News & Events 2016

November 2016

Student News

PRSSA chapter wins national award for Communication Department newsletter

Weber State's PRSSA brought home two national chapter awards from the Public Relations Student Society of America's National Conference held in Indianapolis in October. The chapter captured an award for its newsletter that it produces for Communication students at least twice a semester. Additionally, it won a STAR award, given to chapters that satisfy activities to further the professional development of student members and the profession. Be sure to check out the latest edition of this award-winning newsletter prepared for Communication students and those interested in Communication this month. It can be found at https://issuu.com/weberstateuniversityprssa/docs/the_peak_november_16_3/1.

Digital Media student hopes video lands him internship with Jimmy Fallon

Digital Media student Nick Garrett is vying for an internship at “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and is hoping a parody video will help him get it. The video is a remake of the introduction to Fallon’s show, but instead of New York City, it features Salt Lake City. Garrett plays the role of Fallon in his parody video. He found Utah locations that look similar to the New York City spots in Fallon’s intro, and he lists his qualities that match the job posting in lieu of the guest stars’ names that appear in the original. Garrett should know soon whether he made the second round of interviews. His video can be viewed at https://www.ksl.com/?sid=41854620.

Chapters of Hispanic, Black Journalists to meet Wednesday

The Weber State University chapters of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and National Association of Black Journalists will meet Wednesday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m. in The Signpost office. Interested students are welcome to attend. For more information, contact adviser Jean Norman at jeannorman@weber.edu.

Society of Professional Journalists elects student leaders

The campus chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists elected Charles Bowker as president and Cydnee Green as vice president. Bowker replaces former president Michael Grennell, who moved from Utah this fall, and Green fills Bowker's position as vice president. Other officers include Kellie Plumhof, secretary/treasurer, and Harrison Epstein, program coordinator.

SPJ chapter hosts four speakers in November

The Society of Professional Journalists campus chapter also hosts the following speakers: Nov. 1, media law attorney Jeff Hunt, EH 406, 9 a.m.; Nov. 1, Salt Lake Tribune sports writer Kyle Goon, EH 323, 1:30 p.m.; Nov. 17, Emery Smith, recruiter for Deseret Digital Media on resume preparation and internships, SU 321, 1:30 p.m.; Dec. 1, Jean Norman, "Finding Your Writing Voice," SU 321, 1:30 p.m. All students are welcome to attend.

The Signpost now delivered to three Ogden high schools

Students at Ogden High, Ben Lomond High and George Washington High in Ogden have started receiving The Signpost at their schools. The Signpost now delivers 400 newspapers to the three schools as part of a push by the Ogden School District to get high schoolers to prepare for college. The partnership was coordinated through former Signpost Editor-in-Chief Skyler Pyle, who works for the school district.

The Signpost accepting applications for Spring Semester

The Signpost is accepting applications for Spring Semester. To apply, download the application at http://signpost.mywebermedia.com/ and click on Staff Application in the bar at the top of the page. Email it to Editor-in-Chief Charles Bowker, cbowk.91@gmail.com, or adviser Jean Norman, jeannorman@weber.edu.

Let adviser know if you’re interested in sports journalism

Students interested in becoming sports journalists should contact Jean Norman at jeannorman@weber.edu. The Communication Department is working on a new program for sports reporting. Dr. Norman will suggest courses for Spring 2017 that will work with this new program if it goes into effect in Fall 2017.

Weber State debaters present two sides of argument to Ogden City Council

Weber State debaters presented “Resolved: Ogden City should counter urban blight” for members of the Ogden City Council on Oct. 25. Salma Medina, a sophomore in nursing, argued in the affirmative while Adrian Raso, a sophomore in political science, argued in the negative. Debate Coach Omar Guevara was accompanied by two student coaches: Liz Dela Cruz, graduate student in the Master of Professional Communication program, and Bianca Morales, a senior in Communication.

PR and Advertising student lands job with crowdfunding agency

Pascal Friedman, a Public Relations and Advertising major, has landed a PR job after graduation. He will work as a PR and media relations associate for Funded Today, the world's largest (by transaction volume) crowdfunding agency, based out of South Ogden. He will help promote clients’ crowdfunding projects by getting them published in online blogs and news sites.

Former KWCR Wildcat Radio GM starts local indie art magazine

J.P. Orquiz, a Civic Advocacy major who has worked as the general manager of KWCR Wildcat Radio, has started an independent magazine in Ogden designed to showcase contemporary art. He is also part of a group that opened the Ogden Museum of Contemporary Art.

Announcements

Former Signpost staffer’s family establishes endowment in memory

The family of Patrick R. Parkinson who died in October at age 43 has established an endowment to be used to support scholarships for students in Multimedia Journalism, Civic Advocacy, and Public Relations & Advertising. Parkinson worked for several years at The Signpost as a reporter and news editor. Much of his professional career was reporting for the Park Record where he won awards for Best Breaking News Stories, Best News Stories, Best News Feature Series, among other things. He spent the last two years of his life working in public relations. Throughout his life, one of his main loves was traveling to Africa on journalistic and humanitarian visits. As a foreign correspondent, he was always on the lookout for untold stories.

Government and Natural Resources Career Fair Wednesday

Career Services is hosting its annual Government and Natural Resources Career Fair on Wednesday, Nov. 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Student Union Ballrooms. Take your resume, network and circulate. Even if employers are advertising for engineering or accounting jobs, once they talk to you, they may realize that Communication majors can help with their social media, newsletters, training presentations or writing. You can talk to them about internships as well as jobs.

The Buzz app gives students access to latest campus, local, national and world news

The Buzz: Weber State University, a new digital resource, is available to students, faculty and staff for download through both iTunes or Google Play. Weber State has partnered with USA TODAY for a number of years to provide a selection of newspapers to students through the Collegiate Readership Program. However, the consumption of print news is on the decline and reaching the most-connected and tech-savvy generation with reliable news and information is a real challenge. The Buzz: Weber State University is a first-of-its-kind news app that gives students access to the latest national, world, local, and campus news they care about in one app. Students are able to:

Examine multiple opinions and perspectives.
Create conversations and promote a sharing of ideas within their community and beyond.
Access the latest headlines from The Signpost and USA TODAY, stream live radio from KWCR, and view videos from Studio 76.
Receive the latest career advice for use in their prospective field.
See their lives in a global context and relate major stories to specific course-work.

National Debate Coaches Association national championship hosted by WSU

Weber State Debate will host the 12th annual National Debate Coaches Association national championship in April 2017. The event will bring 600-plus people to Ogden during 2017, the centennial year for debate at WSU. Participants will include the elite tier of high school debaters in the United States. This event is expected to insert half a million dollars in the community. To visit the hosting website for the event, visit https://www.ndca2017.com/.

Job postings available on Communication website

Weber State University Communication students and graduates can log into the Communication Department’s website at weber.edu/communication to look for job postings now or in the future. The listings are under the "Jobs" link. Employers contact the department looking for Communication students and graduates for full-time and part-time jobs.

Faculty Achievements

Assistant professor co-authors research in Communication Education

Dr. Alexander Lancaster, assistant professor, has co-authored “"What do college students want? A prioritization of instructional behaviors and characteristics" in Communication Education, a national journal in the field of Communication Studies. The article was written with Gregory Cranmer, Michael Sollitto and Sara LaBelle.

Four WSU faculty members to present at National Communication Association conference

Four Communication faculty members will participate in the national conference of the National Communication Association in Philadelphia later this month. Dr. Alexander Lancaster will present a paper titled "Cop talk: Message framing, compliance, and perceptions of law enforcement." The paper has been recognized as one of the top four papers in the Applied Communication Division. Dr. Susan Hafen will be a chair and panelist for Instructional Development Division panel titled "Creatures in the classroom: including internatural communication in our textbooks.” Dr. Hafen will also be a roundtable panelist for the Spiritual Communication Division panel with "Mindfulness and spirituality in various contexts." Dr. Sarah Steimel will present “Professional volunteering as both work and not work: a tension-centered examination of constructions of ‘volunteer’” in the Organizational Communication Division. She is also a short course presenter of “Take a stand! A case study pedagogy that facilitates communication’s civic calling and a panel participant for “Combating rape culture on college campuses in communication course.” Dr. Colleen Packer will co-chair the panel “Exploring our civic callings: NCA service-learning project on college access and student success in Philadelphia.”

Professor presents at international teaching and learning conference

Dr. Colleen Packer presented at the Conference for the International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning in Salt Lake City. She co-presented with Melina Alexander from Teacher Education and Glen Thaxton from GoReact. The title of the presentation was "Integrating online peer video feedback: promoting teaching and learning within presentation-based learning outcomes."

Five faculty members to participate in panel discussion on primetime TV

Five members of the Department of Communication will participate in a panel discussion at the Western States Communication Association convention from Feb. 18-21 in Salt Lake City. Dr. Susan Hafen, Dr. Jean Norman, Dr. Alexander Lancaster, Dr. Nicola Corbin and Robin Haislett will discuss “The intersection of race, gender, and feminism in primetime television.”

Journalism professor appointed to Utah Headliners chapter of SPJ

Assistant Professor Jean Norman has accepted an appointment on the Utah Headliners chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists' board. She is serving as campus liaison for the professional group, which will be hosting the Region 9 SPJ conference in March.

Communication professor will chair college tenure and promotion committee

Dr. Susan Hafen was selected to chair this year’s tenure and promotion committee for the College of Arts & Humanities.

October 2016

Student News

Five Communication majors will attend PRSSA conference in Indianapolis

Five Communication majors who are members of the Public Relations Student Society of America will benefit from hundreds of sessions geared toward personal and professional growth when they attend the PRSSA National Conference this month in Indianapolis. They will also get the opportunity to network with thousands of current professionals and other public relations students. The students who will attend the national conference include Hayley Smith, Bailey Lefthand, Thais Stewart, Shelby Nelson and Kylee Waddoups.

Monthly newsletter for Communication Department now available

Students who participate with Ogden Peak Communications and the Public Relations Student Society of America have produced a monthly newsletter. It contains valuable information for Communication majors and career advice. It can be accessed at
http://issuu.com/weberstateuniversityprssa/docs/the_peak_october_16_p.

Advanced journalism students participate in emergency preparedness drill

Students in Dr. Jean Norman's News Reporting and Writing class (COMM 3130) participated in an emergency preparedness drill Sept. 28 at five Intermountain hospitals: LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, Intermountain Medical Center and The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital in Murray, Alta View Hospital in Sandy and Riverton Hospital in Riverton. The hospitals created scenarios ranging from hostage situations and shootings to anthrax contamination, and Weber State students played the part of journalists, pressing for information in the fog of crisis. "Having them on site provided a realism to the drills that we haven’t had in the past," said Jason Carlton, social media manager at Intermountain and the Weber State alum who arranged the students' involvement.

