ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION ALUMNI NEWSLETTER

Hello, Redbirds! OVERVIEW: Julie Navickas honored with teaching Welcome to our annual School of Communication alumni newsletter! I am Dr. Steve Hunt, the Executive Director of the School of Communication award (SoC). I am absolutely thrilled to present this 2019 edition of our newsletter. It RSO Spotlight: Forensics Union is packed with exciting highlights that have occurred during the past year and WGLT expereince exciting changes that are still happening as we move toward 2020. Four new tenure faculty join the

With the fall semester in full swing, everyone in the SoC has been extremely School of Communication busy working on ways to maximize our ability to serve our awesome students. TV-10 recieves nine Silver Dome And, oh yeah, all of our faculty are busy teaching too! Some of the highlights in this newsletter include blurbs about our new awesome faculty, some amazing Awards work our student organizations are doing, and other exciting changes and WZND continues award-winning additions to the School. streak It seems like there is never a dull moment in Fell Hall, so with this newsletter School of Communication welcomes we try to convey just a snapshot of some of things we are doing. As always, our new instructional faculty focus is our students, so the material in this newsletter concerns just some of the ways we are trying to educate,connect, and elevate our students. Aimee Miller-Ott takes on new role as Graduate Program coordinator W e hope you enjoy this 2019 issue. If you have questions, concerns, suggestions, or if you just want to chat, please don’t hesitate to contact me or RSO Spotlight: Public Relations anyone else in the SoC. We are super pumped about what we are doing and Student Society of America (PRSSA) even more excited about our future. So we invite you to check out the stories School of Communication provides in this newsletter, and we also invite you to come visit us on campus! relevant resources for students to

Sincerely, succeed Dr. Stephen K. Hunt Director of the School of Communication Julie Navickas Communication, and honored with Elizabeth Chupp, director of teaching award Advisement for the school. By Elena Roth As a first-generation college Julie Navickas ’07, M.S. ’10, M.S. student, Navickas graduated ’18, was recently honored with from State with a the Excellence Award for Bachelor of Science. An Outstanding Teaching by an accomplished academic, Administrative Professional Navickas earned a master’s in through the College of Arts and communication and a master’s Sciences (CAS) at Illinois State in English studies from Illinois Julie Navickas State. She worked in the University. This award, as a part Reflecting back on her time at nonprofit sector before of the College’s annual Illinois State, Navickas stated: “I returning to Illinois State in recognition ceremony, is among started my academic career 2013 as an academic advisor the highest honors bestowed here and I found a home here on and lecturer in the School of upon an administrative campus in 2006, and here in Communication. professional by the college. 2019 I’m still here in the same This is a peer-determined Her teaching style utilizes a place, in the same building, with award that recognizes and blended approach, infusing her the same people, and there’s a rewards the administrative advising into the classroom. In reason for that. This place is professional with the most each class, she helps students genuinely the best experience extraordinary record of find the utility in the lessons I’ve ever had and one of the best teaching in the prior three that is easily translated into the decisions I’ve ever made.” years. Navickas was nominated world by “creating a classroom Navickas is a true Redbird at for this award by Steve Hunt, environment that’s holistic, heart. “I love this place. I’m the executive director of Illinois inclusive, and making sure that going to be a Redbird forever.” State’s School of everyone is having a positive experience.”

RSO Spotlight: Forensics Union By Elena Roth Illinois State’s Forensics Union is gearing up for what promises to be a challenging and exciting season. The team boasts approximately 40 members between speech and debate, a larger team than past years. ISU’s team is a nationally recognized forensics team with 10 national team championships and over 80 individual titles in its history. Forensics at Illinois State offers Lincoln- Douglas policy debate as well as individual speaking events competition in interpretation, public speaking, and limited preparation genres. Being a part of the team provides members opportunities to travel across the nation and become eligible for partial tuition waivers and scholarships. According to the Director of Forensics Megan Koch, “the forensics team members have set the

Forensics Union members at a competition. goal of earning over 100 qualifications for National Forensics Association (NFA) Nationals in April.” Despite this high number, the team members are determined to maintain their focus on producing quality events, not just quantity. Competition has already begun, and a couple debate team members have already experienced success by qualifying for their national tournament. ISU’s main competition will include and Western Kentucky. Both of these schools have a greater financial advantage than Illinois State, but what the “forensics team lacks in financial support, we can match on quality,” promises Koch. IThe team is excited to see what other teams are working on and compete in an environment that is sure to be tough. Follow their progress this season by visiting their website at casit.IllinoisState.edu/sites/forensics/. WGLT experiences exciting new changes By Joseph Zompetti

This means that both stations will still retain their separate call letters and FM frequencies, but the programmatic, personnel, and financial operations will be streamlined.

