Eagle Call: Spring 2014

Spring 2014

THE EAGLE CALL University of Southern Indiana’s Communications Alumni Newsletter

In this Issue

Letter from the Chair

1

In the Big Leagues

2

From Paper to Plastic

3

A Helping Hand

4

The New Logo

5

International and Intercultural

6

PRSSA

7

New Beginnings

8

Commencement

9

Core 39 is Here to Stay

10

Dr. West’s Final Semester

11

Awards

12

Additional Awards

13

Faculty & Contact

14

Letter from the Chair Dr. J. Wayne Rinks The end of a school year brings time for reflection on all that has been accomplished in the last few months. We have had eight departmental courses approved for our new Core 39. Four more courses are in various stages of development for the new core. Also this past school year, we created a 21 credit-hour interdisciplinary digital video minor within Art. We also developed a STET certification in crisis resolution within our public relations emphasis of the public relations/advertising major. Both the minor and the certification received approval this semester. The department also developed and gained approval for two new courses: COMM 488 Diversity in Mass Media and RTV 358 Advanced Audio Production. Diversity in Mass Media was approved for the CORE 39 Embedded Experience Diversity category. Advanced Audio Production is required course in the new Digital Video minor.

We are currently working on curricular changes which will allow our students to take more courses in this department and will also make it easier to transfer mass communication courses from two-year schools into our programs. These policy changes are possible because the department is voluntarily allowing our ACEJMC accreditation to lapse at the end of the current accreditation period. (More than 70% of communication programs in the U.S. operate without this “extra” accreditation). It is important to note the University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, therefor our department remains accredited.

This past year our participation in the College Achievement Program (CAP) was stronger than ever with 344 students enrolling for USI credit through the department’s CAP courses. High School Media day continued to be an important part of our outreach to high schools. This semester the event brought 151 high school students from 16 area schools to the USI campus for workshops and tours of the campus and facilities. Several departmental faculty members volunteered to conduct workshops for the high school students and their advisors.

I am especially proud of the increased scholarly output of our faculty. This past year our faculty had 12 peer-reviewed publications (up from six last year) and 20 academic presentations (up from 17 last year). Two of our faculty members received special honors. Dr. Leigh Anne Howard, associate professor of communication studies, received Southern States Communication Association’s John I. Sisco Award for Teaching Excellence. And Dr. Zachary Henning, assistant professor of communication studies, received USI’s Student Organization Faculty Advisor of the Year Award.

As you will read in this edition of Eagle Call, our students also had a noteworthy year. For the second year in a row The Shield won “College Newspaper of the Year in Indiana” in the category of colleges and universities with similar enrollments to USI. The Edge, WSWI, once again won numerous state-level awards and a national award from the Broadcast Education Association.

Special note to Alumni: If you have news you would like to share please send it to mereese@usi.edu Have a great summer!

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Alumni Spotlight In the Big Leagues

By Bailey Nance USI Public Relations Student

Two and a half years seems like a short amount of time to receive a double major, but it was no problem for December 2013 graduate, Kayla McCarty. McCarty graduated summa cume laude and with honors from the University of Southern Indiana (USI) with a radio and television (RTV) Kayla McCarty working with the equipment in degree, as well as a Spanish degree. McCarty was a the sound booth at WVUB 91.1 the Blazer.

Deans Scholar and received numerous awards and scholarships during her short time as a student.

McCarty was presented with the Koch Foundation Scholarship, a USI Departmental Scholarship and the WISH-TV 8 in Indianapolis. The tools that McCarty Indiana Broadcasters Association (IBA) Award and learned during the internship and also at USI greatly Scholarship which she won in 2011, 2012 and 2013. helped her with her first job after college. She was hired immediately after graduation as the program McCarty fell in love with radio and director and the afternoon-drive show host for broadcasting as a sophomore at Franklin Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. After seeing her WVUB in Vincennes, Indiana.

