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:
Summer 2016

Promotion

Dr. Mary E. King was promoted to Associate Professor. Congrats, Dr. King!

Publications

Brummett, E. A. (2016). “Race doesn’t matter:” A dialogic analysis of interracial romantic partners’ stories about racial differences. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. doi: 10.1177/0265407516658790

Heineman, D. S. (2016). Porting game studies research to virtual reality. New Media & Society. doi: 10.1177/1461444816661711

Miller, E. C. (2016). The State of the Marital Union: Rhetoric, Identity, and Nineteenth Century Marriage Controversies, by Leslie J. Harris. (Book Review). Rhetoric and Public Affairs, 19, 112-115.

Miller, E. C. (2016). Hunt the Devil: A Demonology of U.S. War Culture, by Robert L. Ivie and Oscar Giner. (Book Review). Communication Review, 19, 156-158.

Shorter, S. R. (2016). Black student-faculty mentorship programs: A means to increase
workforce diversity in the professoriate. In C. L. Scott & J. D. Sims (Eds.), Developing Workforce Diversity Programs, Curriculum, and Degrees in Higher Education (pp. 43-61). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Presentations

King, M. E., & Theiss, J. A. (2016, July). Relational uncertainty and partner interference as predictors of stress and turmoil in the empty-nest relationship. A paper presented at the meeting of the International Association for Relationship Research, Toronto, Ontario, CA. 

Dr. Shavonne Shorter presented a summer enrichment workshop to ACT101 students at Bloomsburg University titled, “Choosing A Major—Communication Studies” in July.

Scholarly Activity

Dr. Eric C. Miller’s interview with historian Daniel K. Williams appeared at Religion and Politics on May 31, and his interview with historian Alison Collis Greene appeared at Religion Dispatches on July 29.