State of the Department
Chair’s Note
Greetings, friends of the Baylor JPR&NM Family!
I bring you the 2024 Chair’s updates with great pleasure I have much to share, as our faculty, staff and students have been busy doing extraordinary things Baylor JPR&NM has over 250 majors and 80 minors, making it the eighth most popular major in the College of Arts and Sciences. All sequences include internships, a capstone portfolio critiqued by professionals, and other hands-on experiences. Students complete two to three internships before graduating.
I am incredibly grateful to work alongside a dedicated and engaged team in our department Their dedication and hard work have contributed to our high recruitment and retention numbers. We are blessed to have faculty like Dr Liz Bates, undergraduate program director, and Dr Cassy Burleson, internship coordinator, who play crucial roles in our recruitment and retention efforts In addition, our full- and part-time faculty members consistently teach courses that prepare our students for the job market I am thankful for the way they contribute to our students' success It truly takes an engaged village to achieve our goals as a department.
With Baylor Love, Mia Moody, Ph.D.
Baylor Journalism, Public Relations & New Media Professor & Chair
We're hiring! We have an opening for a tenure-track assistant professor starting in 2025. Come join us at Baylor Journalism, Public Relations & New Media! APPLY
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BAYLOR JOURNALISM, PUBLIC RELATIONS & NEW MEDIA
Claire St. Amant Named 2024-25 Radford Scholar
In April, alumna Claire St Amant visited our department as a Radford Scholar to offer a preview of a podcasting course she will teach this fall. St. Amant hosts a true-crime podcast titled Final Days on Earth and wrote the upcoming memoir Killer Story, released in 2025 by BenBella Books St Amant developed and produced stories for CBS News and is credited with over 20 episodes of 48 Hours. She has covered an assassination attempt on a judge in Austin, a serial killer in South Carolina and a murder-for-hire sting on two doctors in Houston She was part of the breaking news team nominated for an Emmy in 2016 for “Bringing a Nation Together,” a special report on the Dallas Police shooting
2023-24 Baylor Student Media Awards Abound
Baylor students earned 156 awards under the direction of Douglas Pils, representing all Student Media platforms, including 52 first-place honors Notable awards garnered were Associated Collegiate Press Pacemakers in Broadcast for Lariat TV News and Yearbook for Roundup, the ACP Best of Show in Digital Newsletter, Yearbook, Broadcast News Program, and the College Media Association Pinnacle Award for Yearbook of the Year
TIPA Back at Baylor
JPR&NM is excited to welcome the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association (TIPA) back to Baylor under the direction of Julie Reed, Baylor's assistant Student Media adviser. With its first meeting at Baylor in 1909, TIPA became the nation's oldest state collegiate press association and has grown into one of the country's largest collegiate groups Reed, who has been a part of the organization for almost two decades, previously served as TIPA president, vice president, and secretary FULL STORY
Baylor JPR&NM 2024 Homecoming Speaker Stresses Community
Andrea Kosar, a Baylor JPR&NM alumna and president/CEO of the Centex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, was this year’s homecoming speaker. The homecoming theme, “You can always come home again: The importance of community,” focused on her career journey. As a Baylor University graduate in public relations and education, Kosar gained experience in marketing and public relations working in local media. At KXXV-Channel 25, she created a weekly segment, Positively Central Texas, telling stories of Waco’s organizations and businesses doing good in the community
HOMECOMING 2023
Baylor to be Well-Represented at AEJMC 2024
Baylor Journalism, Public Relations, & New Media faculty, graduate students, and recent alums are looking forward to taking part in a diverse array of panel discussions, posters, and research presentations highlighting the latest trends and insights in journalism and communication at the 2024 AEJMC Conference in Philadelphia The conference will cover topics ranging from social media to artificial intelligence teaching practices, providing a platform for scholars to delve into pressing issues and cuttingedge developments shaping the communication landscape
JPR&NM Celebrates Solar Eclipse Day 2024
Baylor JPR&NM students, faculty, and staff celebrated Solar Eclipse Day with panache JPR&NM office manager Lanisa Tovar spearheaded a special Café Castellaw offering solar eclipse glasses, refreshments and swag. The effort resulted in lots of fun and visitors from all over campus.
