Overview, Highlights and Recommendations

Committee

• Cindy Royal• Jon Zmikly• Jacie Yang• Kym Fox• Katie Dudley• Gilbert Martinez• Emmeline Aguirre• Beth Clark• Chuck Kaufman• Larry Carlson• Olga Wilson• Bob Bajackson – parking and transit

Overview• 4 Days• 70 speakers at 36 events• Numerous alumni participated in MC Week• Events held in OM 320, LBJSC, Alkek 250,

Centennial and other classrooms• Hachar program has introduced hundreds of Laredo students to

college life• Joseph Treaster – Woodrow Wilson Fellow

• Green room for guests to relax, students to interact, interview

• Panels, lectures, interviews• Career Fair• Post career fair reception and panel• 15th Anniversary Graduate Celebration

Highlights• Ethan Zuckerman, MIT Center

for Civic Media• Evan Smith, Texas Tribune• Annie Werner, Tumblr• Mike Leary, SA Express-News

• Luis Patino, Univision• Gustavo Arellano, Orange County

Weekly• Debbie Hiott, Statesman• Mary Rose Brown, NuStar Energy• Bharati Naik, CNN International• Numerous alumni• One panel in collaboration with

Comm Design

Social Media

• Blog – More than 22,000

pageviews since Oct. 1– 72 posts, mostly by Fox’s

and Clark’s writing classes• Twitter – 1500+ posts using

#mcweek

• Use of Storify, video, Instagram, Facebook

• Eight live streams during the week; archived on site

• Student participation in Twitter Scavenger Hunt and Facebook visual contest

Question/Discussion

• Is Mass Comm Week the flagship event of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication? Should it be?

Recommendations• Focus bulk of programming on two days – Tues and Wed. • Mon – have one kickoff event, keynote, student org fair,

other• Thurs – career fair• Graduate specific event one evening.• Reduce # of activities to < 25, reduced

hours involved each day• Consider ways to rebrand while

retaining Mass Comm Week • Continue blog and live stream

coverage• Develop faculty-specific sessions

Additional Support• Broaden participation to include additional faculty, staff, tech

support.• Onsite tech support in other rooms around campus.• Participation by allowing students to attend, developing

assignments. RE: How To Get Involved handout• Better communication, coordination when planning events in

your classroom.• Better prepare students for

speakers, discuss appropriate behavior in sessions.

• Faculty assignments to cover days in green room, cover rooms with speakers

Promotion

• To be handled by Bobcat Promotion or other promotion-specific organization, not a classassignment

• Managed by a member of faculty• Held to deadlines and deliverables

Outcomes

• At least one recent graduate started work the Monday after MC Week, based on a connection made here.

• Others made excellent contacts for internships, positions for the future.

• A large group of students participated, created content, used social media effectively.

• Exposed to cutting edge topics and ideas: the importance of coding to communication, use of social media, future needs of industry, innovation, freelancing, entrepreneurship.

Actions• Proposed dates for 2013 –

Oct. 21-Oct. 24• Need to secure banner schedule

with city and TXDOT; schedule OM 102 & OM 320; schedule career fair date - by early spring.

• Select a new director• Determine how to promote year-

round; follow up promotion on blog; spring events, etc.

• Analyze event calendar for School• Or determine new scale, direction

and emphasis for a much smaller, less integrated event.