2011 Communicator

2011 Vol. 33 No. 1

COMMUNIC COMM NICATOR TOR A publication of the University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences and its alumni

A step

into the

future Digital Media Center slated to open in 2013

p. 4

Monumental opportunity

Finishing Strong

Service Learning

PR alumna gets big job in the Big Apple

C&IS seniors give back to the University

Faculty and students respond to tornado

p. 10

p. 22

28

COMMUNIC COMM NICATOR TOR 2011 • Vol. 33 #1 Publisher Dean Loy Singleton Editor Misty Mathews Reporter Savannah Bass Faculty and Sta Support Elizabeth Aversa Beth Benne Kim Bissell Jason Black Elizabeth Brock Roy Clem Caryl Cooper Gary Copeland Jennifer Greer Heidi Julien Joseph Phelps Neely Portera Glenda Williams Shuhua Zhou Administra ve Support Sheila Davis Sammie Schlichter College of Communica on and Informa on Sciences Box 870172 Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0172 communicator@ua.edu cis.ua.edu/communicator This magazine is published by the College to provide informa on to alumni, UA community and friends.

It is funded by gi s to the Capstone Communica on Society.

2 | The Communicator

Contents 4-7

8-9

Dawn of a Digital Age The College of Communica on and Informa on Sciences sees the beginning of a new era with its Digital Media Center project.

They are Legend C&IS inducts four to Communica on Hall of Fame

10-15 Alumni Notes Our former students have been up to a lot of good. Check out their professional and service-oriented accomplishments.

16-17 Outstanding Alumni The College recognized an outstanding alumnus in each of its five undergraduate departments.

18-21 Faculty Notes The C&IS faculty have been busy comple ng research, publishing papers and winning awards.

22-25 Student Notes Current students have done the college proud, from award-winning ad campaigns to groundbreaking editorial coverage.

From the Dean’s desk

T

The College of Communica on and Informa on Sciences’ Digital Media Center will be located in the North End Zone of Bryant-Denny Stadium.

26-27 Year in Review: A Photo Essay Take a firsthand look at what’s been happening in the College in 201011.

28-29 Service Learning The April 27 tornado in Tuscaloosa gave students and faculty a chance to use their communica on experse to help others.

31

Get involved!

Want to know how you can give back to your College? See our ad on page 31 for some ideas.

his issue of the Communicator features a major update on the status of the Digital Media Center. It conveys the excitement and anticipation we’re feeling around Phifer Hall as this game-changing facility begins to move forward. The excitement ramped up when early one morning in the fall I pulled into the Phifer Hall parking lot to see a forty-foot long I-beam suspended by a cable attached to a multi-story crane.

The dangling 3,800-pound beam was being wrangled by a line held by a hard-hatted workman below who gently guided it toward one of the windows on the third floor of the north end of Bryant-Denny stadium overlooking the Walk of Champions. The glass had been removed from the window, enabling workers on the inside to lean out and catch the end of the beam as it approached. They gently pulled it through the window onto a dolly and rolled it to a waiting forklift, which raised the beam for a crew to weld into place. This process was repeated for two days, until a two-story steel framework stood in place, divided laterally into two spacious floors. The initial phase of construction of the Digital Media Center was finished.

Over the next year the build-out of the Center will continue, followed by installation of all the digital video and audio technology it will house, along with studios and offices of the College’s professional media staff. We expect to “cut the ribbon” on the Digital Media Center in early 2013. When we do, your College will boast a campus digital-production facility second to none in the nation, housing WVUA-TV, the Center for Public Television, Alabama Public Radio and the video production facilities of the Athletics Department.

All these production units will provide generous opportunities for students to work alongside faculty and professional media production staff in a top-40 media market. Those hands-on opportunities and the digital technology will provide a powerful, unique value proposition for students from across the country who are considering our College.

Meanwhile, our enrollment growth continues. During the summer our College’s outstanding orientation team advised more than 600 incoming freshmen and transfer students — another record. The 2011-12 academic year got under way in August with nearly 2,900 students in the College, about 2,500 undergraduates and more than 400 graduate students, a 7.5 percent increase over last year and 12 percent over the last three years.

I invite you to take a few minutes to check out the College’s website, http:// cis.ua.edu, where you can find more information in the full annual report about the exciting growth and accomplishments in the College.

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Dawn

of a

Digital media center

By Misty Mathews

A project that has been years in the making is finally coming to fruition, and it’s one that will revolutionize the way students in the College of Communication and Information Sciences learn.

The project is the College’s Digital Media Center, slated to open in 2013 in the North End Zone of Bryant-Denny Stadium. It will be a 52,000 square-foot digital multimedia learning center “unrivaled by any campus production facility in the nation,” said Loy Singleton, dean of the College.

“The Digital Media Center will allow all of the College’s professional production assets to collaborate in new, exciting ways and provide a digital platform that will give students an opportunity to work in a true 21st Century facility,” Singleton said.

“The technology in the new facility is similar to what students will be using in their jobs after they graduate, so the experience of working in the new Digital Media Center will be invaluable to potential employers.”

The Center will house WVUA/WUOA, the University’s super station that reaches more

4 | The Communicator

than 3 million people; Alabama Public Radio; the Center for Public Television and Radio; The Production House, a full-service multimedia and production agency; and Crimson Tide Productions, a production asset of the UA Athletic Department.

WVUA General Manager Roy Clem said he and the rest of the WVUA staff are thrilled at the new possibilities.

“This is a project that has been long in the making,” Clem said. “So much thought has gone into it, and the efforts of so many people. It’s extremely rewarding and exciting to see it start to move forward in such a dramatic way.”

Indeed, students, faculty, staff and anyone else who happened to be in the vicinity of the stadium in recent months likely have seen the steel beams that compose the infrastructure of the two-floor center being raised and guided through the windows of the North End Zone, just in front of the Walk of Champions.

“I was over there yesterday watching them put rivets in,” Clem said in early November, “and with each rivet, I realized we were mak-

ing progress toward this wonderful vision that will really create a showplace for our college.”

library and information studies can benefit, as well.”

For example, he said, students in the School of Library and Information Studies can become involved in digital archiving projects of work by DMC staff.

A place to collaborate Advertising and Public Relations students who are required to produce videos for class projects will benefit Matt Scalici, incoming president of the College’s from the help of TCF students using DMC equipment.

Board of Visitors and consultant to the University “For some of our students, there’s an immediate on the DMC project, said the Center will provide the and obvious connection,” Singleton said. “For others chance for true multimedia collaboration. the presence of the facility will stimulate “You’re in this academic environment By the Numbers opportunities for them.” where the University happens to own a Elizabeth Brock, director of the public television station, a radio group, Center for Public Television and Radio, an athletic department production said the move also will allow contingroup,” Scalici said. “This is an opued — and improved — collaboration portunity to bring them together with Projected total cost between the CPT&R and WVUA. She common technology and shared resourcof the DMC project said she envisions the creation of more es — not just equipment, but sharing of original programming like The Iron Bowl intellectual and creative people. I think Hour, which takes a humorous look at once they are all under the same roof the Alabama-Auburn rivalry. there will be a new product created, one “Other projects in development will that might not have happened had they Total number of focus attention on the people and work not all been passing each other in the square feet in the of the University and the state of Alahallways and sharing ideas.”

DMC bama,” Brock said. “The Digital Media The space will house dozens of digital Center will provide the necessary equipmedia production staff members and will ment to make this possible and support include three studios and control rooms, a culture more in keeping with current a digital master control, eight to 10 edit media trends.

Edit suites, suites and dozens of edit work stations.

“Under one roof, the potential for endesigned It will have fiber connectivity to every gineered collaboration — as well as the major venue on campus and standby to op mize unplanned and unexpected — among emergency power for emergency events student learning television, radio and new media units like the April 27 tornado. will provide an unparalleled opportunity Clem said he anticipates the orgafor staff and students alike.” nizations housed in the center to find

$16M 52K 10 4

new ways to collaborate and to include En es that will Moving out and moving up students. make their home “You can actually visualize how these in the DMC Another benefit provided by the new units are going to be able to work tospace will be more space — both in the gether in a very modern digital center,” DMC and in the space vacated in Reese he said. “What that’s really going to Phifer by the entities moving into it. allow us to do is to not only teach students the way “The College and the University have grown subbroadcasting has been done for the last 50 years, but it will give us a chance to teach students the way it’ll be stantially in the last several years, and we were seeing a pressing need for more space,” Singleton said. done for the next 50 years in a multiplatform world.”

The College saw a 12-percent increase in students Singleton said the Center will provide opportuniover the past three years, slightly outpacing the Unities for students with different academic majors to versity’s growth. work together in new ways.

“Being able to create this Center in Bryant-Denny “I believe all our Communication and Information Sciences students can benefit from this new addition,” Stadium allowed us to kill two birds with one stone.

We could plan and develop the best Digital Media Singleton said. “There are obvious opportunities for Center we could possibly imagine on a college camstudents in journalism and TCF. Students in compus, and, pending funding, we freed up space on the munication studies, advertising, public relations and

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Preliminary plans for the third and fourth floors of the North End Zone of Bryant-Denny Stadium, which will house the College of Communica on and Informa on Sciences Digital Media Center. Images courtesy of Davis Architects.

first floor of Reese Phifer Hall that can now be used Denny Stadium with the most up-to-date equipfor classrooms, offices or whatever else it’s needed ment?” said senior TCF student Dominique Bivens, for,” Singleton said. who currently works for CPT&R. “We’ll have suffiClem said this additional space would also allow cient equipment for students to get hands-on learning WVUA to provide more students experience and a new, cuttingfirst-hand experience doing edge facility for our professionWant to impact students things such as running video als. It’s overdue.” at your Alma Mater for equipment or assisting with editSenior Matt McCoy, weeking at the television station. end producer/anchor and lead years to come? Visit “Right now we have such reporter for WVUA, has worked http://cis.ua.edu/DMC. limited space, and there’s such a with the station for four years as html or scan with your demand for students to be part an undergraduate and said the smart phone for details of our program at WVUA,” he move will have an immediate said. “Right now we are able impact on the product and on on getting involved! to accommodate about 150-160 the people who work there. students, but lots of students are “Of course, the use of brandon the waiting list. Once we have new equipment to bring us into more space, we’ll be able to actighter competition with comcommodate more students.” peting stations is going to be Brock said the DMC gives amazing,” McCoy said. “Going students a chance to be part of tapeless, being able to edit at something groundbreaking. my desk and just getting to say, “The University of Missouri when I walk across the Walk of often refers to its top-rated journalism program as Champions, ‘Hey, that’s the window to my office!’ will the ‘Missouri Method,’ an approach that relies heavbe a great memory as I think back on my experiences ily on ‘real-world’ experience,” she said. “The Digital here, from the old station in the basement in Reese Media Center will be a dynamic part of the College of Phifer to the new Digital Media Center in one of the Communication and Information Sciences, providing nation’s most prestigious stadiums.” hands-on experience for students from across the ColClem said that’s not the end of the benefits WVUA lege who can work alongside media professionals to will see from the move. create high-quality programming for both traditional “The other great thing this facility will do for us is and new media. allow us to create a higher-quality product in HD,” “As such, the Center will be a dynamic component he said. “That product can carry the message of the in the continued development and promotion of the University of Alabama across the whole viewing area ‘Alabama Method.’” and as far as the Internet can reach.”