Organizational Communication student turns internship into great starting job

Jordan Gold, a senior in Organizational Communication, has turned his internship into a full-time product manager position at Eagle Eye Produce. Gold, who will graduate in December, will make $48,000 a year. Dr. Susan Hafen, director of the Communication internship program, said, “His advantage as an Org Comm student is that he was able to recognize that this company did very little training. Not only did he develop several safety programs and training materials, but because he is a Spanish minor, he was able to translate them into Spanish for many of their employees.” Now, because he no longer has time to develop training programs and translate them, he will hire another Organizational Communication major who knows Spanish.

Signpost news editor quoted in USA Today College on presidential debate

The Signpost's news editor, Ezekiel Lee (a German major) was quoted in USA Today College in a debate reaction piece. Here is the link: http://college.usatoday.com/2016/09/27/we-asked-college-newspaper-editors-for-reactions-to-the-first-clinton-trump-debate-heres-what-they-told-us/.

Debaters to tackle topic of urban renewal v. gentrification for Ogden City Council

Weber State debaters will take on the topic of "urban renewal v. gentrification" on Tuesday, Oct. 25, in front of the Ogden City Council. Ogden City has made decisions based on information provided in previous debates.

Announcements

Meet new college dean and grab some pizza, pop on Wednesday

Students are invited to have "Lunch with the Dean" on Wednesday, Oct. 5, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (come and go) in the Shepherd Union Building, Ballroom B. Dr. Scott Sprenger, the new dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, said, “My intent is to get to know our students a little better but also to discuss their experience and what they can do to best prepare for a career with a degree in the Arts and Humanities.” Free pizza and soda will be served.

New York Times correspondent to speak about control of digital identity

Mark Scott, the European technology correspondent for the New York Times, will speak Tuesday, Oct. 11, at noon in Room 229 of Elizabeth Hall, on who controls your digital identity. The flier that invited all students to attend reads: “From Facebook to Twitter, people’s online interactions have become central to how they are viewed in the online and offline worlds. Yet amid this push, battles are being fought over our online privacy and who controls our online identities that pit global policymakers against some of the world’s largest companies like Google and Amazon. In this fight, Europe has become a major player. It already has some of the toughest privacy standards worldwide, going further than the United States to offer people control over their online data.”

Theater premiere of ‘Judgment at Nuremberg’ in Browning Center

Students are invited to the United States premiere of the theater production “Judgment at Nuremberg” on Saturday, Oct. 15, in the Val A. Browning Center at 7:30 p.m. The production explores the post-Holocaust trial of four Nazi jurists and exposes the seductive power of group thought and the shattering consequences of unchecked authority. Student tickets are $5, and they can be purchased online at weberstatetickets.com or by phone at 801-626-8500. If students are already on campus, they can secure their tickets directly from the Val A. Browning Center main office. In addition to the performance, there will be a special panel presentation before the event at 6:45 p.m. featuring thought leaders on politics, crime and justice.

National PRSA national chair-elect to speak to public relations students

Weber State Public Relations Student Society of America welcomes Jane Dvorak, the PRSA national chair-elect to campus for an informal conversation about preparing for the professional work. The workshop is titled "Tools to Succeed: A Conversation with Jane Dvorak," and will be held Wednesday, Oct. 5, Elizabeth Hall, Room 406 at 1:30 p.m. Dvorak, the founder of JKD & Company, has driven strategic communications programs in industries ranging from health care to agriculture. She is a 2016 and 2011 Silver Anvil winner and was awarded the 2015 Small Practice Award and two Grand Gold Picks from the PRSA Colorado Chapter.

Communication students invited to SHRM opening social Wednesday

Students, especially those in Organizational Communication who are interested in the field of human resources and training, are invited to the opening social of the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) on Wednesday, Oct. 5, at 4:30 p.m. in the Bill Child Start-up Center, Room 203, in the Wattis Business Building.

Hispanic and black journalist chapters to meet Wednesday

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists and National Association of Black Journalists will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5, in The Signpost office, on the fourth floor of the Shepherd Union. All students of color interested in communication or media are welcome to attend. Both chapters are new on the Weber State University campus. For more information, contact Dr. Jean Norman, jeannorman@weber.edu.

Society of Professional Journalists to meet Thursday

The Weber State chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists will meet at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, in the Shepherd Union, Room 321. Attendees will plan for the coming year and hold an election to fill a vacant leadership position. All students interested in journalism are invited to attend. For more information, contact Charles Bowker, cbowk.91@gmail.com.

Journalism students invited to one-day boot camp

The Utah Press Association will hold a one-day Journalism Boot Camp on Friday, Oct. 21, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Media One, 4770 S. 5600 W., West Valley City. The sessions will feature professional journalists from the Utah Headliners chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists as trainers. It will cover topics from open meetings and open records to leads and story organization. The day will end with a tour of the presses at Media One. The cost is $10 per person. To register, go to www.utahpress.com and look for the Boot Camp link. For more information, contact Dr. Jean Norman, jeannorman@weber.edu.

Investigative journalism workshop open to Weber State students

Investigative Reporters and Editors will bring its Watchdog Workshop to Salt Lake City on Friday, Oct. 28, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The all-day session is a basic course in investigative journalism and digging deeper for information on regular stories. The session will be held at Brigham Young University's Salt Lake City Center, 345 W. North Temple. The cost for students is $25, with an optional hands-on training in computer-assisted reporting on Saturday, Oct. 29. For more information, see http://ire.org/events-and-training/event/2756/.

The Buzz app gives students access to latest campus, local, national and world news

Examine multiple opinions and perspectives.
Create conversations and promote a sharing of ideas within their community and beyond.
Access the latest headlines from The Signpost and USA TODAY, stream live radio from KWCR, and view videos from Studio 76.
Receive the latest career advice for use in their prospective field.
See their lives in a global context and relate major stories to specific course-work.

Deadline approaching for Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research

Undergraduate students are encouraged to submit research for possible presentation at the annual Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research. The submission is open until Oct. 31 at UCUR.org. The conference will be at Utah Valley University on Feb. 17. Students from all disciplines are encouraged to submit. For more information, contact UCUR2017@uvu.edu.

Students invited to participate in essay competition, hear NBC’s Tom Brokaw

Communication students are invited to participate in an essay contest sponsored by the McCarthey Family Foundation Lecture Series: In Praise of Independent Journalism program. The winner will receive a cash prize of $2,500 and be honored on Oct. 29 before a speech by Tom Brokaw, former anchor of NBC Nightly News. Entries of an original essay of 500 words are due by Sept. 16. Brokaw will speak at 7 p.m. at Rowland Hall, Philip G. McCarthey Campus, 720 Guardsman Way in Salt Lake City. The lecture is open to the public at no charge. The essay topic information is as follows: “Early in the run-up to the primaries, Brokaw, American TV journalist and author, former anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, was a lone voice in challenging the uncritical and unequal reporting of the 2016 presidential candidates. Following his courageous lead, other journalists and networks covering the candidates began to push back, provide equal airtime, and increase fact-checking. In your opinion has the integrity of the press in a free society—at a time when the media is struggling with insecurities about its financial future—been compromised? What role— positive or negative—have journalists played in the shaping of the 2016 presidential campaign?” Send essays, typed and double-spaced, to: MKL Public Relations, 1338 S. Foothill Drive, Suite 264, Salt Lake City, Utah 84108-2321. By email, send Word document, typed and double-spaced, to mkl@mklpr.com. All entries must include student’s name, phone number, email address and name and department of the university or college in which the student is currently enrolled.

National Debate Coaches Association national championship hosted by WSU

Job postings available on Communication website

Faculty Achievements

Two Communication faculty members publish chapters in new book

Two Communication faculty members published chapters in the new book “Cases in Organizational and Managerial Communication: Stretching Boundaries” (Routledge, 2017). Dr. Sarah Steimel has a chapter on organizational socialization and diverse employees titled "'Learning the Ropes' as a Foreign Worker." Dr. Hailey Gillen Hoke has a chapter, with colleagues, on relationships in the workplace titled "Jim and Pam Made this Look So Easy."

Debate director interviewed on presidential debate by KSL, Deseret News

Omar Guevara, director of debate at Weber State University, was interviewed by Doug Wright of KSL on Sept. 27. The interview can be accessed at https://www.ksl.com/?nid=1388&a=4005&showid=2016&n=The%20Doug%20Wright%20Show. He was also interviewed by Lisa Riley Roche of the Deseret News. That story can be accessed at http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865663465/Trump-Clinton-have-work-to-do-to-make-Utah-voters-comfortable-following-debate.html.

Communication professor elected to tenure and promotion committee

Dr. Colleen Packer was elected to serve on the tenure and promotion committee for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Two Communication faculty members voice Weber State Olympic ads

Two members of the Communication Department faculty voiced television advertisements for Weber State University that aired during the 2016 Olympics. Communication instructor Drew Tyler and adjunct instructor Stacey Tyler teach Digital Media classes. The ads can be accessed at https://youtu.be/NUhgXJ7Q0CU, https://youtu.be/F0PCD8cvAlM, https://youtu.be/1HfVDifltg4, and https://youtu.be/qJLBfgRR-k0.

Alumni News

Graduate now director of technical services for software development company

Cade Lubeck, who graduated in Public Relations & Advertising in December 2014, is the director of Technical Services for Claim Wire, a company that does software development. He said, “What I loved about Weber, and the Communication Department are the professors. They always put the students first and encouraged us grow and be adaptable. The internships. They taught me important skills and helped me not waste time with things others deemed “acceptable.” Finally, the classes. I use knowledge I learned from my courses every day that literally saves me hours, days or months of time and work.” He added that Communication Law was especially valuable. “I am able to know many right and wrongs from the legal side that save us seeking or asking our lawyer. This saves us hundreds of dollars an hour.”

Civic Advocacy graduate graduates from U of U Law School

Amy Gerrard, who graduated in December 2012 in Civic Advocacy, has graduated from the University of Utah Law School and passed the bar examination.