Beginning her career in January of 2014, McCarty ability to write, a former teacher persuaded her to try out radio at the station available to the students. has been given the opportunity to do what she Almost instantly, she knew she was at home in the loves; working on the radio. As the afternoon-drive show host, she is responsible for reaching out to the booth, working on the station. McCarty, who had been taking Spanish since she was in the seventh- community, telling stories and doing promotional events. WVUB offers three channels; the main signal grade, not only knew the language but loved the and HD1 are known as ‘Hot AC’, HD2 is a jazz station culture as well. She knew that having a second language could help further her career and set her and HD3 is a bilingual station. As program director, apart from other applicants. These facts, along with McCarty helps to create the essence of the station, being able to receive College Achievement Program whether that is with ads or PSAs. There are no commercials on WVUB, making this station a very (CAP) credit for her courses before college, really helped McCarty set up for success in college. It was popular one. McCarty still aspires to do more. One CAP credit classes that she was involved in during day, she would like to be able to teach at the college level, in addition to working at a radio station. high school that originally introduced her to USI’s RTV program.

McCarty worked on the campus’ TV station during her time at USI. She was producer, news director and lead anchor at SETV12. She was trying to explore both sides of the degree. This led her to an internship as a creative service intern (CSI) for

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Alumni Spotlight From Paper to Plastic

By Rebekah Wuchner USI Public Relations Student

Jennifer Stilwell, USI alumna.

Juggling one degree is never easy, but balancing two seems nearly impossible. This, however, was not a problem for Jennifer Stilwell. Stilwell, a 2006 graduate from the University of Southern Indiana (USI), double majored in art with an emphasis in graphic design, in addition to a major in advertising and public relations with an emphasis in advertising. She also completed a marketing minor.

A presidential scholar, as well as an honors student, she completed her degrees in four years.

While attending USI, she also completed two internships with Berry Plastics. Her first internship was with the Berry design center working on industrial design where she learned how to illustrate products as well as generate new plastic packaging. She interned again with Berry in the marketing department, where she helped create product mock-ups, brochures and magazine advertisements.

Following her successful internships, she began working at Berry full time as a creative services specialist. Her job entails managing graphics projects from start to completion. She works to ensure that customer’s designs are printable and gives instructions to artists on how to make the jobs successful.

She also arranges for customers to visit the plant to view their print and sign off on the design. In May, Stilwell will have worked at Berry for 10 years.

Completing two majors and a minor, all in different areas, has given Stilwell a much better understanding of her job. She has a sensitivity towards where customers are coming from in order to make their product pop off the shelves. She also gained strong analytical skills through her marketing background.

In her free time, Stilwell is a Zumba instructor, which helps her control her stress as well as gives her the opportunity to meet new and interesting people. She also still visits USI to attend the art shows and reviews senior portfolios for graphic design. Graduating from college may not have given Stilwell much time for rest, but it did give her the opportunity to work at a job she truly enjoys.

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Alumni Spotlight A Helping Hand

By Jessica Kelley USI Communications Studies Student

Kathy Schoettlin, USI alumna.

The University of Southern Indiana’s program in Communication Studies strives to equip students with the knowledge and skills required for success in their personal, social, professional and civic lives. Kathy Schoettlin, executive vice president and chief community relations and social responsibility officer at Old National Bank, was able to use her education in communication studies and become an influential member of her community. “I view the program as one that provides critical tools and experiences to students in an environment that encourages diversity of thought,” Schoettlin said.

Schoettlin is an advocate for teaching the importance of effective communication. She recalls her favorite memory of the Communication Studies curriculum to be the internship program. The experience from her internship, in addition to advice from her professors, helped define her career path. She explained, “In today’s ever-changing, fast-paced world, communicating effectively and efficiently is critical. The variety of courses offered paired with a first-class faculty provides students with a natural platform for success.”

