News Archive

Student Accolades

• January - February 2024

  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.

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  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.
   

• October - November 2023

  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).

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  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.  

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  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.  

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  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

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  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. 

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  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. 
  
   

• September 2023

  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.

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  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.

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  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 

• Summer 2023

  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.

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  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.

   

• April - May 2023

   Communication Studies Welcomes New Faculty 

  Dr. Marek Muller will join the Department of Communication Studies in the fall. Dr. Muller is a graduate of the University of Utah where they earned a Ph.D. in Communication and a graduate certificate in Gender Studies. They are currently an Assistant Professor of Rhetorical Studies and an affiliate faculty member in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Florida Atlantic University. Marek has also taught at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana and the Institute for Engineering & Technology in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. 

  Dr. Muller is a rhetorician interested in human rights, nonhuman animal rights and the humanity/animality dialectic. Specifically, they research the rhetoric of speciesism as it is used by (1) rhetors looking to exploit nonhuman animals by "animalizing" them; (2) rhetors looking to exploit humans by "dehumanizing" them; and (3) rhetors fighting for social/environmental justice by articulating the intersections of human and nonhuman animal exploitation. With an orientation toward interdisciplinary, intersectional, and anti-oppressive pedagogy in rhetorics of civic engagement, Marek encourages students to grapple with their identities, privileges, individual goals, and systemic obligations in a manner conducive to pragmatic social change. 

  Marek’s first book, Impersonating Animals: Rhetoric, Ecofeminism, and Animal Rights Law, assesses competing rhetorics of animal law through an ecofeminist lens and highlights how animal studies scholars and activists can and should use ideological rhetorical criticism to investigate the implications of their tactics and strategies, emphasizing a critical vegan rhetoric as the best means of achieving liberation for human and nonhuman animals alike. Their research has also been published in journals such as Environmental Communication, Rhetoric and Public Affairs, Frontiers in Communication, Communication Studies, American Studies, and the Journal of Multicultural Discourses.

  Outside of the academy, Marek is an avid kickboxer and is (slowly) working toward a black belt in karate. They enjoy taking walks with their chihuahua Boots, watching professional wrestling, and cooking any vegan recipe they can find. If anyone knows where to sing karaoke or complete a particularly corny escape room, they are open to suggestions.

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  Bobcats Shine at Spring Tournaments

  The LBJ Debate Society and Elton Abernathy Forensics Society, Texas State’s competitive speech and forensics team, competed in several tournaments during the spring semester.

  Jacob Everett and Taylor Tate, members of Texas State's LBJ Debate Society and Elton Abernathy Forensics Society, competed in the National Forensic Association's Championship Tournament hosted by Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. Both qualified for elimination rounds and finished the tournament ranked as two of the top 32 NFA Lincoln Douglas debaters in the country. Everett was also named the overall third best NFA LD speaker - the highest student placement in that event in team history.

  Texas State finished second in the nation in the four-year college sweepstakes at the National Online Forensics Championships.

  Highlights:

  • Haley Bass was crowned National Champion (Gold Medal) in Informative Speaking.
  • Callum Ritter and Hanna Prince won a national championship (Gold Medal) in Duo Dramatic Interpretation.
  • Callum Ritter also won the Bronze Medal in Program Oral Interpretation and in Poetry Interpretation.
  • Ashton Rios placed second in the nation in Impromptu Speaking and received the Silver Medal.

  The Texas State Speech and Debate Team competed in the American Forensics Association National Speech Tournament hosted by Santa Ana Community College.

  Highlights:

  • The team finished third in the nation in the Limited Sweepstakes Division for teams with fifteen entries or less.
  • The Bobcats also placed 23rd overall in the tournament out of the 57 schools entered.
  • Ashton Rios, Haley Bass, Hanna Prince, and Callum Ritter represented the Bobcats in the tournament with Callum Ritter placing as a national quarterfinalist in Program Oral Interpretation.
  • Wayne Kraemer, Director of Forensics at Texas State, was presented with the Carrol and Barbara Hickey Award for Distinguished Service.
  • Ashton Rios also represented Texas State as one of two national student representatives to the National Council.

  The team also competed in the Pi Kappa Delta National Championships hosted by West Chester University.

  Highlights:

  • The team finished 16th in the nation out of the 51 colleges and universities attending the tournament.
  • Callum Ritter finished second in the nation in Poetry Interpretation. Ritter also was a national semi-finalist in Program Oral Interpretation and a national quarterfinalist in Dramatic Interpretation.
  • Haley Bass was a national quarterfinalist in After Dinner Speaking.