2016 graduate selected to serve in Peace Corps in Dominican Republic

Alexis Marquez, a 2016 graduate in Public Relations & Advertising, has been accepted into the Peace Corps. She will serve in the Dominican Republic as a primary literacy promoter beginning in the spring. In the meantime, she is working as a bilingual teacher at Doxey Elementary’s After-School Program and volunteering at the Davis Community Learning Center teaching English as a Second Language. During her education at WSU, she held multiple offices in student government, volunteering through the Center for Community Engaged Learning and participating in student clubs and organizations. She served on-campus internships with the WSU Chief Diversity Officer and the Walker Institute of Politics. She also interned for the Utah Lieutenant Governor’s Office and, in Washington, D.C., at Family Health International 360, a nonprofit human development organization.

September 2016

Signpost students win numerous awards in two competitions

The Signpost students learned over the summer that they won numerous awards in competitions sponsored by the Utah Press Association and the Society for Professional Journalists. Winners in the UPA contest included:

Best photo page, first place: Ariana Berkemeier, Michael Grennell for Fall in Photos
Best breaking news, second place: Skyler Pyle, Matt Kunes, Lichelle Jenkins for Flood Damage
Best editor’s/feature column, second place: Cole Eckhardt
Best front page, second place: Autumn Mariano, Kaitlyn Johnson, Skyler Pyle for Spring Graduation
Best website, second place: Staff
Best feature story, third place: Kellie Plumhof for Science of Sacred
Best sports photograph, third place: Ariana Berkemeier for Wildcats Crush UC-Davis

Winners in the Society of Professional Journalists contest included:

Photo illustration: Winner: J. Michaela Funtanilla for Back to Signpost; Finalist: Where’s Waldo by Michelle Nelson and Ariana Berkemeier; Finalist: When alone by Autumn Mariano
Sports photography: Finalist: Basketball-BYU by Gabriel Cerritos
Best all-around non-daily student newspaper: Finalist: The Signpost

Editorial writing: Winner: Skyler Pyle
Sports column writing: Finalist: Sports column writing, Charles Bowker
Sports writing: Finalist: Athletes’ graduation rate, Marcus Jensen
Best affiliated website: Finalist: The Signpost

Debaters to tackle topic of urban renewal v. gentrification for Ogden City Council

The Signpost still has openings for Fall Semester

The Signpost, Weber State's award-winning news organization, still has some open positions for those interested in writing and producing news. The Signpost publishes online daily and three days a week in print: Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Positions are available for reporters and video producers. Scholarships are available, and you can get class credit too. Contact Jean Norman, the adviser, at jeannorman@weber.edu.

Join WSU’s chapter of Society of Professional Journalists

The Society of Professional Journalists is accepting members for the Weber State campus. It's an opportunity to learn more about the news industry, develop skills and meet professionals. Meetings are Thursdays at 1:30 p.m. in conjunction with The Signpost's professional development. The location varies. Check with Georgia Edwards, gedwards@weber.edu, or 801-626-7974, for meeting locations.

Associations for Hispanic and black journalists formed

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists and National Association of Black Journalists have formed chapters at Weber State. The goal is to increase diversity in news coverage at Weber State and to provide mentoring for student journalists of color. Three Weber State University students—Paula Ninataype, Jasmine Pittman and Briana Whatcott—attended the national conference in August in Washington, D.C., and saw presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speak in person. If you are interested in either group, contact adviser Jean Norman at jeannorman@weber.edu.

Public Relations & Advertising student gets job at startup thanks to internship

Public Relations & Advertising student Patrick Farrington has been hired as a marketing specialist for startup company Homie after completing his internship this semester.

Announcements

Three new professors join faculty of Communication Department

Three new professors have joined the faculty of the Department of Communication. They are Michael Ault in Organizational Communication, Leslie Howerton in Public Relations & Advertising, and Andres Orozco in Digital Media.

Dr. Michael Ault received his Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma in 2016. His research interests include organizational communication with a particular emphasis on leadership, and small group processes. Specific areas of interest include: (1) socialization, (2) non-profit and volunteer organizations, (3) organizational culture, (4) organizational citizenship behaviors, and (4) entrepreneurship. He also has an interest in intercultural communication focusing on cultural change and the cultural positioning and of co-cultures. His research has been published in Computers in Human Behavior, Iowa Journal of Communication, Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, and Western Journal of Communication and his work regarding the Centennial Park polygamous community has been cited on National Geographic’s Polygamy USA.

Dr. Leslie Howerton comes to WSU from the University of Oregon's media studies doctoral program. Her research focuses on the intersections of gender and persuasion in international public health campaigns. She specializes in teaching public relations, international communication, media ethics, and gender and communication. Her industry experience includes working as co-director of public relations for the EcoCAR II program at Colorado State University and as a community relations manager for Barnes & Noble. Leslie enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading good books and binge watching television shows. She's excited for the coming year in the beautiful Utah sunshine.

Andrés Orozco is an actor-writer-director-producer, public speaker, and educator with a professional portfolio of work in film, television, and theater. With an extensive range of talent, Orozco works in many forms of entertainment, from comedy and dramatic screenwriting for television and film, acting and theatrical stage performance. Orozco will teach a wide variety of TV studio courses, screenwriting, and single-camera filmmaking. In 2003, Orozco created Novelas Educativas™, an innovative communication tool for Latino outreach. These outreach films have been screened in national conferences and are currently utilized by numerous school districts. Orozco has also produced educational outreach and recruitment campaigns for the U.S. Department of Labor, USA Funds, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Fannie Mae. In 2007, Orozco wrote and directed, 16 Summers, featuring Nick Canon. The multimedia film is designed to prepare students and their families for higher education. The film is screened nationally in high school after-school programs. In 2011, Orozco wrote and directed Yo Soy Tu Niña, a nationally recognized teen pregnancy prevention film for Latino youth and their parents. The Hispanic Scholarship Fund screened the film nationally as part of itscollege access initiative. In 2015, Orozco was awarded a Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Screen and Television from Pepperdine University. His current feature length film project is a biopic on Ruben Salazar, the slain civil rights activist and L.A. Times reporter. Orozco also earned a Master of Arts in Mass Communication and a Bachelor of Arts in Film Studies from the University of Utah.

Communication Department produces internship brochure for employers

The Communication Department has now printed an internship brochure for employers. The purpose of the brochure is to explain our internship program to employers to recruit internship opportunities for Communication majors. We plan to use it at Career Fairs and with our Advisory Council and any other place where we meet employers for future internships. This brochure is also available for you to take places where you might solicit an internship for yourself. It can serve to legitimize your request and to answer employers’ questions. It also has a mail-in postcard for employers to ask for more information and contact us, as well as our website, email and phone numbers. If you want to pick up a brochure, you can do so at the Communication Office.

Digital Media classes to be held in different location during first week or two

Comm. 3893 and Comm. 2200 will be held in Library Room 31 for the first week and possibly the second week too.

Displaced Digital Media students and instructors are aiming to have their new space be mostly functional by Sept. 10.

Students invited to participate in essay competition, hear NBC’s Tom Brokaw

National Debate Coaches Association national championship hosted by WSU

Job postings available on Communication website

Faculty Achievements

New faculty member in Organizational Communication publishes article on polygamy

Dr. Michael Ault, a new faculty member in Organizational Communication, has an article forthcoming in the Western Journal of Communication. Co-authored with Bobbi Van Gilder, the article is titled “Polygamous family structure: How communication affects the division of household labor.” This article is from his master’s thesis data and explores how polygamous families establish a familial hierarchy and negotiate roles within that structure. The article will be published at https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2016.1188327.

MPC director publishes two journal articles on refugee resettlement

Dr. Sarah Steimel, director of the Master of Professional Communication program, has published two articles on her research on refugee resettlement. She published “Negotiating refugee empowerment(s) in resettlement organizations: in the Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 1-18 (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15562948.2016.1180470) and “Negotiating knowledges and expertise in refugee resettlement organizations” in Cogent Social Sciences, 2(1), 1-15, (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23311886.2016.1162990).

Department chair publishes book review in Visual Communication Quarterly

Department chair Dr. Sheree Josephson has published a review of the book “On not looking: the paradox of contemporary visual culture” edited by Frances Guerin in Visual Communication Quarterly, Volume 23 Issue 2. The 2015 book is published by Routledge. The review can be accessed at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15551393.2016.1191313.

Instructor participates in 16-day service project in Peru over summer

Communication instructor Mark Merkley participated in a three-week service project over the summer in Peru. Merkley was part of a group of 30 students, faculty and community partners of Weber State University. Under the leadership Dr. Julie Rich, and Mike Moon, assistant director of Community-engaged Learning, this group labored in Chiclayo, Peru, as part of a humanitarian relief effort. During 16 days of intense labor, these individuals built a four-room preschool, remodeled an existing building into a women’s center, and extended piping while constructing three fountains to provide a community with potable water. The water project enabled families to save hours, if not an entire day, walking to the nearest fountain to procure and return home with five gallons of water used for bathing, cooking, cleaning and drinking.

Journalism professor helps operate boot camp high school journalists

Dr. Jean Norman, journalism professor and faculty adviser for The Signpost, helped teach and run a boot camp for high school journalism students this summer in Moab. The camp was sponsored and operated by the Utah College Media Alliance, which included advisers and staff from Weber State, the University of Utah, Utah State University, Utah Valley University, USU-Eastern and Westminster College. To read about the event, see Moab Times-Independent - GCHS students sharpen media skills at Utah journalism boot camp.

MPC graduate, department chair present research at VisCom 30

Stacey Tyler, 2016 graduate with a Master of Professional Communication, presented a paper with Dr. Sheree Josephson, Department of Communication chair, at VisCom 30 in June at Snowbird. The paper was titled “Interactive storybooks and reading comprehension: an eye-tracking study.” Dr. Josephson was also the program planner for the conference attended by some of the foremost experts in the field of Visual Communication.

Alumni News

MPC graduate to have thesis research published in international journal

Master of Professional Communication graduate Crystalee Beck has published "Perceptions of thanks in the workplace: use, effectiveness, and dark sides of managerial gratitude" in the latest edition of Corporate Communications: an International Journal. This research was her thesis project under the direction of Dr. Sheree Josephson and Dr. Susan Hafen. Beck now teaches as an adjunct instructor in the Weber State Department of Communication.

Digital Media alumni produce award-winning short in SLC film festival

A short film by Digital Media alumni Dalton Gullo, Nick Garrett and Dan Martinez won the Audience Favorite award and Best Use of Genre at this summer’s Salt Lake City 48-hour film festival. The short was called Marcos el Muerto. It can be viewed at https://www.48hourfilm.com/salt-lake-city-ut/films/18939/Marcos-El-Muerto-by-TNT-DP.

