April May 2018 College News

and national professional photojournalists to create stories and produce their fnal product. Twenty seven SJMC students and faculty attended the International Symposium on Online Journalism at Te University of Texas. At the conference, students were exposed to emerging topics that included artifcial intelligence, augmented reality, blockchain implications, digital business models, digital tools to improve trust in information and cutting-edge video techniques. Tey heard from speakers that included executive editor of Washington Post Marty Baron, Buzzfeed’s editor-in-chief Ben Smith and Yusuf Omar, the founder of Hashtag Our Stories. Students also had a private meeting with personnel from Te New York Times to discuss internship opportunities. Te Texas State University Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) Robert Glaves Chapter has earned the Pacesetter Chapter Recognition by the PRSSA’s National Committee. Tey received the Outstanding Scholarly Program Award at the Boko Awards ceremony on April 11, 2018. Tis award honors one student organization best promoting academics and scholarship among its members and/or the Texas State community through a series, program, project, or event dedicated to the university and/or San Marcos community. Receiving the Pacesetter recognition and the Outstanding Scholarly Program Award are the most recent achievements for the Chapter, during what has been a busy and successful school year. Texas State University’s 2018 PRSSA Bateman Team was one of 20 teams nationally, and the only team in Texas, to receive honorable mention for its childhood cancer awareness campaign called “Break the Barrier.” Public relations seniors Kaley Consford , Emily Landaverde , Nicholas Laughlin , Michael Royal and Alana Zamora comprised this year’s team, advised by Chuck Kaufman . Among the 84 entries, there were three fnalists and 20 honorable mention teams in the national competition. ALUMNI ACCOLADES Meiyee Apple Tam (Mass Comm major/Teatre minor 2002) has been a national on-air DJ and reporter for XM Satellite radio in Washington, DC, as well as an actor in Los Angeles. She is currently in two episodes on the new Netfix show On My Block and in the Hallmark movie Te Beach House . She recently flmed a part in the Netfix movie Te Dirt , a biopic about Motley Crue. She 14 | April & May | College News has also appeared on the show Scorpion on CBS and has been in over 15 national commercials, including a promo with Dwayne “Te Rock” Johnson that will be out soon. SCHOOL ACCOLADES Te School of Journalism and Mass Communication launched the Student Ambassadors program in March, identifying outstanding students to represent the school at special events. Organized and advised by Assistant Director Gilbert D. Martinez, this inaugural class was selected based on the recommendations of faculty and faculty advisers. In April, these students attended the 2018 Barbara Jordan Media Awards, co-hosted by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities; met with journalism educators from Ethiopia as part of a U.S. State Department visit; and attended Bobcat Day and met prospective students and their parents. Te inaugural class of SJMC Student Ambassadors are Taylor Blowers , Zach Butler , Trista Castillo , Monique Flores , Alex Gibbs , Triston Giesie , Garfeld Harrison , Alannah Morales , Christina Noriega , Brooke Phillips , Laura Roach , Amani Seay , Katie Stone , Chandler Wilson , Undria Wilson and Alana Zamora . Te School of Journalism and Mass Communication hosted the Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities’ 35th annual Barbara Jordan Media Awards on April 26. Te awards are given to media professionals and students who have produced material for the public which accurately and positively reports on individuals with disabilities, using People First language and respectful depictions. Te School of Journalism and Mass Communication honored its brightest and best students at the 2018 Awards Ceremony on May 1. Proud parents, family members, faculty and staf joined in celebrating the scholars’ achievements. Quita Culpepper , SJMC alumna and KVUE television journalist, welcomed the crowd and served as the SJMC’s inaugural Michael S. “Mike” George lecture speaker. Te University Star staf members and contributors won multiple awards during the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association annual conference March 21-24. Te annual awards honor excellence in student media. Forty-four schools attended the annual conference in Dallas. HILL COUNTRY JAZZ FESTIVAL C3 The Center for Communication, Collaboration & Creativit y (C3) 4TH ANNUAL COSEARCH WEEKEND SET FOR SEPTEMBER 14-15: REGISTRATION NOW OPEN! CoSearch Weekend is a two-day intensive retreat where multi-disciplinary teams of researchers and artists will collaborate to develop research plans that will be supported by C3 and carried out over the upcoming academic year. Te goal is to break down academic silos and bridge research and creative activity to produce cutting-edge and possible grant- funded projects that unite researchers and artists from the University. Collaboration expert and social entrepreneur Greg Tehven, from Fargo, ND, is back to serve as the facilitator. CoSearch Weekend is for researchers and artists who are ready for a challenge and excited to collaborate. Want to know more about this innovative event? Check out the CoSearch Webpage! Ready to collaborate? Register for CoSearch Weekend here! HILL COUNTRY JAZZ FESTIVAL AWARDED $10,000 NEA ART WORKS GRANT Te team of Hank Hehmsoth and Dr. Keith Winking were awarded a $10,000 NEA Art Works grant to record and produce video interviews with Dan Morgenstern, a renowned Jazz scholar who has had unique frsthand experiences with legendary Jazz musicians. Te project will capture Morgenstern’s frst-hand recollections and decades-spanning scholarly research on Kansas City jazz, its big bands, as well as preeminent individual artists and their respective styles and notable innovations. Audio and video recordings of the interviews with Morgenstern will be archived at the university library’s Wittlif Collections, will be made available free of charge to educators, radio stations and the public, and will be featured on a dedicated website. * Photo by Russell Pankratz Photography College of Fine Arts and Communication | 15