Communication Studies-News

Dr. Matthew McGlone has been offered a fellowship in the UT Humanities Institute for next year.

Dr. Madeline Maxwell is the recipient of the 2005 Texas Excellence Teaching Award for Professors in the College of Communication

Professors Larry Browning and Anita Vangelisti have been awarded Dean's Fellowships for next year!

Kevin Johnson was awarded a University Continuing Fellowship. Jay Childers was awarded a University Tuition Fellowship. Jennifer Asenas was awarded a Bruton Fellowship. (Spring 2005)

UT and Dartmouth are the only schools to qualify three teams for the elimination rounds. More (Spring 2005)

The Individual Events Team has once again achieved significant accomplishments, but what is more impressive is FOUR national championship awards to UT students—tying the national record for most events won by a school at a single national tournament. UT students have now won 22 individual national championships since the team was organized in 1988. More (Spring 2005)

Dr. Loril Gossett has received a 2005 Summer Research Assignment for her proposal, Crafting the Temporary Organizational Member: Issue of Socialization, Identification, and Exit in the Temporary Help Industry. (Spring 2005)

The National Communication Association, the largest and most important scholarly and professional organization in our discipline, released the results of a doctoral program reputational study recently. Communication Studies ranked extraordinarily well in the national poll of other doctoral programs. Among public universities, the Communication Studies Department at UT-Austin has more specialties ranked in the top ten than any other program but one (we are tied with Illinois). Only one private university (USC Annenberg) had more ranked programs (one more than CMS). We are ranked in the top ten in six of the nine categories that the survey listed: Interpersonal, Organizational, Rhetorical, Communication Technology, Critical-Cultural, and Political. (Fall 2005)

The Department's three primary areas of emphasis (Interpersonal, Organizational, and Rhetoric and Language) are all ranked in the top five based on the measure of Program Effectiveness in Educating Researchers.

The NCA study also held good news for the College of Communication as a whole. No college in the country has more programs and specialties ranked in the top ten than does the College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin. We have top ten programs in seven of the nine categories that were studied, based on the measure of Scholarly Quality of Program Facultyî

Overall results of this study are available on the NCA web page.

For the thirteenth year in a row, the University’s Speech and Debate teams, administered by the Department of Communication Studies, earned the American Forensics Association National Debate Tournament/National Individual Events Tournament Overall National Championship.

We are very pleased to announce that Dr. Joel Rollins has been promoted to Senior Lecturer effective Fall 2005. (Fall 2005)

BUILDING BRIDGES BETWEEN ACADEME & SOCIETY -- initiative founded and directed by Dr. Rick Cherwitz, a professor of communication studies and rhetoric and composition MORE

Dr. Dawna Ballard has received a $20,000 Academic Innovation Award from the RGK Center for Philanthropy & Community Service for her research proposal, Model Contexts, and Practices of Group communication.

See Dr. John Daly's Feature article about Shyness.

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Sharon Jarvis is to be one of two Dean's Fellows in the College, in Spring 2005

Aida Gonzalez and Susan Corbin have both won UT Exemplary Service awards. (Fall 04-Spring 2005)

Professor Streeck is to be a Fellow to the George Christian Professorship

Professor Cloud is to be a Fellow to the John T. Jones Centennial Professorship, Summer of 2005.

Join us in congratulating Jay Childers, who has won a Jones Fellowship to present his work. See other winners & the presentation schedule.

Dean Hart instituted a Grants Incentives Program for the College, and CMS winners of the program include Professors Ballard, McGlone, Scott, and Lewis. Congratulations! More information on this program may be found http://communication.utexas.edu/faculty/grants/incentives.html

"Your distinct hand gestures can extend the reach of your communication."

Read more about Dr. Jürgen Streeck's manual dexterity research from the College of Communication news feature story, July 5, 2004

Over the weekend of September 24-26, 2004 the UT Speech Team traveled to San Marcos for the 2004 edition of the Hill Country Swing Tournament, co-hosted by Texas State University and the University of Texas. The team placed first in the overall standings, followed by Bradley University in 2nd and the University of Oklahoma in 3rd. Kansas State University and West Texas A&M University rounded out the top 5. Individual results by event are available as a PDF file (October 2004)

Professor Mark Knapp will receive the National Communication Association Donald H. Ecroyd Award for Outstanding Teaching in Higher Education. The award will be presented at the NCA convention in Chicago this November. Please congratulate Professor Knapp for this stellar accomplishment! (October 2004)

