LISTENING LAB C

“Answers are knowledge. Knowledge is power,” she once wrote for a Memphis Chamber of Commerce blog. “By having the right information from the very start, you’re in a position to make better decisions, lay a firm foundation and build something you’re proud of. Think of answers as real-time GPS for business strategy.”

Ellett has used that mindset since graduating from the University of Memphis Department of

Journalism and Strategic Media to navigate her way to the top, building her own public relations firm. She’s also been named one of the Memphis Business Journal’s 2021 Super Women in Business. One of her largest big-picture questions in 2022 was how to give back to the place that sparked the passion she has for writing, marketing and problem-solving in the first place – and to help mentor the next generation of journalism students.

The answer ended up being as significant as the question – the Obsidian Social Media lab, named after her PR firm.

“I’m just happy that maybe this contributes to another student’s experience here and really prepares them for post-graduation life,” Ellett told JRSM graduate student Haley Hale during an interview. “If there’s anything I believe in, it’s about preparing students to have a really successful transition into the profession.”

Located on the first floor of the Meeman Journalism Building, the lab offers current JRSM students and professors a resource to find information and answers with multiple social media listening tools. It’ll also be home to Meeman 901 Strategies, the department’s student-run strategic communications firm which offers practical experience in public relations, advertising, media strategy and research-driven consulting.

“Our students now are going to be able to get hands-on, real-world experience using industry-standard tools,” said Kim Marks Malone, a JRSM assistant professor of practice. “So, when they go out and apply for internships, or they apply for jobs, they can with confidence say that they know how to do social media listening.”

Social media listening – or social listening – refers to the use of online tools to track mentions of a specific keyword, typically a brand, on social media platforms. The collected data can be used for various purposes, such as enhancing customer service and identifying trends related to a specific product.

Ellett says her best advice to students is to take advantage of tools like the social media lab, and to not be afraid of reaching out to people who can help your career. “Find a mentor early on in college and then cram valuable internships in before you graduate,” she said.

A limited number of universities and companies across the country have launched social media labs within the past five years. Marks and JRSM assistant chair Dr. Matt Haught visited examples at Clemson University, the University of South Carolina and FedEx to get ideas before launching the Obsidian Lab.

“I think having this lab is going to help us put ourselves on the map and become a resource region-wide,” said Marks. “Not just for schools, universities and programs, but for media and other agencies and non-profits who need this kind of information to do their jobs. I think it’s going to give them a leg up compared to some of their peers from other schools.”

Architecture

» Professor ANDREW PARKS had two architectural illustrations accepted at the 2022 Design Communications Association Juried Exhibition at Auburn University, both of which received Awards of Distinction. One of the images received an Award of Excellence.

» BRIAN DELFORD ANDREWS completed and published the book “Vervm Fictvm” (Culicidae Architectural Press) — a monograph of Andrews’ work that contains architectural delineations and speculative architecture from 1984-2020. Andrews also won an Award of Distinction and the Jon Soules Juror’s Choice Award from the Design Communication Association 2022 International Juried Drawing Exhibition, and Honorable Mention in the MicroHome Competition. He was also awarded the CCFA Research Seed Grant.

Department Of Art

» DR. BRYNA BOBICK presented research at the Art and Education for Social Justice Symposium at Florida State University.

» DR. REBECCA HOWARD , assistant professor of Art History, was invited to present new research at the Sixteenth Century Society Annual Conference in Minneapolis, Minn. Her talk was titled, “Fragmented and Broken Bodies of Early Modern Italian Portraiture.” She also published two pedagogical essays for the open-access resource Smarthistory.org on works by Italian Renaissance artists Benozzo Gozzoli and Fra Filippo Lippi.

» Assistant Professor KELSEY HARRISON is working with Carpenter Art Garden to build a mosaic sculpture park near Tillman St. and Sam Cooper Blvd. She’s also working with Ford Motor Company, architecture faculty Andrew Parks and students in Art and Design to design a public work for its new campus in Stanton, Tenn. She was also recently awarded the Crosstown Arts Residency to work on her stop-motion animation film.

