News Archive

Career Readiness Sponsors Food Drive

This fall the Communication Studies Department, in collaboration with Bobcat Bounty, set up a cupboard that provides canned goods, pasta, rice and snacks. All those in need of food can help themselves to any item at no cost. Career Readiness (COMM 3322) students, directed by Nikkie Saldivar Hodgson, collected approximately 1000 cans of food in their first annual Communication Department Food Drive. Their goal was to support the efforts of Bobcat Bounty which provides services to decrease food insecurity by providing food to the students at Texas State University. The food collected in the food drive will support the cupboard located near CENT 205.

Faculty Accolades

Jasmine Austin was awarded the prestigious National Communication Association Presidential Citation Award, one of the highest honors in the discipline. This accolade recognizes her exceptional leadership in fostering a more community- and culturally-centered approach within the field of communication. The award celebrates Jasmine for bringing great distinction to the NCA and for significantly contributing to its mission of promoting inclusive dialogue and scholarship. Jasmine also welcomed Amanda Franklin, Data Manager at Sisu Youth Services, to her Communicating Diversity classes as a guest lecturer this semester. Sisu Youth Services is a low-barrier identity affirming shelter for young adults (ages 13-24) in Oklahoma City. Amanda’s presentation focused on the intersectionality of social class and sexuality. She also has access to a huge data base of Oklahoma’s unhoused populations and willing to partner with interested students on a publication using that data.

Ann Burnette moderated a forum for San Marcos Mayoral and City Council races on October 17, 2024. The forum included two mayoral candidates, four candidates for San Marcos City Council Place 5, and two candidates for San Marcos City Council Place 6. The forum was sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Hays County. She also served as a panelist on a Civic Engagement panel, "Insights and predictions for the 2024 presidential election," on October 30. The Civic Engagement panel is part of the Student Civic Engagement project sponsored by the Departments of History and Political Science, as well as the Office of Student Inclusion and Engagement. Ann delivered a lecture, "Rhetorical framings of Kamala Harris during her presidential campaign" to the Penn State University Colloquium, and a lecture entitled, "Why LBJ is relevant today" to the Bluebonnet Lions Club in San Marcos.

Casey Chilton delivered a presentation entitled, “Inspiring others to believe what you believe (quickly)” to the Texas Youth Preparedness Council as they prepare to solicit funding from community partners to aid in the development of their projects.

Stephanie Dailey presented data from her REP-funded project at the National Communication Association convention. The collaborative paper, titled, “'It’s a roller coaster of emotions!': Investigating the paradoxes of childcare app use and work engagement," was co-authored with Kristen Farris, Tricia Burke, and Krista Howard. Her article exploring compassion fatigue was featured on the Center for Behavioral Health & Well-Being Research at the University of Maryland School of Social Work's social media channels. At the NCA convention in New Orleans, Stephanie participated in the Organizational Communication Research Escalator, reading and mentoring three doctoral students’ research in progress.

Elizabeth K. Eger co-authored book chapters in two award-winning books from NCA 2024: (1) the Distinguished Edited Book Award from the Applied Communication Division and (2) the Outstanding Edited Book Award from the Organizational Communication Division. Elizabeth’s  undergraduate LGBTQ+ Communication course participated in a semester-long Wiki Education program to create new Wikipedia pages focused on LGBTQ Communication Studies and Fields of LGBTQ Communication Studies. They wrote over 12,000 words about 154 peer-reviewed communication and rhetoric research articles.

Kristen Farris had 5 manuscripts accepted to the National Communication Association convention in New Orleans. “I did not come back the same”: Greater regard of intercultural interactions through a Study Abroad foundational communication course, coauthored with Marian Houser, M.A. alum Lauren Green, Andrea Avila Regalado, and Michael Burns. “It’s going to take hard work”: An exploratory analysis of parent-caregivers' labor across their child’s illness trajectory, coauthored with Tricia Burke, and M.A. alum Abigail Mellow. “Greater regard for communication competence: An investigation of the Social Skills Deficit Vulnerability Model in parent-caregivers of children with medically complex conditions, coauthored with Tricia Burke, Marian Houser, and M.A. alum Ololade Olanipekun. “A test of Relational Turbulence Theory in sibling relationships: Relationship characteristics, emotions, appraisals, communication, and relational outcomes, and “It’s a roller coaster of emotions!”: Investigating the paradoxes of childcare app use and work engagement, coauthored with Stephanie Dailey and Tricia Burke.

Rebekah Fox participated in the Social Science Research Group Kick-Off Meeting at the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Boulder, CO.  This is a group of researchers, mostly communication scholars, who have been assembled to assist with the implementation of the National Wildfire Crisis Strategy.

Nikki Saldivar Hodgson was the guest speaker for Women in Film and TV (WIFT), Austin, Texas, presenting on Ageism (Stereotyping, discrimination and prejudice acts towards people of all ages). Nikkie also welcomed M.A. alum Brian Robinson to her Career Readiness course. Robinson is Senior Vice President for Product at Watermark in Austin, TX and provided insightful information about the importance of his communication courses and how those courses aligned with his successful career path.

Maureen Keeley gave a presentation at the University of Buffalo, Dept. of Communication on her 20+ year program of research on final conversations. Her talk titled “The Good Goodbye: The Transformative Power of Communication at the end of life” was given to about 50 people and was well-received.

Manu Pokharel published “How people who habitually replot stories react differently (or not so differently) to melanoma narratives” in the Journal of Health Communication. She also published “Exploring appropriateness as a topic avoidance motivation: The influence of familial and social norms” in the Journal of Family Communication. Manu received the 2024 Translational Health Research (THR) Award at Texas State University. She also presented “The effectiveness of skin cancer visuals targeting minority populations: Educating Hispanic and African American participants about acral lentiginous melanoma” at the National Communication Association Convention in New Orleans.

Student Accolades

M.A. student Anca Tonciu successfully passed her MAPPS) Master's Academic/Professional Portfolio).

B.A. student Ethan Iselt was selected as a New Orleans Super Bowl LIX Host Committee Ambassador presented by Chevron. This opportunity comes from Jasmine Austin’s Diversity Training class where students participated in a Diversity Training Pitch Competition in which Super Bowl Executive Chincie Mouton served as a judge.

Students from the Career Readiness Course, taught by Nikkie Saldivar Hodgson, created a logo and launched the first Communication Studies Food Drive for Thanksgiving.

The Communication Studies Graduate Association (CSGA) is a departmental organization dedicated to unifying the graduate students in Communication Studies at Texas State University. CSGA members come together for events like professional development, research seminars, and social and philanthropic events. CSGA hosted a Halloween Karaoke Event featuring costumes, candy and performances.

Study Abroad brings Communication, Music, Business to Europe

Communication Studies students and faculty participated in three different Summer Study Abroad programs co-sponsored with the Department of Music and the McCoy College of Business.

Stephanie Dailey and Seth Frei spent 3 weeks in Europe with 34 Texas State undergraduates studying business and communication. They visited the Netherlands, Germany, and Portugal, meeting with companies including Mercedes, Heineken, Meyle + Mueller, Cockburn's, and Impetus. Students came away with a greater appreciation for business communication in international work cultures and lifelong memories of traveling abroad.

