The Message - The UNC Department of Communication Studies Newsletter
//Issue 1/Dec. 2008

Message from the Chair

PHOTO: Dennis MumbyGreetings from the Department of Communication Studies and beautiful Chapel Hill. There really is something magical about campus right now, with crisp morning air, Carolina blue skies, and the leaves turning a kaleidoscope of colors. And, we have a new Chancellor! Holden Thorp promises to be one of the most dynamic and forward thinking Chancellors we have ever had, and I certainly feel that Carolina is in good hands. As usual, it’s been an extremely busy and exciting year in the department, with our faculty and students continuing to demonstrate what incredibly talented people they are. The longer I serve as chair, the more I realize what a very special place this department and university truly is. Let me highlight what I mean by telling you a couple of stories.

Just a couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to have lunch with Woody Durham (Class of ’63) and his wife, Jean. The “voice of the Tar Heels” is in his 38th season of play-by-play for Carolina football and basketball. We spent a delightful hour or so chatting about numerous topics including the diversity and creativity of our department and, of course, sports, including his love for the game of golf--a love that I share. What most impressed me about Woody and Jean was that, after all these years, they are still deeply passionate about, and absolutely dedicated to, this great public university of ours. At a time in their lives when they could both be enjoying a well-deserved retirement, they continue to serve as great ambassadors for Carolina. That’s one of the reasons why I am delighted that the Woody Durham Distinguished Professorship will have its home in the Department of Communication Studies. Begun with an initial donation of $100,000 by an anonymous donor, the fund now stands at over $1 million and awaits its last portion of state matching funding. We hope to be able to hire a distinguished senior professor in academic year 2009-2010.

A few weeks before the lunch with Woody and Jean, I had a meeting in my office with Ken Lowe (Class of ’72), Chairman and CEO of Scripps Interactive. You probably know Ken indirectly through the cable channels he has founded–Home and Garden and The Food Network, among others. But here at Carolina we know him as someone who is committed to making sure that UNC remains one of the greatest public universities in the world. Ken’s generosity has provided the Department with a “Faculty Excellence Fund” endowment that enables me to provide our faculty with monetary support for their research projects.

At the meeting with Ken I introduced him to three of our faculty–Renée Alexander Craft, Hap Kindem, and Steve May–all of whom have benefited from Ken’s generosity. Renée told Ken how support from the Lowe Fund enabled her to travel to Portobelo, Panama, to continue her ethnographic research on the Congo community there. And Hap Kindem described how Lowe money helped cover the costs of the Memorial Hall premiere of his new documentary, “Winning Isn’t Everything,” that tracks the fortunes of the national powerhouse UNC women’s soccer team during the 2007 season. Steve shared with Ken how support from the fund had enabled him to continue his research on corporate ethics and social responsibility.

Finally, I want to mention that Ken has also initiated the Ken Lowe Challenge Fund which will be used to support faculty. If you are interested in participating in this challenge, please click the giving link below.

I relate these stories to you because they vividly illustrate how, in many ways, Carolina alums are the heart and soul of this university. I have taught at several universities, but have never before encountered the kind of loyalty and commitment to an institution of higher learning that Carolina alums demonstrate over and over. Ken Lowe and Woody Durham are among our most high-profile alums, but thousands of you show the same kind of dedication and commitment to Carolina in numerous ways, both small and large. The reality is that UNC could not be the world-class university that it is without your continued support and dedication.

I hope you will enjoy this latest edition of our newsletter, brought to you for the first time in electronic format. Inside you will find lots of engaging articles about the latest accomplishments of our remarkable faculty and students. As always, I invite your comments and feedback–it’s always a pleasure to hear from our many wonderful and accomplished alums!

Best wishes for the holiday season!

Dennis Mumby
Department Chair
mumby@email.unc.edu
919-843-3613

Faculty in the News

Media Studies and Production

Fun and progress punctuated another exciting year for Media Production. This encouraging year of growth stemmed from the infrastructure established in previous semesters. The faculty, instructors and staff experienced increased freedom to accomplish great success through new appointments, teaching and projects.

Hap Kindem, recently interviewed on WUNC's “The State of Things” about his newest documentary, Winning Isn’t Everything: The Untold Story of a Soccer Dynasty, held the premiere High Definition screening in Memorial Hall on UNC’s campus. More information about the project can be found at http://winningisnteverything.org/.

Ed Rankus completed his video, In the Sun Room, in November 2007 and has experienced great success with the release. The video, distributed nationally and internationally by The Video Data Bank, screened at festivals including “Experiments in Cinema V3.0,” Albuquerque, NM and “NEXT Art Fair,” Chicago, IL. It also received Director's Choice, third prize at the 27th Black Maria Film/Video Festival in New Jersey. Ed is on leave of absence this Fall 2008 semester honing a new video project with the working title of either "Twilight of the Faun" or "Ninja Nymphs."

Joyce Rudinsky was appointed Chief Domain Scientist for the Arts and Humanities at The Renaissance Computing Center (Renci.org), linking the Computing center and technology back to the College of Arts and Sciences. Additionally, she became Associate Director of Digital Arts and Humanities for the Institute of Arts and Humanities. Joyce, in collaboration with Director Mark Robinson and RENCI, recently completed her interactive installation work, Spectacular Justice, which was made possible in part through a Carolina Performing Arts grant.