» DR. MICHAEL SCHMIDT was the UofM Principal Investigator on a $473,791 grant from the National Institutes of Health, in collaboration with Florida International University. The project is titled “Developing and Testing Health Warnings for Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS).” Schmidt was also invited by the editor of “Visible Language,” the nation's oldest peer-reviewed design journal, to submit “Graphic design in public health research: A multiyear pictorial health warning label initiative and recommendation for sustained interdisciplinary collaboration.” Schmidt’s article, “Challenges to help-seeking among women of color exposed to intimate partner violence,” (Journal of Interpersonal Violence) was accepted for publication. He was also invited and interviewed for the podcast Between the Data regarding his research on intimate partner violence.

» Professor of Art History EARNESTINE JENKINS was featured in three publications — “Blended Identities in American Photography,” in the Victorian Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Victorian Studies; “James Little: Homecoming,” the catalog for the exhibition “James Little: Homecoming,” at the Dixon Galleries and Gardens and her book titled, “Black Artists in America: from the Great Depression to Civil Rights” (Yale University Press). She was also a guest curator for “Black Artists in America: from The Great Depression to Civil Rights,” and for “From Artisans to Artists: African American Metal Workers in Memphis” at The Metal Museum.

» JINGJING LI , an adjunct faculty member in the department, was featured in Exhibition at Marshall Arts.

» Assistant Professor COE LAPOSSY had their work ”Trap Door” included in the Memphis Brooks Museum exhibition, “Another Dimension: Digital Art In Memphis.”

» Assistant Professor YANGBIN PARK , who joined the Department of Art in 2022, was selected as one of the contributors of “Repair,” the Mid America Print Council (MAPC) Journal.

» DR. LORELEI H. CORCORAN presented an invited lecture, “The Mummy Portraits of Roman Egypt: Status, Ethnicity, and Magic,” at Harvard University. It was sponsored by the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East and the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture.

» DARLA LINERODE-HENSON had her own artwork shown in “The Center of Us,” an exhibition of adjunct University of Memphis professors held at Marshall Arts and curated by Hamlett Dobbins.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION & FILM

» AYO M. MORTON’S article “Lifting as We Climb: Amanda Gorman and Womanist Vernacular Discourse at the 2021 Presidential Inauguration” was published in the Journal for the History of Rhetoric Volume 25, Number 1. Morton is also a Ph.D. student.

» KRISTEN HILL’S short film “Bits and Pieces” premiered at Indie Memphis. Hill is an assistant professor of teaching/coordinator.

» DR. CRAIG STEWART published articles in the Journal of Language and Social Psychology, Rhetoric of Health and Medicine and Communication Quarterly, as well as the proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education. He also presented work with colleagues from UofM, CU Denver and IUPUI on the Urban STEM Collaboratory at the American Association for the Advancement of Science/National Science Foundation S-STEM Symposium in Washington, D.C.

» Professor MARTY LANG was hired by the Upper Midwest Film Office in Duluth, Minn.

» Department Chair DR. WENDY ATKINSSAYRE had her articles “Moonshine Stories: Shaping Appalachian Public Memory” and “Coping Through COVID Cooking: Nostalgia and Resilience in Online Communities,” published in the Journal of Contemporary Rhetoric and in Popular Culture Studies Journal, respectively. She also won the T. Earle Johnson-Edwin Paget Distinguished Service Award at the Southern States Communication Association.

» Professor MARINA LEVINA was elected to the leadership of the Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies division of the National Communication Association. She will start as a 2nd-Vice Chair and will serve as the Chair of the division in 2025.

» The Department is actively pursuing sickle cell research, and two of its members, DR. AMANDA YOUNG and DR. CRAIG STEWART , have recently published an article titled “Something with a frightening reputation: 60 Minutes' accommodation of HIV in gene therapy for sickle cell disease” in the academic journal Rhetoric of Health and Medicine. Additionally, Dr. Young is involved in a project involving SCD GENE and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital that aims to create informed consent tools for gene therapy.

