September 2020 College News

FACULTY ACCOLADES Susannah Bannon successfully defended her doctoral dissertation, “The Rhetoric of Second Chances: Formerly Incarcerated Activists and the Reentry Movement in the US South.” Michael Burns received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Service at the Assistant Professor/Lecturer rank. He led a Career Readiness workshop for Lasell University in Newton, Massachusetts. Based on the success of the Career Readiness Program he founded at Texas State, he served as consultant for them to help them start a university-wide program. In addition, “Thriving instead of surviving: The role of the reasoned action model in assessing the Basic Course” was accepted for publication in the Basic Communication Course Annual . The piece was co-authored with Kristen Farris , Mark Paz , and recent M.A. graduate, Sean Dyhre . Stephanie Dailey received the Linda L. Putnam Early Career Scholar Award, given by the International Communication Association. Elizabeth K. Eger continued her service with Austin Pets Alive! this summer. She is currently helping to relaunch an emergency boarding program that supports pet guardians experiencing temporary crises so that they do not have to relinquish their pets to an animal shelter, such as hospitalization, intimate partner violence, homelessness, rehab, and more. [ 1 ] Kristen Farris received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Assistant Professor rank. In addition, “Thriving instead of surviving: The role of the reasoned action model in assessing the Basic Course” was accepted for publication in the Basic Communication 1 2 3 Elizabeth K. Eger working with Austin Pets Alive! this summer Phillip G. Clampitt's e-book, Clear Thinking in Age of Hype, Nonsense, and Anxiety Alumna, Toni Morgan (M.A., 2016) 6 | September | College News COMMUNICATION STUDIES Communication Studies, Health Communication, Interpersonal Communication, Leadership Studies, Organizational Communication, Persuasive Communication, Political Communication, & Teacher Certif ication in Communication Studies Course Annual . The piece was co-authored with Michael Burns , Mark Paz , and recent M.A. graduate, Sean Dyhre . Kristen also co-presented with M.A. alum Laura Mallonee to the new and returning graduate instructional and teaching assistants at the Teaching and Learning Academy about "Best Practices for Teaching Online." Marian Houser was quoted in a recent article in The Guardian entitled, “I desperately miss human touch. Science may explain why.” The article can be found here. Maureen Keeley published “End of life and coping” in Qualitative Research Reports . The article was co-authored with M.A. alum Mark Generous . She published “Exploring the connection between end-of-life relational growth and personal growth after the death of a loved one” in the journal Omega , also with Mark Generous. Maureen published “An effective approach for difficult, end-of-life communication” in the journal Reflections on Nursing Leadership . She published a book chapter entitled “Families Interacting in the Health Care Context that will appear in Health Communication Theory . Maureen published a book chapter in the Handbook of Thanatology entitled “Dying process: An examination of theory, communication, culture, and ethics.” She was also interviewed for an article featured on Insider.com entitled “What are the stages of grief? How to process and deal with grief or loss.” The article can be found here. Roseann Mandziuk presented "Online Learning Paradigms in the US: A Brief Overview" as part of the International Webinar "Introduction to Multimedia and Mass Communication Tools: From Theory to Practice," organized by Indraprastha College for Women in Delhi, India. Josh Miller published “Seeding subversion and the Christian Reformed Church's study report on homosexuality” in Communication and Critical/ Cultural Studies . Manusheela Pokharel received the Gerald R. Miller Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award for “The Impact of Visual Message Features in Cancer Risk Communication.” ALUMNI ACCOLADES Jorlanditha Austin (M.A., 2020) recently began a Ph.D. program at Rutgers University. Phillip G. Clampitt (M.A., 1976) currently serves as Blair Endowed Chair of Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. He just released his e-book, Clear Thinking in Age of Hype, Nonsense, and Anxiety . The book proposes a tool to spark better thinking in a world filled with hype and anxiety. [ 2 ] Alan Grant (M.A., 2020) recently began a Ph.D. program at Texas A&M University. Kory Kelly (B.A., 2014, M.A., 2016) recently founded Legal Karma, a company that provides unique technological solutions to law firms so they can focus more energy on their clients. The company also set up the Legal Karma Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing their products free of charge to other non-profits and attorneys that focus on social justice, racial justice, and criminal justice reform. Lauren Lee (M.A., 2020) recently began a Ph.D. program at Rutgers University. Toni Morgan (M.A., 2016) completed her Ph.D. at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and began her new position as an Assistant Professor in the Communication and Media Studies discipline at St. Norbert College in De Pere, WI. [ 3] Michael Tahmoressi (M.A., 2020) recently began a Ph.D. program at Rutgers University. College of Fine Arts and Communication | 7 Ann Burnette received the Regents’ Teacher Award. This award is given to exceptional teachers for their outstanding performance as educators, contributions to the development of courses, and use of innovative teaching methods. REGENTS ' TEACHER