Francesca Talenti recently added to her exhibitions and honors an award from The University Film and Videomakers Association entitled "Contribution to new media forms" for her art show "Genesis: Mishaps in the Kitchen.” In addition, Ironweed films licensed her animated film, A Brief History of Voting, for the October volume.

Media Technician Mike Nutt worked on his http://wikumentary.net, a multimedia autobiography/documentary/wiki mashup. Additionally, he received the International Conference Award, through the Center for Global Initiatives, and was a recipient of matching funds from our department. These funds allow him to travel and present his paper that was accepted in the fifth Prato Community Informatics & Development Informatics Conference to be held in October 2008.

This fall semester Media Production added an additional section of Comm. 230, our intermediate production course. We enthusiastically hail the efforts of our graduate students, Brian Graves and Cameron Ayres, for taking on this task. The addition greatly enhanced student access for the advanced courses and improved our course foundation.

To experience some of our student works please visit iTunesU Carolina available through Apple iTunes. We celebrated the public iTunesU Carolina this fall and Communication Studies is proudly listed as a featured contributor where many production students’ works consistently score in the top downloads for Carolina.

Mark Robinson
Director of Media Labs
mrobin@email.unc.edu
919-843-6519

‘Geezer-Coots’ visit Swain Hall

The “Geezer-Coots” Visit Swain HallOn a weekend early in the Fall Semester a group of RTVMP alums paid a nostalgic visit to Swain Hall, their old and beloved stomping ground. The group of 22, organized by Dick Storck (’64), spent a Saturday morning touring our facilities, courtesy of Mark Robinson and Mike Nutt.

Dick Storck has coordinated three informal reunion events in the past with the “geezer-coots,” as they call themselves. He contacts the alums through email and some come all the way from California, as well as from along the east coast. He said that they still like getting together to talk about old times.

“Even though we may not have seen each other for 35-40 years, we’re able to pick up the conversation exactly where we left it.”

The “geezer-coots” toured Swain Hall and looked at many of their old hangouts. They even shared a memory of climbing on the roof of Swain near the antenna to hang out, and of funny moments during production of WUNC-TV. Storck says Swain is still very important to them.

The “Geezer-Coots” Visit Swain Hall“Swain Hall is still hallowed ground; the annex didn’t exist when we were there, but the brick part, the old part, that was our home--that was where we worked.”

Storck also described one incident when the geezer-coots were on campus.

“One year we were walking around Wilson library, and we were kind of bleating, and we were running around the campus bleating and all the students were looking at us, and we thought, ‘someday you’ll be old just like us!’”

Speaking of the importance of Swain Hall to his professional life, Storck said, “Everything that followed during my career at WBTV, military broadcasting and WPTF/WQDR was a direct result of the Swain Hall experience. At age 66, I'm still active fulltime in broadcasting as program director of a Raleigh-Durham public radio station. Since 1960, I've been on the air somewhere in the Raleigh-Durham market. This Swain Hall Geezer-Coot does not intend to slow down.

The visit of the “Geezer-Coots” is one small way in which our RTVMP alums are reconnecting with the department and seeing the ways in which we are preparing our students for a 21st century media environment.

Ashlee Edwards

Interpersonal/Organizational Communication

Fall 2008 – IOC Faculty Accomplishments

Dr. Julia Wood won the National Communication Association’s prestigious Gerald M. Phillips Award for applied communication research.

A photograph from Lawrence’s trip to LithuaniaDr. Lawrence Rosenfeld, with Dean Jack Richman and School of Social Work colleagues Kim Strom-Gottfried, Katherine Dunlap and Joanne Caye, traveled to Lithuania in July as part of a delegation with the American Professional Partnership for Lithuanian Education (APPLE). The nonprofit partnership was founded in 1990 to support educational reform in Lithuania. During the trip to Vytautas Magnus University, Klaipeda College and Siauliai University, they led workshops on a variety of topics, including family therapy, human resource management, direct social work practice, and effective therapeutic communication.

Dennis Mumby has been very busy over the last year. In addition to his duties as department chair, he has continued to be an active scholar in the field of organizational communication. In May of 2008 he began a two year term as Chair of the Organizational Communication Division of the International Communication Association. He has also been in demand nationally and internationally as a lecturer, including a trip to Copenhagen in March 2008 to teach a Ph.D. seminar at the Copenhagen Business School. The success of this course has led to an invitation to return to CBS in June of 2009 to teach this course again. He is currently working on an edited book project called Organizing Difference: Research, Pedagogy, and Practice, and has also published “Organizational Communication: Critical Approaches,” In the International Encyclopedia of Communication.

Dr. Steve May was the keynote speaker at the Leadership Communication Forum in Leipzig, Germany in June 2008. He discussed corporate social responsibility in a global economy with a group of 40 CEOs from Germany, Switzerland, France, and Spain. Steve was also named an Arthur W. Page Center Ethics Scholar, based on his current editing of The Handbook of Communication Ethics. The book is the first of its kind and will represent all areas of research, teaching, and service in the discipline. He also received a grant from the University Research Council to support his scholarship on “ethics at work,” which seeks to transform the ethical practices of organizations through research-based interventions. He recently published a related essay, “Transforming the Ethical Culture of Organizations,” which was published in a book called Doing Well and Good: The Human Face of the New Capitalism. Steve was also named a Houle Engaged Scholar and will represent the university in a series of conferences and workshops with 30 other universities to identify ways to utilize faculty expertise to benefit communities.