Communication graduate co-owner of new indie record shop in Ogden

Interpersonal and Family graduate Kylee Hallows is the co-owner of a new indie record shop, Lavendar Vinyl, on 25th Street in Ogden. The shop sells vintage albums and sells new ones too. To read more, see https://www.standard.net/Music/2016/07/02/Ogden-Lavender-Vinyl-record-shop-now-spinning-downtown.html.

Journalism graduate marketing new board game

James Elmer, a 2009 Communication graduate in Journalism, said he is using the skills he developed in public relations courses to develop, design and market his own board game that will be on the market hopefully within the next two years. He said, “I may never own my own business or work in the journalism field, but the skills of confidence and self-esteem that I developed while a student of the Communication Department will travel with me throughout my entire life.”

May 2016

72 students graduate this year with bachelor’s, associate’s in Communication

Congratulations to this year’s baccalaureate and associate’s graduates in Communication.

Civic Advocacy: Jazmine Thompson, Delaney Woodfield
Digital Media: Jordan Barbadillo, Trevor Ewing, Nick Garrett, Justin Holliday, Aleesha Owens, Danny Rubio, Robert Stewart, Shane Thompson
Electronic Media: Mark Mandell, David Rodriguez, Thomas Troy
Interpersonal & Family Communication: Courtney Beecher, Jalen Carpenter Gentry, Adrienne Child, Jonathan Coy, Kylee Hallows, Sylvana Kelley, Krystin Kubo, Demi Martinez, Cristina Mayorga, Emily Orozco, Lissa Quinlan, Lauren Schulte, Brooke Steadman, Casey Stratton
Multimedia Journalism: James Cogan, Emily Ferguson, Linsey Hansen, Christina Huerta, Matthew Kunes, Ingrid Maldonado, Abigail Payne, Skyler Pyle
Organizational Communication: Natalie Barcelo, Breann Johnson
Public Relations & Advertising: Dakoda Anderson, Anna Auger, Jonathan Basler, Nathan Bennion, Nathaniel Cragun, Morgan Davenport, Grant Dellow, Anastasia Drandakis, Brianna Edwards, Amberleigh Farrell, Patrick Farrington, Kyle Froerer, Laura Garcia, Michelle Garrett, Tyler Hall, Kari Harbath, Jeffrey Herbert, Lauren Houskeeper, Caysem Johnson, Kelsey Kingdon, Cecily Kiss, Sarah Knowlton, Alexis Marquez, Richard Marsh, Christopher Murphy, Matthew Norman, Amy Olsen, Rod Peterson, Kris Sanford, Cynthia Villagomez, Jamie Winchester
Associate in Communication: Ryan Brown, Celma Flores, Spencer Stevens, Trent Wojciechowski

Ten students graduate with Master of Professional Communication degree

Congratulations to members of the 2016 class of the Master of Professional Communication. They were hooded in a special ceremony on April 28 at 6 p.m. in the Dumke Legacy Hall in the Hurst Center. Graduating students are Alyessa D'Ewart, Daniel Jackson, Jay Jex, Angela Johnson, Ryan King, Cash Knight, Jonathan Oglesby, Melisa Russell, Brennon Schweikart and Stacey Tyler. The top students in the graduating class are Jonathan Oglesby and Stacey Tyler.

Outstanding graduates in Communication announced

Congratulations to the following outstanding Communication graduates:

Academic Achievement: Casey Stratton
Civic Advocacy: Jazmine Thompson
Digital Media: Danny Rubio
Interpersonal & Family Communication: Brooke Steadman
Multimedia Journalism: Abigail Payne and Skyler Pyle
Organizational Communication: Nicole Walker
Public Relations & Advertising: Alexis Marquez
Outstanding student in College of Arts & Humanities: Casey Stratton

Nineteen Comm majors to be inducted into national Communication honor society

Nineteen Communication majors will be inducted later this month into Lambda Pi Eta, the national honor society for graduates in Communication. To be eligible for Lambda Pi Eta, students must (1) complete 60 semester credit hours, (2) have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 for all courses taken, (3) complete the equivalent of 12 semester credit hours in Communication, (4) have a minimum GPA of 3.25 for all Communication courses, (5) currently be enrolled as a student in good standing, as determined by the institution's policies, and (6) rank within the highest 35 percent of one’s class in general scholarship. This year’s inductees include Dakoda Anderson, Alexa Arnold, Courtney Beecher, Morgan Davenport, Barbara Rose Dille, Sheila Favero, Shaton Tyler Hatch, Jeffrey Herbert, Christina Huerta, Bailey Paige Lefthand, Ryan McCormick, Lissa Quinlan, Skyler Pyle, Lanea Rea, Thais Stewart, Spencer B. Stevens, Casey Michael Stratton, Jazmine Ellesse Thompson and Misty Tippets.

Four to graduate with Communication Department Honors

Four students will graduate with departmental Honors this Spring. To graduate with Honors, students must earn a 3.75 GPA in the Communication major and have a 3.5 GPA overall. They must also present original research at a conference. Graduating Honors students include:

Abigail Payne: The Mountains Are Calling and I Must Go
Jazmine Thompson: From Dick Van Dyke to Parks & Rec: A Critical Analysis of Feminism in Popular TV
Skyler Pyle: The First Tourism Boom in North America
Casey Stratton: Organizational Culture and Its Effect on Employee Satisfaction

Students earn scholarships from Communication Department

Fourteen Communication students earn scholarships for 2016-2017 school year. They are Natalie Hales, Logan Malan, Emily Eldredge, Kinsee Gaither, Crystal Hall, Salma Medina, Misty Tippets, Zach Lyon, Cyndee Green, Harrison Epstein, Michael Grennell, Mathew Walker, Katy Packer and Paula Ninataype.

KWCR Wildcat Radio, Communication majors win Crystal Crest awards

KWCR Wildcat Radio earned the Crystal Crest Registered Organization of the Year Award for 2016. The other nominees were Studio 76, Society of Women Engineers, Future Educators Association and the Neurscience Club. Four Communication students also received awards. Tyler Hall, Public Relations & Advertising, won Talent of the Year; Haille Van Patten, Public Relations & Advertising, won the Volunteer Service award; MaCauley Flint, Public Reltions & Advertising, won Female Athlete of the Year; and Alisha Stucki, BIS with Communication, won for Inclusive Excellence.

Weber State student wins PR Student of the Year for fifth year in row

For the fifth year in a row, Weber State Public Relations and Advertising students have been named the PR Student of the Year. Kylee Waddoups was named winner in the 2016 PR Student of the Year competition. WSU student Brian Rogers was named runner-up. This is the sixth overall win for Weber State.

Speech Showcase finalists deliver speeches at Spring 2016 event

The six finalists of the Spring 2016 Speech Showcase for the Department of Communication delivered their speeches to a packed lecture hall on April 13. This event recognizes the best speeches from each COMM 1020 Principles of Public Speaking classes. The six finalists included:

Kierstin Pitcher: Failure of family courts
Michelle Miles: Victims of sexual assault
Colt Florence: Negative effects of social media
Marin Tarbox: Discrimination of children of LGBT couples
Mike Fifer: The importance of recycling
Tony Villalba: Utah paradox – happy and sad

The other students selected to compete in Selection Saturday were Nathan Bateman, Giovanna Bonella, Michael Conn, Emily Eldredge, Brock Embley, Natalie Fuchs, Rachel Halverson, Caitlin Hammon, Penny Hansen, Natalie Heiner, Tara Hoellin, Jenna Jay, Mitchell Keahey, Courtney Kirkendall, Megan Luke, Janet Oviatt, Shawnee Tebbs and Ethan Willie. Four students were honored for participating with the Weber Speaks program. They are Justin Cypers, Collin Devino, Nicholas Giarman and Marissa Hinrichs.

Public Relations & Advertising student gets job at MarketStar thanks to internship

Public Relations & Advertising student Dakoda Anderson was offered a job at MarketStar as project manager after completing his internship this semester.

Two Communication accomplishments featured in WSU Alumni magazine

The accomplishments of The Signpost and WSU Debate were featured in the Spring 2016 edition of WILDCAT: WSU Alumni Magazine. The Signpost’s winning of 10 first-place awards and the General Excellence award at the 2015 Utah Press Association’s winter conference was mentioned. WSU Debate’s first Top 10 national ranking from the Cross Examination Debate Association was also highlighted.

Public Relations & Advertising teams present campaign plans to community partners

Six teams of Public Relations and Advertising students presented their final campaign plans prepared for WSU community partners this week. The main goal of these campaigns is to increase the overall awareness of these community partners to strategic audiences. The teams prepared and implemented campaign plans of Youth Impact, WSU Charter Academy and the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge. Each partner plans to implement aspects of each team's plan.

Announcements

Get involved with DJ Radio Production offered Summer Semester

The DJ Radio Production class (COMM 2730) will take place over the summer. Students will learn what is needed to be a part of a radio station, how to operate station equipment, and refine their skills in news, public relations, content generation and, of course, music selection and playlist assembly.

KWCR Wildcat Radio to sponsor Open Mic Night every first Friday during summer

KWCR Wildcat Radio will continue to host Open Mic Night every first Friday during the summer at 8 p.m. at the Harrison location of Grounds for Coffee. It is a free event open to anyone in the community or University.

The Peak highlights what students can do with a major in Communication

The Peak, a newsletter produced by Public Relations & Advertising students, has been reoriented to target Communication and students undecided about a major. Content is focused on helping students learn what they can do with a degree in Communication. The link is: https://issuu.com/weberstateuniversityprssa/docs/the_peak_april_2016_newsletter

Weber State Debate preparing to host two national events

Weber State Debate is preparing to host two high-profile national events. On June 9-12, the 2016 CEDA Topic Conference and executive meeting will convene in the Ogden Marriott. All college debate coaches from across the country will attend this convention, which determines the college debate resolution for the upcoming year. On April 8-10, 2017, the 12th annual National Debate Coaches Association tournament will come to Ogden. This event is expected to insert half a million dollars in the community.

Registration open for summer Weber State Debate Institution camp

Registration is now open for the Weber State Debate Institute camp for Summer 2016. This camp features inexpensive tuition, high-quality instruction and an opportunity for participants to earn three college credits. For more information,www.weberdebatecamp.com.

Job postings available on Communication website

Weber State University Communication students and graduates can log into the Communication Department’s website atweber.edu/communication to look for job postings now or in the future. The listings are under the "Jobs" link. Employers contact the department looking for Communication students and graduates for full-time and part-time jobs.