According to Executive Director of the School of Communication Steve Hunt this relationship “benefits both stations and WGLT microphones universities, but it also shows how WGLT’s success has made it uniquely For the past year, WGLT, ISU’s NPR poised to be a leader for Illinois radio.” affiliate housed under the School of Communication, has experienced WGLT’s recent success transcends its significant changes and is anticipating leadership position and capability to exciting new opportunities on the horizon. secure local programming. This unique moment for WGLT includes a recently merging with another station, At the 2019 Illinois State Civic securing prestigious awards, and hosting a Engagement Celebration, WGLT was special “Radio Faces” event. honored with the Unit/Department Award for civic engagement. WGLT and On June 1, 2019, WGLT assumed the School of Communication are operations of the Bradley University radio extremely proud to have been recognized station, WCBU-FM in Peoria. Because for WGLT’s outstanding contributions to WGLT has seen remarkable success in the civic engagement and demonstrating the last seven years by preserving local university’s core value. programming and news and WCBU was at risk of losing its localism, the merger Lastly, WGLT is proud to announce it will seemed like a promising idea that has now be hosting its annual “Radio Faces” event become a reality. that features a nationally-acclaimed NPR WGLT General Manager R. C. McBride correspondent. This year WGLT invited explains, “Operational roles will be Korva Coleman, who has been with NPR combined with staff in Bloomington- since 1990 and currently serves as a Normal, but there will be staff committed newscaster, most often heard during solely to WCBU and they will be housed “.” For more information on Bradley’s campus.” or to become involved, please visit the WGLT webpage. Four new tenure- With a Ph.D. in rhetoric and Andrew Ventimiglia, Ph.D. track faculty join public culture from Indiana Ventimiglia received his Ph.D. in School of University-Bloomington, Craig cultural studies from the Communication is excited to create courses at University of California, Davis. By Tessa Konzal ISU that align with his own He wanted to have flexibility interests and areas of study, Ashley Hall, Ph.D. between disciplines to explore which include how rap music unusual topics, and this Ashley Hall is a firm believer and discussions around it can program allowed him the that her students will teach her inform the way we talk about freedom to bring his own as much as she teaches them. race and the way race works research questions and figure She is currently teaching within the study of rhetoric. things out from there. He was African American rhetoric and able to create research that communication criticism at ISU Roth Smith, Ph.D. combines media, religion, and and is on track to become a Roth Smith is a new tenure- law to understand how owners tenured professor. Hall track assistant professor in the of religious media use their received her Ph.D. in School of Communication. He media property to create a communication from University received his Ph.D. from the community and distribute ideas. of Pittsburgh and her research University of Texas, where he focuses on African American completed his dissertation on Ventimiglia is excited to be able rhetoric, specifically black an informal group of BMX to develop a media law class women’s communication. bikers that organized to build that is attuned to the contemporary issues that Byron Craig, Ph.D. dirt jumps in the middle of downtown Austin. His other students will face with digital Byron Craig has come to the research includes studies of and social media. He School of Communication at innovation and disaster-related understands that studying Illinois State to share his research in the aftermath of media is much like aiming at a knowledge and experiences Hurricane Harvey. moving target; everything can with students through the lens and will change, but he believes of race and rhetoric. that is what makes it fun.

The School of Communication is excited to welcome these new faculty members into the close-knit community of students and teachers, committed to the highest standards of academic excellence.

Andrew Ashley Hall, Ph.D. Byron Craig, Ph.D. Roth Smith, Ph.D. Ventimiglia, Ph.D. TV-10 News produces eight live shows a week, TV-10 recieves nine Silver consisting of five newscasts and three specialty shows. No other collegiate news station in Illinois Dome Awards produces this amount of shows each week. With By Elena Roth approximately 100 students in the program, the newsroom operates from 7:30 a.m. until 11 p.m., and there are three shifts of students working every day.

Students work in five-hour shifts. “They take the story from idea to completion within that five hours. What that does is tell future news directors and future employers that they can grind it out and get things done,” Trendle Polus said.

Trendle Polus, with the help of Joseph Blaney, Ph.D., associate dean for Research, Facilities, and IT in the College of Arts and Sciences, has formed a Students in TV-10 studio partnership with Univision, a Spanish-language television station located in Chicago. Through this The Illinois Broadcasters Association recently partnership, students have the opportunity to awarded Student Silver Dome awards to TV-10 create and execute news stories. News, consisting of two first places, five second TV-10 just completed its third story for Univision, places, and two third places for entire shows and all of which are about various aspects of Latino life individual work. Laura Trendle Polus ’87, M.S. ’00, at Illinois State. “The idea is to capture the attention the director of TV-10 News, expressed her of prospective Hispanic students and their families excitement at this remarkable accomplishment. TV- through stories and news about ISU and its Latino 10 has more finalists than any other television community,” said Ana Belmonte, a social media program in the state. Trendle Polus has taught at manager and graduate assistant for the Univision Illinois State in the School of Communication since partnership. 1997 and has been director of TV-10 News since 2003. Her leadership and guidance have been key to For more info about TV-10 and how to become the success of the Illinois State University news involved, visit its website at program. Communication.IllinoisState.Edu/GetInvolved/tv10/.