Kristen Farris and two faculty from the School of Music (Daris Hale, Ian Davidson), led a study abroad program of 28 students in May to London and Paris focused on communication and fine arts. 

Rebekah Fox, Ian Davidson, Daris Hale, and Michael Burns spent several weeks traveling and studying in Rome, Florence, and Vienna.

Faculty Accolades

Jasmine Austin published a book chapter entitled, “Workplace socialization: Reproducing racism? Or challenging discriminatory standards?” in The Palgrave Handbook of Antiracism in Human Resource Development. Jasmine earned two External Grants that add up to over $25,000. The first grant is from the Foundation for Louisiana, supporting her partnership with a youth-centered nonprofit to teach 13–18-year-olds qualitative research collection, analysis, and presentation skills. These projects were displayed in a highly successful culminating showcase in New Orleans this summer. The second grant comes from the National Communication Association (NCA) to bridge a connection between a New Orleans Nonprofit and NCA. Jasmine’s work is setting the foundation for future NCA partnerships in each convention city.

Ann Burnette and Wayne Kraemer published "The genius of America and the model immigrant: Barack Obama's rhetorical characterization of DACA recipients" in Evaluating the Obama Presidency: From Transformational Goals to Governing Realities, published by De Gruyter.

Casey Chilton provided presentation coaching to the Texas Youth Preparedness Council as they prepared to give presentations on their projects to the Texas Emergency Management Conference in San Antonio.

Stephanie Dailey published “The process of personal social media for work: Unveiling the ‘work’ behind social media in the journal Social Media + Society. The piece was co-authored by MA alum Madeline Martinson. She also published a handbook chapter entitled “Organizational entry processes” in The Handbook of Organizational Communication Theory and Research. Stephanie received a Service-Learning Research Grant from the Service-Learning Excellence Program at Texas State for a project with MA alum Dr. Seth Frei that explores the role of international service-learning in strengthening global workplace skills. She presented a virtual session on Crisis Communication for small business owners in Texas, sharing evidence-based communication strategies to help prepare for crises before they happen. The presentation was part of an online support and training program called BOOST, which seeks to help businesses’ ability to grow and contribute to a resilient economy. Stephanie also presented a session providing research-based guidance for employees to strengthen their communication and foster collaboration at Texas State University’s Development Day. 

Elizabeth K. Eger was named a 2024 Regents' Teacher by the Texas State University System, the highest teaching honor in the TSUS. Only 21 faculty members from across the system have received the Regents’ Teacher Award since its inception. She will receive the award in February 2025 at the Regents' board meeting. This esteemed recognition celebrates faculty who excel in outstanding teaching, contribute significantly to course development, and employ innovative teaching methods. Elizabeth presented a webinar called, “Librarians as Leaders for Community Resiliency Collaborations” for the Texas State Library and Archives Commission’s Continuing Education and Consulting. She presented along with MA student Anca Tonciu and Translational Health Research Center Executive Director Melinda Villagran. Elizabeth was named as the runner-up to the 2024 Linda L. Putnam Organizational Communication Early Career Scholar Award from the International Communication Association’s Organizational Communication Division.

Kristen Farris co-authored a manuscript with Timothy Worley and Emily Sheinfeld entitled, "Relational turbulence during family transitions: A lifespan perspective and roadmap for future research" appearing in Annals of the International Communication Association. She also presented a workshop entitled "Time Management Strategies for New Graduate Students" at the New Graduate Student Orientation hosted by the Graduate College at Texas State. Kristen has also recently been named as Graduate Director for Communication Studies (Sp. 25).

Rebekah Fox was part of a featured panel, “Risk and Crisis Communication in Wildland Fire Fighting,” at the International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference. Presenters discussed the development and use of a research strategy to cultivate communities of practice to mitigate the risks associated with the catastrophic effects of wildfires on communities. Her research was also featured in the piece, “Flames and Rapid Feedback: How Focus Groups Shaped Wildfire Response During COVID-19” published in the Rocky Mountain Research Station Science you can use Bulletin.

Marek Muller received the Christine Oravec Award from the National Communication Association’s Environmental Communication division, recognizing the top journal publication of the year. The article was entitled, “Long Live the Liver King.” They also published a piece in The Conversation, a trusted journalism outlet authored by academics, on the intersections of plant-based meat substitutes and cultural politics. The piece has since been republished in over 30 other outlets including Salon, the Houston Chronicle, and the Des Moines Register.

Mark Paz received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Senior Lecturer/Lecturer rank. Mark currently serves as Director of the department’s award winning COMM 1310 program. He also serves as faculty advisor to Texas State’s chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, the National Honor Society for Communication Studies, and is the Creative Director for TEDx Texas State University.

Lindsay Timmerman was appointed as one of two Faculty Ombudspersons for a three-year term. The ombuds office on campus offers support to anyone in the campus community with work-related concerns. an ombudsperson offers confidentiality when conducting informal conflict management assistance, and serves as an independent, impartial party. The faculty ombudspersons are advocates for respectful and civil dialogue, transparent and fair policies, and continuous improvement. More information about the ombuds office/role can be found here.

Student Accolades

The Communication Studies Graduate Association (CSGA) is a departmental organization dedicated to unifying the graduate students in Communication Studies at Texas State University. CSGA members come together for events like professional development, research seminars, and social and philanthropic events.  CSGA hosted a Welcome Back Party at Frozen Cave to promote networking among members and faculty.

Celebrating Roseann Mandziuk

Friends and colleagues gathered to celebrate the retirement of Roseann Mandziuk after 37 years of service to Texas State University. It was a festive occasion with a performance by students of the Musical Theatre program, a video presentation featuring Dr. Mandziuk’s previous students, and celebratory speeches by fellow faculty members.

Roseann is currently a University Distinguished Professor, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses including protest rhetoric, media criticism, and rhetorical methods. She is the recipient of numerous teaching awards, including 2023 Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Professor/Associate rank, five Presidential Distinction Awards for Excellence in Teaching and six College Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Associate/Full Professor rank. She has received two Fulbright Scholar Awards, teaching courses in both Poland and India, and has held visiting professorships at the University of Amsterdam and Moscow State University. During her time at Texas State, Roseann feels immense gratification to see the many students she has worked with over the years and the successes they have had, both in the academic and professional ranks. “I believe that my role as a professor is to help open avenues for students to discover their own perspectives, their own critical sensibilities, and their voices, and to realize the power that their voices and their bodies have to fight in the service of justice. What I strive to do in every class I teach is provide examples, perspectives, and challenges that will help students see their world differently.”

Roseann’s research focuses upon images of women, the rhetorical uses of history, and the construction of public memory in museums and monuments. She has co-authored a scholarly book about the rhetoric of Sojourner Truth, published numerous articles and book chapters examining historical and contemporary rhetoric, and served as Editor of Women’s Studies in Communication. Through both teaching and research, Roseann hopes that “my students discover the means of resistance, if that’s what they need, or discover the means of harnessing communication to do great things, to better the world.”