Students who have worked for WVUA and CPT&R The move represents not just a space upgrade but said they are excited about what the Digital Media also an equipment upgrade. “Each entity moving to Center will make possible in the future. the Digital Media Center has different levels of equip“How amazing would it be to intern in Bryantment it needs replaced,” Singleton said. “The new

6 | The Communicator

equipment will be contemporary, digital equipment that replaces anything that’s currently outdated.”

Bo om line There’s no denying the Digital Media Center is the next generation for the College of Communication and Information Sciences.

“It’s really my honest belief that this is the most significant capital project the College has ever undertaken,” Scalici said. “What it means for them is that they’re going to provide absolute cutting-edge education and technology for their students so that when they enter the professional world they’ll have already seen current technology, already used it and understand the 21st Century way of creating and distributing content.

“That’s going to make the value of a degree from this college worth more than ever and allow the College to draw the best and brightest students because there is no other place you can get this kind of experience.”

The project is the largest undertaking the College has seen in several years, but it makes a lot of sense, Singleton said.

“The completion of this Digital Media Center project has huge implications for recruiting of faculty and students,” Singleton said. He said moving into the already-existing space in the North End Zone was a “practical, cost-effective manner” of addressing the College’s pressing space needs.

The project comes at a time when the eyes of the world seem to be on Bryant-Denny Stadium as the football team seeks its 14th national championship.

Scalici said the sense of satisfaction he gets from seeing the DMC become reality is somewhat akin to the thrill of winning on the field.

“For me, personally and professionally, to be involved in this project at this University at this time is thrilling,” Scalici said. “You could never in my profession imagine that there’d be such a thing as a national championship, but this is it. It’s the ultimate media center, at my University, at my College, and it happens to be in one of the most visible facilities in the whole country.”

Singleton said the project demonstrates to the rest of the University community and eventually will demonstrate to the world at large what a great place the College of Communication and Information Sciences is for learning.

“The need for this project reflects the growth and sophistication of what we’re doing here,” Singleton

Dean Loy Singleton stands at the far end of the third floor to demonstrate the enormous size of the Digital Media Center.

said. “We strive to be a full-service college of communication and information sciences, with up-to-date equipment and sufficient space.”

McCoy said he sees it as a great service — and a huge draw — for future students.

“Our students that graduate from this program will get hands-on experience from using this new equipment that can only be taught at the University of Alabama, with a facility like this,” McCoy said. “It makes me that much prouder to be a part of the UA family and the WVUA family.”

Bivens said the additional space will give even more students opportunities for this kind of experience, enhancing the College’s potential for recruiting new students.

“We have a great program and many opportunities for students to get vital hands-on experience, but we have had limited resources,” Bivens said. “In the past few years the enrollment in the College of Communication and Information Sciences has grown exponentially, making it very competitive for classes and internships.

“Now we’ll have space for all of us.”

Singleton said he hopes the Digital Media Center project will not just be a benefit for future students and professionals in the College but that alumni will seize the opportunity to be a part of it, as well.

“We want to invite our alumni to join us in this, whether through supporting the project with funding or demonstrating their interest and support in other ways,” Singleton said. “This is a chance for them to give back and to be part of the history of this College.”

For more information on becoming involved with the Digital Media Center project, visit http://cis. ua.edu/DMC.

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Legend

They are

College of Communica on and Informa on Sciences welcomes four inductees to Communica on Hall of Fame

By Misty Mathews As always, the College of Communication and Information Sciences welcomed a stellar class of inductees to the Communication Hall of Fame in 2011.

The 2011 induction ceremony was held for the first time in the North Zone at BryantDenny Stadium, with a Hollywood theme.

Nearly 200 of the College’s alumni, friends and supporters were on hand to see Joseph Gibbs, Charles Gordon, James Jacobson and Ruth Waldrop granted entrance to the elite group of communicators.

“This was an exceptional group of inductees,” said Loy Singleton, dean of the College of Communication and Information Sciences. “On behalf of the College, I would like to welcome them to the Hall of Fame and congratulate them on their many great accomplishments.”

Debbie Elliott, national correspondent for National Public Radio, served as master of ceremonies for the evening.

For more information about each of the inductees, see the bios on the following page.

Each of them was in attendance at the event, with the exception of Waldrop, who was inducted posthumously.

8 | The Communicator

Top: The 2011 Communica on Hall of Fame Induc on Ceremony was held in the North Zone of Bryant-Denny Stadium for the first me in 2011. Middle le : Dean Singleton presents Joseph Gibbs a commemora ve induc on plaque.

Middle right: Singleton presents a plaque to James Jacobson. Bo om: Singleton gives Charles Gordon his plaque.

Joseph E. “Joe” Gibbs is best known as the developer of The Golf Channel, the nation’s first 24/7 single-sport channel. He began his work with TGC in 1991, eventually persuading legendary golfer Arnold Palmer to support the project. The channel was launched in January 1995, airing a live tournament from Dubai.

Today TGC has more than 80 million subscribers, more than the Speed Channel or the Tennis Channel, both of which were inspired by the success of TGC, and TGC is catching up fast with ESPN. Gibbs was Co-Founder, Vice Chairman, President and C.E.O. of TGC until he sold his interest at the end of 2007 and started Gibbs Investments LLC, a venture capital company. He serves on the Board of Directors of CONVERGYS, a Fortune 500 company, and Digital Media Arts College. He is on the International Advisory Board of the Arnold Palmer Women and Children’s Hospital in Orlando and is also on the Board of Visitors of both The University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences and The University of Alabama Business School.

Charles A. “Chuck” Gordon’s first job in Hollywood was for legendary film and television producer Aaron Spelling, at that time turning out numerous movies for television and three dramatic television series.

After Aaron Spelling Productions, Gordon worked as an agent at the William Morris Agency, where he worked on popular shows such as The Sonny & Cher Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. His work at William Morris was followed by a period as a literary agent at International Creative Management working with writer clients.

After 10 years writing, Gordon turned to producing.

In one five-year period, Gordon produced five TV pilots and got three of them on the air. He then turned to feature films and has, since 1988, been the producer of films grossing more than $1 billion dollars. Some of

his best-known projects are Waterworld, The Girl Next Door, Die Hard and Field of Dreams.

Gordon, still hard at work, is prepping Hitman 2, Raised by Ghosts and two television series.

James “Jim” Jacobson served as editor of The Birmingham News, Alabama’s largest newspaper, for the last 19 years of his 39-year career. Under his leadership, the News’ editorial page won the Pulitzer Prize for its series on the need for tax reform in Alabama.

After joining the News in 1959, Jacobson served as editorial writer, editorial page editor, assistant managing editor and managing editor, rising to editor in 1978 and continuing for a time as contributing editor after his retirement.

Jacobson was awarded the Alabama Press Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. The University of Alabama declared him Distinguished Alumnus of the Department of Journalism, 1968, and Sesquicentennial Honorary Professor, 1981.

Ruth W. Waldrop was a librarian, library educator, author of children’s books, bibliographer and a passionate advocate for library studies and children’s education. She taught for many years at The University of Alabama in the library school and through her 1968 essay, “A Proposal for Graduate Education in Librarianship: Crisis and Resolution,” helped pave the way for the establishment of the then Graduate School of Library Science at UA. Waldrop served as a school librarian, Executive Director of the Alabama Library Association, Chair of the Department of Library Sciences and in many other capacities in the community and state. An endowed scholarship in her name enables part-time students to attend SLIS. Waldrop was author of five children’s books, including biographies of Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, and Dolley Madison, and several guides for selecting books for children. http://cis.ua.edu/communicator | 9

By Savannah Bass Many people remember September 11, 2001, as a day the world changed forever. Most people can recall where they were, their feelings, reactions from people around them — that everything changed in an instant.

With the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks this past September, the day and events surrounding the commemoration of the 9/11 Memorial became a public relations frenzy. Among the public relations team for the memorial: University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences graduate Sarah Lippman.

Lippman (B.A., 2006, Public Relations) is one of the leading communications managers working on publicity for the memorial, one of the most highly anticipated projects in the United States in the last decade. After working at Cookerly Public Relations firm in Atlanta, Ga., for four years, Lippman and her husband decided to make the move to New York City to explore new opportunities.

“I appreciated the diversity of agency life, but my work with public awareness campaigns made me realize how much I enjoyed backing and shaping a single, meaningful message,” Lippman said. “I decided my goal for finding a job in New York would be to go in-house for a nonprofit organization, ideally one I truly cared about.”

Lippman was immediately thrown into the 10th anniversary frenzy upon starting at the 9/11 Memorial in mid-July, and she said “nothing could have prepared me for what was to come.” She felt the eyes of the whole world not on her but on the memorial she represented, anxiously awaiting what it would look like and what it would mean for families of victims, survivors and the American people.

“Most days were spent arranging press previews

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and interviews at the unopened memorial and in the studios of the world’s top media outlets,” Lippman said.

“These days are still spent fulfilling requests from reporters across the globe who want to see the memorial and people’s reactions to stepping back on this hallowed ground.”

Now that the 10th anniversary has passed, Lippman has turned her focus to media strategy for the anticipated opening of the 9/11 Memorial Museum in September 2012. The 9/11 Memorial Museum will serves as the country’s pinnacle institution to document the events and significance of 9/11 and what it means for the country as a whole.