  The Bobcats made an impressive showing at the Texas Intercollegiate Forensics Association (TIFA) Championships hosted by Texas State University.

  Highlights:

  • The team won the top overall school sweepstakes award.
  • The team won the second-place debate sweepstakes award.
  • The team won the second-place individual events award.
  • Haley Bass took first place in Informative Speaking.
  • Callum Ritter won first place in Dramatic Interpretation and second place in Poetry Interpretation.
  • Hanna Prince placed fourth in Dramatic Interpretation.
  • Halle Divalentone, Jacob Everett, Jacob Graybill, and Samantha Nava qualified for quarterfinals in International Public Debate.

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  Career Readiness Connects Students and Professionals

  The Career Readiness Program, led by Dr. Michael Burns, hosted its final events of the semester featuring Texas State Alumni. For additional information about the program, please visit the website for the Career Readiness Program.

  Alumna Maria Garrett spoke about her experiences as a leadership consultant. Maria is principal owner of MG Leadership, a boutique executive coaching and consulting firm. She delivers customized, one-on-one coaching services to top leaders in the tech sector and works with leadership teams to increase their impact and effectiveness.

  Students in the Career Readiness program visited Memorial Hermann Hospital in Katy, TX. They met with the Chief Nursing Officer, attended a presentation entitled “Project Management 101”, and heard a panel of six professionals sharing experiences. Alumni Natalie Cavazos and Maddie Banks, both employees of the hospital, hosted the group. The two-day trip also included a networking event featuring 16 Houston-area alumni that met with students.

  ---

  Faculty Accolades

  Jasmine Austin gave an invited lecture for Baruch College as part of the SUNY system. Her lecture centered on critical qualitative data analysis strategies. Jasmine presented a training entitled “Say it with your chest: Having difficult conversations in a respectful, collaborative, and considerate manner” at the 2023 TXST Stem Conference. The training was co-facilitated with M.A. students Gavin Thomson and Cesar Mejia Aguilar. She also presented “Finding Common Ground for Difficult Conversations” to the 2023 Student Academic Support Programs Conference. Attendees identified 8 contributors to conflict, learned 5 strategies for approaching difficult conversations, and practiced the 3 D’s for handling difficult conversations that may be unmanageable.

  Tricia Burke 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 Michael Burns and Kristen Farris.

  Ann Burnette served as Vice President and Planner for the 2023 Annual Convention of the Southern States Communication Association in St. Petersburg, FL. She issued the call for scholarly papers, oversaw the review of over 400 submissions, and scheduled the papers, speakers, business meetings, and other events. At the conclusion of the 2023 convention, she became the President of SSCA. She also presented "Kamala Harris and the 2024 Presidential Election" to the Southern States Communication Association Convention.

  Michael Burns 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 Kristen Farris. Michael also received the 2023 “Friend of Student Success Award” from the Division of Student Success at Texas State.

  Casey Chilton appeared on the podcast “Storytelling Movement” created and hosted by M.A. alum Ryan McPherson to discuss essential facilitation skills in small group discussion. He also 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 this summer.

  Stephanie Dailey published “Being creative within (or outside) the box: Bridging occupational identity gaps” in Management Communication Quarterly. 

  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 presented a paper co-authored with M.A. alum, Maya Blitch, entitled, "Re-conceptualization of support (in)adequacy: An exploration of message feature and relational outcome differences for support gap messages" at the Southern States Communication Association Conference in St. Petersburg, FL. Kristen also chaired and presented on a panel entitled, "The Future of Family Turbulence: Exploring Relational Turbulence in Family Contexts" at the SSCA conference.

  Rebekah Fox was named Editor of the Southern Communication Journal at the Southern States Communication Association Convention in St. Petersburg, FL.

  Wayne Kraemer was presented with the Carrol and Barbara Hickey Award for Distinguished Service at the American Forensics Association National Speech Tournament.

  Roseann Mandziuk presented “Where Femininity Meets Hate: Exposing the Rhetoric of Women and White Supremacy” as the Dean’s Seminar Distinguished Achievement. This presentation focused on archival research projects that examine the rhetoric of two significant women’s organizations, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and the Women of the Ku Klux Klan. Roseann attended the Eastern States Communication Association convention in Baltimore, Maryland. As Immediate Past President, she represented the National Communication Association on the panel "Enacting Transformational Change". She received the Top Paper Award from the Rhetoric and Public Address Division of the Southern States Communication Association for her essay, "'Where a fair white stone has been cast': The perverse feminism of the women of the Ku Klux Klan.” The paper was presented at the SSCA Convention in St. Petersburg, FL.