Roseann also leaves a legacy of dedicated service, both the Texas State and to the Communication discipline. She has served as President of both the National Communication Association and the Southern States Communication Association. Through her leadership positions in professional associations across her career, she advocates for the inclusion and encouragement of diverse voices in the communication discipline, both in the professional sphere and in the areas of scholarship and pedagogy. As President of the National Communication Association, she cites the development of a new strategic plan as her most important accomplishment, helping to guide the discipline of Communication into the future. The plan emphasizes increased member engagement, promoting and advocating for Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) in the field of Communication, and promoting the role of Communication in challenging existing structures and fostering meaningful change.

At Texas State, Roseann is most proud of chairing the Presidential Work Life Advisory Council. In conjunction with Human Resources, the Advisory Council created Bobcat Balance, a free program providing financial, mental health, and legal resources to help support well-being at work and at home for Texas State employees. Bobcat Balance was instrumental in advocating for the current University workload policy, establishing free mental health care for employees, providing financial resources, legal guidance, emergency assistance programs, and child-care challenges.

Career Highlights

• President of the National Communication Association.
• President of the Southern States Communication Association.
• 2023 Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Professor/Associate rank.
• 2013 Presidential Award for Service at the Professor/Associate Professor rank.
• Fulbright Scholar, Indraprastha College for Women, Delhi, India.
• Fulbright Scholar, Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities.
• Selected as an American Council on Education Fellow.
• 25 peer-reviewed publications.
• 62 papers presented to professional conferences.
• 5 Presidential Distinction Awards for Excellence in Teaching.
• 6 College Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching -Associate/Full Professor.
• Supervisor of 18 M.A. theses and 8 undergraduate theses.
   

Forensic Team Shines at National Tournaments

The LBJ Debate Society and The Elton Abernathy Forensics Society, Texas State’s competitive speech team, are members of the American Forensics Association (AFA), the National Forensics Association (NFA) and Pi Kappa Delta (PKD). The team travels locally, regionally, and nationally, with an emphasis on qualifying for the American Forensics Association-National Speech Tournament (AFA-NST). The team is coached by faculty members Wayne Kraemer and Jeremy Hutchins. The team recently competed at two national tournaments, the Pi Kappa Delta National Biennial Tournament and the American Forensic Association-National Speech Tournament (AFA-NST).

Taylor Tate and Ro Adams represented Texas State in Lincoln-Douglas Debate at the 2024 Pi Kappa Delta National Biennial Tournament in March. Pi Kappa Delta is one of the oldest forensic organizations in the United States. Ro Adams was named the tournament’s 8th best speaker and finished as the National JV Lincoln-Douglas Debate Champion, while Taylor Tate finished as the national runner-up and was also named second best speaker in the tournament. Jeremy Hutchins, Associate Director of Forensics, said that he was "impressed by the performances of these young, hard-working competitors." He added that it "bodes well for the future of speech and debate at Texas State." Texas State now boasts a national team debate championship in CEDA debate and one national runner-up in British Parliamentary Debate.

Five members of the LBJ Forensics team also competed in the American Forensic Association-National Speech Tournament (AFA-NST), finishing 24th out of the 65 schools in attendance at the competition. Four of the five Texas State competitors advanced to the elimination rounds of the tournament. Hanna Prince and Callum Ritter advanced to the national quarterfinals in Duo Dramatic Interpretation. Santiago Malpica Calleja advanced to the national quarterfinals in Impromptu Speaking. Vanessa Trevino, advanced to the national quarterfinals in Dramatic Interpretation. Wayne Kraemer, Director of Forensics, was proud of the performances from such a young team. Kraemer noted that "he was proud of the rehearsal and practice time the students put in all year just to qualify for the tournament and advancing to the elimination rounds was extra-gratifying." Tyler Cole, Assistant Coach, was also proud of the Bobcats' efforts, adding that "having three slots in the national quarterfinals was pretty exciting for us and contributed to our top 25 finish."

Faculty Accolades

Ann Burnette concluded her year as President of the Southern States Communication Association. She delivered her presidential address, "What Teaching Public Speaking Teaches Me" at the annual convention in Frisco, Texas. She will serve as Immediate Past President until April 2025. Ann presented the paper "'We need to do something about Richard': Examining the rhetoric in free speech battles in Texas" to the annual convention of the Eastern Communication Association in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The paper was co-authored with Rebekah Fox. She also presented the paper "Shining a spotlight on Texas free speech issues" to the annual convention of the Southern States Communication Association. The paper was co-authored with Rebekah Fox.

Casey Chilton presented “Developing and Giving Effective Presentations” to the Texas Youth Preparedness Council as they prepare to give presentations on their individual emergency preparedness projects they have implemented in their schools and communities across Texas.

Stephanie Dailey welcomed alumnus Kelli Ottmers to her COMM 4327 (Social Media in Organizations) class. Kelli is a Public Relations Specialist with Southwest Airlines, managing their social media presence.

Elizabeth K. Eger and her graduate student co-authors, Rex Long, Anca Tonciu, Allister McNally, Rowan Lampert, and Johnny Vasallo, received a Top Paper Award in Applied Communication at the Eastern Communication Association conference in Cambridge, MA. The paper was entitled, “Communicating challenges and imagining new futures through rural community resiliency collaboration: A pilot study adapting COPEWELL with Texas Library Directors and community stakeholders.” Elizabeth published, “LGBTQ+ peer advocates’ health communication praxis for college student health outreach and intersectional needs” with Melinda Villagran and Marsha Burney in the journal Health Communication. Rural Health Information Hub wrote a case study on Elizabeth’s applied communication research with the Translational Health Research Center using community collaboration to adapt a COPEWELL resiliency model with rural Texas librarians. Elizabeth was also named an Austin Pets Alive! Gold Volunteer for her service on the Adoptline volunteer team.

Rebekah Fox presented the paper "'We need to do something about Richard': Examining the rhetoric in free speech battles in Texas" to the annual convention of the Eastern Communication Association in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The paper was co-authored with Ann Burnette. She also presented the paper "Shining a spotlight on Texas free speech issues" to the annual convention of the Southern States Communication Association in Frisco, Texas. The paper was co-authored with Ann Burnette.

Roseann M. Mandziuk made two research presentations at the Southern States Communication Association Convention in Frisco, Texas. The first was entitled “What Lurks in the soil: Excavating the rhetorical roots of white supremacist women.” The second presentation was “Bodies of evidence: The persistent presence of criminal archives”. Roseann also participated in a discussion panel, “Conferencing 101: Navigating SSCA, From Spectator to Participant” and represented the Communication Studies department at the Undergraduate Honors Conference breakfast and Graduate Program Open House.

