the Department of Aging and Disability Services; the Bobcat Marching Band begins practice with a record 350 members; Dance faculty present their research in Scotland at the University of Edinburgh and in Greece at the Athens Institute for Research and Education; graduate student Becky Larson is a national finalist for an Online Journalism Award. September 2015 | The College of Fine Arts and Communication hosts its first C3 Research Startup Weekend (now named CoSearch); Theatre hosts 13 th Annual Black and Latino Playwrights Conference and honors Octavio Solis; Dance presents 31 st annual Opening Door Dance Concert, the award-winning Dancestry , a celebration of modern dance pioneers; the Bobcat Marching Band performs at Houston Texans game. October 2015 | Journalism and Mass Communication host their 26 th annual Mass Comm Week, with more than 50 industry leaders in attendance; a team of Communication Studies and JMC faculty earn a $900,000 grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. November 2015 | Theatre produces a critically acclaimed production of Evita , a show that features the final costume design by Sheila Hargett, a faculty member for 45 years; The Elton Abernathy Forensics Society wins first place at the Texas Intercollegiate Forensics Association Championships. It is their 15 th state title in the past 16 years. December 2015 | KTSW 89.9 earns a #9 college radio station ranking from CollegeMagazine.com ; the Musical Theatre program earns a #7 national ranking; Opera’s production of Speed Dating Tonight wins 3rd prize in the 2015 Opera Production of the Year Competition by the National Opera Association; Graduating seniors in the Communication Design program showcase their work at Austin’s T3 advertising agency. January 2016 | Journalism and Mass Communication students on our Texas State Global News Team travel to Nicaragua with St. David’s School of Nursing students to set up free clinics and serve the community; Bobcat Promotions conducts a week-long Professional Development Tour in New York City; Theatre alum Bobby Moreno (2005) appears in Lazarus , the new musical by David Bowie and Tony-winning playwright Enda Walsh; five Communication Design student projects are selected for 2016 Graphis New Talent Annual . 16 | College of Fine Arts and Communication