“We continue to align this organization with global digital companies that reach audiences throughout the world, helping us educate and preserve the history of 9/11,” Lippman said.

Lippman has made an impact in New York, working with one of the world’s most important memorials and museums, and she credits her success to what she learned at UA in the College of Communication and Information Sciences.

“It was Dr. Bruce Berger, Dr. Bill Gonzenbach and Dr. Karen Cartee who made me realize the power and strategy of communications and its integral part of every successful organization,” she said. “The reallife experience and anecdotes they offered every day in class showed me that the way any organization is perceived has a true effect on its bottom-line.”

Advice for future students?

“I wish I had some insightful, philosophical information to offer, but I simply believe in hard work and trying to have fun and being yourself while you’re at it,” Lippmann said.

Contributed photo

Monumental Opportunity

Alumni Notes Professional achievements Adver sing & Public Rela ons Melissa Michelle Rushing (B.A., 1991; M.A., 1993) has been elected president of the American Advertising Federation, Pensacola Chapter, for 2011-12.

Erin Cartee Coggins (B.A., 1997) was named the 2011 Dow Jones Newspaper Fund Distinguished Newspaper Adviser of the Year. She also was the 2011 Alabama Scholastic Press Association Adviser of the Year and the 2010 Sparkman High School Teacher of the Year.

Kathleen Kirvin (B.A., 2000) serves as the alumni committee co-chair (2008-present) for the Rensselaer County (N.Y.) Regional Chamber of Commerce Leadership Institute. She has been a member of the Public Relations Society of America Capital Region NY Chapter board of directors for seven years, previously serving as President (2007), Immediate Past President (2008) and currently as

Director at Large (2009-present).

Lindsay Richardson (B.A., 2000), vice president of marketing for PlayCore Inc., received the PlayCore President’s Award in January 2011.

Erin Wendel (B.A., 2001) was on the board of Washington Women in Public Relations from 2005-10, serving as treasurer, Woman of the Year co-chair and vice president.

Communica on Studies Tasha Smith (B.A., 2003, journalism; M.A., 2005, communication studies) is currently working on her Ph.D. in Instructional Leadership at The University of Alabama.

Dana Rizor (M.A., 2009) will receive her J.D. from The University of Alabama in May 2012.

Katriesa A. Crummie (B.A., 2007) received her J.D. from The University of Alabama School of Law in May 2010. She is a member of the Alabama State Bar and the Mobile Bar Association.

Allison Pace (B.A., 2011) is currently pursuing a medical degree at the University of Mississippi

Medical Center.

Journalism Hugh Maddox (B.A., 1952) received his J.D. in 1957 and went on to serve as an associate justice on the Supreme Court of Alabama (retired). He remains an honorary member of the American Inns of Court and is author of Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure.

Wayne Powell (B.A., 1959), retired, was honored by the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association in 2009 with its Lifetime Achievement Award.

Jason Morton (B.A., 1999) has earned multiple writing and journalism awards, including Story of the Year (2003) and Sweepstakes Award (2008), from press associations in Georgia and Alabama.

Chase Wofford (B.A., 1999) is journalism instructor and newspaper advisor for the Coppell Independent School District (Texas). He advises for The Sidekick at Coppell High School in Coppell, Texas, which won Best Newspaper by The Dallas Morning News High School

Journalism alumna publishes urban fantasy novels Suzanne Johnson (B.A., Journalism, 1978) always knew she had a passion for magazine work but found her calling in working for various universi es across the country.

Originally from Winfield, Ala. Johnson serves as Associate Editor for Auburn Magazine, Auburn University’s alumni publica on. While she s ll roots for the Crimson Tide, Johnson has made a niche for herself in Auburn.

Prior to her me at Auburn, Johnson worked at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, at Rice University in Houston and, for the past 14 years, at Tulane University in New Orleans.

Her 30+ years of magazine editorial experience involves putng together the editorial menu for a magazine down to edi ng copy, feature wri ng, graphic design layout and more.

On her me at Alabama, Johnson said: “The best thing the college gave me was a solid grounding and knowledge of differ-

ent aspects of print journalism. I’ve used every one from news wri ng to copy editing and layout and was fortunate enough to have been able to dabble in all aspects throughout college.”

While Johnson keeps busy with Auburn Magazine, she recently has embarked on carrying out her passion for wri ng even further by becoming a published novelist.

Johnson characterizes her series of three novels tled “Royal Street” (available April 10, 2012) as “urban fantasy.” Fic onal books involving magic in the real world, the books are set in post-Katrina New Orleans, a me during which Johnson herself was actually a resident of the city.

http://cis.ua.edu/communicator | 11

Alumni Notes Journalism Day in 2011, and its online edition, www.coppellstudentmedia.com, won Best Website from The Dallas Morning News in 2011 and 2009.

Kristen Heptinstall (B.A., 2005) recently accepted a position as managing editor for Cox Media Group’s WFTV.com. Before accepting the position she had been founding executive director of the Alabama Social Media Association.

Emily Amick (M.A., 2008) recently graduated with a J.D. from Columbia Law School and an L.L.M. in International Criminal Law from the University of Amsterdam. Amick was awarded a two-year Equal Justice Works Fellowship to work at Sanctuary for Families, a non-profit in New York City, following her graduation. She will coordinate the anti-trafficking program, providing legal representation to sex trafficking victims and managing the New York Anti-Trafficking Coalition.

Alan Blinder (B.A., 2011) was awarded the Outstanding Graduating Senior Award by the department and was named to

the second team of the USA Today 2010 All-USA College Academic Team. A freelancer for the AP after graduation, Blinder was part of a team from The Associated Press that won an honorable mention for excellence in deadline reporting from the Associated Press Managing Editors Association for coverage following the April 27 tornado.

Blinder now covers business for the American Press in Lake Charles, La. Jason Galloway (B.A., 2011), former sports editor for The Crimson White, won the first place sports writing award in the Region 3 SPJ Mark of Excellence contest.

Galloway also was awarded the Professional Excellence Award by the department’s faculty. Galloway now works as a sports reporter at the Opelika-Auburn News.

Joan Garrett (B.A., 2006; M.A., 2007) is a reporter for the Chattanooga (Tenn.) Times Press. She was named a national finalist for the American Society of Newspaper Editors’ Award for Distinguished Writing on Diversity.

John Latta (M.A., 2006; Ph.D.,

2009), an adjunct instructor for the department and an editor at Randall-Reilly Publishing in Tuscaloosa, was awarded UA’s Outstanding Dissertation Award.

Scott Parrott (M.A., 2010) is pursuing a doctorate at the University of North Carolina. He won the College’s 2011 top master’s thesis award and was co-director of the department’s Multicultural Journalism Workshop the last two years.

Patty Vaughan (B.A., 2011) has been hired as a reporter for The Greenville Advocate in Greenville, Ala. She also will coordinate the paper’s new quarterly regional magazine, Camellia Magazine.

Justin Whitmore, (B.A., 2007; M.A., 2009) is a sports reporter at The Natchez Democrat in Natchez, Miss.

School of Library & Informa on Studies Tatum Preston (M.L.I.S., 2001), librarian at the Birmingham Museum of Art, has a chapter, “A Guide to Recruiting and Retaining

TCF graduate Kay Jones finds niche at CNN Kay Jones (B.A., TCF, 1997) always had a knack for produc on but never thought it would land her at the top of television’s most watched networks — CNN. Jones serves as the senior editorial producer for the CNN Manha an office, in charge of booking interviews with celebries for many of CNN’s most prominent anchors. Jones books events and contacts celebri es for special projects for the network, coordina ng with the CNN Atlanta office to make sure all interviews run smoothly.

In New York City now fulfilling her dream job, Jones knew even during her me at UA the type of work she wanted to do.

“I always knew I wanted to work in produc on because of the opportuni es that Alabama as a school had,” said Jones.

“Because of the diversity on campus between news and constant

12 | The Communicator

spor ng events, I got a really great educaon covering a li le bit of everything available.”

Like many professionals, Jones contributes her success as turns of luck and fate.

She had applied for the senior editorial posi on with CNN and was turned down only to get a call back about the posi on a few months later when a colleague recommended her for the job.

While booking was not a career path Jones had le college knowing she would be great at, she’s found her niche in a huge company, the backbone behind most of the interviews the rest of America watches every night.

Alumni Notes Womelsdorf returns ‘home’ to Reese Phifer, C&IS A er receiving his bachelor’s and master’s in Communica on Studies from the University of Alabama and ge ng his Ph.D. from friendly rival Louisiana State University, Chas Womelsdorf had something of a homecoming this year.

Womelsdorf joined the College of Communica on and Informa on Sciences’ faculty as assistant director of the University of Alabama Forensic Council.

“When people ask me where I call home, I tell them Reese Phifer,” said Womesldorf “That’s to say that what I do, being the Assistant Director of Forensics, isn’t a job, it’s paying it forward.”

He said the team is one of the College’s best-kept secrets.

The Council is undefeated in all 10 compe ons for 2011-12 and has won 31 Individual Events, qualifying for the Na onal Championship in April.

With a background in debate, Womesldorf coaches students

Volunteers of All Ages,” in the new book, How to Thrive as a Solo Librarian, edited by Carol Smallwood and Melissa Clapp, published by Scarecrow Press, 2011.

Angela Frederick (M.L.I.S., 2005) is chair of the 2013 Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults committee for the Young Adult Library Services Assocation.

Dan DeSanto’s (M.L.I.S., 2010) recent article in the ASIS&T Bulletin titled “Mobile Future of PlaceBased Digital Collections” documents his pursuit for an app for a digital collection, a project that began during an internship with Dr. Steven MacCall. DeSanto now works at the University of Vermont Libraries.

Telecommunica on and Film Bobby Faye Shuttleworth (B.A., 1977) has won numerous awards, including Alabama Associated Press Best Reporter; Medical Association of the State of Alabama Best Reporter; Alabama Associated Press: Best Coverage of a Planned Event; American Cancer Society

in all 11 events. His coaching philosophy?

“Like Coach Saban, we coach the whole student, not just the compe tor,” he said. “In other words, we help guide our students as human beings first.”

Womelsdorf credits his success to the College and program for taking a chance on a student and believing in him as him as an undergraduate. Now as he prepares to become Dr. Womelsdorf upon compleon of his Ph.D., Womsldorf hopes to help lead the program to even bigger and be er things.