  Josh Miller presented “Happy talk and diverse representation in 9-1-1: Lone Star,” to the Southern States Communication Association Conference. The paper was co-authored with M.A. alums Claire Stevenson and Tyshee Sonnier. While at SSCA, he also participated on a panel entitled “Is You Is or Is You Ain’t: Articulating a Manifesto for Future Discourses of Allyship” and on a panel where he presented work on “The Future(s) of Hope(lessness): Queer Rhetorical Pedagogy and Academic Drag Amidst Toxicity.” He also responded to an Undergraduate Honors Conference panel on rhetorics across form.

  Manu Pokharel welcomed the students of COMM 5333 (Health Communication) to the BioCOMM Research Lab at Texas State to discuss the use of psychophysiological measures in Health Communication. The students were also able to see how psychophysiological data are collected using eye-tracking, GSR, and facial expression analysis system.

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  Student Accolades

  M. A. student Abigail Mellow successfully defended her thesis, “’You’re worthless’: Exploring memorable messages of parental rejection and communication’s role in providing a sense of strength among emerging adults.”

  M. A. student Rupinder Kaur presented “Ankhila Punjab: Messages to influence, advocate, and move” to the 2023 NAAAS & Affiliates Joint National Conference.

  M. A. student Cassidy Trim presented “#QueerStoriesareRealStories: Countering harmful LGBTQIA+ narratives in the media through fanfiction” to the 2023 Popular Culture Association conference in San Antonio.

  M.A. students Gavin Thomson and Cesar Mejia Aguilar presented a training entitled “Say it with your chest: Having difficult conversations in a respectful, collaborative, and considerate manner” at the 2023 TXST Stem Conference. The training was co-facilitated with Dr. Jasmine Austin.

  M. A. students Amber Alston, Victoria Diaz, Kirara Natsuka, Luis Ortiz, Heather Poulson, Mya Taylor, Gavin Thomson, Mike Thompson, Cassidy Trim, Sarah Wood, and Elizabeth Yanas successfully completed their Master's Academic/Professional Portfolio (MAPP) as the culminating experience of the Master’s program.

  Undergraduate student Larry Adisa presented his research entitled "Fallacies in the conversations of men and women: A deep dive into TikTok social conversations" to the Texas State Undergraduate Research Conference. The paper explores how discourse on TikTok shapes masculinity in fallacious ways.

  Undergraduate student Haley Bass presented "Justice justifies all: How the Capitol Hill organized protest created a vision of social justice" to the Theodore Clevenger Jr. Undergraduate Honors Conference, held during Southern States Communication Association Convention in St. Petersburg, FL. 

  Undergraduate student Ashton Rios presented "Neo-Colonialism and the fight for Native sovereignty in the NoDAPL Movement" to the Theodore Clevenger Jr. Undergraduate Honors Conference, held during Southern States Communication Association Convention in St. Petersburg, FL.

  M. A. student Lauren Green was sworn as one of the new Graduate House Representatives for the College of Fine Arts and Communication. She will act as the liaison between graduate students and faculty, serving anyone who has concerns regarding grad life at TXST.

  Lambda Pi Eta, the honor society of the National Communication Association, offers students an opportunity to meet and socialize with other Communication Studies majors and faculty, explore employment options, expand knowledge of current issues in the discipline, and provide service to the department and the Texas State community. On April 1st, Lambda Pi Eta participated in Bobcat Build to give back to the community of San Marcos. along with Faculty Advisor Mark Paz, the members of LPE  dug holes, planted bushes, shoveled rocks, and had a great time! 

• January - February 2023

  TEDx Texas State addresses “compleXity”

  The 2023 TEDx Texas State event garnered rave reviews as speakers explored the concept of “complexity”. Our world is made up of complex systems and processes that have allowed our species to flourish. Operating in the background, these structures impact our everyday experiences and are often taken for granted. Talks focused on identifying and navigating these complex systems and explored and advocated for solutions to complex problems and challenges we face. The talks represented a variety of fields and perspectives including technology, health, the arts, media, social sciences, the humanities, and the natural sciences.