Marek Muller published “Fantatsical speeches: Performing fanfiction to model protest communication” in Communication Teacher. Their book chapter, “Violence begets violence: Cross-species exploitation in the slaughterhouse” was released in the edited collection Building Resistance Against Multispecies Exploitation: Stories from the Frontlines of Labor and Animal Rights. Marek was accepted to participate in the Research Network Forum at the Rhetoric Society of America’s 2024 Conference where they will rework “You Can’t Sue an Imaginary Cow! Relitigating Devin Nunes v. Twitter as Digital Carnivalesque” with a network of likeminded scholars. Marek offered a Continuing Education Seminar to the group Our Honor, a nonprofit veterinary advocacy group. The presentation was entitled “Treated Like Animals: Unpacking the (Ab)Use of Human and Nonhuman Animals in the Slaughterhouse.”

Manu Pokharel published "Using narratives to correct politically charged health misinformation and address affective belief echoes" in the Journal of Public Health. Manu also directed an undergraduate honors thesis for Maddie Swanson, a student in the Department of Psychology. The thesis was titled "Should I Stay or Should I Go: The Psychological Impacts of In-clinic and At-home Genetic Testing on Participants''.

Student Accolades 

M.A. student Allister McNally presented their research poster, "Jim Sinclair & the 1993 convention on autism: Autistic embodied language versus curation of the body and mind" to the Eastern Communication Association conference in Cambridge, MA.

M.A. student Anca Tonciu presented her research poster, "Elemental: Intercultural conflict and 'third act breakup' in movies" to the Eastern Communication Association conference in Cambridge, MA.

Communication Studies Graduate Association (CSGA) is a departmental organization dedicated to unifying the graduate students in Communication Studies at Texas State University. CSGA members come together for events such as professional development and research seminars, as well as social and philanthropic events. As part of TXST graduate student appreciation week, CSGA sponsored a Clothing Giveaway based on departmental donations.

8th annual TEDx strengthens our “resolve”

The Department of Communication Studies hosted its 8th annual TEDx event in February, featuring six speakers exploring the theme of “resolve” and focusing on the potential and promises ahead. Recent years have been rife with difficulty, from managing a global pandemic to mounting economic uncertainty, ongoing protests for human rights, and escalating environmental disasters, all of which have been taking place in a contentious political environment. Despite these difficulties, we must strengthen our resolve to overcome these challenges and remain hopeful for the future.

2024 Speakers

Dr. Nadmi Adi is an assistant professor at Texas State University. He completed his doctoral studies in the field of virtual reality and obtained a master’s in architecture from the UK. Combining these two fields, he developed a passion to understand and test new buildings and building materials using virtual reality. He studies how people respond to different types of built environments using various virtual platforms as a medium. He has worked in several universities around the globe, in the fields of high-rise wood buildings, hospital design, dementia and elderly friendly design, and interactive architecture. His talk focused on his research team's progress on developing design interventions for hospitals and elderly care centers that reduce the number of injuries and increase our resilience as a species as we grow older. Dr. Adi advocated for practical and actionable solutions that are both affordable and feasible to implement.

Mateo Gutierrez is a self-taught artist whose hand-embroidered art challenges the ingrained violence in American culture. Mateo brings to light forgotten tragedies, defying society's short attention span. His work confronts issues of identity and outsider experience, exhibited across the nation. Currently based in Austin, Texas, Mateo continues his thought-provoking exploration of American culture and its profound impact. His talk focused on a series of hand-embroidered paintings that contain juxtaposed images by photojournalists of people crossing the US-Mexico border and of people after mass shootings. Through his art and TEDx talk, Mateo challenged the ingrained violence in American culture.

Stacy Johnson is the CEO and founder of the non-profit organization, Central Texas Table of Grace. After entering the foster care system at the age of two, Stacy Johnson spent the next 14 years moving from foster home to foster home, dreaming that someday she would open a children’s shelter and help other kids like herself. In 2014, she opened the doors of Central Texas Table of Grace, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides emergency shelter services to foster children and administers a Supervised Independent Living program for young adults aging out of foster care. Stacy is the recipient of several awards, including NBC’s KXAN recognizing her as the “Most Remarkable Woman of the Year” in Central Texas. Her talk focused on her experiences as a child in foster care and how those challenges fueled her resolve to help other kids in foster care and those aging out of the foster care system. Stacy encouraged the audience to think about how we can enact the Power of O.N.E. (Offer, Nurture, Empower) as an antidote to high ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) scores.

Kendra Marsteller + Pawfficer Brady are members of the Texas State University Police Department. Kendra has served as a University Police Officer since 2018 and has worked in a variety of first responder roles during her career. She started as a Victim's Advocate in 2008 and has worked as a Dispatcher, Dispatch Supervisor, Fire Fighter, Deputy Constable, and now serves as a Training Officer, Mental Health Officer, K9 Handler, Victim Services Liaison, and Instructor at Texas State. Pawfficer Brady is Texas State’s first K9 Therapy Dog. Together, their efforts in mental health advocacy and public service align perfectly with the theme of resolve. Officer Marstellar's talk focused on their partnership and how she and Brady have helped individuals and communities in crisis both on our campus and beyond including being dispatched to help during the aftermath of the Lahaina fire in Maui.

Dr. Christine Norton is a Professor of Social Work at Texas State University and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Supervisor. Christine is a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, a Certified Clinical Adventure Therapist, and a Certified Experiential Therapist. Dr. Norton helped launch Foster Care Alumni Creating Educational Success (FACES) at Texas State and created the Foster Care Adventure Therapy Network to share nature with youth and young adults with lived experience in foster care. She is a highly published author and a leading social work scholar in the field of outdoor therapy, and has presented her research and conducted trainings and workshops nationally and internationally. Dr. Norton’s talk focused on current research about the physical and mental health benefits of nature and provided a call to action to GO.S.L.O.W. This acronym stands for Get Outside, Seek beauty, Listen to what nature is saying, Observe what you are seeing and feeling, and Widen your perspective.

Dana Swann serves as the Executive Assistant at Texas Commission on the Arts. She is the direct administrative support person for the agency’s nine commissioners and serves as the agency’s Accessibility and Disability (ADA) Coordinator and as the Liaison for the Creative Forces Initiative. She has considerable administrative experience, including organizations like the Greater Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council, City of Austin, and The University of Texas System. She recently graduated Magna Cum Laude in Communication Studies from Texas State University and is now pursuing a master's degree. Dana aspires to teach communication at the college level and finish writing her book. Her talk focused on overcoming grief and loss and how she cultivated resilience and tenacity and continues to embody the spirit of resolve.

Entertainment portions of TEDx were provided by:

• Mesal Quartet, a student led group of trombone musicians, kicked off the 2024 event in the lobby and led the audience into the Performing Arts Center Recital Hall. 
• Members of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, one of the oldest members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council performed a stroll routine and informed us about their organization's history. 
• Comedy Duo featuring Gabe Cortez and Garrett Buss, both alumni of Texas State University, helped the audience to recognize the benefits of humor for building resolve. 
• Los Gatos 512, an eight-piece salsa ensemble comprised of Texas State current students and alumni, brought the high energy and enabled the audience to embrace Hispanic music and culture during the break.
• Two students (Cameron Monroe Thomas and Eric Shawn) performed moving pieces from their Young, Gifted, and Black showcase led by Aaron Brown to start off the second session.
• CIM-TEYA (Creation in Motion - The Touring Ensemble for Young Audiences) is a dance company made up of Texas State dance majors and minors directed by Kaysie Seitz Brown. They performed two pieces - one about normalizing and overcoming stigmas associated with dyslexia and one set to Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off." 
• VocaLibre, an auditioned choral group directed by Craig Aamot, performed two powerful pieces and blew our audience away when closing out our 2024 event!