» ABBY MARIE ARNOLD-PATTI’S essay “The Africana Womanist Rhetoric of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper,” was publshed in the Journal for the History Rhetoric. Arnold-Patti is a Ph.D. student in the department.

DEPARTMENT OF JOURNALISM & STRATEGIC MEDIA

» DR. MATT HAUGHT spoke about American media and politics at ZDF television in Mainz, Germany, in May 2022. He also published two entries in the Sage Encyclopedia of Journalism, and in August 2022 he presented on a presidential-commissioned panel reimagining the future of AEJMC.

» DR. RUOXU WANG and colleagues presented three refereed conference presentations at national and international level conferences:

“The impact of exemplars on perception gap of risk and behavioral intentions.”Paper presented at the 104th annual conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Detroit, Michigan.

“A content analysis of user engagement in computer technology video ads.” Paper presented at the 72nd annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Paris, France. “Uses and gratifications of playing video games/esports during the COVID-19 pandemic: A comparison between competitive players and recreational players.” Paper presented at the 72nd annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Paris, France.

» KIM MARKS MALONE’S book, “Public Relations in the Military: The Scope, Dynamic, and Future of Military Communications,” was published in November 2022. She was named Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Memphis Professional Member of the Year for 2022. She’s the immediate past chair of PRSA’s Southeast District, president-elect/vice president of programming for PRSA Memphis and on the executive board of the PRSA Educator's Academy for 2023. She also presented a conference paper and won the top teaching paper award at AEJMC in 2022.

» Visiting Professor SHERI NEELY was featured in PRSA’s national print and online publication “Strategies & Tactics.”

» TAYLOR ACKERMAN earned her Accreditation in Public Relations from PRSA.

» DR. TOM HRACH was awarded the D. Mike Pennington Outstanding Mentoring Award 2022 at the UofM Journalism and Strategic Media Outstanding Alumni Awards ceremony. He also published “Film Censorship’s Last Stand: The Memphis Board of Review, 1967 to 1976” in American Journalism.

» Five graduate students from the Department of Journalism and Strategic Media had their research papers accepted for the 48th annual AEJMC Southeast Colloquium at Middle Tennessee State University: AUDREY FIRRONE , ISRAEL HENRY , ILARIA PISONI , OAKLEY WEDDLE and MIKHELLE TAYLOR presented their work.

DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE & DANCE

» An article entitled “Reducing Your Waste Footprint: Nontraditional Fasteners Save Money, Lumber” by Associate Professor and Technical Director MICHAEL O’NELE was published in Southern Theatre magazine. It addresses the use of composite fasteners to reduce lumber waste in scenic construction for theatre.

» JILL GUYTON NEE’S paper, “Black Memphis History through Dance and Theatre”, was selected to be presented at the National Dance Education Organization.

» MICHAEL MEDCALF, associate professor of dance, received an Ostrander Award in 2022 for his choreography of “The Wolves,” a theater production of the University of Memphis’ Department of Theatre and Dance. His work for the ensemble, “We Begin Again” premiered in April 2022. In 2023, Medcalf is set to create another new work for NBE and also a new work for the Tennessee Ballet Theater under the artistic direction of Erin Walter.

» Professor JO LENHART portrayed two widely diverse characters in 2022 — terrifying audiences in the UofM Mainstage Theatre’s demonic Die Alte in Tony Kushner's “Bright Room Called Day.” She also did a full 180º starring as the Mother Superior in the Broadway musical version of “Sister Act” for Crane River Theatre in Nebraska.

» HOLLY DERR , an assistant professor in the department, published her article “Recognition and Reversal in the Plays of Lauren Gunderson: A Dialogue with the Playwright” in the Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism. Derr also directed “Sunrise Coven” at The Know Theatre of Cincinnati, and had an article called “MeToo and the Method” reprinted in a book called HowlRound Theatre Commons: Essays and Conversations from the First Ten Years.

» Recently retired professor HOLLY LAU appeared in three publications – “Zen and the Basketball Arena” in Parabola: The Search for Meaning, “Dreaming of Debbie” in the New York Times and “Play Off” in The Porch Magazine.