  The 2023 Speakers

  Jennifer Dahlgren is an Assistant Professor at El Paso Community College in the Sign Language and Interpreter Preparation Program and a graduate student at Texas State University. Dahlgren has worked in the field of communication access, education, interpreting and advocacy for more than 15 years with a passion for the empowerment that comes through communication. Dahgren has trained countless service providers and students in the medical, legal, educational, social services and business fields. They have presented both nationally and internationally to audiences large and small, and actively engage in advocating for communication access rights for persons who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, DeafBlind and DeafDisabled so that they can function independently and equitably in society. Additionally, Dahlgren advocates for the intersectional needs of the LGBTQ and Deaf communities.
  
  Dr. Elizabeth Ekren is a staff researcher at the Texas School Safety Center. She completed her Ph.D. in Development Studies, with a concentration in Social Anthropology, from the University of Bonn (Germany). She has B.A.s in Russian Language and Psychology from Yale University and an M.Sc. in Russian Studies from the University of Oxford (UK). In her past work, she has explored topics such as German refugees’ encounters with municipal welfare structures, Syrian slum-dwellers’ practical abilities to practice government-mandated health measures, and small business owners’ legal operating difficulties in post-communist countries. At the Texas School Safety Center, Dr. Ekren works to evaluate the effectiveness of school safety trainings and conduct research-based assessments on various school safety policy topics.
  
  Madeline English is the Founder and Creator of the Queer Agenda, a Texas-based queer education station specializing in history, issues, and support. Through her work with the Queer Agenda, Madeline has raised hundreds of dollars for Texas-based queer youth organizations and has amassed a following of over fifteen thousand learners. Madeline has been studying queer history for six years and is passionate about bridging the gap in traditional educational settings. Currently, she is studying English at Texas State University and plans to further her education in graduate programs relative to gender and sexuality. Madeline is an avid writer with publications such as "Things Humans Do That I Miss," "You May All Go to Hell, But I Will Go to Bucc-ee's," "Why Pride Isn't Just for June," and "Being an Effective Trans Ally."?

  
  Dr. Philip Salem is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Communication Studies at Texas State University. Salem’s publications include work on organizational communication, interpersonal communication, communication and technology, research methods, and communication theory. Salem was the third person to receive the Outstanding Member Award for Contributions to the Discipline and the Association from the Organizational Communication Division of the International Communication Association. Salem’s most recent work relates complexity theory to human communication and to communication and organizational change. Salem’s textbook about human communication technology is now in its third edition.
  
  Ethan Ramirez is a central Texas artist and craftsman whose creative endeavors focus primarily on story telling through the layering of different materials and the creative use of space. He currently attends Texas State University to explore how a professional education in Interior Design could be layered with his artistic background and his practical experience building tiny homes and furniture. Since coming to university, Ethan has been afforded the opportunity to work with the architecture firm HKS and the social impact studio CoAct as they continue to address college aged homelessness. Ethan also leads the Texas State interior design organization “1988,” which helps connect interior design students to design professionals through workshops, designer talks, and networking events.
  
  Dr. Intisar Tyne is an Assistant Professor at Texas State University with three major degrees in Architecture. She earned her PhD from the University of Kansas with a specialization in healthcare space design. Her dissertation research is based on the socio-political impact on 19th century mental healthcare facility design. Her dissertation is one of the earlier attempts to provide the historical understanding of contemporary mental healthcare issues that are shaping the architectural discourse today. Intisar was born in the culturally diversified city of Dhaka in Bangladesh. Intisar’s current research analyses the gender-based disparity in Bangladeshi mental hospitals.
  
  Broderick Turner currently serves as a Foreign Service Officer at the U.S. Department of State and looks forward to fulfilling his new role as a United States diplomat in Brazil at U.S. Consulate Porto Alegre. He completed his undergraduate studies in 2020 at Texas State University and earned a degree in International Relations and French. During his time at Texas State, Broderick completed his Honors thesis titled, “Paths of Iron: Contextualizing Franco-Swiss Economic Relations in the Region of Haute-Savoie through Translation” where he discusses the importance of translation and its assistance in breaking down barriers within language systems. He went on to receive a Master's in Global Affairs from Yale University in 2022 and was a Rangel International Affairs Fellow.