Communication Department to participate in Ogden Marathon

The Department of Communication will have participation from many faculty, staff, students and alumni this year in the 5K, half marathon and the full marathon on May 21, 2016. If you'd like to join and participate in one of these distances click the below link and register for the distance you prefer: http://www.getoutandlive.org/p/about/ogden-marathon/277. Once you've registered please reply to brentwarnock1@weber.edu and indicate which event you will be participating in. We will be compiling a list and taking a photo with all those who are participating and who have a connection to the Weber State Department of Communication.

Faculty Achievements

Professor presents paper on gaming accessibility at conference

Robin Haislett presented "Includification: Why gaming accessibility matters" at the annual conference for the Broadcast Education Association in the Law and Policy Division.

MPC graduate, department chair to present research at VisCom 30

Stacey Tyler, 2016 graduate with a Master of Professional Communication, will present a paper with Dr. Sheree Josephson, Department of Communication chair, at VisCom 30 in June at Snowbird. The paper is titled “Interactive storybooks and reading comprehension: an eye-tracking study.” Dr. Josephson is also the program planner for this year’s conference attended by some of the foremost experts in the field of Visual Communication.

Alumni News

Public Relations & Advertising graduate gives haircuts for the homeless

Mandi Barnes who graduated in 2014 with a degree in Public Relations & Advertising was featured in the Spring 2016 edition of WILDCAT: WSU Alumni Magazine for providing haircuts to the homeless. The article said, “A YouTube video of a New York hairstylist giving free haircuts to the homeless inspired Mandie Barnes, an Ogden hairstylist, to do the same. She recruited some of the best stylists from Lehi, Utah, to Ogden, to offer their services at the Ogden Rescue Mission on Dec. 19, 2015. ‘I feel like a haircut can go a long way for someone,’ Barnes said. ‘A haircut gives people an extra boost of confidence maybe to find a job or just feel good about themselves for the holidays. Hopefully, they’ll just feel better walking out the door than they did walking in.’”

April 2016 Communication Newsletter

72 students graduate this year with bachelor’s, associate’s in Communication

Congratulations to this year’s baccalaureate and associate’s graduates in Communication.

Civic Advocacy: Jazmine Thompson, Delaney Woodfield
Digital Media: Jordan Barbadillo, Trevor Ewing, Nick Garrett, Justin Holliday, Aleesha Owens, Danny Rubio, Robert Stewart, Shane Thompson
Electronic Media: Mark Mandell, David Rodriguez, Thomas Troy
Interpersonal & Family Communication: Courtney Beecher, Jalen Carpenter Gentry, Adrienne Child, Jonathan Coy, Kylee Hallows, Sylvana Kelley, Krystin Kubo, Demi Martinez, Cristina Mayorga, Emily Orozco, Lissa Quinlan, Lauren Schulte, Brooke Steadman, Casey Stratton
Multimedia Journalism: James Cogan, Emily Ferguson, Linsey Hansen, Christina Huerta, Matthew Kunes, Ingrid Maldonado, Abigail Payne, Skyler Pyle
Organizational Communication: Natalie Barcelo, Breann Johnson
Public Relations & Advertising: Dakoda Anderson, Anna Auger, Jonathan Basler, Nathan Bennion, Nathaniel Cragun, Morgan Davenport, Grant Dellow, Anastasia Drandakis, Brianna Edwards, Amberleigh Farrell, Patrick Farrington, Kyle Froerer, Laura Garcia, Michelle Garrett, Tyler Hall, Kari Harbath, Jeffrey Herbert, Lauren Houskeeper, Caysem Johnson, Kelsey Kingdon, Cecily Kiss, Sarah Knowlton, Alexis Marquez, Richard Marsh, Christopher Murphy, Matthew Norman, Amy Olsen, Rod Peterson, Kris Sanford, Cynthia Villagomez, Jamie Winchester
Associate in Communication: Ryan Brown, Celma Flores, Spencer Stevens, Trent Wojciechowski

Ten students graduate with Master of Professional Communication degree

Congratulations to members of the 2015 class of the Master of Professional Communication. They will be hooded in a special ceremony on April 28 at 6 p.m. in the Dumke Legacy Hall in the Hurst Center. Graduating students are Alyessa D'Ewart, Daniel Jackson, Jay Jex, Angela Johnson, Ryan King, Cash Knight, Jonathan Oglesby, Melisa Russell, Brennon Schweikart and Stacey Tyler. The top students in the graduating class are Jonathan Oglesby and Stacey Tyler.

Nineteen Comm majors to be inducted into national Communication honor society

Students present at 11th Annual WSU Undergraduate Research Symposium

A number of Communication students presented work at Weber State’s Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Casey Stratton: Organizational Culture and the Effect it has on Employee Satisfaction and Customer Care (Dr. Susan Hafen, mentor)
Skyler Pyle: The Mineral Spring Tourism Boom in North America ( Dr. Susan Hafen, mentor)
Jazmine Thompson: Exploring the Evolution of the “N” Word: Is Its Degradation Deceasing? (Dr. Anne Bialowas, mentor)
Abigail Payne: The Mountains are Calling and I Must Go: Weber State University Professor’s Experiences in Nature
Mathew Walker: Transforming Utah: Focusing on How Transgender Persons Negotiate Their Identities (Dr. Colleen Packer, mentor)

Four to graduate with Communication Department Honors

Abigail Payne: The Mountains Are Calling and I Must Go
Jazmine Thompson: From Dick Van Dyke to Parks & Rec: A Critical Analysis of Feminism in Popular TV
Skyler Pyle: The First Tourism Boom in North America
Casey Stratton: Organizational Culture and Its Effect on Employee Satisfaction

Student editors selected for The Signpost; other positions still available

Communication major Michael J. Grennell has been selected as editor-in-chief of The Signpost for 2016-17. Grennell, currently the news editor, will take the reins on April 21 at The Signpost's end-of-year celebration. Sports editor Charles Bowker has accepted the position of news editor/managing editor, providing Grennell an important second-in-command. Grennell and Bowker are screening candidates for other editorial positions on the staff. If you are interested in joining Weber State University's news organization, go to signpost.mywebermedia.com and download the application from the link near the top of the page.

Student leaders named for Studio 76 and KWCR Wildcat Radio

Logan Malan, a senior majoring in Digital Media, has been named the executive producer for Studio 76. Spencer Hart, a Communication major, has been named general manager for KWCR Wildcat Radio. Edwin Santiago-Lopez, a junior majoring in Network Technology Management, will be the program director. These two KWCR students will have shared responsibility of managing the station and staff as well as teaching incoming DJs in the COMM 2730 class.

KWCR Wildcat Radio and Studio 76 both finalists for Crystal Crest

Two Communication Department co-curricular organizations—KWCR Wildcat Radio and Studio 76—are both finalists for Student Organization of the Year in the annual Crystal Crest contest. Studio 76 will live-stream the Crystal Crest Awards this year on April 23. Watch the event live on mywebermedia.com.

WSU Debate claims top spot in CEDA West Conference for fifth year in a row

Weber State Debate wrapped up the 2016 Cross Examination Debate Association National Tournament by claiming the top spot in the CEDA West Conference for the fifth year in a row. Desaray Odekirk, class of 2005, was posthumously awarded the 2016 CEDA Alumni Award for her participation in intercollegiate debate and her professional service for the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation. In addition, Weber State came away with two All Americans and five National Debate Scholars. Weber GT (Kinsee Gaither and Misty Tippets) cleared to the doubles as the 12th seed. Kinsee and Misty will continue on to debate at the 70th annual National Debate Tournament at Binghamton University. Thank you to WSUSA, Weber State Communication Department and Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities for continued support of Weber State's oldest and best team.

Department of Communication to hold Speech Showcase competition

The Department of Communication is sponsoring a Speech Showcase on April 13 at 7 p.m. in the lecture hall in Elizabeth Hall, Room 229. This event will recognize the best speeches from each COMM 1020 (Public Speaking) class. It will provide an opportunity for the Top 5 finalists to present their speeches to faculty, administration, students and the overall university community. Each COMM 1020 class in Spring 2015 will select one student to represent the class in the competition. Students selected will be recognized as semifinalists. Each semifinalist will receive a $25 Bookstore gift certificate and will have the opportunity to present their speech to a faculty selection committee on Selection Saturday on April 9. The faculty selection committee will then choose five finalists who will receive a $150 cash award and will be asked to present their speeches during the April 13 Speech Showcase evening. For any questions about the Speech Showcase, contact either Alex Lancaster at alancasater@weber.edu or Brent Warnock at brentwarnock1@weber.edu.

The Peak highlights what students can do with a major in Communication

Groups for Hispanic, black journalists to get started

Students of color in the Communication Department are organizing Weber State chapters of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the National Association of Black Journalists. The organizational meeting will be at 1:30 p.m. on April 14 in the Shepherd Union, Room 404A. If you are interested, please come. If you cannot make the meeting but want to be involved or for more information, contact adviser Jean Norman at jeannorman@weber.edu.

New look and delivery method debut for The Signpost

The Signpost has unveiled a new, young look on the three-day-a-week newspaper. The redesign features a logo that reflects a social media aesthetic and a more visual style throughout. The Signpost is available in every building on campus. Take a look! The Signpost has also unveiled a new way of receiving the news. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, you can get The Signpost's top news in your inbox with the new "Letter From the Editor." Subscribe to this e-newsletter by going to signpost.mywebermedia.com and clicking on e-News.

Society of Professional Journalists to offer free training

The state chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists is holding a session called "Alleged Legal Training" from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on April 9 at Utah Valley University in Orem. It also is an opportunity to network with local professionals. The training is free and includes breakfast. The Signpost will have several staffers there, and anyone interested in attending is welcome to carpool. To RSVP, click here. To be included in the carpool, email jeannorman@weber.edu.

Student media to welcome incoming students during orientation

Weber State's first new student orientation for the 2016-17 year is April 5 at 3:30 p.m., and the student media organizations— The Signpost, Studio 76, KWCR and Ogden Peak Communications—will welcome incoming freshmen and transfer students then and at orientations throughout the summer. If you are available, we'd love to have you join us in the Shepherd Union atrium to meet future Wildcats and talk to them about Communication as a major. Also, a new tabloid publication is launching on April 5, in time for student orientation. It's Waldo's World: The Signpost's New Student Survival Guide. It will include hard-earned advice from experienced students for prospective students on topics from navigating general education to eating healthy on a Sodexo food plan. Watch for it on Tuesday and throughout the summer.