Schoettlin has been particularly successful in using her platform to create opportunities to give back to the community. Along with her responsibilities at Old National Bank, she currently serves on the board of the Public Education Foundation, Indianapolis Youth Institute, Make-a-Wish, Southwestern Indiana Mental Health, Healthy Communities Partnership, American Heart Association - Go Red for Women Leadership Team and is co-chair of Tomorrow’s Work Force as well as having an active role with Evansville’s Big Brothers Big Sisters. The Communication Studies Program at USI helped Schoettlin understand what she might achieve, establish opportunities to network effectively and succeed at multiple levels.

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Photo credit: USI Photo Services

The New Logo

By Bailey Nance USI Public Relations Student

The new academic logo

The new athletic logo

A look into the new brand: the new essence of the University of Southern Indiana

On April 9, 2014, the University of Southern Indiana launched new logos for the University and Athletics. The University operated under its previous logo for nearly 30 years and it was time for a change.

The new logo utilizes the tagline, “Knowledge for Life”. As stated by USI President Linda L.M. Bennett, “Academic quality has been a part of this University since its founding. The evolved representation of our brand shines a light on the profound impact we are having on higher education in our region and far beyond.” The new logo was designed over a nine-month period working closely with Rickabaugh Graphics, located in Ohio. Rickabaugh Graphics has designed hundreds of college logos across the country including Western Kentucky University, Baylor University and Texas A&M University.

The new logo for the University depicts a torch as the “I” in USI. The flame in the torch represents knowledge and resembles an eagle’s wing. Within the athletic changes, the university stayed true to its Screaming Eagles legacy but created a more proud and fierce eagle. The new logo will be put to full use on jerseys in the summer and fall of 2014.

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International and Intercultural Relations

By Rebekah Wuchner USI Public Relations Student

From left: Dr. Yoon-Joo Lee and Dr. Leigh Anne Howard outside at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul.​

Exploring someplace new and unknown is not simply about the adventure to Dr. Leigh Anne Howard and Dr. Yoon-Joo Lee of Communications. Instead, it is about immersing themselves in the culture and learning something about themselves as well as other people.

The summer proved to be incredibly hot for the city of Seoul, South Korea, when Dr. Lee and Dr. Howard arrived to take part in the World Communication Association’s Conference. The organization is a professional not-for-profit that supports research of communication in all forms but with a special emphasis on international and intercultural relations.

The conference gives researchers an opportunity to meet people from all over the world with different religions, backgrounds and values.

Students and faculty, as well as, some professionals attend this academic conference. According to Dr. Howard, “The conference is all about being in the moment, talking about intercultural communication and learning from those present.”

Dr. Lee and Dr. Howard presented a co-written paper about the social issues in advertising sponsored by corporations. The paper centered on how consumers evaluate messages differently given their prior perceptions about the world. Dr. Lee won an award for best presentation, by a non-native English speaker, for this research.

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Dr. Howard presented an additional paper at the conference that was awarded best theoretical/ praxis paper. It explored the interaction between empathy and ethnographic research. Of all the papers presented, Dr. Lee felt that Dr. Howard’s was the most memorable because it was a unique idea that she had never considered before.

All research had to be submitted and reviewed in order to be considered for presentation. The other papers presented by various scholars addressed topics such as multinational media campaigns, multicultural team communication, ethnic identity, intercultural instruction and intercultural competence.

Of the entire trip, the most memorable moment for Dr. Howard was a presentation by Professor MyungSeok Park, who gave the keynote address. Dr. Howard stated, “He discussed people interacting in ways that demonstrates respect, acceptance but an awareness of differences and approaching interaction with a sense of mutuality.” His presentation centered on valuing a person and their cultural differences.

In the end, by attending this conference, Dr. Howard and Dr. Lee formed connections with people that reflect the mission of the World Communication Association. They created relationships with people from all over the world that, as Dr. Lee stated, “Stimulate intellectual curiosity and knowledge, which is the best part of the conference.”

PRSSA students and faculty member Mary Beth Reese attended PRSSA Hoosier Chapter meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana. Students met with public relations professionals during the “Half-Day with a Pro”.

