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:
October 2016

Publications
King, M. E., & Theiss, J. A. (2016). The communicative and physiological manifestations of relational turbulence during the empty-nest phase of marital relationships. Communication Quarterly, 64, 495-517.

Presentations
Dr. Angela La Valley and Dr. Mary E. King presented at the 2016 Liberal Arts symposium before an audience of approximately 130 students. Their presentation, titled “Navigating Relationships and Dating,” highlighted interpersonal communication processes within romantic relationships in college that can lead individuals to success in maintaining healthy, satisfying relationships. Topics such as initiating relationships, flirtation,
respectful communication, romantic exclusivity, and jealousy were discussed.

Dr. Elizabeth Petre and Dr. Jim Petre also presented during the Liberal Arts Symposium on October 14. Their presentations were titled "Taking a Rhetorical Approach to the Job Search Process" and "The Basics of Saving and Investing," respectively.

Scholarly Activity
Dr. Eric C. Miller's interview with historian Nicole Hemmer appeared at Religion Dispatches on October 31.

Professional Development
Dr. Mary E. King attended a specialized training, "Integrating Salivary Bioscience into Behavioral, Developmental, and Health Science Research," on October 12, 2016 at Cornell University, NY. The training focused on exploring the basic and latest research advancements that help investigators integrate salivary bioscience into research.

Invited Lectures
Dr. Elizabeth Petre and Dr. Jim Petre delivered the second lecture in the department’s Scholarship Symposium Series on October 11. The talk was based on their recent book chapter, titled “Teaching Communication Consulting through Client Projects: A Rhetorical Approach.”

Dr. Mary E. King delivered a lecture via Skype for the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue University on October 6.  Her talk was titled “From model to theory: Contemporary interpersonal communication research applying the Relational Turbulence Model.”

Dr. Shavonne Shorter was an invited speaker at the ACT 101 faculty meet and greet on October 18.

Awards and Recognition

Dr. Shavonne Shorter received the 2016 Outstanding Educator award from The Women's Center, Inc. The award honors the recipients outstanding level of commitment either by response or direct efforts within their profession/community to victims of domestic violence or sexual assault. Congrats, Dr. Shorter!