“We are consistently a top 5 school, but we have our eyes dead set on winning it all sooner than later. And with the caliber of students that we have, it’s more reality than dream.”

Award; Medical Society of Montgomery County Award; and Tennessee AAPBA Best Anchor.

Melanie Kearns Davis (B.A., 1996) currently serves as the Public Relations Society of America Southeast District chair and second year director for the Alabama Chapter of PRSA. She also currently is vice chair of the Vulcan Park & Museum Foundation in Birmingham.

Jonathan Crowe (B.A., 1998) recently accepted the job of chief engineer with WAAY 31 News, the ABC affiliate in Huntsville, Ala., to lead the station’s transition to HD. Caroline Helmer (B.A., 2006) was a selection committee member for the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival Film in 2010 and 2011, and she was a Sundance Film Festival Volunteer in 2008 and 2009.

Jacob D. Cohen (B.A., 2008) will receive his J.D. from South Texas College of Law, Houston, Texas, in December 2011.

Lindsay Wilhelm (B.A., 2011) is an assignment editor for CBS 42 WIAT in Birmingham, Ala.

Mass Communica on Curtis Love (Ph.D., 1997) has been named Director of Graduate Studies at the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration.

Community Service Adver sing & Public Rela ons Nancy Richeson Siniard (B.A., 1977; M.A., 1978) serves on the board of Hospice Family Care, is treasurer of the Junior League of Huntsville sustainers, is cochairing the capital campaign for Alpha Gamma Delta and served as president of the AGD Huntsville Alum Club for 10 years. She also serves on the board of the Madison County (Ala.) University of Alabama Alumni Association.

Jennifer Brown Whisenant (B.A., 1985) currently is president of the Greater Shelby County (Ala.) Chamber of Commerce and serves on the board of directors for Leadership Shelby County and for the

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Alumni Notes “I have been volunteering for 16 years at a facility which takes care of children in crisis who are placed at our facility by Child Protective Services. I specialize in infant care, with babies who are generally drug addicted or failure to thrive. Life is good, and I look back at my time at Alabama with wonderful, fond memories and would love to hear from my classmates and Zeta sisters.”

Carol Grzymkowski Howe B.A., 1966, Journalism

Shelby County Economic & Industrial Development Authority. She also is a member of the AlabasterPelham Rotary Club.

Linda Burns (B.A., 1988) is currently a board member for the National Charity League.

Stacy L. Jones (B.A, 1988; Ed.D., 2007), currently assistant dean of students for The University of Alabama, is the 2012 March for Babies Revenue Chair, as well as chair of

the executive board for Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Alabama State Association.

Mary Beth Wetzel (M.A., 1995) has been on the Jr. Board for Gateway, a division of United Way, for 15 years. She also volunteers for Birmingham Community Kitchens.

Jessica S. James (B.A., 1998) is a current candidate for the Alabama State Board of Education, District 1. She serves as treasurer on the board of directors for the Mobile Chapter of The University of Alabama National Alumni Association, is Blue Pass Sales Chair for the Junior League of Mobile, is Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for South Alabama CARES and is a member of the Board of Directors for United Way of Southwest Alabama’s Young Leaders Society. She also is a member of the State of Alabama Republican Party Executive Committee and special events chair for the steering committee of the Mobile County Republican Executive Committee.

Lauren Tagg Hill (B.A., 2003) serves on the board of directors for the Ronald McDonald House of

Memphis.

Anna Ruth Williams (B.A., 2006) is a member of the board of directors of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Metro Atlanta Chapter. She also volunteers with Georgia’s WIN List and Kate’s Club, and she is a member of the Technology Association of Georgia and the Public Relations Society of America, Georgia Chapter.

Jordan Collins (B.A., 2007) is a member of the Young Executive Board of Urban Ministries in Birmingham, a homeless prevention program in the West End community.

Breeanna C. Beckham (B.A., 2007; M.A., 2008) volunteers as communications director for DC Web Women, a nonprofit for women in the Washington, D.C. area that unites women in technology and digital marketing fields.

Danielle Downing (B.A., 2007) was a member of Leadership UAB’s 2011 class and is on the board of King’s Home Young Leaders and Sight Savers America Jr. Board. She also is treasurer of

Book Arts alumna wins pres gious interna onal award The Minnesota Center for Book Arts presented Sarah Bryant (M.F.A., 2008, Book Arts) with the MCBA Prize, the first honor to recognize book arts from across the field and around the world.

Bryant’s entry, ”Biography,” was selected for the award from a pool of 147 submissions that represented 22 na ons and all seven con nents. Bryant said “Biography” is “an examina on of the chemical elements in the human body and the roles they play elsewhere in the world. This book grew out of my desire to use the periodic table, our visual method of categorizing every par cle of ma er in the universe, as a tool for crea ng a portrait of a human being, the viewer of the book.”

Bryant has taught book arts for the University of Georgia in Cortona, Italy, and she served as the Victor Hammer Fellow for Wells College in New York State. Her books have been collected by major libraries including Cornell University, The New York

14 | The Communicator

Public Library, Harvard University and Stanford University, among others.

In 2009, she spent a month in Ireland for a residency at a printmaking studio in Donegal.

Bryant returned to the University as an instructor in the Book Arts Program beginning in the fall 2011 semester.

“Honestly, none of what I have accomplished since studying at UA would have been possible without the educa on I received there,” she said. “The University of Alabama MFA in the Book Arts program transformed me from someone with a dormant interest in books and book arts into a skilled and ac ve par cipant in that professional world.”

Alumni Notes the Birmingham Phi Mu Alumni Association.

Communica on and Informa on Sciences Wanda Madison Minor (Ph.D., 2008) is on the Board of Directors for the National Issues Forums Institute.

Wes Fondren (Ph.D., 2009) serves on the board of directors for three non-profit organizations and is on a Knight Foundation committee for community advancement in his region.

Journalism William Hunter Byington Jr. (B.A., 1975) is on the corporate board of the Heritage YMCA in Naperville, Ill., and also serves on the board of Naperville’s Rotary Club.

Mike Oakley (B.A., 1986) is a 10-year member of Rotary International and a seven-year member of Kiwanis International. He served on the Bibb County Board of Education for 15 years, the State Republican Executive Committee, the Bibb County Area Chamber of Commerce as past president and board member, Dixie Youth Little League board and the Bibb County Schools Foundation as past president and board member.

Telecommunica on and Film Wood Hughes (B.A., 1973) serves as president of the Atlanta Chapter of Sons of the American Revolution and is a board member and past president of Georgia Chapter, Realtors Land Institute

“My tenacity for work is equally as strong for giving back to the community. I show my support of the community by lending my event, marketing and public relations skills to various organizations for fundraisers several times a year. I not only gain exposure for each cause with media coverage but use my resources to help attain sponsors, silent auction items and increase attendance as well as serve on the planning and/or host committees for each event.

Lorrie Dixson B.A., 1993, TCF

(RLI).

Van White (B.A., 1978) is president of the Sumter County Lions Club and director of Sumter County Fine Arts. He is also a Founding Father of Lambda Rho Chapter of Delta Sigma Pi. Leslie Grossman Frederick (B.A., 1979) has been elected to the Board of Directors of the National Electric Auto Association for 201113. She also started the Knoxville Electric Vehicle Association in January 2009.

Marian Jenkins (B.A, 1980) is a member of Friends of the OzarkDale County Public Library; The Friends of Ozark; MLK Holiday Planning Committee; Dale County Democratic Club; and Fort Rucker Main Post Chapel.

Aric Fine (B.A., 1991) is a founding member and currently on the Board of Directors of Miracle League of Marietta (Ga.), a baseball program for kids with

special needs in East Cobb. He also is a water ski instructor for people with disabilities through the Shepard Center in Atlanta.

Brian Burgdorf (B.A., 1995) is a member of the board of directors of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Middle Tennessee Chapter and also serves on the Big Brothers Big Sisters Fund Committee Board.

Stacey Schuler-Cannon (B.A., 1996) is executive director for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team in Training Hand for the Holidays in Duluth, Ga. Danielle Johnson (B.A., 2000) currently is president of the University of Alabama National Alumni Association, Denver/Boulder Chapter.

“In honor of my 5-year-old niece who continues to win her battle with leukemia, I participated in the 2011 Leukemia & Lymphoma Society - Georgia Chapter’s ‘Man & Woman of the Year’ campaign to raise money for research and patient care. My team raised almost $40,000 in seven weeks through a campaign that combined events, social media and personal asks. I’m also heavily involved with Make a Wish, an organization that grants wishes to children with critical and life threatening illnesses. It is a joy to use all my communication skills, work experience and business connections to make a difference in the lives of children and their families. Pay it forward ... Roll Tide!”

Wendy Wilkerson B.A., 1992, Public Relations

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Alumni Notes Outstanding Alumna in Advertising

L

ynn Mann is director of external communication for Michelin North America. She has led external communication for product launches such as Michelin Tweel, the revolutionary tire without air, and the Michelin Balance tire for the Segway Human Transporter.

She established the first in-house media training program for Michelin North America; the first online newsroom in the global Michelin organi-

zation; the first fully electronic news, analytic and media activity database system in the Group; and was the first to lead the combined community relations, government affairs, public relations team. Mann has more than 20 years experience in a variety of communication disciplines with concentrations in strategic planning, international media relations, media analytics and corporate and crisis communication.

Outstanding Alumna in Public Relations

T

onjanita L. Johnson serves as Chief Deputy to the President at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She previously served as Associate Vice President for Marketing and Communication at Middle Tennessee State University. While there she also was chief communication advisor to the president and a member of the faculty, teaching public relations. A native of Butler, Ala., Johnson earned her bachelor’s and

master’s degrees from the University of Alabama.

She earned a Ph.D. from Jackson State University. Since 1999, she has served as a charter member of The University of Alabama Library Leadership Board. In 2008, she received the Multicultural Journalism Program Founder’s Award for her efforts in supporting young journalists of diverse backgrounds for more than 20 years.

Outstanding Alumna in Communication Studies

C

hristina Moss teaches and serves as the director of public speaking for the Department of Communication at North Carolina State University. Previously, she taught at Young Harris College and Pensacola Junior College, while also serving as director of forensics, and at the University of West Florida. In 1998 she received the Georgia Intercollegiate Forensics Association award for Coach of the Year and, in 2004, the Dissertation

16 | The Communicator

Fellowship Award at Louisiana State University. She has been an active member of the professional academic community, including the Argumentation and Forensics Division of the National Communication Association, and has been president of the American Society for the History of Rhetoric Interest Group and of the Kenneth Burke Society Interest Group in the Southern States Communication Association.