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  TEDx Texas State by the numbers

  • 7 amazing speakers shared their ideas on the red dot
  • 2 Emcees, both students from Communication Studies
  • 4 main stage performances, all students from the College of Fine Arts and Communication: Musical Theatre “Young, Gifted, and Black”, Bobcat Country, Mariachi Nueva Generacion, and Grupo Folklorico Octochtli dance company
  • 1 trombone quartet- The Mescal Quartet
  • 2 DJs
  • 4 COMM Studies (Michael Burns, Kristen Farris, Mark Paz, and Ann Burnette) and 1 Mass Comm (Prisca Ngondo) faculty members curated the event and/or coached speakers
  • 3 student interns served on the leadership team: Elizabeth Yanas (COMM grad student) Abbye Shattuck (senior PR student), and Oscar Hough (sophomore Theatre student)
  • 7 months preparing
  • 28 graduate and undergraduate student volunteers
  • 2 student photographers
  • 4 alumni videographers
  • 255 tickets sold
  • 11 departments or organizations sponsored this year’s event
  • 326 people total attended the event
  • $4771 in ticket and t-shirt sales
  • $9,450 in cash sponsorship
  • $1,100 in product sponsorship
  • 15 gallons of coffee served
  • 144 cookies, 100 bananas, and 100 apples eaten

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  Bobcats Shine at Final Tournaments of the Fall Semester

  The LBJ Debate Society and Elton Abernathy Forensics Society, Texas State’s competitive speech and forensics team, competed at several events in the final months of the fall semester and earned many accolades.

  At the Fall Finale hosted by University of Nebraska-Lincoln, LD debaters Jacob Everett, Samantha Nava, Taylor Tate, and Jacob Graybill finished third place overall. Texas State's students outperformed schools from around the country, including North Texas, Truman State, Missouri Valley, Sacramento State, and Central Michigan. In addition, Jacob Everett and Taylor Tate qualified for the National Forensics Association national tournament in the Spring. Students also earned individual accomplishments. Taylor Tate was the top speaker in the Junior Varsity division and finished in second place. Jacob Everett was the 5th place speaker in the open division and finished third. Bobcats earned wins against debaters from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, North Texas, Nebraska-Lincoln, Illinois State, Florida State, Fullerton, Washburn, Lafayette, and Sacramento State.

  Callum Ritter had an impressive showing at the Off-Broadway Swing Forensics Tournament at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY. The tournament was hosted by Texas State alum Trent Webb. Ritter was the champion in three events, including Poetry, Program Oral Interpretation (POI), and Prose and placed fifth in Dramatic Interpretation on the first day of the tournament. He placed first in POI, second in Poetry, fourth in Prose and fifth in DI on the second day of the tournament. Ritter was also the overall top individual competitor at the tournament.

  At the Fall TIFA Championships hosted by Tyler Junior College, the Bobcats won the first-place debate sweepstakes award, second place individual events award, and top overall school sweepstakes award. The team won over 15 individual awards including first place in Dramatic Interpretation (Callum Ritter), first place in Poetry Interpretation (Callum Ritter) and first place in two-person parliamentary debate (Darian Burroughs and Jacob Everett).  

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  LBJ Museum and Communication Studies welcomes Julian Castro

  Wayne Kraemer and Ann Burnette joined other LBJ Museum of San Marcos Board members and Communication Studies faculty in welcoming the Honorable Julian Castro to speak at the LBJ Museum Annual Gala. Mr. Wayne Kramer serves as the President of the Board of Directors for the museum, and Dr. Ann Burnette serves as the secretary.

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  Faculty Accolades

  Jasmine Austin served as co-editor of a special issue of the journal Applied Communication Research. She published “Generating more inclusive media memory: The limits and possibilities of news archives” in Media, Culture, & Society. She also published “Narrating the past on fairer terms: Approaches to building multicultural public memory” in Critical Studies in Media Communication. Jasmine and M.A. alum Tianna Cobb published “Red table talk: Discussions on social marginality in Communication Teacher. Jasmine will serve as the 2023 National Communication Association Preconference Planner and is the 2023 Activism and Social Justice Division Program Planner for the National Communication Association Conference. She gave a "Negotiating Conflict" presentation to Texas State athletes as part of the Student Athlete Development Series. Jasmine was also named an Honorary Coach by the Texas State football team.

  Ann Burnette and M.A. alum Anthony V. LaStrape published a book chapter, "Advantage authenticity: Naomi Osaka's activism for social justice and mental health," in the book Social Justice and the Modern Athlete: Exploring the Role of Athlete Activism in Social Change.

  Michael Burns received a $16,000 REP grant to fund “Mental Health, Soft Skill, and Coping Strategies for First Responders”.