American Copy Editors Society boot camp coming to SLC

The American Copy Editors Society, a national organization of professional editors, is bringing its renowned ACES Editing Boot Camp to Salt Lake City on May 20. The daylong training will allow students who want to become editors to rub elbows with those who are already making a living at it. In addition, the training will cover grammar and punctuation basics, commonly misused words, clear writing, accuracy, proofreading and headline writing. The boot camp will be held at the University of Utah. The cost is $100 for members and $175 for nonmembers. Students can join the group for $40, an easy way to save a few dollars. For more information, go to the ACES website,copydesk.org, or register at the link above.

KWCR Wildcat Radio to hold Open Mic Nights

KWCR Wildcat Radio will hold Open Mic Night in the new performance space in the billiards area of the Shepherd Union Building, Waldo's Corner Pocket on April 14. KWCR staff will take pre-registration for performance order during open hours as well as in the Shepherd Union atrium at our table during the week. Students, faculty, staff and community members are welcome to attend or perform free of charge. We want to showcase the talents of Weber State University, KWCR and the great space of Waldo's Corner Pocket. For more information, contact Robin Haislett, KWCR adviser at robinhaislett@weber.edu.

Weber State Debate preparing to host two national events

Registration open for summer Weber State Debate Institution camp

Academy Award-nominated movies of interest to Communication students to play

Two Academy Award-nominated movies with Communication implications will be shown in April in the Student Union Building. "The Hunting Ground" about sexual assaults on campuses, created and directed by three college students, will show on April 4 at 5 p.m. in the Wildcat Theater. "Brooklyn," about an Irish immigrant, will show April 11 at noon in the Wildcat Theater.

Job postings available on Communication website

Weber State University Communication students and graduates can log into the Communication Department’s website atweber.edu/communication to look for job postings now or in the future. The listings are under the "Jobs" link. Employers contact the department looking for Communication students and graduates for full-time and part-time jobs.

Communication Department to participate in Ogden Marathon

Faculty Achievements

Steimel publishes article about refugees in scholarly journal

Dr. Sarah Steimel has published an article titled “Acknowledging knowledges and expertise in refugee settlements” in the March 2016 online version of Cogent Social Sciences. The article can be accessed at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311886.2016.1162990. It is based on research she completed for her dissertation.

Dawson presents two papers at two Communication conferences

Dr. Veronica Dawson attended two major Communication conferences where she presented papers. At the Western States Communication Association conference, she presented “The organizing role of social media professionals.” At a once-every-10-year Organizational Communication conference, she presented “Organizations, organizing, and identity in social media.”

Hafen, Packer nominated as outstanding undergraduate research mentors

Two Communication faculty members were nominated as Outstanding Office of Undergraduate Research mentors. They are Dr. Susan Hafen and Dr. and Colleen Packer.

Department chair selected as program chair for VisCom 30

Dr. Sheree Josephson, Department of Communication chair, is the program planner for June’s gathering of Visual Communication scholars at Snowbird. She is in charge of the blind peer-review process as well as the formatting of the three-day conference expected to attract the premier scholars in the field of Visual Communication. The VisCom program started in Alta, Utah, and returns to nearby Snowbird to celebrate its 30^th anniversary.

Alumni News

MPC graduate wins 2016 H. Aldous Dixon Award at Weber State

Master of Professional Communication graduate Amy Crosbie was honored as one of two 2016 H. Aldous Dixon Award recipients at Weber State University in March. Crosbie, WSU’s associate athletic director since 2010, oversees academic compliance and helps student-athletes maintain satisfactory grades. She is WSU Athetics’ senior woman administrator. As such, she is heavily involved in the decision-making process and is an advocate for female athletes and administrators.

MPC student who works in Alumni Relations Office honored for work

Amber Robson, a student in the Master of Professional Communication program, won the BIG Award from the Offices of Institutional Research, Institutional Effectiveness and Student Affairs Assessment. Robson was recognized for cleaning up the Alumni Relations data system iModules and helping to facilitate its use. With these efforts, she was called a “game changer” for Alumni Relations.

March 2016 Communication Newsletter

Communication organizations and students receive Crystal Crest nominations

Three Communication organizations and numerous Communication majors were nominated for the annual Crystal Crest awards. The Signpost, KWCR Wildcat Radio and Studio 76 were nominated for the Organization of the Year. Nominated students include: Natalie Barcelo (Organizational Communication) for Excellence in Inclusivity Award; Kyle Froerer (Public Relations & Advertising), Tyler Kelbert (Digital Media) and Cash Knight (MPC) for Man of the Year; Michelle Garrett, (Public Relations & Advertising), Kim Holiday (Multimedia Journalism), Alexis Marquez, (Public Relations & Advertising), and Brooke Steadman, (Interpersonal Communication) for Scholar of the Year; Christyna Cummings (Digital Media), Amina Khan, (Public Relations & Advertising), Haille VanPatten (Public Relations & Advertising) for Volunteer Service; Michelle Garrett (Public Relations & Advertising), Cash Knight (MPC), Alexis Marquez (Public Relations & Advertising), Tawnie Moore (Organizational Communication) and Maria Questereit (Interpersonal Communication) for Wildcat Achievement; Natalie Barcelo (Organizational Communication), Christyna Cummings (Digital Media), Lindsay Fowers (Interpersonal Communication), Michelle Garrett (Public Relations & Advertising), Bailey Lefthand (Public Relations & Advertising), Ingrid Maldonado (Multimedia Journalism), Alexis Marquez (Public Relations & Advertising), Cristina Mayorga (Interpersonal Communication), Tawnie Moore (Organizational Communication), Sydney Roberts ( Public Relations & Advertising), Natalie Barcelo (Organizational Communication), and Tawnie Moore (Organizational Communication) for Woman of the Year. Debater Anne Olsen was also nominated for an award. Adjunct instructor Christine Denniston and MPC students Amber Robson and Dale Payne were nominated for the Friend of Student Award.

Weber State Debate qualifies for National Debate Tournament

Weber Stat Debate qualified for the 70th annual National Debate Tournament. Misty Tippets, Communication major, and Kinsee Gaither, Philosophy major, placed No. 1 in the conference placement, the first time since 2009 that a WSU team has achieved this honor. In other debate news, Steven Sanchez and Mark Veeder placed second in the Varsity Division of the Southwestern College tournament in San Diego.

Tweet movie ideas to @WSUStudio76 for movies.weber.edu

Movies.weber.edu has doubled in size. We need to choose 100 more movies to add to our movies on-demand site at movies.weber.edu. Tweet your movie ideas to @WSUStudio76.

Public Relations & Advertising gets media placement on front page of The Guardian

Public Relations & Advertising graduate Chelbie Hunger got front-page placement on The Guardian. She said, “I’m really excited to share with you all a long lead story I have been working to place since October 2015.” Here is the link: http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/feb/09/summit-bisnow-tony-hseih-zappos-toms-college-humor-summit-at-sea-utah.

The Signpost accepting applications for 2016-17 editor-in-chief, staff

The Signpost, the news organization at Weber State University, is seeking students passionate about news for the 2016-17 school year. Applications are being accepted for editor-in-chief, section editors and staff members.

Qualifications for the editor in chief include:

Experience in journalism, student publications or otherwise
Ability to lead students
Commitment
Ability to spend about 30 hours a week on The Signpost

Section editors lead teams of reporters, photographers, designers or videographers in gathering and producing news for the print and online publications. The Signpost publishes three days a week on and off campus and online daily at mywebermedia.com.

Section editors and staff members are sought for the following areas:

News
Sports
Arts & Entertainment
Science & Technology
Spanish
Photography
Copy editing
Graphic design
Videography and online media
Webmaster

Applicants can be any major, but news experience is preferred. To apply, pick up an application at The Signpost office, Shepherd Union, Room 401, or download it from our website, signpost.mywebermedia.com. If you have questions, email Dr. Jean Norman, jeannorman@weber.edu.

KWCR Wildcat Radio needs students for leadership positions

KWCR Wildcat Radio needs students of all majors to apply for leadership positions in Weber State's own radio streaming station. KWCR is an inclusive, co-curricular group where anyone with a passion for what they do is welcome. All majors are encouraged to apply. We currently have biology, art, communication, and computer science majors to name a few. KWCR provides tuition waivers for some positions and experience in many areas:

Station and personnel management
Music selection and programming
Content creation
Social media curation
Graphic design
News gathering
Spanish-language programming
Live-event broadcast
Public relations
Sports broadcast
Audio editing
Podcast creation
Promotions
Sales and partnerships
IT services
and other areas for your talents to find a home

Contact Robin Haislett robinhaislett@weber.edu for more details or visit www.kwcr.mywebermedia.com/join_kwcr for position descriptions. Deadline for applying: Friday, March 4.

Studio 76 looking for creative digital media students

Are you a creative soul? Are you most alive when you're making things? Do you work well with a team? We want you! Studio 76 is accepting applications for staff positions for 2016-2017. Positions include:

Executive producer
Program director
Marketing director
Social media director
Various content creation positions

Content creation experience is desired for most positions. Studio 76 is a fully operational video production studio and TV station. We produce a wide variety of shows as we hone our digital media skills. As a student-run organization, we tell stories, highlight community events and more. We aim to engage, inform and entertain our fellow Wildcats.

Ogden Peak Communications, PRSSA have executive positions open

Weber State PRSSA and Ogden Peak Communications have openings in their joint executive leadership team for the following positions during the 2016-17 school year:

PRSSA chapter president/ OPC firm director
Recruiting and event planning secretary
Account executive
Creative team lead
Publications/Brand editor
Digital and social media brand editor

Interested students can view full position descriptions and download applications at http://ogdenpeakcommunications.mywebermedia.com/public-relation-opportunities/. Please email completed application/s and associated supplemental materials to Dr. Nicola Corbin (nicolacorbin@weber.edu) by Friday, March 4, at 5 p.m.

KWCR Wildcat Radio to hold Open Mic Nights

KWCR Wildcat Radio will hold Open Mic Nights in the new performance space in the billiards area of the Shepherd Union Building, Waldo's Corner Pocket. It will be every other Thursday from 5:30-8 p.m. beginning March 3, then March 17, 31 and April 14. KWCR staff will take pre-registration for performance order during our open hours as well as in the Shepherd Union atrium at our table during the week. Students, faculty, staff and community members are welcome to attend or perform free of charge. We want to showcase the talents of Weber State University, KWCR and the great space of Waldo's Corner Pocket. For more information, contact Robin Haislett, KWCR adviser at robinhaislett@weber.edu.

