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.

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:
March 2015

Publications

Miller, E.C. (2015). Righteous Rhetoric: Sex, Speech, and the Politics of Concerned Women for America, by Leslie Dorrough Smith. (Book Review). Rhetoric Review, 34, 155-158.

Presentations

Hanley-Tejeda, D. (March, 2015). Rigor as Folk: Learning from the Poetry of Sterling A. Brown. Pennsylvania Black Conference on Higher Education, Harrisburg, PA.

Shorter, S. (March, 2015). Innovating to Diversify the Professoriate: The Inclusive Future Faculty Initiative. Pennsylvania Black Conference on Higher Education, Harrisburg, PA.

Scholarly Achievement

Dr. Lauren MacKenzie was honored as the Research Fellow of the Month by the Institute for the Study of Culture & Language at Norwich University. The description can be found here.

Dr. James Tomlinson was interviewed for an article on Pennlive.com about the expansion of wireless Internet access in Pennsylvania. Tomlinson reflected on how conditions have changed since he published research on the subject in 2001. Read the article here.

Student Achievement

Dr. Mary King's Communication and Health Campaigns course is working to spread the word about their communication-inspired responsible drinking campaign, #BUResponsibly, sponsored by a grant from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Follow the campaign and #BUResponsibly events on Twitter @BUResponsibly.

Communication studies majors Boenell Kline and Albra Wheeler and minor Stephanie Weicker were honored as "Outstanding Women of Bloomsburg," an award sponsored by the Bloomsburg University Women's Resource Center, Commission on the Status of Women, and W.I.S.E. (Women Inspiring Strength and Empowerment). Boenell was honored in the courage category, Albra was honored for service, and Stephanie was honored for leadership. Congrats to all three!

Communication studies major Rachael Scicchitano participated in this year's Husky Leadership Summit and blogged about the experience for BloomU Explore. Read her post here.