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.

 

Congrats to Communication Studies student Kyle Bower for serving as APSCUF’s summer government-relations and communications intern.

 

 

 

Congrats to The National Communication Association Student Club (NCASC)! 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.

Please see our Communication Studies Newsletters:

The BU Department of Communication Studies is officially on social media! Please like our Facebook page and our Twitter page and share with friends who may be interested!

 


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.


Department News:
February 2019


Publications:
Miller, E. C. & Townes, J. E. (2019). ‘The Protestant contention’: Religious freedom, respectability politics, and W. A. Criswell in 1960. Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 22, 33-58.


Events:

Dr. Shavonne Shorter, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies, was selected to be profiled as the inaugural "Focus on Faculty" spotlight in the Winter 2019 edition of Bloomsburg The University Magazine. In the piece she discussed how to communicate with those we disagree with, tips on email use, and advice for those who have a fear of public speaking.

Dr. Shorter also recently gave an invited lecture at Kutztown University on the Inclusive Future Faculty national initiative that was created in response to her dissertation research. The IFF as it is known for short, is a project which aims to increase the low number of underrepresented minority (URM) professors in the professoriate. URM students interview URM professors to learn more about the realities of being a professor. Videos are then posted to YouTube for all to view and can be found here IFF Videos. 

Dr. Paula Hopeck and Dr. Robert J. Green gave a lecture titled “Shaping the Sensibilities of the 'Good Life' at the End of Life: How Brittany Maynard Rejuvenated the Death with Dignity Movement" as a part of the ICS BU Explores Symposium on February 13th, 2019.


Communication Studies alumnae Sara Hagen and Allison Whitman presented at the Husky Leadership Summit on how student organizations can become organization of the year. Both were past officers of the National Communication Association Student Club which was the 2018 Organization of the Year. Current advisor Dr. Paula Hopeck presented alongside them as did former advisor Dr. Shavonne Shorter.

Dr. Elizabeth Petre presented at the closing event of the Husky Leadership Summit on February 23rd, 2019. Dr. E. Petre and Dr. Kai Kuang served on the Husky Student Leadership Summit Committee.


Drs. Robert J. Green, David Heineman, Paula Hopeck, Eric Miller, Elizabeth Petre, and James Petre participated in a panel titled “Conceptions of the Good Life” as a part of the ICS BU Explores Symposium on February 27th, 2019.

Service:
Dr. Shavonne Shorter was elected to serve as an At-Large Director for the National Communication Association Legislative Assembly. In this capacity Shorter will serve as a trustee of the organization and in so doing will be responsible for organizational governance.