Ella Wall Prichard’s Family Funds Lariat Scholarship
Baylor alumna Ella Wall Prichard’s family set up a Lariat newspaper editor-endowed scholarship this spring Thanks to their generosity, the Lariat editor will receive $6,000 each semester
“The scholarship was funded by my sweet family, through the Prichard Family Foundation,” Prichard said “They surprised me with the honor ”
With the help of scholarships and campus jobs, Prichard attended Baylor, where she majored in history and minored in journalism She enrolled in 1959, served as editor of The Baylor Lariat in 1962 and graduated from Baylor University in 1963
Oscar Hoffmeyer Family Donates $10,000 to JPR&NM
A $10,000 financial gift was donated on behalf of Oscar Hoffmeyer, a 1956 journalism graduate of Baylor University As a tribute to Oscar, his wife, Chris, wished to bestow a financial gift to Baylor JPR&NM for a worthy cause in his name Hoffmeyer passed away on May 10, 2024, at 98 Her sons, Mike (Baylor 1971-1974), Randy (Baylor 1973 - 1977), and Tim (Baylor 1977), carried out their mother's wishes by contributing to Prichard’s Lariat student editor scholarship fund
Castellaw Kudos
Dr Marlene Neill has had the best year ever! She was promoted to full professor and named a senior research fellow at the Arthur W Page Center in the fall In the spring, she led the 2024 Page/Johnson Legacy Scholar Grant call on ethics training in PR, Journalism, Advertising, & Marketing Strategic Communication Neill was one of eight AEJMC members selected as a 2024-25 Jennifer McGill Fellow for AEJMC's Institute for Diverse Leadership in Journalism and Communication (IDL) Academically, Neill recently published a new book titled Leadership Development in Public Relations
Vasquez, an assistant professor at Baylor University, was one of 20 new faculty selected to participate in the 2024 Baylor Summer Faculty Institute Academically, Vasquez was named a 2024-2025 Page/Johnson Legacy Scholar Grant recipient for the project “Examining the role of PR in communicating ethics training and DEI in U.S. Companies.”
Senior Lecturer Sharon Gripp was selected to participate in the 2024 Affordable Course Materials Summer Fellows program cohort, sponsored by Baylor University Libraries The incentive program encourages Baylor University faculty to reduce their students' educational costs using library content, open educational resources (OER), or other low-or zero-cost materials.
Career Services recognized Baylor JPR&NM and Dr Cassy Burleson for their commitment to job placements, which are around 90%. Burleson emphasizes our students' professional development through internship site visits, portfolio reviews, and postgraduation job placements
Drs. Alec Tefertiller, Rosalynn Vasquez, Mia MoodyRamirez, and Marlene Neill have journal articles and presented at academic conferences Moody-Ramirez and Tefertiller garnered top paper awards at academic conferences last year
Gripp received two awards from national and state organizations: the National Federation of Press Women Communications Award (June 23, 2023) and first place in Writing - Editorial/Opinion 2023 and the Press Women of Texas Communications Award (March 13, 2023) Press Women of Texas First Place Editorial/Opinion Writing
Former Lady Bear Named 2024 Alumna of The Year
In other alumni news, the Baylor Journalism, Public Relations & New Media (JPR&NM) department honored Tiffanie Blackmon-Jones, B A ’05, as the Alumna of The Year at this year’s awards ceremony Each year, faculty members select an alumnus/alumna who shows professionalism, integrity and high levels of achievement. This year’s recipient, BlackmonJones, has displayed those qualities as a public relations professional and chief communications officer for the DeSoto Independent School District since 2017. Blackmon-Jones, who graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism, was a three-time letter member of the Baylor women’s basketball team and a Lariat staff writer while in school. She said her time in the JPR&NM department prepared her for a career of success in communication.
2023-24 Baylor JPR&NM Alumni
Receive Kudos
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BizCom Associates, named the top franchise PR agency by Global Franchise for 2023, announced in April it has acquired franchise marketing and lead-generation firmBrand J(formerly Brand Journalists) BizCom CEOScott White co-founded BizCom in 1999 with COOMonica Feid, a Baylor JPR&NM alum recently elected advisory board treasurer BizCom and Brand J are ranked annually in Entrepreneur Magazine's list of top franchise suppliers Together, they represent more than four decades of franchise PR and marketing experience, having worked with many of the most well-known and high-profile names in franchising.
Monica Feid, one of three co-founders and a Principal with BizCom, took over as the president of BizComPR in 2017.
Matt Kyle, a recent graduate, received the Texas Managing Editors' Star Investigative Report of the Year award for his reporting for the Waco TribuneHerald on the Chi Alpha sex abuse scandal He also received an honorable mention in deadline writing and was part of a Tribune-Herald team that won several other awards
Matt Kyle, a recent graduate, received the Texas Managing Editors' Star Investigative Report of the Year award.
