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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:

November 2020 Newsletter

 

Award 

Congratulations to Dr. Kai Kuang for her Top Paper Award from the National Communication Association’s Interpersonal Communication Division!

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 Conference Presentations 

Brummett, E. A. (2020, November). Activism and social justice “pedagogy party”. Panel presentation at the National Communication Association Convention, Virtual Conference. 

Brummett, E. A. (2020, November). Developing debaters at the crossroads of academia and citizenship: Implications of the Frederick Douglass Debate Society for current student debaters. Panel presentation at the National Communication Association Convention, Virtual Conference. 

Chernichky-Karcher, S. (2020, November). At the crossroads of health and gender: Qualitative reports of women’s experiences of supportive communication in health contexts. Panel presentation at the National Communication Association Convention, Virtual Conference. 

Gettings, P. E., Chernichky-Karcher, S., Iannarino, N. T. (2020, November). Normative rhetorical theory: A systematic review of the literature. Paper presentation at the National Communication Association Convention, Virtual Conference. 

Green, R. J. (2020, November). Developing debaters at the crossroads of academia and citizenship: Implications of the Frederick Douglass Debate Society for current student debaters. Panel presentation at the National Communication Association Convention, Virtual Conference. 

Huang, S. (2020, November). Theorizing against yellow peril racism: US-Based scholars of Asian descent at the crossroads of pandemic times. Panel presentation at the National Communication Association Convention, Virtual Conference. 

Kuang, K., & Gettings, P. E. (2020, November). Applying the theory of motivated information management to family health history: Replication and extension using MSEM. Paper presented to the National Communication Association, Virtual Conference. (Top Paper Award) 

Kuang, K., Wilson, S. R., Tian, Z., & Buzzanell, P. M. (2020, November). Resilience and mental health in China: A cross-cultural validation of the Communication Resilience Processes Scale (CRPS). Paper presented at the “Healthy China" and Health Communication International Conference, Beijing, China (virtual). 

Kuang, K. (2020, November). Theorizing against yellow peril racism: US-Based scholars of Asian descent at the crossroads of pandemic times. Panel presented to the National Communication Association, Virtual Conference. 

Kuang, K. (2020, November). Pedagogy at a crossroads: How to teach when students are struggling for survival. Panel presented to the National Communication Association, Virtual Conference. 

McNallie, J., & Kuang, K. (2020, November). An investigation of patients’ use of virtual clinics: Patient and media characteristics. Paper presented to the National Communication Association, Virtual Conference. 

Miller, E. C. (2020, November). Hold fast to the good: William Ellery Channing's 'Unitarian Christianity,' 1819. Paper presentation at the National Communication Association Convention, Virtual Conference. 

Shorter, S. (2020, November). At the crossroads of being a supportive professional and self-preservation: Faculty experiences and management of secondary traumatic stress and compassion fatigue. Panel presentation at the National Communication Association Convention, Virtual Conference. 

Shorter, S. (2020, November). Developing debaters at the crossroads of academia and citizenship: Implications of the Frederick Douglass Debate Society for current student debaters. Panel presentation at the National Communication Association Convention, Virtual Conference. 

Shorter, S. (2020, November). Online equity at a crossroads: Is synchronous or asynchronous instruction more effective, inclusive, and equitable?. Panel presentation at the National Communication Association Convention, Virtual Conference. 

Shorter, S. (2020, November). Should I stay or should I go? Communication careers at the crossroads. Panel presentation at the National Communication Association Convention, Virtual Conference. 

Shorter, S. (2020, November). The Centennial of the 19th Amendment: Reflections on our history and goals for our future. Panel presentation at the National Communication Association Convention, Virtual Conference. 

Turnage, A. (2020, November). Communication ethics: Teaching at the crossroads of theory and communicative action. Panel presentation at the National Communication Association Convention, Virtual Conference. 

Wilson, S. R., Kuang, K., Hintz, E., & Buzzanell, P. M. (2020, November). Developing and validating the Communication Resilience Processes (CRP) Scale. Paper presented to the National Communication Association, Virtual Conference. 

Zhao, X., Kuang, K., & Basnyat, I. (2020, November). From offline to online: Understanding Chinese single mothers’ uncertainty management. Paper presented to the National Communication Association, Virtual Conference. 

 

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Campus Presentations 

Dr. Erin Brummett (Associate Professor) presented a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Training for the campus on Monday, November 9th entitled "Navigating Difficult Dialogues: Understanding the Importance of Identity Differences in Communication." The training is part of an ongoing resource of trainings that are available to members of the BU community to help individuals become more aware and engaged with issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Dr. Erin Brummett (Associate Professor) served as a group discussion facilitator for the 18th Annual High School Diversity Conference held virtually on Thursday, November 12th and sponsored by Bloomsburg University. The conference invites high school students from the local region to participate in a one-day conference to explore topics of diversity. The two virtual conference sessions this year focused on topics of racism, implicit bias, and advocacy through the theme of "Think, Speak, Do." Dr. Brummett also served on this year's Conference Committee to plan and execute the event. 

 

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Service 

Dr. Erin Brummett was elected to serve on the Lambda Pi Eta National Faculty Advisory Board for the 2020-2022 term. In this role, Dr. Brummett will assist in making decisions about the honor society on the national level as well as voting for LPH national award recipients. Faculty Advisory Board members also frequently serve as reviewers or panel chairs for LPH events at the annual National Communication Association Convention.

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