January February 2023 College News

intentions-to-quit for faculty in higher education” in the journal Teaching and Teacher Education . Students in Stephanie’s graduate Organizational Communication course completed applied research projects for a Central Texas nonprofit, using secondary data to help diagnose communication issues and offer recommendations for increasing diversity, employee motivation, communicating uniqueness, and employee morale. Stephanie also received an $8,000 RED grant to fund "I Can’t Stop Thinking About My Kids: Exploring How Childcare Apps Affect Working Parents’ Well-Being." Elizabeth Eger and alum Tori Miller published "#RepresentationMatters on TV: A critical textual analysis of intersectional representation at work on NBC’s Superstore” in Feminist Media Studies . She welcomed Maria Freed of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) and Rex Long (Ph.D. student from TXST Anthropology and Doctoral Fellow of TXST's Translational Health Resource Center) to her COMM 5303 Qualitative Methods Graduate Seminar. The students in the class will work as co- researchers on a qualitative project on Texas rural community resiliency and libraries. Kristen Farris and alum Tobi Odunsi published “Predicting college students' preventative behavior during a pandemic: The role of the health belief model, source credibility, and health literacy” in a special issue of American Behavioral Scientist focused on health communication and the COVID-19 Pandemic. Marian Houser received a $16,000 REP grant to fund “Mental Health, Soft Skill, and Coping Strategies for First Responders." Wayne Kraemer and Ann Burnette joined other LBJ Museum of San Marcos board members in welcoming the Honorable Julian Castro to speak at the LBJ Museum Annual Gala. Wayne serves as the president of the board of directors for the museum, and Ann serves as the secretary. Roseann Mandziuk served as the 108th President of the National Communication Association. Her Presidential Address, "Enacting Conscience and Communicating Presence: Crafting NCA's Future," was delivered at the NCA national convention in New Orleans last November. [2] College of Fine Arts and Communication | 7 Josh Miller received the 2023 Janice Hocker Rushing Early Career Research Award from the Southern States Communication Association. He also received an $8,000 REP grant to fund "The Poor People’s Campaign Coalitional Leadership." Manu Pokharel published "Social media narratives can influence vaccine intentions: The impact of depicting regret and character death" in Computers in Human Behavior. STUDENT ACCOLADES Abigail Mellow earned the Thesis Research Support Fellowship from Texas State's Graduate College. This competitive award was granted to fund Abigail's research focusing on messages of parental rejection, and how supportive communication and resilience may facilitate improved outcomes (e.g., post-traumatic growth, anxiety, depression, relationship satisfaction) even in instances of parental rejection. [3] Kirara Nagatsuka placed in the finals for the 3-minute thesis competition. Her thesis is titled, "Am I not Japanese Enough? Socialization of Hafu in Japan and Their Mental Health." [4] The Communication Studies Graduate Student Association (CSGA) recently hosted their welcome back bowling event. SPEECH & FORENSICS The LBJ Debate Society and Elton Abernathy Forensics Society, Texas State’s competitive speech and forensics teams, competed at several events in the final months of the fall semester and earned many accolades. At the Fall Finale hosted by University of Nebraska- Lincoln, LD debaters Jacob Everett , Samantha Nava , Taylor Tate , and Jacob Graybill finished third place overall. Texas State's students outperformed schools from around the country, including North Texas, Truman State, Missouri Valley, Sacramento State, and Central Michigan. In addition, Jacob Everett and Taylor Tate qualified for the National Forensics Association national tournament in the spring. Students also earned individual accomplishments. Taylor Tate was the top speaker in the Junior Varsity