Alumni Notes Outstanding Alumnus in Journalism

E

d Williams, professor of journalism in the Department of Communication and Journalism, joined the Auburn University journalism faculty in 1983 after a career at weekly and daily newspapers in Alabama, including The South Alabamian in Jackson, The Montgomery Advertiser, The Brewton Standard and The Andalusia Star-News.

Williams received two journalism degrees (B.A., 1973; M.A., 1976)

from The University of Alabama.

Williams served as faculty adviser to The Auburn Plainsman from 1985 to spring 2008. During those 23 years, the paper won 13 Pacemaker Awards — considered the Pulitzer Prize of college journalism. In 2008 Williams was the recipient of the Auburn Alumni Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award that honors teachers for their dedication, perseverance and hard work.

Outstanding Alumnus in Telecommunication and Film

T

eddy Katz is a 1984 graduate of the Telecommunication and Film Department (then Broadcast and Film Communication). His career in broadcasting began before graduation at WJRD radio in Tuscaloosa.

He moved from on-air talent to media sales and marketing in 1984. His career in sales showed a continual rise in responsibilities and position.

From beginning as an account executive, his duties increased to become

general sales manager in charge of all local sales executives. Later, Teddy would be promoted to regional and national sales manager responsible for representing four stations to national and regional advertising agencies. He has worked for Grant Radio, Capstar Broadcasting, AM/ FM Broadcasting and Clear Channel.

In addition to sales, Teddy has helped clients create memorable local and regional advertising campaigns.

Board of Visitors Teaching Excellence Award

J

ason Black has been a faculty member since completing his Ph.D. from Maryland in 2006 and now serves as assistant dean for undergraduate student services and advisor for Lambda Pi Eta. He also holds affiliate status with the Department of Gender and Race Studies.

In 2008, he received the Knox Hagood Faculty Award and was a finalist for the National Society of Collegiate Scholars “Inspire Integ-

rity Award.” He has been repeatedly nominated for the “Last Lecture” series award, for which he was a finalist again this year.

As the author of more than 25 scholarly articles, an edited book collection and more than 50 presentations and lectures, Jason is recognized by graduates and undergraduates alike as a genuine teacherscholar. http://cis.ua.edu/communicator | 17

Faculty Notes Adver sing & Public Rela ons Professor Bruce K. Berger was the keynote speaker at the Communication Leadership Forum in Leipzig, Germany, in May 2011. He discussed findings from 20 studies of leadership in communication management carried out by the Plank Center. He also delivered the 4th Grunig Lecture at the international conference of the Public Relations Society of America in October and was a speaker at the National Literacy Coalition Conference in Houston in November.

Berger co-authored three journal articles that were published during the year and wrote a monthly column for PR students and young professionals in PRWeek, the leading industry publication.

Lu Zheng and Joseph E. Phelps were honored with the Best Paper Award at the 2011 Conference of the American Academy of Advertising for their paper, “Revising the Transportation-Imagery Model and Expanding Understanding of Persuasion via Narrative Adver-

tising.” The conceptual basis of this paper is being published as a book chapter, “Working Toward an Understanding of Persuasion via Engaging Narrative Advertising: Refining the Transportation-Imagery Model,” in S. Rodgers and E. Thorson (Eds.), Advertising Theory, Routledge Publishers. Phelps also coauthored the article, “Oops I did it Again: What Students Need to Know about Managing Information in a Social Media World” that was published in Journal of Advertising Education.

Lance Kinney’s recent publications include “NASCAR-related Philanthropy and the Distilled Spirits Sponsor Category” in International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, “Investigating the relationship between sports event advertising, brand recall and brand sales: A data envelopment analysis” in the Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the American Academy of Advertising, and “An IMC strategy for introducing game-day jersey sponsorships to American sports leagues” in International Journal of Integrated Marketing Communications. He also had

research accepted for presentation at the Annual Conference of the American Academy of Advertising and the European Conference of the American Academy of Advertising, Milan, Italy.

William J. Gonzenbach, Ph.D. and Cui Zhang, a doctoral candidate, presented their study “Agenda Setting and National Image: An Examination of News Coverage of Foreign Nations in The New York Times” at the International Communication Association conference in Boston in May. Also, Eyun-Jung Ki and Gonzenbach, along with co-authors Hong-Lim Choi and Jonghyuk Lee, presented their study, “What Makes a Difference in the Ethical Practices of Public Relations Practitioners?” at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication meeting. The paper was published in the Asian Journal of Communication.

Ki is author or co-author of several forthcoming articles, including “Does Ethics Statement of a Public Relations Firm Make a Difference?

Yes it does!!”(Journal of Business Ethics); “Corporate Web pages as a

Andrew Billings joins TCF faculty as Reagan Chair Dr. Andrew Billings has been appointed the Ronald Reagan Endowed Chair in Broadcas ng.

“Our College is extremely pleased to have Dr. Billings join the faculty as the Reagan chair,” said Dr. Loy Singleton, dean of UA’s College of Communica on and Informa on Sciences. “His research in sports communica on has been path-breaking, and he is a wonderful teacher and mentor at every level.”

Billings said the opportunity to become the Reagan Chair of Broadcas ng “is a dream job for me. The College is already quite successful, and I hope to add avenues for success in the future.”

Billings comes to UA from Clemson University, where he was a professor in the department of communica on studies and director of the Pearce Center for Professional Communica on.

He has authored or co-authored six books, including “Olympic Media: Inside the Biggest Show on Television,” in 2008, which

18 | The Communicator

offered an inside look at NBC’s Olympic broadcas ng mechanism.

“Andy Billings is a prolific researcher, excellent teacher and an excep onal individual,” said Dr. Shuhua Zhou, associate dean for research in the College. “Our doctoral program is blessed to have him on board. Andy’s rela onship with ESPN, NBC, FOX and LPGA and other media outlets can be a tremendous asset to our students’ research and their careers, too.”

In the posi on, Billings will teach at the graduate and undergraduate level, conduct programma c research, obtain extramural support for research and engage in a broad range of service ac vi es.

Faculty Notes Kimberly Bissell named associate dean for research Dr. Kimberly Bissell has been named director of the Ins tute for Communica on and Informa on Research and associate dean for research in the College of Communica on and Informaon Sciences. Bissell served as interim director of the ICIR for six months prior to this permanent appointment.

“She has done an outstanding job during the interim, and she has con nued to make invaluable contribu ons in the following months in this role,” said Loy Singleton, dean. “She absolutely has the vision, experience and energy to take the ICIR to the next level.”

During her interim tenure, she developed the Child Media Lab, designed for use in studies of health and fitness, media effects and video games.

Bissell will con nue teaching undergraduate courses in

Key Communication Channel for Financial Publics”(Public Relations Journal); and “The status of online public relations research: An analysis of published articles in 19922009” (Journal of Public Relations Research). Ki also has received an Excellent Public Relations Research Award ($5,000) from the Korea Public Relations Association.

Susan Daria received the the American Advertising Federation District 7 Donald G. Hileman Educator of the Year Award at an AAF Tuscaloosa monthly meeting that was attended by University President Dr. Robert Witt. The award recognizes a college educator for outstanding teaching and service to advertising students and professional groups. AAF’s District 7 covers the five-state area of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Suzanne Horsley received the 2011 SuPRstar Award for Excellence in Community Service from the Public Relations Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication for her work in Red Cross public affairs following the Tuscaloosa

magazine design, magazine produc on and photojournalism and graduate courses in research methods, mass communica on theory, health communica on and media effects. She is teaching a magazine producon class that will travel to Germany and Austria and produce a mul media magazine. She serves as the sequence coordinator for undergraduate students in visual journalism. She has received the College’s Board of Visitors Teaching Excellence Award and the Kappa Tau Alpha Commitment to Teaching Award. She has also won several awards for research from AEJMC, including the 2009 Krieghbaum Under-40 Award.

tornado. She was named a 2011-12 Faculty Fellow in Service Learning, sponsored by the Center for Ethics & Social Responsibility. Horsley was invited to present on crisis communication and social media by the National American Red Cross, Public Relations Council of Alabama (West Alabama Chapter), Public Relations Council of Alabama (East Alabama Chapter) and the Florida Public Relations Association. She presented four papers or panels at academic conferences, including the AEJMC, the International Public Relations Research Conference and the Southern States Communication Association.

Meg Lamme, associate professor, published “Shining a Calcium Light: The WCTU and Public Relations History” in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly.

She published “Learning from the Trades: Public Relations, Journalism, and News Release Writing, 1945-2008,” in American Journalism with UA alumni Lisa Parcell and Skye Cooley, and “A Methodological Evaluation of Public Relations Research: 1989-2007” in Public Relations Review with UA faculty Yorgo

Pasadeos, Karla Gower, and UA alum Song Tian. She also co-authored “The Evolution of an Idea: Charting the Early Public Relations Ideology of Edward L. Bernays, 1919-1929,” which appeared in Journal of Communication Management. In addition to two conference presentations, Lamme was keynote speaker for the Florida Public Relations Association-Pensacola’s Professional Development Seminar, “Thinking Outside the Box,” where she presented “The Evolution of PR.” Tracy Sims is the incoming 2012 president of Public Relations Council of West Alabama. She also received the 2010 Ad Person of the Year award from American Advertising Federation of Tuscaloosa.

Communica on Studies Beth S. Bennett was appointed as The University of Alabama System representative to the statewide Articulation and General Studies Committee (AGSC), 2011-13.

Jason Edward Black received the Board of Visitors Outstanding Teaching Award; the Anderson So-

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Faculty Notes ciety Outstanding Faculty Award; the Outstanding Faculty Award, Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society; and was a finalist for the Last Lecture Award, Graduate School.

Robin Boylorn received Honorable Recognition, Excellence in Teaching Undergraduate Education Award, Office of Research on Teaching in the Disciplines.

Treva Dean was inducted into Kappa Delta Epsilon, honorary educational fraternity.

