March 2017 College News

FACULTY ACCOLADES Steven Beebe presented the keynote speech at the Central States Communication Association Undergraduate Honors Conference titled “Are You A Sprinter, Wanderer or Straggler?: Communicating Well to Enhance Your Future” in Minneapolis. While at CSCA, he was also honored at a Presidential Spotlight Scholar presentation focusing on the work of a noteworthy scholar who has had great success as a leader in the communication discipline. Steven published “Connecting C. S. Lewis and Communication: Principles and Practices,” in the Journal of Communication Ethics, Religion and Culture . Steven will present an upcoming half-day workshop, “A Leader’s Skill in Listening” for the San Marcos Leadership Program in April. Tricia Burke and co-authors currently have “Channel Complementarity and Multiplexity in Long-distance Friends’ Patterns of Communication Technology Use” in press with the journal New Media & Society . Tricia is also a nominee for the Presidential Distinction Award in Scholarly/Creative Activity at Texas State. Michael Burns was the keynote speaker at the Texas Learning Community Consortium conference. He presented, “Lessons from the Old Dude in the Dorm,” in which he shared insights about his experiences as a faculty in residence and how the experience has enhanced the quality of his teaching. Residence life and first year experience professionals from around Texas participated in the conference. Michael’s sport communication course featured guest speaker Susan Hazzard, Director of Public Relations for United States Track and Field. Ms. Hazzard spoke about the value of building relationships in the sport industry. 1 2 3 Adam Tristan, Seleste Mills, Marian Houser, and Emma Carberry at the LLC Conference Alumnus Rob Patterson (B.A. 1986) Dr. Leah Bryant giving her presentation at Comm Week 2017 4 | March | College News COMMUNICATION STUDIES Communication Studies, Health Communication, Interpersonal Communication, Leadership Studies, Organizational Communication, Persuasive Communication, Political Communication, & Teacher Certif ication in Communication Studies Stephanie Dailey and Tricia Burke published “Let’s work out: Communication in workplace wellness programs” in the International Journal of Workplace Health Management . Stephanie also had exceptional guest lectures given to her social media in organizations class given by Dale Blasingame of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and Kayli Head, owner of The Bloom Bar. STUDENT ACCOLADES M.A. students Adam Tristan , Emma Carberry , and Seleste Mills delivered a training presentation to the State of Texas Learning Community Consortium as part of Marian Houser’s communication assessment course. [ 1 ] They presented the results of a 2-year study of the living-learning communities at Texas State and guided participants in a training of “Methods to Assess Goals” in learning communities across the country. ALUMNI ACCOLADES Rob Patterson (B.A. 1986) [ 2 ] is an assistant professor at the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce where he teaches management communication. He also serves on the Executive Council of the Faculty Senate and chairs the Senate’s finance committee. COMM WEEK 2017 This year’s Communication Week featured an incredibly diverse lineup of speakers and events. Pam Cox, vice president of communications for Whataburger, was this year’s spotlight speaker. The Alumni of the Year award was presented to Dr. Leah Bryant, associate professor of communication at DePaul University. [ 3] Dr. Bryant spoke about her research regarding communication challenges in relationships and the “dark side” of communication. Joe Hamlin, director of partnerships for the Cleveland Browns, spoke on breaking into the sports industry. Seamus Nelson, director of operations of the San Antonio Humane Society
, delivered a talk on small groups in the workplace. Dr. Suzanne Enck, associate professor of communication studies at University of North Texas, gave a presentation on media criticism. Dr. Jesse Fox, assistant professor of communication at The Ohio State University, spoke about relationships and social media. COMM Week also featured panels focusing on the job search and several successful alumni took part in these panels. Owners of several popular local businesses spoke on innovative approaches to entrepreneurship. Another panel featured alumni discussing “Advocacy in Society.” Also included was a “Speed Networking” session where students met with professionals from several different fields for ten minutes each; the panel mimicked a speed-dating event. COMMWeek concluded with a “Block Party” where everyone was invited to meet with the Communication Studies Department and other departments on campus. The department wishes to thank the exceptional members of the COMMWeek Committee: Marian Houser , Michael Burns , Sue Stewart , Jeremy Hutchins , Rebekah Fox , and student intern, Caleb Ritchie for their efforts in coordinating these outstanding events. College of Fine Arts and Communication | 5 The spotlight speaker for this year’s Comm Week was Pam Cox (SJMC 1992), vice president of communications for Whataburger Restaurants. Pam joined Whataburger in 2001 and has spent the last 12 years developing and overseeing the implementation of the corporate communications strategy. She has been responsible for directing all internal communications activities, special events and meetings, public relations and social media efforts for the company. During Comm Week, Pam shared insights from her experiences overseeing charitable giving, social media, public relations, internal communications, meeting and event planning, and multimedia service and support. #COMMWEEK2017