Dr. Matthew McGlone and Dr. Rachel A. Smith have joined the Department of Communication Studies in the area of Interpersonal Communication (Fall 2004)

The National Science Foundation recently awarded $68,600 in funds to one of our newest faculty members, Matt McGlone to develop a media usability and effects lab for student research. These funds will be used to purchase several pieces of new equipment (including eyetracking monitors, keylogging software, and usability assessment equipment) for the developing college-wide Media Research Laboratory. (September 2004)

Professor Anita Vangelisti will receive the Bernard J. Brommel Award for outstanding scholarship in Family Communication from the National Communication Association. She will receive this award at the NCA convention in Chicago this fall. This is a "career achievement" award that is the most prestigious in its area, so please join me in congratulating Professor Vangelisti!. (September 2004)

Professor Mark Knapp will receive the National Communication Association Donald H. Ecroyd Award for Outstanding Teaching in Higher Education. This is a major, honkin' big award, only one per year is given out, and it is NCA's pinnacle career achievement award in teaching. To my knowledge, our own Professor John Daly is the only other recipient in the College (a couple of years ago). The award will be presented at the NCA convention in Chicago this November. Please join me in congratulating Professor Knapp for this stellar accomplishment. (September 2004)
Please congratulate The UT Speech Team at the conclusion of their 2003-04 season. Last weekend, the team capped its year by competing at the American Forensic Association National Individual Events Tournament, hosted by California State University at Long Beach. (May 2004)

Drs. Sharon Jarvis and Lisa Montoya of the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation at UT Austin have received a one-year, $100,000 grant to support the project "The Political Participation of Working Youth: Examining Social Ties" from CIRCLE (The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement) funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts. Since 18 year olds were first given the chance to vote in the 1972 elections, their turnout rate has steadily declined in the United States. In working to remedy this trend, scholars and campaign practitioners have focused almost exclusively on college students. In this project, Jarvis and Montoya take a different focus. Believing that working youth have under-studied social connections, Jarvis and Montoya will conduct a telephone survey in three states to investigate how the social ties of non-college students accentuate or inhibit political participation.

Dr. Madeline Maxwell's project, "Musicians and Social Change," has been chosen by the Knowledge Gateway selection committee for funding. Knowledge Gateway will be providing $16,000 in funding for your project. (December 2003)

Professor Roderick P. Hart is the 2003 winner of the National Communication Association's Douglas Ehninger Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Rhetoric. The Ehninger Award honors scholars who have executed research programs in rhetorical theory, rhetorical criticism and/or public address studies. The award is given to a person who, through multiple publications and presentations around a rhetorical topic or theme, demonstrates intellectual creativity, perseverance, and impact on academic communities. This brings to three the number of CMS faculty who hold this prestigious honor.

Steve Rains was awarded a Continuing Fellowship from the Office of Graduate Studies. Carlnita Greene and Siri Mehus were awarded Continuing Tuition Fellowships..

This list is not inclusive. Please also see the Summer 2002, Fall, and Spring issues of DIRECTIONS. This is a publication for alums from the College of Communication.

Dr. Anita Vangelisti has been promoted to Professor effective Fall 2002.

Jennifer Betancourt is one of the winners of the College of Communication Annual Staff Excellence Award.

Margaret Surratt has received the UT Exemplary Service Award for, but of course, EXEMPLARY SERVICE.

Dr. John Daly is the 2002 recipient of the Donald H. Ecroyd Award for Outstanding Teaching in Higher Education. This award is given by the National Communication association at its convention in November. This is the career teaching award given by NCA, which is the major scholarly/professional organization in Communication Studies.

Dr. Mark Knapp is the 2002-2003 recipient of the William David Blunk Memorial Professorship award. This award is designed to recognize and honor a member of the UT Austin faculty who has an outstanding record both of undergraduate teaching and of concern for undergraduates, as demonstrated through advising and general guidance given to students. Such concern for students should have occurred within the context of promoting excellence in student scholarship and high standards of student performance. A committee (the Provost or his/her designate [ex-officio with vote], 5 faculty members, a representative from the Dean of Students Office, and one student) reviews the materials submitted by each dean and makes the final selection. The recipient also receives a salary supplement.

Deanna Shoemaker has received one of two dissertation fellowships from the Women's Studies Dissertation Award Committee for Fall 2002!

Stacey Kounelias, CMS Junior was elected Student Government vice president. Katie King won a runoff election to become the new Student Government president at The University of Texas. King won just over half of the 3,121 votes, defeating rival Kevin Robnett. Kounelias defeated rival Nada Antoun by ten votes. Austin American-Statesman, March 7, 2002.