Deliberative Democracy Day will discuss reducing friction between police and community

The topic of reducing friction between law enforcement and the community will be discussed at this year’s Deliberative Democracy Day on March 2. Comm. 3100 students will again facilitate the discussion groups. Students from Political Science, Criminal Justice, and Economics in particular will attend this year. We'd like to see Communication students, who study group communication and might use focus groups in their own projects someday, attend. Here is the schedule:

11:30 a.m.-Noon: Students pick up free lunches in UB Ballroom, take a survey, and pick up a fact sheet on the topic.
Noon-1 p.m.: Student are assigned to rooms in the UB where they will have a discussion on the topic, facilitated by Comm. 3100 students.
1:30-2:30 p.m.: Students return to the Ballroom, where they will ask questions (generated in the focus groups) of the panel of experts, including Ogden assistant chief of police, director of WSU Police Academy, ACLU lawyer, and possibly a judge.
2:30-3 p.m.: Students will retake the survey, have refreshments, and stay for raffle drawings of an iPad mini and bookstore gift certificates.

Honors students must meet March 4 deadline to get Honors on diploma

All Communication Department Honor students MUST have their exit forms signed by Dr. Susan Hafen and sent to Honors by March 4 if they want HONORS on their diploma in gold and on their transcripts.

Top Communication students invited to join national honor society

Junior and senior Communication majors with high GPAs will receive invitations in the next week to join Lambda Pi Eta, the national honor society for Communication students. To be eligible students must (1) complete 60 semester credit hours, (2) have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 for all courses taken, (3) complete the equivalent of 12 semester credit hours in Communication, (4) have a minimum GPA of 3.25 for all Communication courses, (5) currently be enrolled as a student in good standing, as determined by the institution's policies, and (6) rank within the highest 35 percent of one’s class in general scholarship. Invitations will be extended via postal mail. If you quality, but do not receive your invitation by Feb. 15, please contact Sonja Green at sonjagreen@weber.edu to check your eligibility. Qualifying students will be honored at the department’s end-of-year event. The deadline to join is today.

Weber State Debate preparing to host two national events

Weber State Debate is preparing to host two high-profile national events. On June 8-12, the 2016 CEDA Topic Conference and executive meeting will convene in the Ogden Marriott. All college debate coaches from across the country will attend this convention, which determines the college debate resolution for the upcoming year. On April 8-10, 2017, the 12th annual National Debate Coaches Association tournament will come to Ogden. This event is expected to insert half a million dollars in the community.

Registration open for summer Weber State Debate Institution camp

Digital Media majors invited to join Facebook group

All Digital Media majors are invited to join the new DM Facebook group. DM students may join this group to post questions regarding Digital Media (shooting, equipment, editing, etc.) and to request crew for larger productions. This group's main purpose is to share production projects and spread the opportunities for creating digital media content. The group is managed by the Studio 76 staff. See https://www.facebook.com/groups/WSUDigitalMedia/.

Job postings available on Communication website

Weber State University Communication students and graduates can log into the Communication Department’s website atweber.edu/communication to look for job postings now or in the future. The listings are under the "Jobs" link. Employers contact the department looking for Communication students and graduates for full-time and part-time jobs.

Communication Department to participate in Ogden Marathon

The Department of Communication will have participation from many faculty, staff, students and alumni this year in the 5K, half marathon and the full marathon on May 21, 2016. If you'd like to join and participate in one of these distances click the below link and register for the distance you prefer: https://www.getoutandlive.org/p/about/ogden-marathon/277. Once you've registered please reply to brentwarnock1@weber.edu and indicate which event you will be participating in. We will be compiling a list and taking a photo with all those who are participating and who have a connection to the Weber State Department of Communication.

Actors wanted for Weber State University video

Weber State University Continuing Education is looking for actors, personalities and spokesmodels to feature in promotional videos. Participants may be featured in local WSU advertising or digital campaigns in other states. This is a great way to build a professional portfolio, and gain valuable experience and exposure. Small compensation may be available depending on the project. If you’re interested, contact Adam Salazar, creative director in WSU Continuing Education, atadamsalazar@weber.edu or call or text 801-540-4133.

Faculty Achievements

Steimel elected to Executive Committee for the WSU Faculty Senate

Dr. Sarah Steimel, an assistant professor of Communication, has been elected to the Executive Committee for the Weber State University Faculty Senate for the 2016-2017 school year.

Gillen Hoke presents paper at Western States Communication Association conference

Dr. Hailey Gillen Hoke, assistant professor of Communication, presented a paper titled "An Examination of Supervisor Sex, Organizational Satisfaction, and Organizational Dissent" at the Western States Communication Association conference in San Diego. The conference paper included data from a Comm. 3150 Research Methods class and was co-authored by recent Communication graduate Katie Rigby.

Five Communication faculty members nominated for Master Teacher award

Four full-time faculty members in the Department of Communication and one adjunct instructor received a nomination for Crystal Crest’s Master Teacher category. The nominated faculty members include Dr. Sheree Josephson, Dr. Jean Norman, Drew Tyler and Brent Warnock. Adjunct instructor Stacey Tyler was also nominated.

Communication instructor quoted by KSL about Super Bowl advertising

Communication instructor Robin Haislett was quoted in several stories on KSL Radio about Super Bowl advertising. Her comments can be heard in the following spots: http://mms.tveyes.com/PlaybackPortal.aspx?SavedEditID=34164b66-1a6b-4514-97db-9101aa44c467 and http://mms.tveyes.com/PlaybackPortal.aspx?SavedEditID=402b63f7-a387-40c7-8253-f9830721070c.

February 2016 - Communication Newsletter

Three Communication majors have abstracts accepted for NCUR

Three Communication majors have been notified that their abstracts were accepted for presentation at the National Undergraduate Conference (NCUR) in Asheville, North Carolina, on April 7-9. Interpersonal & Family major Casey Stratton’s abstract is titled "Organizational culture and the effect it has on employee satisfaction and customer care." Organizational communication major Matthew Walker and Interpersonal & Family major Kylee Hallow’s abstract is titled “Transforming Utah: Focusing on how transgender persons negotiate their identities." These students’ abstracts were chosen from more than 4,000 submissions. They will be presented to peers, faculty and staff from all over the nation. Stratton worked with Dr. Susan Hafen while Walker and Hallows worked with Dr. Colleen Packer.

Weber State debaters do well at last two tournaments

Weber State debaters turned in strong performances at both the Cal Swing and at the Arizona State University (ASU) tournament. Misty Tippets and Kinsee Gaither made the elimination rounds of the varsity division of both competitions in the California Swing tournament, beating many great teams and losing only to University of California-Berkeley and Wake Forest. WSU debaters Sam Leyba and Adrian Raso won the junior varsity division of the Cal Swing. In the ASU tournament, Hannah Shoell and Crystal Hall placed second in the varsity division while David Bessy and Bianca Morales placed third in the junior varsity tourney.

Get a professional headshot for only $20 on Wednesday

The Weber State University chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America is sponsoring an opportunity to get a professional headshot for only $20 or free to PRSSA members. This will be Wednesday, Feb. 3, in Elizabeth Hall, Room 406 at 6 p.m. This is about a $120 cost savings based on standard professional photography rates.

PRSSA chapter schedules two February events

The Weber State University chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America schedules two February events. The PRSSA opening social and development event titled "A day in the life: working at an advertising agency" will be on Tuesday, Feb. 9, in Elizabeth Hall Room 406 at 4 p.m. It will feature a Skype session with WSU alum Amber Price who is working as a PR practitioner working at an advertising agency in Phoenix, Arizona. Also, you will meet all the other members of PRSSA. Light refreshments will be served. The second event is a professional development opportunity titled "Media pitching and catching workshop." It will be on Wednesday, Feb. 17, in Elizabeth Hall Room 406 at 5:30 p.m. This workshop is open to all PRSSA members and public relations students. It will be conducted in conjunction with our Ogden Peak Communications student-run public relations firm meeting. Professional journalists and public relations practitioners will coach students through this very necessary skill. If you are interested in participating, email Dr. Nicola Corbin atnicolacorbin@weber.edu by Feb. 8.

Want to stay updated on all events and information about Weber State's PRSSA? Like us on Facebook at Ogden Peak Communications/ Weber State PRSSA or follow us on Twitter.

Senior writer for Golf Digest magazine to speak to Communication majors

Guy Yocom, a senior writer for Golf Digest magazine and a Weber State University graduate in journalism, will speak to students on Thursday, Feb. 25, at 1:30 p.m. in Room 404 of the Union Building. All Communication students are encouraged to attend. Yocom has been a prominent voice in golf since joining the magazine in 1984. An authority on golf history, instruction and the game’s most colorful personalities, Yocom has authored hundreds of stories on all facets of the game, including collaborations with most of the great players in history, from Tiger Woods to Sam Snead. Yocom has written seven books, including “It’s only a game: Words and wisdom from a lifetime in golf” with Jackie Burke, Jr., “I call the shots” with Johnny Miller, “Secrets of the short game” with Phil Mickelson, “Corey Pavin’s shotmaking” with Corey Pavin, “Mental toughness training for golf” with David Graham. and the best-selling “How I play golf” with Tiger Woods. His most recent book is the anthology “My shot: The very best interviews from Golf Digest Magazine.” Yocom is a recipient of many Golf Writers Association of America Awards and has won the Golf Course Superintendents Association writing contest award. He resides in West Haven, Connecticut. Yocom will also speak to Dr. Becky Johns’ Comm. 4990 class on Friday, Feb. 26, at 10:30 a.m. All students may also join that class.

Two free viewings of Afghanistan documentary will be Feb. 24

The Signpost is hosting two free screenings of “Frame by frame” on Feb. 24 at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the Wildcat Theater in the Shepherd Union. All majors are invited to attend. This documentary tells the story of four photojournalists in Afghanistan who face the prospect of restrictions and even death as the U.S. pulls out and extremists take hold in some areas. When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, taking a photo was a crime. After the regime fell from power in 2001, a fledgling free press emerged and a photography revolution was born. Now, as foreign troops and media withdraw, Afghanistan is left to stand on its own, and so are its journalists. Set in a modern Afghanistan bursting with color and character, “Frame by frame” follows four Afghan photojournalists as they navigate an emerging and dangerous media landscape–reframing Afghanistan for the world, and for themselves. Through cinema vérité, intimate interviews, powerful photojournalism, and never-before-seen archival footage shot in secret during the Taliban regime, the film connects audiences with four humans in the pursuit of the truth.

Deadline to join Weber State chapter of PRSSA is Feb. 25

Want to engage your professional circle, develop your resume and portfolio, and connect with future employers? Join Weber State PRSSA, and take advantage of all these opportunities. Yearly dues are $60 and the registration deadline is Feb. 25. Visit https://www.facebook.com/WeberStatePRSSA/ to download application and more organization information.