WZND continues award-winning streak By Joseph Zompetti Additionally, WZND was recognized at During the Illinois Broadcasters the International Awards with Association (IBA) awards season, hundreds of entries from around the WZND swept the categories. The world. Specifically, WZND had a station had 17 award finalist Finalist Nominee (Top 3) for Best nominations and secured three of Recorded Promo (by Derek Tilli and those top spots. This meant that Lachlan McArthur-Self), as well as a WZND achieved twice as many Finalist Nominee (Top 3) for Best awards than any other radio Student Media Website (by Kait Mayer program in the state. Student working in WZND office. and Kaeleigh Kreis).

WZND has been experiencing a WZND was also a finalist in eight For more information about WZND, “record” breaking year! On state, different categories for the College contact Deb Lesser at national, and international levels, Broadcaster, Inc. awards in 2018 [email protected] or visit the WZND WZND represents Illinois State and 2019. This was more than any website at University as one of the best other college radio program in the Communication.IllinoisState.Edu/Get college radio stations in the country. country for two years straight. Involved/wznd/. School of Communication I’m really eager about it. I also how people overcome grief by love the open attitudes here.” welcomes new communicating it with others. Hernandez is also really instructional faculty looking forward to building She loves Illinois State By Faith Pedersen bonds with coworkers as well University, because she feels as her students. Jessa Hendricker (’17, M.S. ’19) that “ISU is a safe and is very excited to be a part of welcoming diverse Abbie Paul (’90, M.S. ’19) the ISU faculty in the School of community” and enjoys the obtained both her bachelor’s Communication. She is environment here. and master’s degree at Illinois currently an instructor for Alyssa Hernandez (’17, M.S. State University. Her focus in Communication 110. ’19), another new addition to education and research leans toward interpersonal Hendricker’s main areas of the SoC faculty, teaches the research are in Instructional courses Introduction to communication as well as Communication and Communication and social emotional learning and Interpersonal Communication. Interpersonal Communication. empathy. Her focus is studying how Her areas of research are in As an instructor, Paul aims to communication can be used in Hispanic disclosure, and she better prepare her students for the classroom between also wants to focus on doing the future after graduating. She students and teachers. studies that shed light on hopes that students not only go Hendricker also studies how minorities. Hernandez enjoys to college to meet the connections with others can be working with narrative work requirements, but to also gain a formed and maintained and and the impact that it has on wealth of knowledge from their studying where they connect. others. experiences. She is currently focusing on the When asked what she liked Graduate Teacher’s Assistant She noted, “ISU’s staff is most about Illinois State training program and working to incredible and so helpful not only University and the School of better facilitate relationships towards fellow instructors but Communication, Hernandez between mentors and mentees more importantly towards said, “When it comes to the in the classroom. students. ISU faculty also care a School of Communication, I lot towards their students and Hendricker is also studying the love the content especially the their needs 100 percent.” impacts of grief and research and

The School of Communication is excited to welcome these new instructors into the close-knit community of students and teachers, committed to the highest standards of academic excellence.

Jessa Hendricker (’17, M.S. ’19) Alyssa Hernandez (’17, M.S. ’19) Abbie Paul (’90, M.S. ’19) Associate Professor Aimee coordinators have done immense work to make Miller-Ott takes on new role as this program as strong as it is, but I love thinking of Graduate Program coordinator new ways to make the program even better.” In By Elena Roth keeping with that, there are a couple changes she is initiating within the SoC, including streamlining This fall, Associate the registration process for graduate students and Professor Aimee Miller- creating a cohesive community designed to help Ott, Ph.D. (pictured left), graduate students flourish. In addition to these began her new role as the changes, Miller-Ott is also focused on putting a Graduate Program spotlight on the mental health of graduate coordinator for the students by putting together workshops that “help School of students learn how to manage the stress that Communication. comes along with grad school to help them The core responsibilities of the coordinator include succeed in the program and finish their degree.” recruiting undergraduate students, advising the She hopes the students and faculty appreciate Graduate School Association, scheduling workshops, the new perspective she brings to the position advising first-year graduate students, and handling and the changes she’s implementing for the administrative tasks. benefit of the graduate students in the program. Miller-Ott is proud to serve as the coordinator for one Miller-Ott loves being able to connect with of the top master’s-only programs in the nation, students beyond the classroom. She enjoys having received the 2013 Outstanding Master’s Program by the National Communication Association. taking on the role of an advisor to students The professionally active faculty within the School of because it allows her a unique opportunity to Communication are ranked in the top 10 for guide graduate students during the first year of productivity by the Communication Institute for their program. “ Online Scholarship. For more information regarding the School of Miller-Ott is excited to bring a different perspective Communication graduate program, visit to this role. “Previous graduate Communication.IllinoisState.edu/Graduate. Illinois State’s School of Communication provides relevRaSnOt r eSspoourtcliegsh fot:r Pstuubdelinct sR teol asuticocenesd Student Society By Joosfe pAh mZomepreitctia (PRSSA) By Elena Roth Illinois State’s chapter of Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) is the foremost organization for students interested in public relations and communication. It is an award-winning and nationally recognized registered student organization.