Braiden Touchette and Gabe Cortez served as Emcees for the event. Braiden is a junior at Texas State majoring in political science. She is involved in Move Texas, Model UN/OAS, and the Undergraduate Research Journal and is passionate about political advocacy, civic engagement, and international issues. Gabe is an alumnus and current graduate student in the Department of Communication Studies at Texas State. He has been performing stand-up since 2017 with the Texas State Comedy Association. He created a monthly showcase at the Fallout Theater and has hosted the Laughing Dead Comedy Open Mic at Wake the Dead Coffee House for the last two years.

The Department of Communication Studies would like to thank the following:

TEDx Leadership Team

1. Dr. Kristen Farris - Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies serves as the Event Director and TEDx License Holder.
2. Mark Paz - Senior Lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies serves as the Creative Director.
3. Hannah Collazo - Lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies serves as the Director of Speaker Experience.
4. Dr. Prisca Ngondo - Associate Professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication serves as the Communications Director.
5. Dr. Youjeong Kim - Associate Professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication serves as the Director of Videography.

Speaker Coaches

1. Dr. Ann Burnette - Professor in the Department of Communication Studies
2. Rita Gomez - Lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies
3. Mark Paz - Senior Lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies
4. Hannah Collazo - Lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies
5. Wayne Kraemer - Senior Lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies

Student Interns and Volunteers

1. Victoria Vazquez - graduate student in the Department of Communication Studies served as the Logistics Lead.
2. Mia LaChance - graduate student in the Department of Communication Studies served as the Creative Lead.
3. Andrea Avila Regalado - graduate student in the Department of Communication Studies served as the Content Creation Co-Lead.
4. Miracle Leveston - graduate student in the Department of Communication Studies served as the Content Creation Co-Lead.
5. Sierra King - graduate student in the Department of Communication Studies served as the Sponsorship and Volunteer Lead.
6. Undergraduate students in the Department of Communication Studies (Greg Ordonez, Vianni Dudley, Kendell Green) helped with various aspects of event planning and implementation.
7. Oscar Hough, undergraduate student in the Department of Theatre and Dance, served as the show caller and helped supervise and support the stage managers (Alyssa Gonzalez, Madison Montagne and Guillermo Sanchez) also from the Department of Theatre and Dance.
8. June Vega, undergraduate student in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and Mia LaChance served as the photographers for the event. 
9. Dr. Kim supervised a group of 21 undergraduate students from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication who served as camera operators, sound specialists, and editors: Bayla Anderson, Charles Bicknell, Leslie Bowlware, Justin Brown, KyLee Carpenter, Luis Diaz, Maliek Goodlow, Taylor Jaqueole Pierson, Angelica Luna, Jacob Marquez, River Morgan, Tyani Ray-Janet, Liles, Connor Reid, Chase Ritchie, Dylan Sallee, Matt Strain, Houston Tackett, Alexander Tawiah, Stephanie Valderrama, Osmara Valles, and Michael Williams.

Operations Staff

1. Candice Mongellow - Operations Manager of the Performing Arts Center
2. Robert Styres - Box Office Manager
3. Eaton Saylor - Lighting Supervisor + Audio Engineer of the Performing Arts Center

Finally, we would like to thank HealthyCats, Students Against Violence, and the Counseling Center for setting up tables during registration and the break for the audience to learn more about how these organizations can help develop individual and community-level resolve. We'd also like to thank Officer Marsteller for giving away Pawfficer Brady merch during registration and the break - these were a big hit with the attendees!

We could not have a successful event without the combined efforts of all of these individuals and organizations.

Faculty Accolades

Jasmine Austin received the Presidential Distinction Award for Teaching and will represent the College of Fine Arts and Communication as a nominee for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Tricia Burke received the Presidential Distinction Award for Scholarly/Creative Activity and will represent the College of Fine Arts and Communication as the nominee for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Scholarly/Creative Activity. Tricia also had “The rare life: Examining parents’ grief, barriers, and facilitators associated with caring for medically complex children” accepted for presentation to the upcoming International Association for Relationship Research as well as for publication in the journal Health Communication. The piece was co-authored with Kristen Farris and M.A. alum Abigail (Mellow) Rubidoux.

Ann Burnette received the Presidential Distinction Award for Service and will represent the College of Fine Arts and Communication as the nominee for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Service.

Stephanie Dailey received the Presidential Distinction Award for Teaching and will represent the College of Fine Arts and Communication as a nominee for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching. Stephanie was part of Team Visualizing Mental Health, selected to participate in the Texas State Innovation Lab and Reception at SXSW 2024. The team showcased their training program, to be offered on the Zeus Certifications platform later this semester, which will equip participants with the knowledge and skills to build and use a customized mental health dashboard for their organization. The data visualization training will help employees at public and nonprofit mental health service agencies create dashboards to share compelling narratives about the state of mental health in Central Texas for grants and policy briefs. Stephanie also welcomed Elissa Fontenot, Digital Marketing Director at TXST, as a guest lecturer in her Social Media in Organizations class, sharing insights on her role and career advice to students.

Elizabeth K. Eger and her COMM M.A. research assistants Johnny Vasallo, Allister McNally, and Anca Tonciu, along with Rex Long and COMM alumnus Rowan Lampert presented a research poster, "A pilot study introducing how rural Texas librarians can convene community resiliency collaborations" at the Texas State University Health Scholar Showcase hosted by the Translational Health Research Center.

Kristen Farris had “The rare life: Examining parents’ grief, barriers, and facilitators associated with caring for medically complex children” accepted for presentation to the upcoming International Association for Relationship Research as well as for publication in the journal Health Communication. The piece was co-authored with Tricia Burke and M.A. alum Abigail (Mellow) Rubidoux.

Nikki Saldivar Hodgson published an article in the Edible Rio Grande Valley magazine entitled, “One State at a Time”. The piece chronicles her culinary adventures to the Great Lakes and Midwest as she pursues her goal of visiting all 50 states.

Marek Muller published “Long live the liver king: Right-wing carnivorism and the digital dissemination of primal rhetoric” in Frontiers in Communication.

Mark Paz received the Presidential Distinction Award for Teaching and will represent the College of Fine Arts and Communication as a nominee for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Manu Pokharel published “Exploring appropriateness as a topic avoidance motivation: The influence of familial and social norms” in the Journal of Family Communication. She also published “Political party collective norms, perceived norms, and mask-wearing behavior: A test of the theory of normative social behavior” in Health Communication. Manu also received the College Achievement Award for Scholarly/Creative Activity.
 

Marian Houser named Chair of Communication Studies  

The Department of Communication Studies is pleased to announce that Marian Houser has been named Department Chair. Dr. Houser earned a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from the University of Missouri, a master’s degree in communication studies from Miami University (Ohio), and a Ph.D. in communication studies from the University of Tennessee. She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in Instructional Communication, Assessment, Interpersonal Communication, and Small Group Communication.