Public Relations Student Society of America

By Nicole Pineda USI Public Relations Student

Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) experienced a successful year as an organization in 2013-2014. Eleven members traveled to Indianapolis in November of 2013 for “Half Day with a Pro”, sponsored by PRSA Hoosier Chapter. “Half Day with a Pro” gives PRSSA students an opportunity to job shadow a public relations professional in the Indianapolis area. Students were then invited to stay for a PRSA chapter meeting where they participated in a game show and had the opportunity to network with other public relations professionals.

PRSSA’s community event this year was a clothing drive and cookout which PRSSA hosted for Greek Life. The PRSSA then donated over 250 bags of clothing items to Aurora, Inc., a homeless shelter in the Evansville area.

This year the PRSSA was pleased to host a resume workshop in the Liberal Arts building for communications majors with guest speaker, Pam Doerter. Doerter helped develop their resumes, create a cover letter, and gave tips on how to present oneself in an interview.

PRSSA is the largest pre-professional organization in the country and has more than 300 chapters totalling over 10,000 members. The students are provided with professional development, networking and exclusive scholarship opportunities.

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New Beginnings

By Rebekah Wuchner USI Public Relations Student

Kathleen Sledge

Junior public relations and advertising student, Kathleen Sledge, will be traveling to New Lanark Mill in New Lanark, Scotland, to take part in a communication internship. Sledge currently works at the Atheneum/Visitor Center in New Harmony, Indiana, which is the sister site to the New Lanark Mill. Sledge, who has a particular interest in museum work, is excited to take part in the rebranding of the New Lanark site as well as help with a new temporary exhibit. She will be leaving May 19 and return on the July 31 after an additional five weeks spent traveling abroad with her brother.

As her departure date nears, Sledge is confident and ready to begin the program thanks to the support of International Programs and Services, her advisors, New Harmony and her family. To keep up with Sledge’s adventures, follow her blog at tallgirltravel.blogspot.com.

Kathleen Sledge

Kathy Stroyeck

In July you may have noticed a new face in Communications. Kathy Stroyeck has joined the department as administrative assistant. She has worked administration at multiple universities including the University of Illinois at Springfield, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and Regent University in Virginia Beach. Each position she filled was incredibly diverse.

Her time spent at the University of Southern Indiana has been an overall positive experience.

Stroyeck stated, “The Communication Department has an excellent rapport between their colleagues in the department as well as in Liberal Arts. It is the best atmosphere!”

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Kathy Stroyeck, administrative assistant

Commencement

By Rebekah Wuchner USI Public Relations Student

Mike L. Good

For those in Communications, a familiar face was seen at the podium during this spring’s commencement. 1997 graduate, Michael L. Good, delivered the Commencement address to this year’s graduating class. Good earned a bachelor’s degree in communications at the University of Southern Indiana as well as a master’s degree in business administration from Anderson University. Currently he is the vice president of strategic account and business management for Walker Information, a customer intelligence consulting firm in Indianapolis, Indiana.

He also works as an adjunct professor at Anderson University. There he teaches both marketing strategies and business plan development in the MBA Program.

Grisel Barjas Espinoza The spring Commencement 2014 reflection address was given by a graduate student from the Communications. Grisel Barajas Espinoza was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexico, and did not know English when she moved to the United States. Now she is proud to be graduating with a Master of Arts in Communication.

Espinoza works for BLS Entertainment and is also an on-air personality for WEOA Radio 98.5FM/1400AM. She also hosts two shows, one is all in Spanish “El carnaval de la Mañana” on Saturdays and “Soul and Salsa” Monday through Friday. Her commencement reflection focused on change, “We are the CHANGE and EMOTION experienced on the JOURNEY we travel through TIME.” Espinoza is thankful that USI has given her the opportunity to be successful by helping her become knowledgeable, creative, diverse and tenacious.