  Stephanie Dailey published “The visualization of public information: Describing the use of narrative infographics by U.S. municipal governments” in the journal Public Policy and Administration. She also published “The great resignation in higher education: An occupational health approach to understanding intentions-to-quit for faculty in higher education” in the journal Teaching and Teacher Education. Students in Stephanie’s graduate Organizational Communication course completed applied research projects for a Central Texas nonprofit, using secondary data to help diagnose communication issues and offer recommendations for increasing diversity, employee motivation, communicating uniqueness, and employee morale. Stephanie also received an $8,000 RED grant to fund "I Can’t Stop Thinking About My Kids": Exploring How Childcare Apps Affect Working Parents’ Well-Being”. She welcomed Elissa Fontenot, Assistant Director of Digital @TXST to her “Social Media in Organizations” class as a guest speaker. Students learned about Elissa's past and current work in social media, received career advice, and got more information about social media policy. 

  Elizabeth Eger and M.A. alum Tori R. Miller published "#RepresentationMatters on TV: A critical textual analysis of intersectional representation at work on NBC’s Superstore” in Feminist Media Studies. She welcomed Maria Freed of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) and Rex Long (PhD Student from TXST Anthropology and Doctoral Fellow of TXST's Translational Health Resource Center) to her COMM 5303 qualitative methods graduate seminar. The students in the class will work as co-researchers on a qualitative project on Texas rural community resiliency and libraries. She presented a guest lecture, "Ethnographies of difference-based organizing and organizational identities" via Zoom for The University of Texas at San Antonio. She presented a poster at the TXST 2023 Health Scholar Showcase with doctoral student Rex Long, M.A. student Britney Treviño, and Melinda Villagran called “Using COPEWELL to Build Community Resilience in Texas.” Elizabeth and her COMM 5303 M.A. students also practiced qualitative participant observation in a field activity on the TXST quad and at Old Main. 

  Kristen Farris and M.A. alum Ifeoluwatobi (Tobi) Odunsi published “Predicting college students' preventative behavior during a pandemic: The role of the health belief model, source credibility, and health literacy” in a special issue of American Behavioral Scientist focused on, "Health Communication and the COVID-19 Pandemic." She co-authored an article with M.A. alum Ifeoluwatobi Odunsi entitled, "Enacting preventative behavior during a pandemic: The role of health beliefs, information source credibility, and health literacy" that was accepted for publication in a special issue of American Behavioral Scientist focused on health communication and the COVID-19 pandemic.

  Marian Houser received a $16,000 REP grant to fund “Mental Health, Soft Skill, and Coping Strategies for First Responders”.

  Josh Miller received the 2023 Janice Hocker Rushing Early Career Research Award from the Southern States Communication Association. He also received an $8,000 REP grant to fund “The Poor People’s Campaign Coalitional Leadership”.

  Manu Pokharel published "Social media narratives can influence vaccine intentions: The impact of depicting regret and character death" in Computers in Human Behavior. She presented “Social Media Narratives Can Influence Vaccine Intentions: The Impact of Depicting Regret and Character Death” to the Our COVID Experience: Day of Reflection event hosted by Texas State. She also presented “Political Party Collective Norms, Perceived Norms, and Mask Wearing Behavior: A Test of the Theory of Normative Social Behavior” to the Spring 2023 Health Scholar Showcase at Texas State.

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  Student Accolades

  M.A. student Abigail Mellow earned the Thesis Research Support Fellowship from Texas State's Graduate College. This competitive award was granted to fund Abigail's research focusing on messages of parental rejection, and how supportive communication and resilience may facilitate improved outcomes (e.g., post-traumatic growth, anxiety, depression, relationship satisfaction) even in instances of parental rejection. 

  M.A. student Kirara Nagatsuka placed in the finals for the 3-minute thesis competition. Her thesis is titled, "Am I not Japanese Enough? Socialization of Hafu in Japan and Their Mental Health"

  M.A. student Heather Poulsen presented her and Victoria Diaz’s competitive paper, “Theoretical analysis of the organizing context of planned parenthood of Greater Texas amid governmental tension” in the Organizational Communication Division at the Western States Communication Association in Phoenix, AZ.

  M.A. student Gavin Thomson had his paper, “The Brooklyn Net’s uphill battle against contradictory vaccination policies” accepted to the Organizational Communication Division for WSCA 2023.

  The Communication Studies Graduate Association (CSGA) is a departmental organization dedicated to unifying the graduate students in Communication Studies at Texas State University. CSGA hosted their welcome back bowling event.  CSGA hosted a “Mardi Gras Kickback” at Sewell Park complete with King Cake, games, and snacks. 

• October - November 2022

  TEDx is coming...

  TEDxTexasStateUniversity speakers have been chosen and tickets are now on sale at txstatepresents.com. The event takes place February 11th on campus at the Performing Arts Center. Click here to view the list of speakers and purchase tickets.