Dr. Michael Waltman was appointed a Faculty Engaged Scholar for the period from the Fall of 2007 through Spring 2009. The appointment came with a stipend of $15,000 to fund his Communicating Tolerance project. This project will create students/faculty and community partners and is dedicated to promoting more humane communities that value and respect social differences. In addition, Communicating Tolerance will create a Web Page that will offer resources to UNC student groups, local teachers and school systems, and other community groups that seek to address issues of prejudice, discrimination, and hate speech. Dr. Waltman is also writing a book entitled Communicating Hate that will be published by Peter Lang Publishing.

Dr. Pat Parker continues her research on race and leadership, and recently established the Ella Baker Women’s Center for Leadership as part of her community outreach efforts. See the article below about Pat’s work in the community.

Dr. Sarah Dempsey’s research and teaching explores processes of dialogue, collaboration, and coalition-building, particularly by members of NGOs, nonprofits, and transnational feminist networks, as well as how different forms of work are being re-organized in the global context. Her recent article, "NGOs, Symbolic Labor, and the Work of Grassroots Representation," looks at the ways in which NGOs draw upon the metaphor of the grassroots to pursue their social change goals.

Dr. Pat Parker: Doing Engaged Research

Photo: Dr. Pat ParkerAssociate Professor Patricia Parker has for a long time been a popular and innovative teacher in the Interpersonal and Organizational Communication concentration, but not too long ago she had a vision—how could she use her expertise in power, race, and leadership to make a difference in her local community? The fruit of that vision is the establishment of the Ella Baker Women’s Center for Leadership that works in collaboration with low-income communities in the Chapel Hill area. Named after the famed Civil Rights activist, the center is designed to promote leadership skills among low-income minority teenage girls. While it began as a startup project with the Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative, Parker has since gained support from the Kauffman Foundation, the Kellogg Foundation, and the Strowd Roses Foundation of Chapel Hill. The center has also partnered with some of our undergraduate and graduate students. Parker works closely and collaboratively with the young women enrolled in leadership training. She has adopted a community organizing model for the program, treating community participants as true collaborators in the social change process. The focus of the center is to engage the talents of the young women and to encourage community involvement through leadership training. Parker wants to promote youth involvement to create a positive image of youth in our communities. As the Ella Baker Women’s Center for Leadership continues to expand, Parker’s commitment to the program grows as well. Dr. Parker’s work promises to have a far-reaching and enduring effect on the Chapel Hill community, and we are tremendously excited about the long term implications of her project.

Quyana Barrow

Rhetorical Studies

It has been an exciting year so far for the rhetoric faculty. Carole Blair and Bill Balthrop are on research leave, partially funded by a Reynolds fellowship. Carole and Bill are in France doing fieldwork in advance of a highly anticipated project on the rhetorical functions performed by the American memorials and monuments constructed in Europe following World War I and World War II. Robbie Cox has recently been honored as the founder of a new subfield in communication, Environmental Communication. Though Robbie is technically in phased retirement, his vision of phased retirement includes pursuing an active teaching and research agenda, as well as serving a second term as the president of the Sierra Club. Cori Dauber is also on research leave, serving as a visiting professor at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Cori has been invited to submit a paper to the Army War College white papers series, and is also working on a full length manuscript that examines the relationships amongst the media, terrorism and information warfare. Christian Lundberg gave an invited keynote address on theories of the public and American religion at a pre-conference at the American Association of Religion Conference in Chicago this October. He has a number of new essays in print, and is continuing work on a Public Speaking book centered around themes of civic engagement, as well as a full-length monograph on rhetoric and the social. Eric Watts is working towards finishing his term as the editor of the prestigious and influential journal Critical Studies in Media Communication, and is putting the finishing touches on an innovative new book on the rhetoric and aesthetics of the Harlem Renaissance.

Performance Studies

The Justice Theatre Project

The Justice Theater ProjectThe Justice Theater Project (JTP) is a non-profit activist theater group whose mission is to use the dramatic arts as a way to call attention to the dilemmas of the poor and marginalized in society. JTP employs the arts to engage audiences and expose them to issues of social concern, making it the only theater company of its kind in Wake County.

The Justice Theater ProjectDeb Royals (Ph.D student in Performance Studies) is the Artistic Director for the Justice Theater Project. Deb started JTP after doing performance programming and other production-related activities in many different places, including Polk Youth Prison. She started an “Arts for Justice Ministry” that brought people from the church community to work at Halifax Court and with the homeless at the Raleigh Rescue Mission. While working on different productions there that were open to the entire community, Deb directed and produced an adaptation of “A Lesson Before Dying.” The impact of this production combined with a lot of hard work led to the creation of the Justice Theater Project.

This Fall, JTP staged a production of Bertolt Brecht’s “Mother Courage” in Swain Hall Studio 6. Co-sponsored by the Department of Communication Studies and directed by artist-in-residence Joseph Megel, Mother Courage is a play written in response to Hitler’s invasion of Poland, and deals with the devastating effects of the war in Europe. Many experts consider it the greatest anti-war play of all time. Deb says she chose the play on purpose.