CEDA has awarded Dr. Joel Rollins the Pelham National Coach of the Year Award for 2002. The award is named after Glenn Pelham, legendary Emory coach who did so much to raise the standards for and status of debate coaches in America. The award represents not just one year, but a lifetime of contributions.

The University of Texas at Austin's Individual Events Team accrued the highest point total of any team in attendance. Given that 16 of the top 20 teams in the country were present at this competition, by far the toughest outside of the national tournament at the end of the season, this is a noteworthy accomplishment.

This list is not inclusive. Please also see the Fall. Spring, Summer 2001 and Summer 2000 issues of DIRECTIONS. This is a publication for alums from the College of Communication.

Dr. Sharon Jarvis has been awarded The Eyes of Texas Excellence Award for the Fall 2001 Semester. This honor, given by The Eyes of Texas, recognizes her outstanding contribution to student life at The University of Texas. This award is given to ten deserving UT faculty, administration, or staff members each semester. Public recognition of the Excellence Award recipients is made in the Cactus Yearbook on The Eyes of Texas page. Her name will be placed in the 2001-2002 edition. Congratulations Dr. Jarvis for a teaching job well done!!

Courtney Dillard and William Earnest were awarded Full Continuing Fellowships from the Graduate School this year.University Continuing Fellowships are awarded to students who are currently enrolled in UT graduate programs. Each academic program is entitled to nominate a certain number of applicants for these fellowships. Awards are made by faculty review committees in disciplines allied to the fields of the nominees. In evaluating the nominees, the greatest emphasis is put on outstanding academic accomplishments since entering graduate school. The committees are interested in publications, research projects, letter of recommendations, etc. The 2000-2001 fellowship stipend was $15,500 for nine months, with an additional $500 medical benefit allowance, and $2,300 applied toward tuition and fees.

Dr. Richard Cherwitz received honorable mention for the Lynton Award.

On Thursday it was announced that our own Amy Schmisseur won the Texas Excellence Teaching Award (for an Assistant Instructor) for the College of Communication! These awards are given by students (no grown-ups involved), and supported by the Texas Exes (UT Alumni Association). Amy will be honored on Tuesday, February 5, 2002 at 5:30 p.m. at the Alumni Center. One professor and one TA/AI from each college win this award. Congrats to Amy!

Stephen A. Rains, a new PhD student in our Graduate Program authored a paper entitled, "What Lies Between Us: An Exploratory Investigation of Collusive Deception," which was competitively selected as a Top Student Paper at the National Communication Association Convention in the Interpersonal Division in November.

A New Grant:$809,698.00 from the National Institute of Drug Abuse for a Project titled: Drug Abuse Education for Professionals. (2001-2003). The Principal Investigator is Carl Erickson; Co-Investigators: John Daly, Ken Lawson, John Littlefield, Gary Miller, Joseph Miller, Richard Wilcox.

National Debate-In: On Sunday afternoon of November 18 at 3:30 p.m. the Wake Forest University campus in Winston-Salem, NC, was the site of an extraordinary event: "The National Debate-In" on the issues pertaining to September 11th and its aftermath. The top-ranked intercollegiate debate teams from across the United States are dedicating their intellectual, research, and rhetorical resources to public debates designed to answer the public's call for reasoned argument on issues including civil liberties, the causes of terrorism, diplomatic versus military solutions, arms control, "war" rhetoric, and more. A public audience will choose from a program of some 26 public debates, each focusing on a distinct topic.

Eight students from the University of Texas will be joining over 170 other debate teams from across the nation for the Debate-in. The Texas students scheduled to speak in public debates are: Jasdeep Brar, Jonathan McCartney,Pamela Bowman, Adam Lee, Alex More, Varant Yegparian, David Breshears, and Nick Copeland.

These students will be joining with student peers from around the nation to fashion novel modes of participation in wartime politics.

To learn more about the event, go to the official Debate-in website, hosted by Wake Forest University
A sample media advisory for the event is online. This sample media advisory is also downloadable as a Microsoft Word file (rich text format. Quotable material on the event from national experts in free speech, political communication, and debate is online. This quotable material is also downloadable as a Microsoft Word file (rich text format)

Journalists may wonder about possible angles for making a story on the Debate-in newsworthy.
Jodi Wilgoren, "World of Debating Grows, and Vermont Is Its Lab," The NewYork Times, August 9, 2001. This article is available Online and downloadable as a Microsoft Word file (rich text format). For more information contact our Debate Coach, Dr. Joel Rollins.