Frank M. Thompson Jr. received the American Forensic National Service Award, American Forensic Association, for outstanding service to AFA, 2010-11; DSRTKA Lifetime Service Award, Delta Sigma Alpha-Tau Kappa Alpha National Forensic Honorary; Isocrates Award, Berry College, in recognition of an Unparalleled Dedication to Forensic Excellence, Fall 2010; John C. Calhoun Society Award, Clemson University, for excellence in the forensic activity; and the Morris Lehman Mayer Faculty Premier Award.

Meredith Bagley, Jane Baker and Lu Tang each received a Reese Phifer Scholar Grant for $5,000.

Journalism Kim Bissell, Southern Progress Endowed Professor in Magazine Journalism, was promoted to full professor and was elected to the Standing Committee on Research for the Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). She won a top paper award from the International Communication Association and had articles published in Mass Communication & Society and the International Journal of Advertising.

Rick Bragg, Cason Professor of Writing, won a top national award for food writing from the James Beard Foundation for a Garden & Gun magazine article. Another article for Gourmet Live was a finalist for a Beard award, and an essay published in Garden & Gun took top prize from the Magazine Association of the Southeast. Bragg’s book, The Most They Ever Had, was a finalist for the 2010 Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance awards.

Chip Brantley, Senior Lecturer in Emerging Media, wrote 15 sto-

ries for Southern Living magazine and was named one of Birmingham’s 10 “Big Thinkers” by Birmingham Magazine.

Matthew D. Bunker, Reese Phifer Professor of Journalism, published media law articles in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Communication Law & Policy and the San Diego Law Review. Bunker was awarded the 2011 Commitment to Teaching Award

by Kappa Tau Alpha.

Meredith Cummings, Director of the Alabama Scholastic Press Association, was selected as a UA Faculty Fellow in Service Learning. In addition, she was named to the advisory board of the Alabama Alumni magazine and started “The Up Beat” blog for al.com.

George L. Daniels assumed chairmanship of the National Diversity Committee of the 8,000-member Society of Professional Journalists.

Jennifer Greer, department chair, was elected as head of the national Standing Committee on Teaching for AEJMC. She also had an article published in The Grassroots Editor and was awarded the

Julien joins School of Library and Informa on Studies Heidi Julien, formerly professor and graduate coordinator in the School of Library and Informa on Studies at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, was named director of the School of Library and Informa on Studies (SLIS).

“Our College is extremely pleased to have an interna onally recognized scholar and administrator like Dr. Julien stepping into the director posi on for SLIS,” said Loy Singleton, C&IS dean.

“The ability to successfully a ract a scholar of her high caliber and experience as director is a tribute to all that the SLIS faculty, students and supporters have done to make it one of the bestknown, na onally ranked schools of library and informa on studies.”

Julien holds a bachelor’s degree in educa on and a master’s degree in library and informa on studies from the University of Alberta and a Ph.D. in library and informa on science from the

20 | The Communicator

University of Western Ontario. Julien’s research in human informa on behavior, informa on literacy, and informa on policy has been funded by the Social Sciences and Humani es Research Council of Canada, and has been presented internaonally and published in a wide range of journals.

“It is an honor to join a school so commi ed to high-quality teaching and to innova ve programs, to diversity, to community service, and to exploring important research ques ons,” Julien said. “I look forward to collabora ng with SLIS students, with my new colleagues, and with the local professional community.”

Faculty Notes Glenda Williams named TCF department chair Glenda Cantrell Williams became chair of the University of Alabama’s Telecommunica on and Film department in the fall 2011 semester, building on 20 years of experience in the department to become UA’s first female TCF chief.

“Being a female in electronic media gives me a unique perspec ve,” Williams said. “So many of our undergraduates are female, and we have worked really hard to build a strong female presence in the faculty in our department so we can be posi ve role models for our female students. I think that is one thing I will be very cognizant of: I am not just a chair but also a role model. I think it’s exci ng, and the College of Communica on and Informa on Sciences has a very good track record of working with women in management roles.”

Williams was hired at the University to teach commercial wri ng and to advise students a er receiving bachelor’s and master’s

first-place faculty paper at AEJMC’s annual conference.

Wilson Lowrey is the lead editor for Changing the News: The Forces Shaping Journalism in Uncertain Times (Routledge). He also contributed four of the book’s chapters.

He published articles in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Political Communication, Journalism Studies, Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism and Convergence.

Chris Roberts is co-author of Doing Ethics in Media: Theories and Practical Applications (Routledge).

He also wrote book chapters on ethics and headline writing and was elected head of the Newspaper and Online News Division of the AEJMC. David Sloan received the top teaching award from the American Journalism Historians Association.

He published the eighth edition of The Media in America.

School of Library and Informa on Studies Laurie Bonnici presented “The Impact of Aging on ICT-Mediated Information Access” at the Aging

degrees in communica on from the University of Montevallo.

As TCF chair, Williams said she hopes to build on the department’s successes.

“Our priority is crea ng a cohesive unit with five new faculty members, a new student advisor and me as the new chair,” she said. “We want to work on branding our department so people on campus and around the state can know what we’ve done and what we’re capable of. We also are going to work on our research and crea ve output and be er marke ng for our research. Finally, we want to work on integra on with the other departments and units within the College.”

and Society Conference 2011.

Steven L. MacCall was inducted into The University of Alabama Chapter of the National Academy of Inventors as a charter member.

Dan Albertson, Heidi Julien, Steven MacCall and Danny Wallace presented at the annual conference of the American Society for Information Science & Technology.

Jeff Weddle co-authored a book, The Librarian’s Guide to Negotiation: Winning Strategies for the Digital Age (with Beth Ashmore and Jill E. Grogg), that has been published by Information Today.

Albertson’s article titled “Situated topic complexity in interactive video retrieval” was published in the August 2011 issue of JASIS&T. Elizabeth Aversa, former director of SLIS, gave a lecture at the University of Tennessee titled “Changing Lives Through Information Services and Technologies.”

Professor Anna Embree was honored with the College Book Arts Association’s Emerging Educator Award during its annual conference in Bloomington, Indiana in January 2011.

Telecommunica on and Film Pam Tran received a “Best of Competition” award for her radio piece, Family Business Start Up in a Slow Economy, from the Broadcast Education Association.

Her audio documentary on Alabama immigrants was selected for presentation at the Southern States Communication Association media showcase. She had an article about television reporters working during the Tuscaloosa tornado appear in the Radio, Television, Digital News Association’s newsletter for news professionals.

Jeremy Butler is completing the fourth edition of Television: Critical Methods and Applications for Routledge, due out in January. Butler had a chapter titled “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: Historicizing Visual Style in Mad Men” published in the Mad Men: Dream Come True TV (London). He also explored a new methodological area of research in a paper for the Society for Cinema and Media Studies called “TV Style and Number Crunching: Should We Fear/Disdain Statistical Analysis?”

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&

Learning, ng, se serving

FINISHING ISHI STRONG

By Misty Mathews

For a group of senior advertising students, the spring 2011 semester brought an opportunity not just to get real-world experience in creating a campaign, but also an opportunity to say thanks to the University that nurtured them the previous four years.

Students in Gary Creek’s APR 418 class got a chance to influence students for years to come by assisting in the implementation of the Finish in Four campaign, a program conceptualized by Dr. Judy Bonner, University provost, to encourage undergraduate students to finish their degree in eight semesters.

“I teach from a very practical standpoint and give students at least one real-world assignment,” Creek said. “Things like this are important for their portfolios as they search for a job. The University as a whole tries to provide opportunities for students to do things like this that look really good to potential employers.”

Unfortunately, Creek said, the students were unable to present their work because of the April 27 tornado in Tuscaloosa. Creek gathered materials from the students and presented it over the summer to Bonner, University Registrar Michael George and a cross-campus team.

“The winning campaign is eye-catching,” George said. “It was done by students for students, and they understood what would grab their peers’ attention.”

Members of the APR 418 team included seniors Kyle Henderson, Mickenzie Carlton, Jill Pickett and Amy Spingnola. Henderson, who stayed in town to assist with recovery after the tornado, worked with the University Registrar’s Office, the Provost’s office, former SGA President Steven Oliver and current SGA members to implement the program.

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“Working on a project like this for The University of Alabama has been one of the best and most rewarding experiences I have ever had,” Henderson said. “It has allowed me to work with some of the best creative minds in the field, and I consider it an honor to be associated with them. As a graduating senior, I can’t think of a better way to step into my career field.”

The team designed T-shirts, pop-up banners, “Finish Strong” rubber bracelets, yard signs, door hangers, emails, bus signs, promotional pamphlets and a website.

“I’m incredibly proud of the work these students did,” Creek said. “They put together a great campaign for a great program.”

Finish in Four was implemented to help undergraduate students plan for their academic career in the best way by using DegreeWorks, the University’s academic planning tool. Bonner said she is pleased with the work done by Creek’s students.

“The Finish in Four campaign will help undergraduate students get the most out of their time at the University of Alabama,” Bonner said. “The work done by the Advertising and Public Relations students gets the word out in a way that really attracts attention.

“They are helping their peers and getting invaluable real-world experience. Two of the University’s core values are service and learning, and their work is a wonderful reflection of those values in action.”

The final campaign is in collaboration with the University of Alabama Student Government Association, the Registrar’s office and the Provost’s office.

Additional information about Finish in Four can be found at http://finishinfour.ua.edu or at http://www. ua.edu/majors/index.html.

Student Notes APR students win PRSA’s na onal Award of Excellence A team of 15 adver sing and public rela ons students competed against professional public rela ons campaigns in the 2011 Silver Anvil Awards, bringing home an Award of Excellence as one of the top three campaigns na onally for their subcategory.

The Silver Anvil Awards, presented by the Public Rela ons Society of America, are considered the premier award for public rela ons in the United States.

The LessThanUThink campaign was conceptualized by the 2009 Ad Team and implemented in Fall 2010 by the student-led Capstone Agency using grant funds from The Century Council.

The campaign, which focused on reducing the na onal problem of binge drinking on college campuses, u lized the $75,000 grant to test the viability of the campaign on the UA campus.