Baylor Journalism alum Russell Rankin is the new director of marketing and communications for the Hankamer School of Business.
Baylor Journalism alum Russell Rankin is the new director of marketing and communications for the Hankamer School of Business Rankin is a Baylor JPR&NM adjunct faculty member and the former director of public relations for the Methodist Children’s Home.
Baylor journalism graduate Alison McMillon has been named the Dallas market lead at Weber Shandwick, a global, earned-first strategic communication and consulting agency In her new role, McMillon highlights opportunities for clients and staff Specifically, she shapes agency growth in areas centered around Weber Shandwick’s people, accounts and the office to pursue excellence in education, professionalism, and success in a positive, graceful work climate
New Faculty Set to Begin in Fall 2024
In the fall of 2024, we look forward to welcoming Tamara Welter, a tenure-track faculty member, and Stephen Green, a lecturer Welter comes to us from Biola's Journalism and PR department Her areas of focus are visual and cross-cultural media Green is a Baylor alumnus and former teacher at College Station High School He specializes in audio video instruction and photography
Advisory Board Elects
New Officers
In April, we welcomed the Baylor JPR&NM advisory board members to campus for a full slate of activities, including an AI presentation by lecturer Matthew Brammer, a dinner at the Baylor Club, and a state-ofthe-department presentation. During the two-day meeting, Drs Marlene Neill and Rosalynn Vasquez collected feedback during a focus group to assess how we might improve our department and better prepare our students for the workforce the board includes 18 members and elected officers for the first time Terms will last three years, with the possibility of a second..
Officers are Chris Talley, president; Ed Wyatt, vice president; Selena Mejia, secretary; Monica Feid, treasurer; and Lewis Moore, chaplain
Planters Nutmobile Makes Stop in Waco
It is not every day that students get to see the Planters Nutmobile, but our students learned more about its origin on Jan. 22 when three guest speakers visited campus
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LariatStaffMembersShare
In another unique learning opportunity, Kenneth Prabhakar, Lariat photo editor; fall 2023 graduate, Michael Aguilar, Roundup photo editor; George Schroeder, LTVN executive producer, and Caleb Wheeler, Lariat staff writer, had the rare opportunity to enter the Bear Pit to take photos to prepare content for three student media outlets in the fall
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SPJ Returning to Baylor
The Society of Professional Journalists is returning to Baylor University. The Society of Professional Journalists is the nation’s most broad-based journalism organization, dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical behavior. Alec Tefertiller, Ph.D., will serve as the adviser. Stay tuned.
Photo courtesy of Brad Vaughn
Student Media Gets New Director
Douglas Pils joined the Department of Student Media at Baylor University in August 2023 as its director He’s part of a full-time staff of four who advise and mentor a staff of about 60 students who produce, market and sell advertising for the Lariat newspaper and digital product at baylorlariat com, the LTVN broadcast team, Roundup yearbook and Focus magazine.
Before arriving at Baylor, Pils spent nine years at Texas A&M University running the Student Media Department. He advised The Battalion newspaper, which includes its website thebatt com and Maroon Life magazine, and the Aggieland yearbook.
Baylor JPR&NM Partners with Nonprofits to Offer Digital Media Program
In September, our department partnered with The Waco Central (TX) Links, Incorporated, and Texas ACE (Afterschool Centers on Education) to launch the ACE Baylor Links Digital Media Program. The initiative focuses on career awareness, digital media, critical thinking, team building, and socialization skills It meets virtually one day a week
LEAD Looking Ahead
Thisfall,LEADparticipantsvisited BaylorJournalism,PublicRelations,& NewMediatolearnmoreaboutjob opportunitiesinthemediaindustry. LEAD,sponsoredbytheGreater WacoChamberofCommerce, encouragesstudentstograduate andpursuehighereducation RachelMartinez,directorof leadershipdevelopmentforthe GreaterWacoChamber,saidmany LEADparticipantsarefirstgenerationhighschoolstudents whosesuccessinLEADimpacts thempersonallyandchangestheir employmenttrajectoryforyearsto come
Baylor JPRNM faculty, staff and students also shared information on the media industry with members of the Waco Central Texas Chapter of Jack and Jill of America. During the visit, students ate at the Penland cafeteria, toured the campus, and visited the JPR&NM department for swag and to learn more about the program
Baylor JPR&NM Professor Will
Be Missed
Clark Baker, Ph D , associate professor, retired in May after 30+ years of service. Baker is a documentary and fine arts photographer whose work has appeared in books, magazines, online media and exhibitions He taught Media Photography and the History of Photography at Baylor and is a former department chair Baker was honored in Florence, Italy, in 2016 for his photography exhibition at the Florence University for the Arts.Baker's work was presented in an exhibit called "Analog Explorations from Texas and the American South ” He will be missed
Baylor JPR&NM Alum Transitions to Staff
This fall, Baylor JPR&NM welcomed Kerry Burkley, Jr., as the office administrative associate. Burkley graduated from our department’s undergraduate advertising and M.A. programs. He brings extensive knowledge in marketing and graphic design to the department. A special shoutout to Burkley for a job well done in planning and executing the 2024 JPR&NM student awards banquet. Burkley took over for administrative associate Dennisse Concepcion, who relocated to Florida.