» New Head of Performance/Acting

CHRISTIAN TRIPP was invited to perform with the renowned Colorado Shakespeare Festival. He played multiple roles in their productions of “Coriolanus” and “All's Well That EndsWell”.

» ANTHONY PELLECCHIA , associate professor of theatre, was the lighting designer for shows “Into the Breeches” and “The Mountaintop” at Saint Michael's Playhouse in Burlington, Vt.

» Professor BRIAN RUGGABER was the scenic designer for “Sanctuary Road,” a world premiere opera by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec and Pulitzer Prize and GRAMMY Award-winning librettist/lyricist Mark Campbell at North Carolina Opera in Raleigh, N.C. Ruggaber also designed scenery for “The Magic Flute” (Pensacola Opera, Fla.), “Why I Live at the P.O.” (UrbanArias, Washington, D.C.) and “Porgy and Bess” (Hattiloo, Tenn.). Each of these productions featured the creative work of one or more Department of Theatre & Dance alumni, including Dennis Whitehead Darling (director), Austin Conlee (costume designer), Tao Wang (lighting designer) and Nick Jackson (lighting designer).

» WAYNE M. SMITH , adjunct dance professor, was invited and served as an adjudicator and featured teaching artist for national regional college dance conference, American College Dance Association (ACDA) conference, Mid-Atlantic North region.

RUDI E. SCHEIDT SCHOOL OF MUSIC

» DR. RYAN FISHER , Professor of Music Education, published “Influences on teacher efficacy of preservice music educators” in the International Journal of Music Education (Volume 39, Issue 4) with UofM alumni NANCY SUMMITT and ELLEN KOZIEL and former faculty member, ARMAND HALL

Fisher also presented a research paper, “Effect of Koru Mindfulness Training on Professional Orchestral Musicians' Music Performance Anxiety” at the 35th International Society for Music Education World Conference and at the National Association for Music Education National Conference in Washington, D.C. Co-authors of the project were ROBYN JONES , associate professor of music, and SEAN HOLDEN , assistant director of the UofM Office of Institutional Research. Fisher also began his term (2022-24) as president of the Tennessee Music Education Association.

» Associate professor of Voice MARY WILSON won the UofM's 2022 Alumni Association Distinguished Teaching Award and the UofM's 2022 Alumni Association Distinguished Achievement in the Creative Arts Award.

Wilson also presented a Masterclass titled “Discovering the Drama of the Oratorio Aria, at the Classical Singer convention in Chicago. This past season, Wilson returned to professional solo singing engagements with American Bach Soloists, the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, Florida the Nashville Symphony, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, the Pacific Symphony, the Sarasota Ballet and the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra.

» DR. JOSEF HANSON , assistant professor of music education, was named Forum Editor of the College Music Symposium, the flagship journal of the College Music Society, and was also appointed to the editorial board of Update: Applications of Research in Music Education. He also won one of only 18 Research Grants in the Arts program funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. It’s the first time the College of Communication and Fine Arts has won direct funding from the NEA.

CCFA RETIRED/ RETIRING PROFESSORS

» KATHERINE HENDRIX - professor, Department of Communication and Film, August 2022

» HOLLY LAU - professor and former chair, Department of Theatre & Dance, December 2022

» PATRICIA PODZORSKI - assistant professor of Teaching/Curator, Institute for Egyptian Art and Archeology, February 2023

» RANDAL RUSHING - professor and former director, School of Music, May 2023

» MATTHEW BURNS , new assistant professor of voice, recently participated in the world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera of “The Hours,” a modern opera by composer Kevin Puts. It was presented live in New York City at the Metropolitan Opera House and simulcast in HD worldwide in movie theaters. He also starred in and cowrote the English adaptation of the script for the “Daughter of the Regiment” as the role of Sulpice with the Utah Opera.

» LILY AFSHAR - professor, School of Music, May 2023

» OTIS SANFORD - Hardin Chair of Excellence, Department of Journalism & Strategic Media, May 2023.