With approximately 40 dues-paying members, Illinois State’s chapter is both one of the most active organizations nationally, as well as one of the largest PRSSA chapters countrywide. PRSSA members on an agency tour.

The current president of PRSSA, Megan Pellock, stated “our major goal is to help students grow professionally through The roomo ipsp ao mrtulntitfaiecse stuedch s paas cweo frokrs shtoupdse, nstpse taok werosr, ka gweinthcy t etochunrso,l aosg yw welilt ahs w nhaitciohn tahle ayn md irgehgti onnoat lo ctohnefrewreisnec heas.v”e P aecllcoecsks ,e snuccohu arsaged studio boaoltuhms,n mi tiocr coopnhtoancte sth, cea cmhearpatse,r a inf dth gerye earne s icnrteeernes.t Ceda rinp ebnetceorm’s itnega minv soolovne dle saaryniendg ,t “hWate t haree m aolwbailyes f uloronkitiunrge f omra gkueess itt sap veearkyers for popular roouorm w; einesktlryu mcteoertsi anngds, satsu wdenllt a asp pprroefceisastieo nthael daebvileitlyo ptom menotv we oarkosuhnodp osn. We aen lootvhee gre, attnidn git t por coovnidneesc ta wunitihq uaelu lmeanrin oinf Igllinois State environmaenndt .hOevaer ra tbhoeu pt athste yire eaxr,p Iellriineonicse Sst!a”te has transformed into what is known as an Adobe Campus. This means students have access toT moo lerea rAnd moboere f eaabtouurte IsS tUh’asn P mRSoSstA o cthhaepr tsecrh aonodls h, ionwcl tuod ibnegc cormeaet iinvveo cllvoeudd a ssu aitne as,l uvmidneio, vainsdit sisouupnrds sead.citoinmg., graphic design, prototyping and app design. Illinois State’s School of Communication provides relevant resources for students to succeed By Joseph Zompetti

In response, the SoC was able to launch the Communication Innovation Center (CIC), which is located in 280 Fell Hall. The room is a multifaceted space for students to work with technology with which they might not otherwise have access, such as studio booths, microphones, cameras, and green screens.

Carpenter’s team soon learned that the mobile furniture makes it a very popular room; instructors and student appreciate the ability to move around one Redbird Plaza behind Fell Hall another, and it provides a unique learning environment. The School of Communication is involved in the ever- changing art that concerns media while also exploring Over the past year, Illinois State has transformed into how that media are distributed through a wide array of what is known as an Adobe Campus. This means technological platforms. Director of Convergent Media students have access to more Adobe features than most Nathan Carpenter, Ph.D., gave some insight to his other schools, including creative cloud suites, video and position: “I’m here to foster connections and sound editing, graphic design, prototyping and app relationships among our different media outlets and to design. Another new feature in the SoC is a 50 terabyte direct the growth and keep my eyes peeled for changes media server, which can share assets between anyone in in the larger media ecosystem and try to find ways to the CIC or in TV-10. This means students no longer have provide resources that will help all of our organizations to wait for something to download onto their computer. grow and benefit.”

Recently, the SoC secured funding to renovate two labs He also teaches a course called Communication in Fell Hall to create more multifunctional spaces like the Technologies and Impacts, where students study the CIC. This will make it easier for students in intense relationship between social media and larger design and programming classes to follow along and society.One large part of this is the Social Media have a more hands-on experience. The plans will be Analytics Command Center, or SMACC lab, which has finalized by the spring semester, with a goal to have the now been running for five years. “The goal of the renovations completed by fall 2020. SMACC lab is to collect, visualize, analyze, and present social media data in ways that are useful and beneficial Technology is constantly changing, so Carpenter and his for research and education and client work that team must work hard to stay on the cutting edge and students and faculty might be doing,” Carpenter provide relevant resources for students, with the explained. They also do large scale research, such as ultimate goal of fostering convergence. analyzing conversations and posts leading up to the 2016 election.

There was a challenge to provide resources to students who are not involved in campus media programs such as TV-10 and WZND.