The following University of Alabama students were involved with the campaign: 2010 (Capstone Agency) members Greer Borland, Hoover; Joseph Bradley, Brewton; John Paul Bruno, Vestavia Hills; Kaitlyn Conway, Dallas, Texas; Allison Cook, Valley; Amanda Coppock, Hoover; Megan Co on, Alexandria, Va.; Roxanne Ducas, Dallas, Texas; Angelina Gomez, Alexandria; Kassandra Hannay, Connec cut; Mary Marshall, Memphis, Tenn.; Megan Miller, Selma; Chris ne Kapurch, Arlington, Va.; Alexis Roberts, Savannah, Ga.; Griff Waller, Montgomery;

Adver sing and Public Rela ons Desiree Mahr, Jessica Austin, and Wai Li were named among the nation’s most promising minority students in advertising, named by the American Advertising Federation.

Will Hodges was awarded first place for “Accelerating Into Trouble: An Examination of Toyota Motor Company and its Recent Recalls” in the 2011 Arthur W. Page Society’s national case-writing competition. Lindsay Malone was awarded third place for “Eastern Michigan University: Sacrificing Student Safety for a Sharper Im-

Advertising and Public Relations instructor Teri Henley accepts PRSA’s Award of Excellence at the 2011 national Silver Anvil awards ceremony.

2009 (Ad Team) members Jason Brandt, Dallas, Texas; David Calhoun, Jackson, Miss.;Jessica Charlton, Pra ville; Allison Duke, Nashville, Tenn.; Aus n During, Chelsea; Kevin Kessler, Mountain Brook; Sarah King, Richmond, Va.; Amanda Kirkland, Leeds; Monica McCall, Tuscaloosa; Adam McCormick, Winston-Salem, N.C.; Emily Roberson, Madison; Carly Jane Rullman, Charlottesville, Va.; Tanya Twerdowsky, Northport; Morgan Welch, Luverne; Ma Williams, Tuscaloosa.

age.” The competition is open to graduate students enrolled in M.A. and Ph.D. programs.

Communica on Studies For the 2010-11 year, the University of Alabama Forensic Council program traveled an average of 24 students to 18 tournaments. Students in the program won 445 Regional Awards and 19 national awards, including 1st place School Sweepstakes at the DSR-TKA National Tournament and 8th place National School Award at the American Forensic Association National I.E. Tournament, out of 80 universities.

Journalism The UA student chapter of SPJ was named top chapter for the southeast region by that organization. As for spring 2011 semester, the SPJ chapter had 22 paid members, the largest membership since the chapter was reactivated in 2005. George Daniels and Chris Roberts are faculty advisers.

The Crimson White was named the best all-around daily student newspaper for 2010 in the Mark of Excellence competition.

Senior Brittney Knox traveled to Africa in summer 2011 and worked in one of the largest radio stations in Sunyai, Ghana, for two

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Student Notes weeks to learn about similarities and differences in journalistic approaches across cultures.

Senior Matt Conde was selected as a 2011 Scripps Leadership Fellow, one of 20 promising SPJ leaders invited for an intensive leadership institute in Indianapolis. Conde, an officer in the UA SPJ chapter, also is running for SPJ’s national Board of Directors.

Senior Victor Luckerson, editorin-chief of The Crimson White, along with The Crimson White itself, has been named to the College Media Hall of Fame Class of 2011 by College Media Matters. Luckerson also was named one of 27 Blackburn Students for 2011-12 by the Blackburn Institute. He presented a research paper on media management this spring in the under-

graduate honors division at the Southern States Communication Association in Little Rock, Ark. Master’s student Will Nevin won third place for his co-authored paper at AEJMC’s Southeast Colloquium. He was awarded a UA Graduate Council Fellowship for 2011-12.

Master’s students presenting papers at the 2011 Southeast Symposium of the American Journalism Historians Association were Tyler Jones, first place in the master’s student division, Brooke Carbo, Jena Hippensteel (MA 2011) and Alison Smith (MA 2011).

Ph.D. in Communica on John Latta won The Univer-

sity of Alabama’s top dissertation award for the year, and Skye Cooley won the campus-wide Excellence in Teaching by a Doctoral Student Award.

Mia Long received the Joffre and Zadie B. Whisenton Award, given to an African-American student receiving a doctoral degree with the highest standing from The University of Alabama.

Kenon Brown, Justin Combs, Skye Cooley, Terri Denard, Jon Ezell, Bruce Finklea, Hyuk-Soo Kim, J.K. Kim and Cui Zhang presented research at the AEJMC National Conference.

Webb Robertson, Yan Yan and Lan Ye presented research at the AEJMC Midwinter Conference Cooley, Ezell, Zhang, Charles Meadows (2) and Bin Shen pre-

TCF class project selected for screening at fes vals A TCF 451 Advanced Television Produc on class project produced by a group of telecommunica on and film students was picked to screen at the New York Television Fes val’s Independent Pilot Compe on and at the 2011 Interna onal Television Fes val in Los Angeles and Birmingham’s 13th Annual Sidewalk Film Fes val.

“It’s truly an honor to have a student produc on chosen as an official selec on in this fes val,” said Adam Schwartz, assistant professor of telecommunica on and film.

The 22-minute comedy television pilot was called “Re-Commi ed,” and, with the excep on of Schwartz, the en re producon crew and most of the cast was composed of UA students.

The cast of the pilot is as follows: William Mason, a TCF major from Birmingham, as Jamal Anderson; Andrew P. Carey, a TCF major from Mobile, as Bo; Blake Minor, a TCF major from Co ondale,as Cli on; Cli on Lewis, a TCF major from Tuscaloosa, as Talon Knyghtehauck; Lauren Adams, an English major from Roswell, Ga., as Dixie; Stephen Brunson, an ac ng MFA student from Canyon, Texas, as Mr. Bentley; Sara-Margaret Cates, an educa on major from Northport, as the principal; Laura Dotson, a human environmental sciences major from Tuscaloosa, as Kathrine Anderson; Rick Dowling, a 1985 TCF graduate and instruc onal developer for the UA Faculty Resource Center, as Dr. Francis Perkins.

The crew of the pilot (all members of Schwartz’s fall 2010 TCF

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451 class): producers Clayton Collins, a TCF major from Anniston; Kate Longfield, a TCF major from Fairhope; and Heath Williamson, a TCF major from Mobile; writers Andrew P. Carey, a TCF major from Mobile, and Heath Williamson, a TCF major from Mobile; director Marcus Tortorici, a TCF major from Indian “Re-Committed” starred TCF stuSprings; 1st assistant dents William Mason and Andrew director Lindy Lovvorn, Carey and was chosen to screen in a TCF major from Car- three film festivals. rollton, Ga.; director of photography Micah Russell, a computer science major from Huntsville; produc on designer Kristen Freeland, a TCF major from Gulf Shores; editor Hamilton Henson, a TCF major from Toney; gaffer: Ma Phillips, a TCF major from Jemison key grip Andrew P. Carey, a TCF major from Mobile; sound mixer/designer Chris “Chop” Dunham, a TCF major from Birmingham; camera operator Alex Armistead, a TCF major from Tuscaloosa; and execu ve producer Adam Schwartz, from Irondale.

Student Notes JN grad student finds sports ‘angle’ a er tornado In the days following the April 27 tornado that blasted its way across por ons of the city, Allyson Angle got a chance to live up to her name by helping Sports Illustrated find just the right sports angle on the na onal news story.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Lars Anderson, a 17-year veteran of the iconic magazine and a journalism adjunct at UA, says a general concept for a sports story began taking shape in his mind about eight days a er the twister struck.

“She was just absolutely cri cal to unearthing a lot of informa on that we got because she, as a former athlete there, had connec ons to former athletes that I generally don’t have,” Anderson says.

Angle says she jumped at the chance Anderson offered.

Drawing from her journalism skills -- honed during her UA classes, internships and her leadership roles for Corolla, the

sented research at the BEA National Conference Brown (2), Teddy Champion, Ashley George, Thomas Meade (2), Terra Moody and Gyro Newman presented research at the NCA National Conference.

Kim, Yan, Zhang, Meadows, Ray Harrison, Tom Meade and Kenny Smith presented research at the ICA National Conference.

Harrison, Long, Newman, Smith, Leigh Ann Johnston, Terra Moody, Creshema Murray and Jeff Walker presented research at the Southern States Communication Association National Conference.

Lan Ye presented research at the International Association for Media and Communication in Istanbul, Turkey.

Champion presented research at the University Film & Video Association Conference.

Yan presented research at the National Newspaper Assoc. 124th Annual Convention & Trade Show and at the International Conference “Global Communication,” Local Perspectives.

student yearbook, and Alpine Living, a student-produced, mul media lifestyle magazine – and the rapport she, as a former UA swimmer, had with UA athletes – Angle began working the phones on behalf of Anderson and Sports Illustrated.

“She played a cri cal role in the whole story,” Anderson says. “She has a really special gi for interac ng with people, and that’s a huge part of being a successful reporter.”

Angle interned full- me with The Anniston Star during the summer and completed her master’s degree requirements from UA in July. She hopes to write full- me for Sports Illustrated in the future.

Zhang presented research at the Global Fusion 2010 Media and Communication.

School of Library and Informa on Studies Susan DeBruin was honored with a Capstone Heroes Award for her heroic actions after the April 27 tornado. She and her husband set aside personal losses to assist other storm victims that day, including UA student Chelsea Thrash.

Willa C. Broughton and Jamie J. Byun were awarded the Bethel Fite Endowed Scholarship.

Melissa A. Koener was awarded the Corr Scholarship.

Lauren B. Dodd was awarded the Florine Oltman Award.

Erin L. Morris was the recipient of the Raymond F. McLain Book Arts Award.

Bridget A. Elmer was the recipient of a Faculty Scholar Award.

Jefrey S. Naidoo was awarded the James D. Ramer Outstanding Dissertation Award.

Timothy Duane Winkler was

awarded a Student Paper Award.

The following students were tapped for Beta Phi Mu: Nitin Arora, Cynthia Barnett, Willa C. Broughton, Michele E. Brown, Evan Michael Bush, Jamie Jane Byun, Connie Wong Chow, Jacob Jaguar DaSilva, Laura C. GriciusWest, Matthew Warner Layne, Richard Light LeComte, Mary Catherine Lennon, Alisha Marie Linam, Elizabeth Rowe Lochamy, Paul Jerome McLaughlin, Katherine Anne Popadin, Amanda Axley Presnell, Joanne M. Riley, Samuel A. Rumore, Cynthia Jean Shank, Gail A. Sheldon, Kristin Smith Skees, Kathleen M. Spring, Jenna Weber, Carol Roark York, Melissa Koener, Scarlett Lacey Sims, Braegan Christine Phillips, Courtney Leigh Barbour and Benjamin Ryan Martin.