Dr. Houser joined Texas State University in 2003. She has served as the Director of COMM 1310, Associate Dean of Faculty Development for the College of Fine Arts and Communication, and Editor of Communication Teacher.  She received the Texas State University Presidential Award for Excellence in Scholarly and Creative Activities, the Eastern Communication Association's Past President's Award for Research, was named Research Fellow by the Eastern Communication Association, and the Mariel M. Muir Excellence in Mentoring Award.  

Dr. Houser has developed a national reputation as an expert in the field of instructional communication, with a special emphasis on student learning and the student-teacher relationship. Her research examines the intersections of interpersonal relationships and instructional communication in various contexts that include organizations, training, health campaigns, and the dialogue that occurs between teachers and students in the classroom.  She is the cofounder of CoSearch, a research-collaboration organization and Living Mental Wellness, a prevention-based organization. She is the co-director of the Communication Studies Department’s BioComm Research Lab.  Dr. Houser has published over 70 research articles in regional, national, and international journals and authored/edited two communication textbooks: Your Interpersonal Communication: Nature/Nurture Intersections (Kendall Hunt) and The Handbook of Instructional Communication (Kendall Hunt).

Jeremy Hutchins Elected Vice President of TSCA 

Jeremy Hutchins was elected Texas Speech Communication Association Vice President at the TSCA Convention in Houston. The Texas Speech Communication Association is a professional, academic association committed to excellence in communication instruction, student performance, research, scholarly accomplishment, professional service, and political awareness. TSCA is the largest state professional communication association in the nation.

Jeremy is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies and is the Associate Director of Forensics for Texas State and primary debate coach for the team. He currently serves as the President of the Texas Intercollegiate Forensics Association (TIFA) and has received the association’s Educator of the Year Award. Jeremy is the recipient of numerous teaching and service honors and is very active in various collegiate debate associations.  

Wayne Kraemer named a “Texas State Transfer Champion” 

Wayne Kraemer was selected as a Texas State Transfer Champion. Transfer Champions are individuals who positively affect the experience of transfer students. Two faculty members and two staff members at Texas State were honored on campus during National Transfer Student Week (NTSW).

Students shared the following about Wayne:

“Professor Kraemer does everything he can to provide meaningful resources for his students. He also is not afraid and is incredibly willing to stick up and fight for students when it is needed. As director of the LBJ Debate Society, an organization that I along with many other transfer students are incredibly proud to be a part of, Professor Kraemer has created one of the most transfer-friendly Forensics Programs in the country helping to make Texas State truly feel like a home.”

Wayne Kraemer is the Director of Forensics at Texas State University. He is the Executive Secretary and past President of the Texas Intercollegiate Forensics Association (TIFA). He served as the Operations Manager for the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) National Tournament and for 28 years served as the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Debate Consultant. Kraemer has been honored as the TIFA Educator of the Year and Texas Speech Communication Association (TSCA) Educator of the Year. He has also received the Brownlee Award from CEDA for service, the Norton Award from Pi Kappa Delta for coaching, and the Texas State Presidential Award for Excellence in Service.  

Faculty Accolades

Ann Burnette published "Challenges for the second-in-command: Kamala Harris as a presidential candidate," in the Journal of Contemporary Rhetoric. Ann also moderated a candidate forum for the race for Place 4 on the San Marcos City Council, sponsored by the San Marcos League of Women Voters. She asked questions of incumbent Shane Scott and challenger Atom Von Arndt.

Stephanie Dailey delivered the Dean’s Seminar with a presentation entitled, “Communication in the Context of Work: How Do We Foster Organizational Membership and Belongingness?” Stephanie also welcomed Ms. Jessica Mejía, MarmA.I.D. founder and human rights activist to her Organizational Communication undergraduate class to share how she has used communication in her community organizing efforts. The students enjoyed her inspiring presentation and appreciated asking questions about her work.

Elizabeth K. Eger published a report, "Librarians as Conveners to Build Community Resiliency in Rural Texas: A Pilot Project Translating the COPEWELL Framework Through Community Collaboration" with PhD candidate, Rex Long, and M.A. student, Anca Tonciu, and other members of the THRC team. The report describes a pilot project with two rural Texas communities to examine how community collaboration can enhance a model for resiliency planning via libraries. Elizabeth and co-author Rex Long presented their engaged research with stakeholders in Pottsboro, TX, at the Pottsboro Library to local community members and leaders. They shared applied local findings about community resiliency challenges and initial future action steps. At the NCA convention, Elizabeth co-chaired and presented on the panel: "Critical Pedagogy as Imagining, Materializing, and Transforming International, Intercultural, and Instructional Communication Practices and Futures." She also presented research on the panel, "Employee-Centered Perspectives on Communication, Health, and Work" and was an invited respondent to the top Teaching and Mentorship panel for the Organizational Communication Division.

Nikki Saldivar Hodgson was invited to serve as Guest Coach for the TXST football game against Troy on October 28th.

Roseann Mandziuk currently serves as Immediate Past President of the National Communication Association. In this role at the Annual Convention in National Harbor, Maryland, she chaired the Leadership Development Committee and participated in the meetings of the Executive Committee and the Legislative Assembly. She also was a panelist on the program "Ideas of Freedom: Workshop on Gender and Race in Super Bowl Commercials."

Josh Miller became the Vice-Chair Elect of the Rhetoric and Communication Theory division of the Texas State Communication Association. He also presented on two panels at the TSCA conference: "Nurturing a Spirit of Advocacy: Forensics Beyond the Academy" and "Finding Fertile Ground: Opportunities for Cultivating Fruitful Partnerships on Campus."

Marek Muller was a guest on the educational National Communication Podcast “A to Z” where they taught about the rhetorical concept of the “ideograph.” Marek also provided a continuing education seminar to veterinary professionals, sponsored by the nonprofit group Our Honor, on how to avoid raced and colonizing language during times of zoonotic disease outbreak. Marek recently began volunteering with the animal rights research and analytics firm “Faunalytics” as a Research Library Writer, where they translate academic research articles for non-expert audiences.  

Mark Paz presented at the National Communication Association conference as a panelist for a Short Course focused on directing the Basic Course in Communication Studies. The course was entitled, "Strategies and Tactics for Cultivating Graduate Teaching Assistants in Communication Programs". He presented on a panel entitled "Helping New Coaches Thrive: A Proposal for a Forensics Teaching and Learning Academy" at the Texas State Communication association conference. Mark was also a panelist for a webinar organized by the Graduate College entitled, "Once a First-Gen, Always a First-Gen”. The webinar aimed to help First-Gen graduate students navigate their path to and through grad school.

Manu Pokharel presented “Do more complete wireless emergency alert (WEA) messages work better than less complete messages? Testing a risk communication consensus” at the National Communication Association conference in National Harbor, Maryland. The article was selected to receive a Top Paper Award in the Applied Communication Division. Manu also began serving on the Advising Committee of the newly formed Nepalese Student Association (NSA) at Texas State University. She and her daughter Maira (pictured) spoke to the Nepali student community at the religious holiday celebration "Dashain Festival" hosted by the NSA at Texas State at the end of October.