NABJ-Baylor Members Have
Busy Year
NABJ, co-advised by MoodyRamirez and Burkley, hosted several meetings throughout the semester to expose students to different careers and to offer networking opportunities Guest speakers included Claire St Amant, Kennedy Dendy, Dallas Cowboys social media specialist, and Jasmine Lotts, KWTX television reporter/weekend anchor
Controlling the Narrative
NABJ-Baylor members gained valuable insights from participating in the 2024 “Controlling the Narrative: The Intersection of AI, PR Measurement & Storytelling Media Institute,” presented by the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Media-Related Task Force.The "Impact of AI on Media, Journalists, and Audiences" panel discussion shed light on contemporary challenges for media professionals and educators
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NABJ-Baylor Becomes Affiliate Chapter
In the spring, the national NABJ office and Region III welcomed NABJ-Baylor as an affiliate chapter. Members are grateful for the opportunity to become an affiliate chapter. NABJ-Baylor Student benefits include access to journalism internships, scholarships, job fairs, mentoring and training programs. Professionals offer guidance and personal critiques of resumes, portfolios and career development opportunities.
PRSSA-Baylor Offers Students Networking Opportunities
Baylor’s PRSSA chapter, with Marlene Neill, Ph D , and Rosalynn Vasquez, Ph D , serving as co-chairs, offered students opportunities to network with PR leaders in and outside the Waco community. Events included career roundtables, industry guest speakers, and collaborations with Waco’s PRSA Central Texas Chapter JPR&NM faculty offered a speed networking roundtable with Professor Kim Patterson, Neill and Vasquez serving as panelists, sharing their expertise and answering questions about the public relations industry.
NEW FACULTY
In the fall of 2023, we welcomed two new faculty members to our department: Rosalynn Vasquez, Ph.D., assistant professor, and Kim Patterson, M.S., APR, lecturer
Rosalynn Vasquez, Ph D , is a tenure-track assistant professor who last taught at Boston University. Her research focuses on increasing awareness and understanding of stakeholder experiences and perceptions of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), ethics, and sustainability, particularly among underrepresented and marginalized voices She has 15 years of experience as a PR practitioner in corporate, agency, and nonprofit leadership roles. Additionally, she serves as a co-faculty adviser for the PRSSA chapter
Kim Patterson is a Baylor University graduate with degrees in journalism and marketing. In 2018, under her leadership, the MCC Foundation was named a “Charity Champion” for supporting the Men of Color Success Initiative at MCC. Following this recognition, the foundation received a Cooper Foundation grant to support the program further and partially fund its first paid coordinator Additionally, it established an endowed scholarship for the program’s outstanding participants
Save the Date for Fall Media Literacy Event
Please mark your calendars for Oct. 1 and 2 for "Decoding the Digital Landscape: Navigating Media Literacy in 2024,” an event co-sponsored by Baylor Journalism, Public Relations & New Media, KWBU, and Baylor Libraries. On Oct. 1, Baylor JPR&NM will host a media literacy-themed Cafe Castellaw event featuring giveaways, refreshments, and an opportunity to meet Rachel Velasco, KWBU's community/membership engagement coordinator The main event on Oct 2 will be an interactive experience featuring a panel discussion followed by a media Literacy fair with stations focusing on media literacy, including factchecking, AI, gender, race, and media This setup encourages active participation and learning
Baylor Class of 2024 Prepares for the World
Join us in congratulating Baylor’s outstanding class of 2024! Neill rounded up a few of this year's Baylor Journalism, Public Relations, & New Media graduates and faculty for a photo at the commencement ceremony We applaud both our students and faculty for their hard work and dedication.