  This year's theme is compleXity. Our world is made up of complex systems and processes that have allowed our species to flourish. Operating in the background, these structures impact our everyday experiences and are often taken for granted. TEDxTexasStateUniversity’s 2023 theme will explore compleXity. Talks will focus on identifying and navigating these complex systems and will explore and advocate for solutions to complex problems and challenges we face. The talks will represent a variety of fields and perspectives including technology, health, the arts, media, social sciences, the humanities, and the natural sciences. It promises to be a day of inspiration and conversation as we discover what it means to be a citizen in this complex, global world.

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  Career Readiness Holds Events for Students

  The Career Readiness Program, led by Dr. Michael Burns, hosted two events featuring Texas State Alumni. For additional information, please visit the website for the Career Readiness Program.

  Career Readiness hosted the fall CSCR Networking Event. Alumni came to San Marcos to meet and talk with students in a casual setting.

  M.A. alum Justin Garcia, Manager of Global Lead Development for Amazon Webservices (AWS), hosted an interviewing intensive workshop. Justin interviews over 200 people a year and trains all AWS interns on interviewing. AWS is known for having some of the toughest interviews in industry, and this experience set students up to ace every interview coming their way.

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  Faculty Accolades

  Tricia Burke received a top paper panel award from the Training and Development division of NCA for "An exploratory investigation of employee perceptions for the development of a culture of health training intervention." The piece was co-authored with Kristen Farris and Michael Burns. The award was presented at the National Communication Association convention in New Orleans.

  Ann Burnette presented research from a forthcoming book, "From a Whisper to a Movement: Investigating the Shared Rhetorical Spaces of Whistleblowing and Public Protest," at the National Communication Association Annual Convention in New Orleans. The NCA panel included other authors whose work will also appear in the book.

  Michael Burns presented “Public Speaking Best Practices” to Pi Alpha Delta, Texas State's pre-law fraternity. Michael also hosted three guest speakers in his Sport Communication class this semester: Bobby Trosset, Host of the Ravens Vault Podcast, Joe Hamlin Director of Partnership Strategy for the Cleveland Browns, and Susan Hazzard Managing Director of Communications for USA Track & Field. All of the speakers presented about working in the sports industry and provided students with advice on how to break into the industry. He received a top paper panel award from the Training and Development division of NCA for "An exploratory investigation of employee perceptions for the development of a culture of health training intervention." The piece was co-authored with Kristen Farris and Tricia Burke. The award was presented at the National Communication Association convention in New Orleans.

  Stephanie Dailey presented “Examining Resilience in Organizing” to the Organizational Communication Division at the National Communication Association convention in New Orleans.

  Elizabeth Eger received the 2022 Anita Taylor Outstanding Published Article Award from the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language, and Gender. The award recognized her article published in the International Journal of Business Communication entitled, “Co-constructing organizational identity and culture with those we serve: An ethnography of a transgender nonprofit organization communicating family identity and identification." Elizabeth received two career awards at the National Communication Association Convention in New Orleans. She received an Ethnography Division Early Career Award, which awards outstanding contributions to ethnographic research, and an Organizational Communication Division Outstanding Teaching Award (Tenure-Track), which honors superlative teaching in higher education in organizational communication. She received a top paper from the Critical Cultural Studies Division of NCA for "'Girl, it's bad in here.': Intersectional Undocuqueer Experiences of Organizational Violence in NBC's Superstore." The paper was co-authored with M.A. alum Emily Pollard. Elizabeth presented "Service Industry Workers as Family: Theorizing How Personal Workplace Relationships Both Build Community and Perpetuate Organizational Violence" to NCA's Ethnography Division. The paper was co-authored with M.A. alums Emily Pollard, Hannah E. Jones, and Riki Van Meter. She also chaired the panel “People and Advocacy in Organizations” at the convention.

  Kristen Farris received a top paper panel award from the Training and Development division of NCA for "An exploratory investigation of employee perceptions for the development of a culture of health training intervention." The piece was co-authored with Michael Burns and Tricia Burke. Kristen also received a top paper panel award from the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning division of NCA for "The COVID-19 pandemic as a catalyst for instructor sensemaking." The awards were presented at the National Communication Association convention in New Orleans. Kristen published "Illuminating the faculty voice: Lessons from the pandemic to prepare for future crises" in Qualitative Research Reports in Communication. The article was co-authored with Erik Timmerman and Marian Houser, along with M.A. alum, Luke Dye. Kristen presented "Messages of support (in)adequacy: An exploration of message feature and relational outcome differences for support gap messages" to the Interpersonal Communication Division of NCA. The paper was co-authored with M.A. alum Maya Blitch.

