November & December 2015 College News

Faculty Accolades Kate Peirce-Burleson completed the Advanced Online Teaching Certificate Program through the Online Learning Consortium. She was reappointed editor of the Southwestern Mass Communication Journal and secretary of the Board of Directors at the 2015 meeting of the Southwest Education Council for Journalism and Mass Communication. Eight members of the KTSW 89.9 Executive Committee and KTSW general manager Dan Schumacher attended the College Broadcasters Inc. National Student Electronic Media Convention in Minneapolis, on October 21- 24, 2015, sitting in on a multitude of panels and sessions, networking with professionals, and walking away with recognition as f inalists in the awards categories of Best Audio Sports Play-by-Play and Best Audio Promo (Promotional Announcement). In addition, Dan Schumacher , served as the narrator for the video commemorating the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Higher Education Act. Dr. Vanessa de Macedo Higgins Joyce was named a 2015 Alpha Chi Favorite Professor, a student-nominated award. Student Accolades Sergio Carvajal has won The Graduate College’s Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award in Digital Scholarship. His thesis, “The Texan Italian Stories Documentary Series: Fostering Social Connections Among Members Of A Geo-Ethnic Community Through The Process Of Media Creation” was directed by Dr. Sandy Rao . Sergio will receive $500 and will be recognized at The Graduate College’s Awards Ceremony next April. He is also entered into the Southern Conference of Graduate School’s competition for best master’s theses in his category. Mass Communication Master student Joshua Morrison presented two top papers at the National JOURNALISM & MASS COMMUNICATION Communication Association conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. “Performing Life Itself: Towards a Performative Turn in Fame” and “ “Shining Stars: A Call for the Incorporation of Celebrity Studies in Rhetorical Scholarship.” Mass Communication Master student Rebecca Silvas presented “Strategic Tweets for Hunger Relief ” at the Southwest Education Council for Journalism and Mass Communication Symposium. Bobcat Promotions is taking its second Professional Development Tour in New York Jan. 11-16. The twelve students participating in the week-long trip will visit public relations executives and officials with Edelman, Cohn & Wolfe, Weber Shandwick, the United Nations, the 911 Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art. The group will also meet with SJMC alumni working in New York for networking. The dates of the trip coincide with the Ad Club’s trip to New York. The student-run firm also recently won a new client, Bobcat Nation Sports Bar. For more information visit www. bobcatpromotions.com. KTSW 89.9 staff attended the Associated College Press/College Media Association Student Harry Bowers and students at Fox 29 in San Antonio Media Convention in Austin, on October 29-31, 2015, and the Texas Association of Broadcasters Southwest Broadcast Newsroom Workshop in Austin, on November 7, 2015. The KTSW 89.9 staff produced 24 hours of special programming on Friday, October 2nd as part of College Radio Day, a national event organized to draw attention to the important contributions of college radio. College Magazine ranked KTSW the #9 college radio station in the country: http://www. collegemagazine.com/cms-top-16-college-radio- stations/ C3 We are very excited to have Ruthi Caldwell as part of the C3 team! As a research coordinator, Ruthi provides services to faculty related to proposal development for grants and contracts while Lisa Westerbeck assists with helping faculty manage their funded awards. With a MA in Communication and BA in Theatre, Ruthi brings skills and experience in grant writing, coordinating, and project management. In her last position with the Texas Hospital Association in Austin, she helped set up the planning and project management side of a $2M federal Medicaid project. Prior to that, she worked as a Grant Coordinator and State Lead for workforce related healthcare and disability grants for the State of Hawaii, and as a Disability Navigator for the Texas Workforce Commission in Austin. If you have an idea for research and need help getting started, email: Ruthi.Caldwell@txstate.edu. C3 Research Coordinator, Ruthi Caldwell Mass Communication Master student, Joshua Morrison