“I intentionally selected ‘Mother Courage’ because I felt the themes pervasive in this piece could highlight and encourage discourses around what it means to dignify – to move beyond tolerance and to recognize the diseased way in which war, greed and exploitation have and continue to sicken our country/world.”

According to Deb, the biggest challenge when producing Mother Courage was navigating the epic proportions of the work. She says the best way to produce a play like this is to pay close attention to the nature of the work.

“This particular adaptation by David Hare, is accessible but still requires careful reflective work. The best way to make a production like Mother Courage work is to trust the process, the collaborative nature that must exist and to listen, listen, listen.”

During the coming year JTP will develop programming including discourse, original writings, and performances that highlight immigration. These works speak to immigration from the perspective of the Latina/o Immigrant community in North Carolina, looking to both their struggle and isolation.

Ashlee Edwards

New Faculty

Photo: Michael PalmThis year we welcome Michael Palm (pictured) and Dana Coen to the UNC Communication Studies Faculty! Michael is a new professor in Technology and Cultural Studies. He recently completed his Ph.D. at New York University in American Studies under Andrew Ross- a leading international figure in the area of cultural studies. Palm specializes in media and communication history, work and labor studies and American cultural studies. His strong inter-disciplinary background will further enhance our emphasis in media and cultural studies.

Dana Coen is the new Adjunct Assistant Professor for the minor in Writing for the Stage and Screen. He has 20 years experience working in television as a screenwriter and playwright in Hollywood. He has an MFA in Playwriting from UCLA. Mr. Coen will begin teaching in our department in January.

Undergraduate News

Whether going above and beyond in a research project, or making the trek to Hollywood for a summer internship to learn the film business, over 750 undergraduate majors each year raise the bar for excellent achievement.

The UNC-Hollywood Internship Program: An Eyewitness Report

Hollywood Internship Program

“Attention passengers, we are now boarding flight 1142 to Los Angeles International” I took a deep breath and handed the agent my boarding pass. I had never been west of Ohio, and had never before flown in an airplane for more than two hours. I was LA-bound and had no idea what was in store for me when I got there. This summer I had the unique opportunity to visit our interns in the Hollywood Media Internship program and experience their lives in “the business” first-hand.

Just making it into the internship is an accomplishment. Students apply to the program in the Fall semester and are interviewed individually by Paul Edwards, the director of the program. If they make it through this process, they are placed into an internship which best fits their long term career goals. These internships may include television and film production, screenwriting, casting/acting and publicity. Interns work in state of the art facilities at places like Fox, Disney, and Universal Studios and get a hands-on, intensive experience in the industry.

On my first evening in LA I traveled to Universal Studios to attend a lecture given by Jim Bissell, an Oscar-winning production designer. The lectures are a huge part of the educational experience the internship provides. Four nights a week students are required to attend these lectures. Renowned members of the television and film industry come to speak about their area of expertise and field questions from the students. Jim talked about his work and gave the students some insight into projects he had worked on, including 300 and Spiderwick Chronicles. The next day I traveled to Lionsgate to see what Patrick Smith, another intern, was up to. He was working in DVD production with a small team; DVD production is a large part of Lionsgate’s business. Later that day I visited with Craig Lamarsh, another intern at Mr. Mudd, the production company of actor John Malkovich. Craig shared his experiences of working in a smaller office and learning the ins and outs of a production company. He spoke of the scripts received on a daily basis and the decision making involved in the processing of these scripts. My last visit of the day was to the 250th table reading of “King of the Hill” at Fox studios where the cast and crew were celebrating this milestone event with a big cake. Adam Weinstock, our intern at this site, was helping to coordinate this event. We got to listen to the actors read through the script and interact with cast and crew after the reading. John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky, Carolina alums and the showrunners for “KOTH,” were there to make sure that everything went off without a hitch.

Rodeo Drive. Neon signs. Big sunglasses. Paparazzi. Prada. Red carpets. These are the words I used to associate with “LA” or “Hollywood.” Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that Hollywood is more than movie stars and fancy cars. It’s a place where our department provides students with an amazing opportunity to immerse themselves in the culture and business of the film and television industries. The experiences and skills they gain help to set them on a path toward a successful career in this fascinating and demanding business. I can’t wait to get back on that plane next summer. . .

Jessica Smith
Undergraduate Student Services Assistant jesmit@email.unc.edu
919-962-4981

Writing for the Stage and Screen Minor

Our WSS minor continues to go from strength to strength. The first class graduated in 2005 and we now have 40 alumni of the program. Of these 40, 75% are working in the film, TV, and theatre industries. Demand for the program remains high among students, and we typically have twice as many applicants as there are available spots. David Sontag continues to provide outstanding leadership of the program. On a sad note, Joan Darling and Bill Svanoe announced their retirements. However, we have already hired Dana Coen to replace Bill, and hope to complete the search for Joan’s successor very shortly.

Graduate Students News

The 2008-2009 school year has been a banner year for research, teaching and engagement in graduate studies.

Katie Harris (M.A.) won a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship for Summer 2008. She spent the summer attending the South Asia Summer Language Institute at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.  As a recipient of a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship, administered by the United States Department of Education, she completed a Hindi immersion program.  Early in the summer, Harris won a Future Faculty Fellowship at UNC and participated in a week of training and discussion designed to foster emerging scholars' leadership.  Harris is the recipient of the 2008-2009 Stonington Community Center Turek Scholarship, a $1,500 award for her community service.  She founded the Chapel Hill Giving Circle for Social Justice, an organization designed to promote philanthropic giving among young people.  To help launch the group, Harris secured a grant from the Kellogg Foundation, and funds raised are supporting sustainable energy in North Carolina.