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Core 39 is Here to Stay

By Bailey Nance USI Public Relations Student

Exciting things are happening for the incoming freshman at the University of Southern Indiana. A new core curriculum called Core 39 has been introduced for implementation in fall 2014. Core 39 is a beneficial change for Communications. Dr. Wayne Rinks, chair of Communications, is excited about the new core curriculum. “It’s very impressive that this institution can come up with a new core in roughly two years... People worked really hard on this. I’ve got to be honest, I’m proud of the new core,” Rinks shared during the interview.

Incoming students seem to be responding well to the new Core 39 and who wouldn’t? Core 39 has fewer hours required than the old core curriculum and it offers a sense of freedom for the students as well.

The new core is structured like a pyramid. At the bottom are the Foundation Skills, which would include such courses as CMST 101 and 107, math, English composition and kinesiology. A new course in this section that is required for all majors is UNIV 101: First Year Experience. This course is especially dedicated to first time degree seeking students and is designed to help the students fully understand the expectations and opportunities offered at college. A total of 14 hours is needed to fulfill the Foundation.

The second section of the pyramid is the Bachelors of Arts and Bachelors of Science. The foreign language requirement of the Bachelor of Arts may have led some students to pursue a Bachelor of Science instead since having a foreign language was not a requirement of the BS. Now with Core 39, students must take additional science courses in order to attain a Bachelor of Science degree, making the degrees similarly challenging. Dr. Rinks believes that this is beneficial to students, “I think we’re going to have more students, more of our majors, taking foreign languages to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.” A total of 13 hours is needed to fulfill this section of the core.

The third part is called Ways of Knowing, which houses courses that utilize creative and aesthetic expression, historical inquiry, moral and ethical reasoning and much more. This section will also include science courses or mathematics courses. A total of 12 hours is needed to fulfill this portion. The fourth section, Embedded Experience, is comprised of three parts: Global, Diversity and Writing Intensive. The benefit of this area is allowing students to study and understand other cultures and the global community.

The Embedded Experience courses can replace the Ethnic Cognate that was previously required by the department. Majors in Communications will be able to satisfy the Writing Intensive requirement with courses in their major. The skills learned in these courses will help students in their careers later in life. A total of four courses (one Diversity, one Global and two Writing Intensive) are needed to finish this portion of the core.

Along with the new core there is a new tool to help students track their progress toward graduation.

This new software is called DegreeWorks. DegreeWorks will show students more precisely what they need to do in order to graduate. It will also allow the students to more easily build their class schedule. “Core 39 and DegreeWorks are just two of the several changes coming in the fall, which I think, students will like,” Rinks stated.

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Dr. Robert West’s Final Semester

By Alaina Gonzalez USI Public Relations Student

Dr. Robert West assists sophmore Bailey Nance in planning her schedule for the upcoming semester.

Dr. Robert West can often be seen walking the halls of Communications with a coffee in hand and a student to whom he is offering words of wisdom. Since 1984, West has been teaching and advising students throughout their college careers. In the fall 2014 he will be retiring, but his impact on students will always remain.

“West has always been kind and willing to help. Every time I see him, he makes an effort to say hello and see how I am. In addition, he tries to make sure that I am aware of any new changes.” – Kristina Mobley

West’s path to becoming a professor and advisor of communications did not start out in that direction. He originally graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Biology and German. His part time job at a local television station kept him satisfied enough, so he decided to stick with it. Through various promotions, he went back to school and earned his Masters of Business Administration and later achieved a Doctorate in Speech Communication.

“West has been incredibly helpful in making sure I graduate in four years and that I take all the classes that will prepare me for a career in advertising. He has gone above and beyond as an advisor and I feel well prepared for the real world.” – Alex Metka

When asked about how he relates to his students, this is what Dr. West had to say. “They’re all different. I just try to get to know them and understand their motivations. For some students it is to get their degree and go onto a career. For others, it is a passion for a field that keeps them motivated.” When he gets down to it, his most rewarding experiences of being a professor and advisor is seeing the students that he has helped in small ways succeed.