Lindsay Timmerman was interviewed for the TXST podcast, "Enlighten Me," for the episode titled "Without a Trace: The Ghosting Phenomenon".

Spotify: bit.ly/40lhDhJ 
Apple: bit.ly/479oGw0

Student Accolades

M.A. student Hector Manriquez presented on a panel entitled "Helping New Coaches Thrive: A Proposal for a Forensics Teaching and Learning Academy" at the Texas State Communication association conference.

The Communication Studies Graduate Association (CSGA) is a departmental organization dedicated to unifying the graduate students in Communication Studies at Texas State University. CSGA members come together for events such as professional development and research seminars, as well as social and philanthropic events. CSGA hosted an “Unwind” event to focus on mindfulness and gratitude, featuring activities, games, snacks, and connection.

Members of Lambda Pi Eta, the Communication Studies National Honor Society, gave back to the San Marcos Community by participating in the 2023 Fall River Cleanup. Four LPE members, Haley Bass, Bailey Thrasher, Greg Ordonez, and Tessa Thurlkill, along with Faculty Advisor Mark Paz, attended the Texas Speech Communication Association Conference in Houston. The students learned more about their majors, possible career paths, and were able to network with scholars in the field of Communication Studies. 

Alumni Accolades

Grace McCleskey (M. A., 2023) is currently a doctoral student at Texas Christian University. She recently published “Teaching critical media effects through classic horror films” in Communication Teacher. The paper utilizes clips from five popular horror films that feature common transphobic tropes and teaches students to apply each tenet of critical media effects (CME) theory into their analysis of the films. The piece was co-authored with Jasmine Austin.

Emily Pollard (M. A., 2021) is currently a doctoral student at the University of New Mexico. Emily received the 2023 Top Master’s Thesis (Rhetorical/Critical Analysis) for her thesis, “Intersections of Queer and Immigrant Identities in NBC’s ‘Superstore’” at this year’s convention.

Gavin Thompson (M. A., 2023) published “Food deserts: How ‘Bringing home the bacon” varies across neighborhoods’” in Communication Teacher. 

 

Faculty Accolades

Jasmine Austin earned the National Communication Association’s Marsha Houston Award, honoring scholars whose work embodies critically examining social justice issues, diversity/inclusion, and equity. Jasmine published the first edition of her second book, Communication and Organizational Changemaking for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: A Case Studies Approach. She also published a book chapter titled, “Critical Race Theory and intersectional approaches in Qualitative organizational communication research methods” in the SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research in Organizational Communication. The chapter was co-authored with M.A. alum Dr. Tianna L. Cobb. Jasmine also published a book chapter titled, “Workplace socialization: Reproducing    racism or challenging discriminatory standards?” in the Palgrave Handbook of Antiracism in Human Resource Development. She published "Teaching critical media effects through classic horror films" in Communication Teacher. The piece was co-authored with M.A. alum Grace McCleskey. Jasmine published “#BlackCommunicationMatters: Creating equitable spaces for Black communication using a womanist rhetorical lens” in Communication Teacher. The piece was co-authored with M.A. alum Amber “AD” Alston. Jasmine served as a corporate trainer for the Whirlpool Corporation and was also appointed to the Presidential Commission on the Run to R1 (2023-2024).

Rebekah Fox and her research team received a $100,000 USDA/Forest Service grant to research the implementation of the national Wildfire Crisis Strategy and organizational learning and resilience. 

Nikkie Saldivar Hodgson will serve as a member of the Texas Transfer Advisory Committee’s (TTAC) Discipline Specific Subcommittee on Communications to aid in the development of the Texas Transfer Field of Study Curriculum (FOSC) for Communications.

Roseann Mandziuk was the Keynote Speaker at Wayland Baptist University's "Women's in Scholarship Forum". She presented the lecture, "Recipes and Reconciliation: Lady Bird Johnson's 1964 Whistle Stop Tour Through the South." She also met with students and faculty during her visit to Plainview in West Texas.

Marek Muller was selected to be a guest on the National Communication Association’s educational podcast, where they will give a lesson on the rhetorical concept of the “ideograph.”
They were also invited to lead a Continuing Education seminar for Our Honor, a group of activist veterinarians, about anti-racist and anti-speciesist communication practices during zoonotic disease outbreaks.

Manu Pokharel published “Validating cross-modal measures for comparative research: Message veracity, novelty, and memorability” in Psychology and Marketing.

Student Accolades

Communication Studies Graduate Association (CSGA) is a departmental organization dedicated to unifying the graduate students in Communication Studies at Texas State University. CSGA members come together for events such as professional development and research seminars, as well as social and philanthropic events. This month, CSGA held a Pizza Palooza at Valentino's with over 30 people in attendance, including grad students, faculty, and family.

Alumni Accolades

Kyle Boedecker (B.A., 2022). Is an Admin II for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at Texas State. He is currently attending Liberty University to earn a Master’s degree in Professional Counseling. Kyle credits his experience with the Department of Communication Studies as the determining factor in helping him acquire his position and his success in his M.A. program.

Colter Ray (M.A. 2014) recently accepted a tenure-track position in Communication at The University of Tampa. His research focuses on supportive messages communicated after a cancer diagnosis, as well as the loneliness epidemic. More information, including media appearances, can be found at www.ColterRay.com.

Tori Rose (M.A., 2019) works in social media for many film organizations around Austin and serves as community partnerships chair in Women in Film and Television Austin. She also works as an assistant director, coordinator, and in production for filmmaking 

Communication Studies Welcomes New Faculty

Dr. Nikkie Saldivar Hodgson joins the Department of Communication Studies this fall as an Assistant Professor of Practice. Nikkie earned a B.A. in Journalism from Texas State University, an M.A. in Communication Studies from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and a Ph.D. focusing on Organizational Leadership from Our Lady of the Lake University.

Nikkie comes to Texas State from UTRGV where she developed and established employee training programs and employee recruitment as the Associate Vice President of Organizational Development and Training. Her role as the Associate Vice President of Operations was instrumental in the merge between UT Pan American and UT Brownsville. More recently, she taught courses as an Assistant Professor in Communication Studies. Prior to UTRGV, Nikkie served as the Executive Director of Enrollment Services, Executive Director of Civic Engagement, and Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Texas at Brownsville.

Nikkie has served in higher education for more than thirty years and has devoted her career to assisting students, families, faculty, and staff in reaching their academic and professional goals. She is currently researching the speech act theory in maternal relationships across ethnic groups, leadership language usage in political speeches, small working group relationships, nonverbal communication, and use of social media in relationships. Her work has been published in JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting, Global Media Journal, and The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Communication. She is also the proud author of a children's book, titled Ricky the Raindrop, available through Amazon.

Study Abroad brings Communication, Music, Business to Europe

Communication Studies students and faculty participated in three different Summer Study Abroad programs co-sponsored with the Department of Music and the McCoy College of Business.