Billie Murray (Ph.D) and Natalie Fixmer (Ph.D) received the Ueltschi Service-Learning Course Development Grant in 2008. This grant is given to instructors to develop courses that successfully connect community service with course concepts, and to promote the pedagogy of service-learning on the UNC campus. Murray was also accepted to the NCA Doctoral Summer Seminar on Communication Activism for Summer 2008.

Jesica Speed (Ph.D) was welcomed onto the leadership team of a Durham-based academic enrichment program called Student U for Summer 2008.  Student U. is a year-round program for middle schoolers from Durham Public Schoolers; it is an intensive 6-week program in the summertime and a year-round after school program.  In the '08 summer program, there were 102 rising 6th and 7th graders who were taught by 31 college students from NC Central, UNC, Duke, and a few other schools.  Speed taught 7th grade English and has joined the Student U.community year-round as their Director of Teachers for the 2008-2009 school year and next year's summer program. 

Cindy Spurlock (Ph.D) received the K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders in Higher Education Award from the Association of American Colleges and Universities in January 2008. She shared this prestigious award with only nine other phenomenal colleagues from across the nation. In February 2008, Spurlock was elected as President of the Graduate and Professional Student Federation at UNC after serving for two years in the GPSF Senate. The GPSF is an independent branch of Student Government at UNC that works closely with the Graduate School and all programs on campus that enroll graduate or professional students. Spurlock is pleased to say that several Communication Studies colleagues comprise the executive board and cabinet: Patty Baum, David Montgomerie, Jenn Mease, Janel Beckham, Katie Harris, Jesica Speed, and Elizabeth Nelson. In March, she participated as a 2008-2009 fellow in the Southeast Environmental Leadership Program. Spurlock was the second Communication Studies person to be selected for this competitive opportunity. In April, Spurlock presented two papers at SSCA in Savannah, GA. One was on a panel organized by Professor Mike Waltman. She was also honored to receive the J. Robert Cox award at the Departmental Awards Ceremony. She is now a member of the Royster Society of Fellows and will received the Susan Lord Dissertation Completion Fellowship for the academic year. She also has a publication accepted in TPQ. She will be co-chairing a preconference at NCA this year.

David Terry (Ph.D) just completed six months in Greece researching the intersections of immigrants, tourists and native Greeks on the Areopagos, a hill near the acropolis. His essay titled “Surfacing, Homing, and Belonging in Hang it Out to Dry” was published in Text and Performance Quarterly (2008): 366-8. Terry’s other essay, "Deputy Queer: Periperformativity, Politics, Aesthetics, and Ethics,” will appear in Queer Identities/Political Realities in 2009.

Leah Totten (Ph.D) won the Student Undergraduate Teaching award for the 2007-2008 academic year. This is the only university-wide teaching award that is nominated, selected, and funded by undergraduate students.  Chancellor Moeser presented the award at the Chancellor’s Awards Ceremony on April 16, 2008.  The award recognizes outstanding teaching that benefits individual students, promotes the value of undergraduate teaching by example, demonstrates concern for each student through interaction and approachability inside and outside the classroom, creates meaningful learning experiences, and maintains high expectations of students. Totten also received a Smith Graduate Research Grant in April to support her dissertation.  She is proud to announce that she has a job at UNC-Greensboro next year as Visiting Assistant Professor, Communication and Community. 

Totten and Professor Steve May have been selected to represent the university in the Houle Engaged Scholars program, a collaboration between UNC-CH, NCSU, the University of Georgia, and Pennsylvania State University. The program’s goal is to develop effective ways to prepare faculty for community-engaged careers, and to contribute to the knowledge base on engaged scholarship to assist graduate students and faculty. Totten and Professor May are one of two faculty mentor/doctoral student pairs selected by the office of the Vice Chancellor for Public Service and Engagement to participate.

Staff News

Photo: Mitchell RothrockCommunication Studies welcomes Jessica Smith and Mitchell Rothrock to our staff. Jessica comes to us from the Undergraduate Advising department. She discusses her background and enthusiasm for assisting undergraduates in the department in her Q&A below. Mitchell, a UNC Communications Studies graduate from the 1998 class, returned to the department in September as a Financial Assistant.

Q&A With Jessica Smith, the New Undergraduate Student Services Manager

We would like to welcome Jessica Smith as our department’s new Undergraduate Student Services Assistant. Jessica graduated from UNC with a Communication Studies major in 2005 and is happy to be working in the department. Jessica hit the ground running in her position by helping to facilitate the 2008 Undergraduate Survey shortly after taking her job. She also visited our Hollywood Intern students this past summer in California. Her outstanding commitment to our students and her fun personality makes every day fun for the staff, students, and faculty on the first floor of Bingham Hall.

She let us ask her a few questions about her experience in Communication Studies as an undergraduate student and her goals for our undergraduate program.

How did you first become interested in the Communication Studies major?

I first became interested in the major at the end of my sophomore year. I came into Carolina as a Biology major and two semesters later I realized that wasn’t my thing. I started exploring different majors and stumbled upon Communication Studies. I took a couple of introductory courses and loved it. From there I decided that Communication Studies was the major for me.