College town hall will be Tuesday at noon with student senator

A town hall for the College of Arts and Humanities will be held Tuesday, Feb. 2, from noon-1 p.m. in Union Room 305 with student senator Maria Huerta.

Registration open for summer Weber State Debate Institution camp

Weber State Debate preparing to host two national events

Auto-Owners Insurance internship interviews on Feb. 3

Communication majors are invited to attend a presentation given by Auto-Owners Insurance regarding its summer internship program. The presentation will be Wednesday, Feb. 3, at 12:30 p.m. in Room 216 of the Wattis Building. Pizza will be served. The internships have nothing to do with the sale of insurance. Auto-Owners is located in Draper. Its most current hire is Alex Densley, a December 2014 graduate in Organizational Communication. Students who perform well in an internship are usually given a full-time offer following graduation. These offers begin in the mid $40,000. In order to be considered for a summer 2016 internship, you must attend the presentation. If you plan to attend the presentation, RSVP to Pat Wheeler at pwheeler@weber.edu with your name, major and graduation date.

Submit your scholarship and financial applications today

Need money for school? Submit a scholarship application. Weber State University provides more than $90 million in financial aid and scholarship to students each year. Here are the five primary steps to determine your eligibility for financial assistance:

Complete the WSU Financial Aid and Scholarship Application.
Fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Create your Financial Aid Verify account through your eWeber portal.
Visit the Lindquist College scholarship page to submit an application.
Explore additional scholarship opportunities within the WSU Communication Department.

Have questions? Please visit http://weber.edu/cah/scholarships.html for more information.

Top Communication students invited to join national honor society

Utah student advertising agency shadow day will be Feb. 17

If you want to see what it's like to work in the advertising industry, this is your chance. The American Advertising Federation Utah Student Shadow Day is coming up on Wednesday, Feb. 17. Sign up for your chance to shadow an advertising professional from 9 a.m. to noon, then join AAF for a luncheon and The One Show featuring the best work in advertising for the last year. The cost for students is free. If you’d like more information on Utah’s advertising industry or to get involved in these events, visit this link: https://www.facebook.com/AAFUtah.

Digital Media majors invited to join Facebook group

Interested in chapters for black and Hispanic journalists?

Those who are interested in helping to start chapters of the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists should contact Jean Norman at jeannorman@weber.edu.

Job postings available on Communication website

Communication Department to participate in Ogden Marathon

The Department of Communication will have participation from many faculty, staff, students and alumni this year in the 5K, half marathon and the full marathon on May 21, 2016. If you'd like to join and participate in one of these distances click the below link and register for the distance you prefer: https://www.getoutandlive.org/p/about/ogden-marathon/277. Once you've registered please reply to brentwarnock1@weber.edu and indicate which event you will be participating in. We will be compiling a list and taking a photo with all those who are participating and who have a connection to the Weber State Department of Communication.

February filled with events centered around diversity

February is packed full of educational and meaningful events sponsored by the Weber State University Diversity Office. In addition to these events, the office would like to invite any student who is interested in joining our team next year, 2016-2017. For more information about events and getting involved with diversity, please visit: www.weber.edu/diversity.

January 2016 - Communication Newsletter

Six finalists deliver speeches at Fall 2015 Speech Showcase

January 2016 —The six finalists from the Fall 2015 Speech Showcase delivered their speeches to a packed auditorium in Elizabeth Hall on Dec. 10. Finalists included Holly Morphet, “Self harm”; Aaron Cook, “Insect consumption”; Trevor Grayson, “Learning disabilities”; Nathan Tinsley, “Arts funding”; Kristine Bowman, “Smile”; and Lindsey Moss, Active-shooter response. Eight Weber Speaks presenters were also honored. They included: Colten Ferrin, Carver Nicholas, Wisper Pentz, Jesse Saltzgiver, Oliver Schick, Connor Simmons, Tyler Wilson and Dallyn Zaugg.

The Speech Showcase and Weber Speaks were featured in WSU President’s monthly Wight Paper. The feature article is below:

January 2016 —Wildcats who have the gift of gab are growling a little louder these days. That’s largely due to a program that began this year: Weber Speaks. The program gets Weber State University students out of the classroom and into the community to sharpen their public speaking skills while informing city leaders about topics of interest. Students who are among the best in the Department of Communication’s public speaking courses present in front of local governments regarding a variety of topics that those governments choose. So far, Ogden, Clearfield and Layton have participated in the program. Ogden asked that students address the creation of inclusive communities. Clearfield and Layton heard presentations regarding WSU’s Children’s Adaptive Physical Education Society. (I plan on an article regarding WSU’s CAPES program in the February Wight Paper.) It’s a mutually beneficial relationship, said Mark Merkley, a Department of Communication faculty member. Students get to not only sharpen their speaking skills, but also see how government works. Merkley expects that, in coming years, those who present in front of council members and mayors for Weber Speaks might become council members and mayors themselves. “We are actually training students, not in the classroom, but in front of these city council members within that venue to see how the democratic process actually works,” he said. Bill Cook, executive director for the Ogden City Council, has seen the benefit from his city's side as well. “The speeches provided through the Weber Speaks program have been impressive and well-researched,” Cook said. “We appreciate the involvement of Weber State students in City Council meetings and recognize that student insights provide a valuable contribution.” The best student speakers WSU has to offer let their voices be heard Dec. 10 during the Speech Showcase, a culminating celebration of the Weber Speaks program. Twenty-five students battled it out during Selection Saturday to become a part of the showcase. Six students, who also received a small cash prize, went on to speak in front of a crowd of hundreds. (I knew I had my work cut out for me when it came to my introductory remarks). Topics for selected speeches ranged from emergency preparedness to eating insects, and each of the six speakers shone in terms of diction and delivery.

Two PR and Advertising students offered jobs from their internships

January 2016 —Two Public Relations and Advertising students have been offered jobs from their internships. Rod Peterson was offered a job by Freestyle Marketing Group, a PR agency in Salt Lake City. Peterson will be an account coordinator, managing social media accounts and doing client relations. Sarah Knowlton was just offered the job of public relations and community manager from her internship at Avalanche Media.

PR & Advertising students publish December newsletter

January 2016 —Public Relations & Advertising students who are members of Ogden Peak Communications, a student-run PR firm, and PRSSA have published December’s newsletter. It can be accessed at https://issuu.com/weberstateuniversityprssa/docs/december_2015.

PR&A advertising student to speak at entrepreneurship series

January 2016 —Greg Timothy, a Public Relations and Advertising student, will be a featured speaker in the Young Subaru Entrepreneurship Lecture Series. Greg Timothy, owner of the Waffle Wagon, will speak on Jan. 19 at 6 p.m. The lecture will be held in the Child Startup Center in the Business Building in Room 203. Food will be provided.

Digital Media majors invited to join Facebook group

January 2016 —All Digital Media majors are invited to join the new DM Facebook group. DM students may join this group to post questions regarding Digital Media (shooting, equipment, editing, etc.) and to request crew for larger productions. This group's main purpose is to share production projects and spread the opportunities for creating digital media content. The group is managed by the Studio 76 staff. See https://www.facebook.com/groups/WSUDigitalMedia/.

LittleBigKast celebrates two years of podcasting

January 2016 —The LittleBigKast is celebrating two years of podcasting. Two Communication alumni (Jeff Hawkes and Rachel Hernandez) and two faculty members have been producing this weekly podcast since 2014. The show averages an hour in length and covers all things Sony Playstation. The podcast began with a handful of listeners each week and has grown to over 200 downloads per episode. City Weekly published an in-depth Q&A with the crew recently. You can find them and their witty banter on iTunes.

Weber State students invited to lecture at University of Utah Communication Department

January 2016 —Weber State Communication students are invited to attend a lecture by Jay Rosen, a prominent thought-leader in the world of journalism and media. The lecture, sponsored by the University of Utah Communication Department, will be on Jan. 14 from 3:30-5 p.m. in LNCO 1110. Rosen’s lecture will be called “Transparency is the new objectivity: Two ways to be trusted in the production of news.”

Interested in chapters for black and Hispanic journalists?

January 2016 —Those who are interested in helping to start chapters of the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists should contact Jean Norman at jeannorman@weber.edu.

Job postings available on Communication website

January 2016 —Weber State University Communication students and graduates can log into the Communication Department’s website at weber.edu/communication to look for job postings now or in the future. The listings are under the "Jobs" link. Employers contact the department looking for Communication students and graduates for full-time and part-time jobs.

College of Arts & Humanities offering one-credit lecture class

January 2016 —A one-credit lecture series is offered this semester for all students in the College of Arts & Humanities. Modeled after the Nye Lecture Series in the College of Business, COMM 4810 will bring current undergraduate majors into contact with successful alumni from all of departments in Arts & Humanities. Alums will talk about how they used their undergraduate education to navigate careers, often moving from one professional area to another. Students will be able to network with alums and engage in specific career planning. Invited guests include individuals now working in public education, local politics, marketing, performing arts, real estate, communication, film, publishing, and other areas. The lecture series will meet only once a week, Tuesdays from 12-12:50 p.m., and is a Credit/No-Credit offering.

Broadcast News class to create content for online platform

January 2016 —Communication students are encouraged to enroll in COMM 3780 Broadcast News Writing & Production. This course will focus on the skills needed for broadcast news. Both the writing and the production parts of broadcast news will be taught. Students work together to create a weekly broadcast covering Weber State news and sports. This class will be taught by an award-winning producer who has spent more than decade in the TV news industry. Any student who is planning on a career in journalism should enroll. The class will be offered on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10:30 in Elizabeth Hall Room 410.

New debate class Analysis of Argument offered in spring

January 2016 —A new debate class, COMM 1270 Analysis of Argument, will be offered for the first time this semester. It will be taught at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays with Ryan Cheek, associate director of debate.

Communication Department to participate in Ogden Marathon

January 2016 —The Department of Communication will have participation from many faculty, staff, students and alumni this year in the 5K, half marathon and the full marathon on May 21, 2016. If you'd like to join and participate in one of these distances click the below link and register for the distance you prefer: https://www.getoutandlive.org/p/about/ogden-marathon/277. Once you've registered please reply to brentwarnock1@weber.edu and indicate which event you will be participating in. We will be compiling a list and taking a photo with all those who are participating and who have a connection to the Weber State Department of Communication.

New faculty member publishes article in journal about social media

January 2016 —Dr. Veronica Dawson published an article in December in The Journal of Social Media in Society (Vol. 4, No. 2) titled “Who are we online? Approaches to organizational identity in social media context.”