March_CollegeNews_25

12 | March | College News College of Fine Arts and Communication | 13 JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION Advertising, Digital Media Innovation, Electronic Media , Mass Communication, Journalism, & Public Relations FACULTY ACCOLADES Larry Carlson is in his fifth year as senior writer for The History of Longhorn Sports (texaslsn.org) . He has contribut- ed more than one hundred articles, columns and podcasts. Larry will, for the third straight year, interview coaches and players at SEC Media Days in July, posting multiple reports during four days of sessions in Atlanta. Carlson's March podcast is with Eugene Powell, a UT football player from the Darrell Royal era who later became chairman of the University of Texas Board of Regents. Mike Devlin received the Billy I. Ross Advertising Edu- cation Award from the American Academy of Advertising. This award recognizes innovative contributions in the classroom and the dissemination of such work to advertising educators that advances advertising education. Established in 2002, this prestigious award is only given at the discretion of the selection committee, with just seven recipients to date. [1] PR Faculty Join Board of PRSA Austin Three members of the PR faculty have joined the 2025 board of directors for PRSA Austin: Assistant Professor of Practice Debra Price is serving as President-Elect, Assistant Professor of Practice Paul Villagran is Director-at-Large for Member- ship, and Assistant Professor of Practice Sam Heimbach is the Texas State University Student Liaison. We are proud of our faculty members for their service to the PR industry and the Austin chapter of the Public Relations Society of Amer- ica. Major League Soccer Panel at PR Day Paul Villagran hosted a notable four-person panel during PR Day with the PR, marketing, and sports pros who led the effort to bring Major League Soccer to Austin with the establishment of Austin FC. The panel included Dave Gree- ley, who has spent a career working with major league sports teams and was the lead for pitching the City of Austin. SJMC alum Kristin Marcum , the owner and CEO of the ECPR Texas public relations firm; SJMC alum Marty Butler , the founder and chief creative officer of the Butler branding and marketing agency; and Jeremiah Bentley, co- host of Moontower Soccer , the official podcast of Austin FC. [2] 1 2 3 Mike Devlin (center) received the Billy I. Ross Advertising Education Award from the American Academy of Advertising Kristin Marcum (left) and Dave Greeley (right) spoke at a Major League Soccer Panel at PR Day The Texas State CommCats team created the ROAR4Libraries campaign STUDENT ACCOLADES PR Students Compete in National Bateman Competition Two teams of PR students are competing in the national PRSSA Bateman Case Study Competition and have imple- mented strategic communication campaigns for EveryLibrary, a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting libraries. The Bobcats for Books team put together a robust media and program campaign, including a front- page article on the San Marcos Daily Record , Facebook, Instagram, Bobcat Update , and multiple pro- grams, reaching more than 17,124 people. The students engaged with the general community through the San Marcos Public Li- brary and students on the Quad.  A primary focus of the campaign saluted positive steps locally in battling book banning, one of EveryLibrary’s key agenda items. The Bobcats for Books team includes Riley Andrus ,  Jordan Pavelko , Rachel Epstein and Sydney Flores . The facul- ty advisor is Professor of Instruction Chuck Kaufman , and the professional advisor is TXST alum Charlcee Cervantez , digital communications and outreach manager for the College of Education. The Texas State CommCats team created the ROAR4Li- braries campaign to mobilize communities and lawmakers in defense of libraries along the I-35 corridor from Austin to San Antonio. Highlights included a research study at the Texas Book Festival in Austin, an advocacy booth at the African American Book Festival in San Antonio, and a community event at the Round Rock Public Library that included speeches from government and civic leaders. Social media for the ROAR4Libraries campaign garnered 43,879 impressions, 24,116 video views, and 2,714 engagements across all platforms, and the team also received 457 pledges from individuals in support of libraries. The CommCats team includes D’Aaron Castle , Andrea Estela Pabon , Marrah Fuentes , Jasmine Lozoya , and Saliyah M. Parker . The faculty advisor is Debra Price , and the professional advisor is TXST alum Angel Leverett , Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Austin Habitat for Humanity. [3] DEPARTMENT ACCOLADES The Advertising program and SJMC, partnered with Her Campus Media to bring the Lancôme x Olivia Rodrigo Bus to Texas State University's San Marcos campus. The event was a huge suc- cess with lines wrapping around the quad. The bus stopped at UCLA the week before visiting TXST and ended at UT-Austin the day after. The School of Journalism and Mass Communication for the 10th year partnered with SXSW as 26 undergraduate and graduate comprised the SXSW Content Crew. Under the leadership of Dale Blasingame , the students covered the 2025 SXSW conference and Film & TV and Music festivals for the SXSW Content team. They captured photo and video content, coordinated content delivery and tran- scribed key moments from keynotes, featured sessions, film screening Q&As and other event programming for usage on official SXSW social media accounts. Cheers to the Advertising majors who won "Addy's" at this year's San Antonio Advertising Awards show. Desaree Ochoa won a gold Addy. Juliet Cano picked up a silver Addy. Dan- nie Rodriguez , Lainey Enloe , Wiski Ignacio , and Michael Ybarra all took home bronze Addys. Collectively their work won in three different categories; the transit poster campaign, traditional print campaign, outdoor campaign, and the 360 campaign. Their work was created and revised in Gene Brenek's Ad Copy and Layout course under his direction. Desaree Ochoa's and Juliet Cano's transit campaigns will move on to compete in the district Addys.