The College of Communication is pleased to announce a new web site featuring our "Crafting a Successful Career in ..." Series. The site contains interviews from more than 150 of our alumni and friends--professionals from all over Texas, New York, and Los Angeles--in electronic handbooks that provide professional advice for our students in Advertising, Communication Studies, Journalism, Public Relations, and Radio-Television-Film. We have also produced specialized versions for students seeking careers in New York City and Los Angeles. We will be adding interviews from Communication Sciences and Disorders professionals in the near future. The interviews are designed to help students make informed choices about their course of studies, internship and volunteer activities, and career planning. A special thanks to Elizabeth Dunn, Ph.D., former assistant dean for development at the College of Communication, and the development staff for their efforts on this project.

The Department successfully completed a reorganization effort in which the Performance Studies area faculty moved to the Department of Theater and Dance, and the Language and Culture area closed, with faculty relocating to other areas within the department, with Rhetorical Studies being renamed Rhetoric and Language.

Communication Studies played a key role in the College's hosting of a National Communication Association Doctoral Honors Seminar July 6-8, 2001. Thirty-six top doctoral students and over a dozen faculty members from around the country participated in the seminar.

New faculty hires include Barry Brummett, Charles Sapp Centennial Professor in Communication and Department Chair, and Dawna Ballard, Assistant Professor.

The National Communication Association has announced that the new chair of the U.T. Communication Studies Department, Dr. Barry Brummett, is the recipient of this year's NCA Douglas Ehninger Award for distinguished rhetorical scholarship.The Douglas W. Ehninger Award was created in 1986 upon the creation of an endowment by the Ehninger family. The Douglas W. Ehninger Distinguished Rhetorical Scholar Award honors scholars who have executed research programs in rhetorical theory, rhetorical criticism and/or public address studies. The award is given to a person who, through multiple publications and presentations around a rhetorical topic or theme, demonstrates intellectual creativity, perseverance, and impact on academic communities.

Dana Cloud is a 2001-2002 UT Humanities Institute Fellow and a recipient of the UT FastTex support for research and course-related work on union rhetorical movements.

John Daly has taught “Enhancing Advocacy Skills" for the undergraduate Washington DC internship program, as well as in the ITESM-Mexico City program for the School of Business and the MSSTC 385 Management of Innovative Organization course through distance education. Daly also received a grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse for a project, “Drug Abuse Education for Professionals.” Daly continues to be in high demand as a speaker at such schools as Washington University, Cornell University Medical School, and the Universities of Pennsylvania and Chicago. Dr. Daly will serve as co-investigator for a recently awarded grant in the amount of $809,698.00 from the National Institute of Drug Abuse. The project is titled Drug Abuse Education for Professionals, 2001-2003. The Principal Investigator is Carl Erickson; and, Co-Investigators also include Ken Lawson, John Littlefield, Gary Miller, Joseph Miller, and Richard Wilcox.

Roderick Hart received the University Cooperative Society Career Research Excellence Award, Research Award, UT Graduate School, Nomination, UT Academy of Distinguished Teachers.

Roderick Hart published two edited books based on a national conference sponsored by the Strauss Institute: Politics, Discourse, and American Society: New Agendas (with B. Sparrow, Eds.), and Communication in U.S. Elections: New Agendas (with D. Shaw, Eds.). Professors Sparrow and Shaw are in Government at UT.

Sharon Jarvis received the Texas Excellence in Teaching Award for the College of Communication, and the Texas Blazer’s Faculty Excellence Award. She has presented lectures at Northwestern University and at Southwest Texas University.

Professors Hart and Jarvis just received a $285,000 grant with the Pew Charitable Trusts/Council for Excellence in Government for phase three of the Strauss Institute's young voter initiative.

Mark Knapp is the new President of the University of Texas at Austin Chapter of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.

Madeline Maxwell was Distinguished Visiting Professor of Linguistics at Goeteborg University in Sweden, and gave a Plenary Address to the 8th Biennial Congress of the Intrenational Association for Dialogue Analysis meeting in Sweden.

The UT forensics program is the 2001 American Forensic Association National Individual Events Champion, and the UT debate/forensics program is the 2001 American Forensic Association National Debate Tournament-National Individual Events Tournament Overall National Champion (for the ninth consecutive year).

Speeches written by undergraduate students in our Individual Events Program have been widely published and are widely influential.

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