This summer, Stephanie Dailey (Communication Studies) and Seth Frei (Management) led students on an amazing 3-week business communication abroad program in Germany, Switzerland, and Portugal. Through cultural excursions and company visits—including Siemens, BMW Group, IWC Schaffhausen, and Lindt & Sprüngli—students developed a greater appreciation for business communication in international work cultures along with strong friendships.

Michael Burns, Marian Houser, Kristen Farris, and Matthew Winn along with Fine Arts faculty Daris Hale and Ian Davidson led 40 students to London and Paris. 36 undergrad students were enrolled in both COMM 1310 and MU 2313 (Intro to Fine Arts), three COMM graduate students were enrolled in COMM 5324 (Instructional COMM), and one music graduate student was enrolled in a music pedagogy course.

Undergraduate students learned about small group communication and problem-solving by engaging in the "Amazing Race" on the first full day in London. They learned about intercultural interactions through observation assignments in Paris and explored differences in British and American humor via attending a comedy show in London. The students completed a rhetorical analysis of Churchill's "Their Finest Hour" speech and learned about the rhetorical situation through a visit to the War Rooms. Students practiced their oral presentation skills through impromptu speeches in Paris and through the development of an informative presentation about a memorable experience they had during their study abroad trip. 

Graduate students learned how to apply instructional communication principles, processes, and theories through leading two discussion facilitations and the impromptu presentation assignment to a small, undergraduate student audience. They reflected on these experiences in a research paper in which they identified their instructional communication strengths and limitations. They also conducted an instructional communication research project in which they facilitated two to three focus groups centering on the study abroad format of the basic communication course and its impact on students' intercultural communication competence and apprehension.

Students and faculty also attended the Shakespeare Globe Theatre performance of “Comedy of Errors,” and the Royal Ballet’s production of “Sleeping Beauty.” The team rode the Chunnel to Paris and visited places such as Musee d’Orsay, Opera Garnier’s presentation of “The Dante Project Ballet,” and a “Street Art/Music Photo/Video Competition.” 

Communication Studies Faculty Recognized for Teaching

The Department of Communication Studies is proud to have two faculty members honored with Presidential Awards. Roseann Mandziuk received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Professor/Associate Professor rank and Elizabeth K. Eger received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Assistant Professor rank.

            Roseann Mandziuk is a University Distinguished Professor. She joined the Texas State faculty in 1987 and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses including protest rhetoric, media criticism, and rhetorical methods. She has been awarded two Fulbright Scholar Awards for teaching, Poland in 2011 and India in 2019. She also has held visiting professorships at the University of Amsterdam and Moscow State University. Roseann is currently serving as Immediate Past President of the National Communication Association and has also served as President of the Southern States Communication Association. Among many other awards and distinctions, Roseann is also the recipient of the 2013 Presidential Award for Service at the Professor/Associate Professor rank.

            Elizabeth K. Eger joined Texas State University in 2017. Her qualitative and critical communication research, teaching, and service explore communication and difference; LGBTQ+ work and health; how collectives co-construct organizational identities; and how work shapes our lives, identities, and health. Elizabeth’s teaching and research have been recognized nationally by the National Communication Association (NCA) Organizational Communication Division for the Outstanding Teaching Award, the NCA Ethnography Division for the Early Scholar Career Award, and with two articles of the year awards from NCA Ethnography and the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language, and Gender.

Faculty Accolades

Ann Burnette presented "'There is nothing beyond our capacity': U.S. national security strategies as argumentative frameworks" to the 10th Conference of the International Society for the Study of Argumentation in Leiden, the Netherlands. The paper was co-authored with Wayne Kraemer. She also attended the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Lyndon B. Johnson's grave in the family cemetery in Johnson City on August on August 27, the 115th anniversary of Lyndon Johnson's birth. Ann is a board member of the LBJ Museum of San Marcos.

Casey Chilton provided presentation coaching to the Texas Youth Preparedness Council as they prepared to give presentations on their projects to the Texas Emergency Management Conference in San Antonio.

Elizabeth K. Eger received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Assistant Professor rank. She was also tenured and promoted to Associate Professor. She presented her paper, “Embracing and teaching Qualitative inquiry across management, organizational, and work curricula” at the Qualitative Research in Management and Organization conference in Albuquerque, NM. She also presented a guest lecture via Zoom to Sacramento State University on “Ethnography and Research Ethics.” Elizabeth welcomed six visiting Communication Studies scholars to her COMM 5303: Qualitative Research Methods in Communication seminar, including: Shawna Malvini Redden, Robert Gutierrez-Perez, Michael Tristano Jr., Ana Terminel Iberri, and TXST alumni Emily Pollard and Lauren Lee.

Kristen Farris had "Employee culture of health perceptions and the development of a training intervention" accepted to the International Journal of Workplace Health Management. The piece was co-authored with Tricia Burke and Michael Burns. She also published “Pandemic pedagogy and turbulence in the teacher-student relationship” in the Texas Speech Communication Journal with co-authors Marian Houser and Erik Timmerman.

Wayne Kraemer presented "'There is nothing beyond our capacity': U.S. national security strategies as argumentative frameworks" to the 10th Conference of the International Society for the Study of Argumentation in Leiden, the Netherlands. The paper was co-authored with Ann Burnette. He also attended the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Lyndon B. Johnson's grave in the family cemetery in Johnson City on August on August 27, the 115th anniversary of Lyndon Johnson's birth. Wayne is the Board President of the LBJ Museum of San Marcos.

Marian Houser published “The student veteran instructional communication
training (SVIC): An analysis of student veteran instructional needs and corresponding instructional behaviors” in The Journal of Communication Pedagogy with M.A. alum Trevor Kauer. She also published “Pandemic pedagogy and turbulence in the teacher-student relationship” in the Texas Speech Communication Journal with co-authors Kristen Farris and Erik Timmerman.

Roseann Mandziuk received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Professor/Associate Professor rank.

Marek Muller received the Top Overall Paper award for the Conference on Communication & The Environment held by the International Environmental Communication Association. The paper, “Woke sausages at the Cracker Barrel”, is a rhetorical analysis of the summer 2022 social media backlash against Cracker Barrel by patrons angry at the inclusion of meatless sausage on the breakfast menu.

Manu Pokharel and M.A. student Johnny Angel Vasallo monitored several OSHA-funded safety trainings on Temperature Extremes. Johnny assisted with the grant activities over the summer, culminating in a training organized for CPS Energy San Antonio. The training was facilitated by two OSHA trainers, a graduate student from Engineering Technology, Johnny, and Manu. The project was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor in 2022.

Philip Salem published Organizational Communication Dynamics and Higher Education. The book provides an analysis, synthesis, and application of over 50 years of organizational communication higher education research. Topics range from burnout and morale to student recruitment and organizational change. The volume addresses a current and pressing need at research universities, undergraduate programs, and community colleges and helps higher education scholars, researchers, and administrators confront organizational communication challenges.

C. Erik Timmerman published “Pandemic pedagogy and turbulence in the teacher-student relationship” in the Texas Speech Communication Journal with co-authors Kristen Farris and Marian Houser.