Which communication classes and instructors were your favorites?

I loved the courses that were hands on and interactive. Intro to performance and group performance were definitely on the top of my list. My all time favorite course was COMM 120 with Lawrence Rosenfeld. He is so engaging and it’s such a great class. It really gives you a broad knowledge base for interpersonal communication. I never had an instructor that I did not like within this department. They were all wonderful!

Photo: Jessica SmithWhat are some of your favorite things about working in the Communication Studies Department?

I love being able to interact with both students and faculty and graduate instructors. You get to see a totally different side of the department when you work with the instructors. I have a much greater appreciation for what faculty and graduate instructors have to do on a day to day basis to prepare for courses and all of the other commitments they have. It is just amazing!

What are some of your goals for the Undergraduate Major in Communication Studies?

Overall I would like the students to know that I am someone they can come to with any issues or questions they have about the major, or anything for that matter. If I can’t answer the question, I will find someone who can. We have an awesome staff in this department and any questions that arise should be able to be answered by one of us. I also want to make sure we keep a broad offering of classes so students have flexibility with this major and can maximize their learning experience with us.

You worked on the Undergraduate Survey this year. What are some things that you found from that survey that will be helpful in the future of our undergraduate students?

We found that we are doing a lot of positive stuff already. Our smaller class sizes seem to foster a better environment for learning, also students seem to enjoy our instructors and have great things to say about everyone. Something students would like to see is more productions including student productions within the department. Also, students would like to be more informed about things going on in the department; internships, independent studies, shows, etc. I will be updating the student listserv to make sure students are receiving as much information as possible.

Board of Advisors to the Department of Communication Studies

The Board of Advisors assists the Chair and faculty in maintaining and enhancing the quality and excellence of the Department of Communication Studies; advises the Chair and faculty on current trends, practices, and developments among professional communicators that will promote fulfillment of the Department of Communication Studies' mission; advises and assists the Chair and faculty in promoting the mission, goals, programs, accomplishments, and needs of the Department of Communication Studies to alumni, professional communicators, and other interested parties and to participate in that promotion; advises the Chair and faculty on curricular issues in the Department of Communication Studies; and advises and assists the Chair and faculty with development efforts on behalf of the Department of Communication Studies.

Chair

John Moore ‘88
Chairman and CEO, Marwood Group
New York, NY

Members

Alumni News

Deirdre H Mebane (BA ’85) currently works for United HealthCare in Greensboro as a Quality Specialist. She recently starting writing poetry as a hobby and enjoys it!

Ramsey Qubein (MA ‘04 ) is an experienced public relations practitioner. He previously served for the Special Olympics of North Carolina and as a correspondent for Star Service Online, which specializes in the travel industry. Qubein is responsible for account management and client services for McNeill Lehman marketing and public relations firm in High Point, NC. Qubein holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication with a specialization in public relations and a master’s degree in business marketing communication from UNC. He has recently been doing a great deal of writing in travel publications. His articles about Mumbai, Dubai and Bangalore, India were published in Business Traveler magazine. He speaks highly of his Communication Studies Masters Degree from UNC and all of the wonderful professors who guided him through.

William J. Rendleman, Jr. (‘73) pursued the field of insurance education and training after majoring in speech at UNC. He attributes his success to the confidence he gained through his major. His company, The Rendleman Company, has provided insurance pre-licensing and continuing education to thousands of students over the years seeking life, health, property, casualty, Medicare supplement, or long term care insurance license. Nine years ago he decided to retire. However, he still teaches occasionally and serves as an advisor to the company. William is proud to say the two gentlemen he advises are his son and step-son who now own and run the company.

Thomas Spiggle (MA ’96) moved to Washington, DC after completing his Master’s from UNC with a concentration in rhetoric/cultural studies. There he worked as a legislative aide to a California Congresswoman. He then went to law school, graduating from Georgetown in 2001. Post graduation, Spiggle worked for Tharrington Smith in Raleigh, focusing on election and education law. He returned to Washington in 2003, where he clerked for a judge and entered private practice in DC. In 2007, he joined the United States Attorney’s Office in DC as an Assistant United States Attorney, focusing his efforts on prosecuting domestic violence crimes. Spiggle and his wife, Anne, live in Arlington and they have a two-year-old son, Harrison. He would love to hear from any of his old Comm Studies colleagues and would also like to act as a resource to graduate/undergraduate students considering a move to DC and/or a career in law/politics. Please email him at Tom Spiggle tspiggle@gmail.com.

Jeb Stuart (MA ’82) is a successful Hollywood director and screenwriter (“Die Hard,” “The Fugitive”). He recently completed filming Tim Tyson’s widely acclaimed book, Blood Done Sign My Name, in North Carolina. Read his Q&A with UNC College of Arts & Sciences. Jeb is a longtime supporter of the Writing for the Screen and Stage Minor and our Hollywood Internship Program.

Do you have news to share with us? We’d love to hear from you! Email us at CommunicationStudiesNewsletter@unc.edu.

More Undergraduate News

Jessica Wacker (senior) interned at the Franklin Porter Graham Child Development Center in spring 2008. She worked under Joanne Roberts and Bruno Estigarribia and was trained to use SALT and ELAN software. Jessica transcribed ADOS tests given to typically developing boys, boys with Fragile X, boys with Down Syndrome and boys with Autism. She learned how to check for reliability, comparing her transcriptions with other students in her group and made Gold Standards. She continues this internship in Fall 2008.