  Rebekah Fox presented research from a forthcoming book, "From a Whisper to a Movement: Investigating the Shared Rhetorical Spaces of Whistleblowing and Public Protest," at the National Communication Association Annual Convention in New Orleans. The NCA panel included other authors whose work will also appear in the book.

  Marian Houser published "Illuminating the faculty voice: Lessons from the pandemic to prepare for future crises" in Qualitative Research Reports in Communication. The article was co-authored with Erik Timmerman and Kristen Farris, along with M.A. alum, Luke Dye. 

  Maureen Keeley presented “Facilitating Meaningful Final Conversations in Family: Practice Insights from Research” to health and social care providers in Hong Kong. The presentation was part of a webinar series on family-centered end-of-life care sponsored by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. Maureen also presented “Death and Dying during a Global Pandemic: Strategies for Renewing Commitment, and Transforming Fear to Hope, at End-of- Life” to the Communication and Aging Division at the National Communication Association convention in New Orleans.

  Roseann Mandziuk gave The LBJ Museum’s Annual Fall Lecture, presenting about Lady Bird Johnson’s 1964 Whistle Stop Tour, during which the former first lady travelled through the south giving speeches in favor of the Democratic ticket. For more information about the presentation, see the recent article published in the San Marcos Daily Record. As the current President of the National Communication Association, Roseann presented “From Lee to Jackson: Dismantling Structures of Oppression in New Orleans” to the opening session of the NCA convention in New Orleans.

  Manu Pokharel published “Tailored visuals, implementation intentions, and sun safe behavior: A longitudinal message experiment” in Health Psychology. She also published “Developing skin cancer education materials for darker skin populations: Crowdsourced design, message targeting, and acral lentiginous melanoma” in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine. Manu was named co-project director of an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Susan Harwood Targeted Topic Training Grant. The goal of the project is to educate diverse workers about heat and cold stress hazards, help them identify symptoms, and train them to manage and treat extreme temperature-related health issues. It also seeks to empower the workers by highlighting employee rights, employer responsibilities, whistleblower laws, OSHA’s Complaint Policies and Procedures, and anti-retaliation provisions (11(c) through the training modules. Manu will develop promotional and training materials, advertise the training sessions, assist in revising training materials, and evaluate the effectiveness of the training. Manu presented “Using Narratives to Correct Politically Charged Health Misinformation and Address Affective Belief Echoes” to the Health Communication Division at the National Communication Association convention in New Orleans. She also presented “Depicted Regret, Character Death, and Vaccination Intentions: A Social Media Experiment” which was co-authored with M.A. student Kirara Nagatsuka.

  C. Erik Timmerman published "Illuminating the faculty voice: Lessons from the pandemic to prepare for future crises" in Qualitative Research Reports in Communication. The article was co-authored with Marian Houser and Kristen Farris, along with M.A. alum, Luke Dye. 

  Melinda Villagran presented “Death and Dying during a Global Pandemic: Strategies for Renewing Commitment, and Transforming Fear to Hope, at End-of- Life” to the Communication and Aging Division at the National Communication Association convention in New Orleans.

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  Student Accolades 

  M.A. student Kyle Chitwood presented “Tales of a cowboy: Analyzing Western myth in the narratives of Dave Chappelle’s ‘8:46’” to the Scholar II Scholar panel at the National Communication Association convention in New Orleans.

  M.A. student Kirara Nagatsuka presented her topic on biracial individuals in Japan in the final round of the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. She also presented “Decolonize our own Research! Can we Overturn #CommSoWhite?” and “Depicted Regret, Character Death, and Vaccination Intentions: A Social Media Experiment” at the National Communication Association convention in New Orleans.

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  Alumni Accolades

  M.A. alum Emily Pollard received a top paper from the Critical Cultural Studies Division of NCA for their paper, "'Girl, it's bad in here.': Intersectional Undocuqueer Experiences of Organizational Violence in NBC's Superstore." The paper was co-authored with Elizabeth Eger.

  M.A. alums Emily Pollard, Hannah E. Jones, and Riki Van Meter presented "Service Industry Workers as Family: Theorizing How Personal Workplace Relationships Both Build Community and Perpetuate Organizational Violence" to NCA's Ethnography Division. The paper was co-authored with Elizabeth Eger.

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