“The fact that I’m graduating in four years can be accredited to one of the most dedicated advisors at the university, Dr. West. He was always available to answer any questions and to provide assistance or reassurance when it was necessary.

His warm heart and passion for helping his students is easy to see and I would like to truly thank him for sharing his time and wisdom with me the past couple of years.” – Whitney Bailey

Dr. West can look forward to spending his retirement traveling with his wife, working with electronics (a hobby of his), and accomplishing some of those long overdue tasks that have been on his to do list. Some places he would like to see again would be Europe and the Northwest United States, such as the state of Washington.

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Awards

The Shield was named Division II Student Newspaper of the Year on April 5 at the annual Indiana Collegiate Press Association convention. Pictured above in The Shield newsroom are some of the 15 students who won individual awards: (front row from left to right) Jessie Hellmann, Justin Jimmy Pyles, Dixie Halber and Dennis Marshall. (Back row) James Vaughn, Jessica Stallings, Kelsey Turner and Shannon Hall.

For a full listing please visit http://www.usi.edu/journalismawards

USI Radio Station Wins National and State Awards Kayla McCarty - second place in the Broadcast Education Association (BEA) Festival of Arts Air Personality contest, first place in Air Personality in the Indiana Association of School Broadcasters (IASB) College Competition.

Maddie West - received an Honorable Mention in the BEA Newscast Category, took first place in the IASB New Report, second place in Radio News categories, and an IBS Best Newscast finalist.

Mikael Drobny - a finalist in Best Spot News and Best Campus News Coverage.

Jevin Redman - IASB first place Radio Sportscast Mitch Mullis - IASB second place Radio Sportscast.

Michael Cassidy - first place IASB Radio Spot Production Chris Howard - IBS Best Public Service Announcement finalist.

In all, The Edge won 17 awards.

For a full listing please visit http://www.usi.edu/RTVawards

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University of Southern Indiana 2014 National Student Advertising Competition Team

Front row (left to right): Ali Nord, Krystin Stout, Whitney Bailey, and Leah Woodbury. Back Row (left to right): Amanda Schmitt, Katie Koewler, Robert West, Reghan Wetzel, Anna Adelman, Kaylen White and Erin Hicks. Not pictured: Robert Smith, Marie Barnes, Colin Hildenbrand and Griffin Glasscock

Faculty Awards

Dr. Leigh Anne Howard received the distinguished John I. Sisco Excellence in Teaching Award from the Southern States Communication Association.

Dr. Zachary Henning recieves the USI Student Organization Advisor of the Year Award The Eagle Call

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Communications Faculty

Full time faculty-Fall 2012 Black, Dr. David Assistant Professor of Radio & Television Bonnell, Dr. Karen Professor of Radio & Television Cooper, Dr. Gael Professor of Public Relations Durham, Dr. Wesley Associate Professor of Communication Studies Ferrier, Dr. Patricia Assistant Professor of Journalism Gibson, Ms Erin Instructor of Journalism Henning, Dr. Zachary Assistant Professor of Communication Studies Howard, Dr. Leigh Anne Associate Professor of Communication Studies

Lee, Dr. Yoon-Joo Assistant Professor of Advertising Morris, Mr John Instructor of Radio & Television Rauscher, Dr. Emily Contract Assistant Professor of Communication Studies Reese, Ms Mary Beth Instructor of Public Relations Rinks, Dr. J. Wayne Associate Professor of Radio & Television Tew, Dr. Chad Associate Professor of Online Journalism West, Jr., Dr. Robert Assistant Professor of Advertising Young, Dr. Stephanie Assistant Professor of Communication Studies

Jeffers, Mr Robert Instructor of Advertising

Contact Mailing Address: University of Southern Indiana College of Liberal Arts Communications 8600 University Boulevard Evansville, IN 47712 Fax: 812-465-7152 Graphic designer, Copy Editor and Editor: Bailey Nance and Rebekah Wuchner Advisor: Mary Beth Reese

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