Communication Studies Major, Jennifer Carpenter, receives John and Tatiana Moore Scholarship, working in Washington DC for the Washington Post

Jennifer Carpenter (senior) is the 2008 recipient of the John and Tatiana Moore Scholarship. Although there were many excellent applicants, the department felt that Jennifer's academic performance, work experience, and extra-curricular activities made her the most deserving recipient. She interned over the summer in Washington, D.C. with The Washington Post's interactive media group. During her internship, Jennifer made contacts that enabled her to travel to Beijing to work the Olympic games.

She is a double major in Communication Studies and Journalism and Mass Communication and made the Dean's list each year. She is also pursuing a certificate in documentary studies from Duke University. Her experience includes working for U.S. House Representative Brad Miller, ABC News, and UNC-TV. She has written, directed, and produced several documentary films (including one shot in Mexico and another in Bulgaria). She has also received numerous awards, including a John Hope Franklin Fellowship and a student Emmy Award.

We asked her to share samples written during her internship and while in Beijing for the 2008 Olympic games.

I'm writing from Beijing, where I am a volunteer reporter for the 2008 Olympic Games, at the Shooting venue. I gather quotes for the International News Wire, including competitors (and dear friends) Natalia Paderina from Russia and Nino Salukvadze from Georgia, along with Abhinav Bindra, India's first-ever gold medalist in an individual event. It's a privilege to be in China and witness some of the best competition the world has to offer, but it was of equal honor to report and swim alongside the athletes of Washington D.C.'s 25th Annual Golden Olympics. This year I'm a (gasp!) senior, and will be busy with my Honors Thesis under the Communication Studies Department. After graduation, I plan spend a year in the Balkans, making a documentary film on the civic apathy and engagement of Albanian youth.

I am a regular at the William H. Rumsey Aquatic Center up on 6th and North Carolina Ave. On Wednesday, I meet Dottie and join the Water Aerobics class, but am sure to fly out and meet the 9:30 a.m. train.

Dottie is one of sixty senior swimmers that trained for the 25th Annual Golden Olympics: an exhibition of Washington D.C.'s finest athletes (fifty five or older) in free style, back stroke, breast stroke, and butterfly. She's been seriously swimming since her mid sixties, heeding her doctor's advice after a muscle-failure scare. As her arthritis got worse, her swimming got better. Now at 78, Dottie is the head contender in the Women's 100 meter backstroke.

Opening Ceremonies at Takoma Swimming Center: D.C.'s largest public park greets nearly one hundred aquatic athletes. Dottie and the Rumsey Seniors face the twists and kicks of old rivals and new competitors.

The Men's 100 meter freestyle is (per usual) dominated by Takoma's Tatum brothers, twin 87-year-old D.C. natives with a large cheering section (their church group). Youngster Karyn Huges (59) surprises the crowd with a record-breaking time in Women's 50 meter breast stroke.

Lifeguards and coaches are on constant edge. Last year, backstroke specialist Gerald Turner (friends call him "Crutch") nearly drowned with exhaustion during the 50 meter race. This year, like every year, he faces the Olympic-size pool with no fear. In our interview he says:

"We all hope for the best. I'm game, I'm game. I just come here to try."

The Golden Olympics was my long-term "signature" piece at the Washingtonpost.com. I spent nearly six weeks researching, interviewing, and kicking alongside D.C.'s senior swimmers. It was shot on two Sony HD HVR-Z1Us, and a Canon Powershot A580 with underwater casing. The Washingtonpost.com gave me the time and freedom to push myself technically as well as aesthetically; letting me take risks from the diving board to pool bottom. Multimedia Editor Tom Kennedy shoved me out with my camera nearly every day: to Foggy Bottom, to the National Cathedral, to the Capitol, to Georgetown, to Alexandria, to Baltimore, to New York City. This internship was a hard gig to land, and it was an honor to work alongside Emmy and Oscar-winning documentarians under the support and prestige of the Washington Post Company. But without the John and Tatiana Moore Scholarship I would not have been able to support myself in this endeavor. I owe this opportunity to the financial backing of the Communication Studies Department.

In her poem, written for me and the Washingtonpost.com, Dottie exclaimed: "Thanks to all swimmers and coaches who took part. What a team, what a coaching staff, what a cheerleading squad! What a lot of heart." She became more than an athlete I studied, more than a character in a short film; Dottie became my friend, my mentor, and my (cheesy, I know) inspiration.

Dottie's a busy lady: juggling volunteer work at the Botanical Garden, the National Art Gallery, at the local elementary school, and a tour guide at the Jefferson Memorial. Yet she still finds time to kick my butt in the pool. This summer, Dottie and the Rumsey Seniors gave me perspective: that age means nothing. You can be your healthiest, your happiest, your most hopeful even at your oldest. It's a comforting thing to realize, as most students look to college and think, "these are the best years of my life" with the after-thought of "it's only downhill from here." I'm relieved and in many ways empowered to know life is only going to get better. Dottie is proof.

