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What's New:

The Bloomsburg University Xi Omega chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, the National Communication Honor Society, has been named the 2019 Chapter of the Year by the National Communication Association.

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Featured Student

Sydney Rimmer

My name is Sydney Rimmer, and I am currently a senior at Bloomsburg, double majoring in Communication Studies with a Leadership and Public Advocacy focus and Political Science with a Legal Studies focus, as well as a minor in Public Relations. This summer, I am beyond grateful to have participated in an internship at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in the Senate Republicans Communications Office, as it was an incredibly fulfilling experience.
The office had a group of employees designated to each area of communications. There were teams of employees for areas such as speech writing, webmasters, photography, film, social media, and others. I got to shadow and help complete assignments in each of these areas, and gain an appreciation for the importance of each specialty. This offered a unique opportunity to understand “a day in the life” of the employees in this office and their responsibilities, and it also gave me an opportunity to meet people outside of the office, and experience things many other people will never experience. Seeing the behind the scenes of these events was so interesting.
The brunt of my work was done in June, as that is when the Senate is in session and the budget is being passed. Once the budget passed, July slowed down and there were significantly less events occurring, therefore less events for me to shadow, as the Senators stay in their district offices as opposed to coming to the Capitol. This gave me an accurate representation of the job, both the hustle and bustle of June, and the relaxed nature of July.
This internship has also proven to be a vital step in my networking. I received a follow up luncheon with the lobbying firm who encouraged me to intern in the Capitol, as well as encouragement from my office to look for a career in the Senate when I graduate. I got a chance to work with several Senators, thereby networking with them, which was a personal goal of mine for the summer. Another strength of my internship was the bond I formed with my coworkers. I was the only intern in my office, however I fit in perfectly with the full time employees despite us being in all different walks of life. I had anticipated forming relationships with my coworkers, but I had not foreseen how close I would grow with them. I am so blessed to now call many of my coworkers my friends. We have spent time together in both the office, as well as our free time, and I am elated they have taken me under their wings, and I still stay in touch with many of them despite being many months post internship.
My internship was a wonderful experience, and truly turned out to be a highlight of my summer. I am able to walk away from this office confident that I completed assignments efficiently and to the best of my ability. I have grown from this experience, and I am excited to see how the things I have learned and the connections I have made will apply to my future endeavors.

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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).