Telecommunica on and Film Chase Higgenbotham took second in the Broadcast Education Association Festival for student weather reporting.

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REVIEW 1. M.F.A. students gather for instructor Sarah Bryant’s boxmaking class on the first day of classes for fall 2011.

2. Crechale Stevens was awarded the Knox Hagood Award for an outstanding staff member for 2011. She is pictured with presenter Jeremy Butler of the TCF department. 3. Butler presents the journalism department’s David Sloan the Knox Hagood Faculty Award for 2011. Sloan retired in 2011. 4. Members of the Alabama Student Society for Communication Arts decorated Reese Phifer Hall at homecoming, earning first place in the campuswide competition for small organizations. 5.

More than 200 students gathered for the College’s inaugural C&IS CommUnity Gathering in October. The event was highlighted by Dean Loy Singleton’s annual State of the College address. 6. Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, hosts of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, speak to C&IS students.

7. The Advertising and Public Relations Department’s 2011 Ad Day drew a large crowd of students to Phifer room 216. 8. Tom Cherones, best-known for his work as director for episodes of the hit television show Seinfeld, was the 2011 recipient of the Dean’s Medal for “sustaining friendship, unsurpassed loyalty and commitment to the mission of the College of Communication and Information Sciences”. He is pictured with Dean Singleton.

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Acts of service and learning C&IS students and faculty use communica on skills to help the Tuscaloosa community a er the April 27 tornado

By Misty Mathews and Savannah Bass that area an easier way to donate.”

With the little Internet connection Diab could receive, she created a simple Facebook event giving basic details of where to donate and what was needed.

Because of the emptiness of the student community as well as the devastation surrounding the school, Diab did not expect much from her event, just hoped she could collect at least a few bags to take to nearby shelters.

After three days of sitting outside Reese Phifer with poster board, markers and bare essentials, Diab and friends collected more than 12 The power of social media truckloads of clothing, baby items, food, water and other necessities.

When the tornado ripped through “I was overwhelmed at the dediTuscaloosa on April 27, UA students cation we witnessed and was really were encouraged to go home, leave surprised that lots of the people Tuscaloosa and spend time with family and friends and cope with the Members of C&IS student organiza on came because they saw my Facebook PRSSA gathered more than 12 truckevent,” Diab said. “The power of devastation. While some students loads of supplies for storm vic ms. social media really rang true.” fled without a second thought, others, like Emily Diab, president of the Public Relations Student Society of Alabama, simply Miracles in the a ermath couldn’t.

“I couldn’t just sit in my undamaged home while Communication Studies students Joe Geary and people around me were without one,” Diab said.

Mark McCarty created a documentary film in the “Since the University area wasn’t badly affected, I wake of the tornado, expanding into an even larger thought it would be great to give the people living in project entitled “Miracles in the Aftermath.”

In the face of devastation, picking up a camera, starting a Facebook event or planning a PR response might not be the first — or even the fiftieth — things that pop into most people’s minds.

But for the students and faculty of the College of Communication and Information Sciences, drawing on areas of expertise and lessons from the halls of Reese Phifer was a natural response.

Following are stories of how individuals within the C&IS community helped in the aftermath.

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Geary and McCarty got the idea for the final project for their Capstone Seminar senior elective, COM 499, after the tornado tore through Tuscaloosa and other parts of the Southeast, leaving many questioning the presence of God. The film allowed many survivors to share their stories and find closure with the natural disaster.

The project required students to implement the skills they had acquired over their four years of undergraduate study and express what they had learned, culminating into a final project of the student’s choice. “Mark and Joe exemplified the essence of the Communication Studies Capstone course,” said COM 499 professor Carol Bishop Mills. “They tackled a project they were passionate about, applied skills they had learned during their four years at The University of Alabama, used theory to strengthen their project, and then learned how to make their project even stronger.”

“The whole purpose of it was to bring hope to survivors and bring a light to the city,” McCarty said.

“They had a story, and some of them were unreal.

They should have lost their lives, but the Lord had spared them through that.”

Their project gave many Tuscaloosa residents a way to express themselves and their experiences publically, uploading people’s testimonies onto YouTube in individual segments to be shared, which can be found at www.miraclesintheaftermath.com.

Capturing stories of a new normal For a group of TCF students and faculty, the most natural reaction in the aftermath of the storm was to grab a camera and start capturing the stories of the victims.

But it was different from anything they’d ever experienced, TCF professor Rachel Raimist said. “Typically as a photographer you take your camera into somebody else’s community, somebody else’s home, somebody else’s problem,” she said. “What happens when it’s your neighborhood and your house? When do you put the camera down and pick up a chainsaw?

When do you pick up the camera and take a picture?”

Raimist said her students experienced both – documenting and providing aid — in putting together stories of the storm. “They really had to think,” she said. “It wasn’t just theory in a classroom any more.

“The point for me was letting them pick a topic and do what they think needs to be said on this topic. The only parameter was that it had to be connected to UA.”

The topics ranged from area homeowners who lost everything to efforts made by UA fraternities and sororities to provide help to the role of a journalist in such a storm.

TCF and New College double major Xavier Burgin produced a short 3D film called “Portrait of the Storm,” which garnered him a $5,000 scholarship as winner of the Campus MovieFest’s inaugural 3D Movie Award.

“I wanted to make this because this is something the media will talk about for a few months and then move on,” Burgin said.

“People start forgetting what happened, but this is still going on.

“It’s sort of what we’ve seen happen in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

TCF student Xavier Burgin won a And I felt like Ala$5,000 scholarship for a short 3D film he produced about the storm. bama, and Tuscaloosa especially, will, at some point, have that same problem, so I wanted to bring attention to this plight.

Stuff is still happening. We are still rebuilding, and it will be some time before we get back to what we were before.”

Another of the projects was a collaborative effort among TCF students, advertising and public relations students and faculty. In the video, titled “The New Normal,” Tuscaloosa-area residents talk about their everyday lives before the storm and the little things they now miss.

“Disasters change lives in an instant. And there is no going back. It’s all about adjusting to the new normal, and that’s what we tried to show in this video,” said Mike Devlin, a doctoral student studying media effects with a focus in advertising messages, who oversaw the production of the video.

Undergraduate students involved included Hamilton Henson, Micah Russell and Kyle Rice of telecommunication and film, and Emily Diab, Sarah Shea and Zarah Trinh of advertising and public relations.

“It was a unique opportunity for our students to collaborate across departments in the College and to learn from each other,” said Joseph Phelps, chair of the advertising and public relations department.

“We hope this will lead to more collaboration in the future.”

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When research goes outside the classroom For Suzanne Horsley, assistant professor of advertising and public relations and American Red Cross volunteer, research and real life collided in a major way on April 27.

“I’m a national public affairs volunteer for the Red Cross,” said Horsley, whose primary area of research is crisis communication. “I’m trained to deploy to disasters. This is the first time I’ve ever lived in a disaster. I’d never even heard a tornado siren until I moved here.”

Horsley spent the hours, days and even weeks after the April 27 tornado living in the midst of her own research. Through a whirlwind of media interviews, donation collections and relocation of the local Red Cross chapter after its building was destroyed, she got a glimpse into the very heart of crisis communication.

“This has been the first time I’ve been personally affected by a disaster,” Horsley said. “Not only that, but instead of deploying to a disaster for a short time and then going home, I had to stay. I wasn’t going to leave at the end of my three-week deployment.”

Horsley’s involvement with the Red Cross originated with field research in the organization’s Washington, D.C., office. She observed the Red Cross’s set-up for Barack Obama’s 2009 presidential inauguration.

She went on her first deployment as a volunteer to Fargo, N.D., during the city’s spring flooding season.

These two experiences allowed Horsley to understand how the Red Cross carries out its communication processes under uncertain, time-sensitive conditions. She said the research helped her set up a theory-based model called crisis-adaptive public information, which she has been developing since her dissertation work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2006.

The model examines an organization’s shift from routine communication to disaster communication and what organizational characteristics allow that shift to happen. The idea is that these characteristics could also be applied within other organizations to make them more effective.

As for the Tuscaloosa tornado, Horsley said she considers it an “opportunity to explore disaster up close and personal and an opportunity to help other organizations be more prepared in terms of communication.” She said the disaster took some time for her to process; she was huddled in a tiny nook with her husband and two neighbors in her home when the tornado struck. But “now that I’ve had a little time to process it myself,” she said, “I have a couple of studies I’ve put together. I’ve been writing about my

30 | The Communicator

Adver sing and Public Rela ons professor Suzanne Horsley volunteered as a media rela ons expert for the America Red Cross a er the tornado.

experiences doing public affairs with the Red Cross and what I’ve learned from it.

“Being able to watch Tuscaloosa rebuild from this is going to be a unique experience for me. This will provide research material for a long time to come.”

Through her role in the University’s advertising and public relations department, Horsley also involved some of her students in volunteering with the Red Cross. A group of six public relations students formed a local public affairs team, started a blog and assisted in keeping the chapter’s Facebook and Twitter up-to-date.

Want to read more?

You can find addi onal stories about the relief efforts at h p:// cis.ua.edu/tornado.html. The site also contains links to other media men oned in this story.

Give Back to Simply One of the Best Colleges...Ever.

THE COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION SCIENCES Your Contribution Supports: t The Department of Advertising and Public Relations t The Department of Communication Studies t The Department of Journalism t The Department of Telecommunication and Film t The School of Library and Information Sciences

Give back to the college that gave you memories at the Capstone and helped you get your start.

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Welcome to new C&IS Faculty!

Advertising and Public Relations Glenn Griffin, Associate Professor Communication Studies Angela Billings, Instructor Alexa Chilcutt, Assistant Professor and Director of Public Speaking Bobby Imbody, Instructor and Director of Forensics Chas Womelsdorf, Instructor and Assistant Director of Forensics Journalism Dianne Bragg, Instructor David Grewe, Lecturer

School of Library and Information Studies Jennifer Campbell-Meier, Assistant Professor Naomi Gold, Instructor Heidi Julien, Professor and Director Telecommunication and Film Andy Billings, Professor and Ronald Reagan Chair of Broadcasting Michael Bruce, Instructor Chandra Clark, Instructor Nick Corrao, Instructor Matt Payne, Assistant Professor