Three Communication Studies Professors Received Support for Scholarship, Creative Activity or Research in the Humanities and Fine Arts awarded by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development

Professor Cori Dauber received research support from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development through her ongoing and long-term study of the Middle Eastern insurgent groups. She focuses on the ways in which such groups appropriate modern media technologies, particularly the internet, as a means to promote their causes. For several years now, she has taught a highly successful and extremely popular undergraduate course on terrorism and the media; much of her ongoing research is integrated directly into this course, providing the students with an incredibly cutting edge and insightful understanding of the relationship between terrorism and modern media technologies. Professor Dauber has engaged in extensive data-gathering for this project, including interviews with many high-level military intelligence circles. She is frequently invited to speak to the military about her research. Undoubtedly, she is one of the nation’s leading experts on the relationship between terrorism and the media.

Professors Carole Blair and Bill Balthrop also received monetary support for their research in the Humanities and Fine Arts from the Office of Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development. Their research on the rhetoric memorization promises to have a sustained impact on our understanding of the role of the memorial in public collective consciousness. Their work has a very strong interdisciplinary appeal, connecting to scholarship being done in fields such as American studies, history, art/aesthetics, and geography. Blair and Balthrop’s current project promises to shed new light on the place of war memorials in shaping national consciousness and speaking to shifts in international relations.

Dennis Mumby

Professor Joyce Rudinsky Receives RENCI and IAH Fellowships

Since 1993, Joyce Rudinsky has investigated a variety of social issues impacted by technology. Her role as an artist is to define an artistic space for technology using a subjective and critical approach to map various conceptual relationships around an issue. She creates a viewing experience that allows for individual interpretation of the technological mediation of everyday life. The form of the work ranges from prints to media installations. Projects include video, audio, photography, performance, and viewer interactivity.

An underlying theme in Rudinsky’s work is how the perceptual shifts induced by the use of information technologies are altering the reception of art. As an artist, her goal is to respond to these shifts with an experimental practice that lives in the intersection of art, communication, and technology. This year she collaborated with the technologists at the Renaissance Computing Institute of UNC and solicited the input of their programmers, engineers, and designers to develop a portable spatial sensing system for use in an interactive installation.

Founded in 2004, the Renaissance Computing Institute is a major collaborative venture of Duke University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the state of North Carolina. It combines the strengths of state initiatives and three world-class universities with the social, business and research opportunities of the Research Triangle and the state of North Carolina. The "renaissance" in RENCI evokes both its collaborative atmosphere and the breadth of its intellectual activities.

Rudinsky’s installation, entitled Spectacular Justice, was part of the Carolina Performing Arts year-long Death Penalty Examined project, which explored the campus and community wide conversation on death penalty issues. Spectacular Justice was an interdisciplinary effort. Mark Robinson, Ray Idaszak, Leesa Breiger, David Borland, and Jason Coposky collaborated with Rudinsky on this interactive media installation that created an experiential look at the death penalty. The project created a unique experiential environment by surrounding viewers with a variety of elements: images, video, and audio recordings of moments, thoughts, and inputs surrounding the issue of capital punishment.

The project was installed in the Social Computing Room in ITS Manning at UNC. Rudinsky and the RENCI team members were able to meld photographs, documents, graphics, archival and original video, media clips, and audio recordings.  The content was delivered by 14 projectors, five speakers, and multiple screens—all coordinated with a custom-designed computer program.   Visitors entered the installation wearing a sensor, which recorded their movements within the room. 

Rudinsky created new technologies that intersect arts and society to immerse the viewer more intimately and uniquely into the viewing experience, produce a richer artistic, emotional, and intellectual experience, and inspire dialogue and critical thinking on the social issues surrounding the death penalty. Rudinsky and her collaborators omitted the political issues typically represented in favor of creating a collective experience that elicited a visceral response.

Midway through her Spectacular Justice project, Rudinsky received a fellowship through the Institute for the Arts and Humanities and found yet another opportunity to gather collaborators. The Institute for the Arts and Humanities offers programs and activities that support UNC faculty at every stage of their careers. Rudinsky used part of her IAH fellowship semester to develop a course on interactive media that will allow students to create content for the evolving mixture of technology available at RENCI and similar facilities.  Through the new collaboration, Rudinsky and her students may well expand both the reach and the diversity of the artistic experience.

Both of Rudinsky’s fellowships have led to full-time appointments. She is now Chief Domain Scientist, Arts and Humanities for RENCI and Associate Director of the Institute for the Arts and Humanities. Needless to say, she will be busy in the 2008-2009 school year.

Give to the Department

Photo: Bingham HallWithout private support, the department, its faculty, and students, would not be able to engage in many of the activities that make it a top program in the field of Communication Studies.

Whether you choose to give to Interpersonal/Organizational Communication, Rhetoric, Performance Studies, Media Studies and Production, Writing for the Screen & Stage or the UNC Hollywood Internship Program, every gift will make an immediate difference to our students and faculty.

Ken Lowe Challenge for Faculty Excellence

Gifts made between now and December 31, 2008 supporting or honoring your favorite faculty members are eligible for matching funds made possible by Ken Lowe. For every $2 you give, Ken will give another $1. If you wish to contribute to this challenge, please use designation 5699 below.

Gifts and pledges to the Department

For more information, please contact
Emily Stevens ‘96
Arts & Sciences Foundation
134 E. Franklin Street Chapel Hill, NC 27514
919.843.5285 or

Thank you!