Department News:
February 2018
Honors and Achievements
The National Communication Association Student Club (NCASC) was selected as the 2018 Bloomsburg University Student Organization of the Year for their outstanding work in the areas of leadership, programming, and service. The club is Co-Advised by Dr. Shavonne Shorter and Dr. Paula Hopeck.
Dr. Shavonne Shorter was elected as the Central Regional Director of the Pennsylvania Black Conference on Higher Education at the annual conference in Harrisburg.
Dr. Shavonne Shorter received the Central Region Award for selfless devotion and outstanding service to the Pennsylvania Black Conference on Higher Education at the annual conference in Harrisburg.
Publications
Long, Z., Buzzanell, P., & Kuang, K. (2018). Chinese Post80s generational resilience: Implications of Chengyu as guides for constituting harmonious careers. International Journal of Business Communication. doi: 10.1177/2329488417747598
Workshops
Dr.s Erin Brummett and Kai Kuang co-presented a TALE Seminar on February 22nd entitled, How to Effectively Develop Inclusive Classroom Environments: Strategies from Evidence-Based Teaching. This session tailored strategies learned from their attendance at the 2017 Lilly Conference to faculty at BU to explore how faculty can facilitate inclusive classroom environments for themselves and their students. A specific focus was given to Culturally Responsive Teaching strategies faculty can use to assist their students in improving their interpersonal and intercultural interactions on the BU campus.
Scholarly Activities
Drs. Eric Miller and Kara Shultz traveled to Dayton, Ohio from February 19-21 to complete the first of four training sessions at the Kettering Foundation. Committed to improving the quality of public discourse and deliberation, Kettering hosts a series of research exchanges every year. These attract participants from universities, non-profits, local governments, and other institutions to study and practice the art of productive discussion. In time, Drs. Miller and Shultz hope to use this training to develop public deliberation projects both within the Department of Communication Studies and the Bloomsburg community.
Dr. Eric Miller published a pair of interviews. His conversation with political scientist Andrew R. Lewis appeared at Religion Dispatches on February 9, and his conversation with historian Alec Ryrie appeared at Religion & Politics on February 20.
Dr. Shavonne Shorter presented at the Pennsylvania Black Conference on Higher Education conference in Harrisburg on the Frederick Douglass Institute Collaborative of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.
The Husky Student Leadership Summit (HSLS)
The Husky Student Leadership Summit (HSLS) took place on Saturday February 24, 2018 at Kehr Union, and included participation from Communication Studies faculty and students. Drs. Kai Kuang and Elizabeth Petre served on the HSLS planning committee, registered attendees at the event, and promoted the HSLS to the campus community. Communication Studies majors Courtney Enderline, Jolene Drum, Nicole Donlick, and Jennifer Galer presented their session entitled "Water Cooler Talk and Locker Room Talk: An Ally's Guide to Getting into MINT Condition" at the event. This presentation was developed in Dr. Petre's Leadership and Team Building class during the Fall 2017 semester, and featured interactive activities to help students learn how to recognize and respond to problematic and seemingly mundane talk. The HSLS ended with a closing networking event led by Dr. Petre that was supported by the Bloomsburg University Husky PAWS (Peer Awareness with Students).