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Fall 2013

3 4 6 9 11 Rhetoric students dress up for class

Petticrew Debate Team wins awards

Students get a “road map” from BLSC al-ums

Professor weighs in on stadium naming

BLSC alum receives CLAEmerging Voice Award

Brian Lamb (left) interviews UPS director Michael Eskew during the PICC energy forum Sept. 13.

Purdue Institute for Civic Communication Launched

By Brittany BroadersSenior, Public Relations & Rhetorical Advocacy

The Purdue Institute for Civic Communica-tion (PICC) hosted its first event of the fall se-mester, “A New Energy Future,” Sept. 13. The fo-rum on energy research and the future of various energy sources featured two panel discussions with scientists, journalists, and industry leaders. It also included an interview with UPS director Michael Eskew, conducted by Brian Lamb. The first panel, “Can Clean Energy Replace Fossil Fuels?” was a debate between author and journalist Robert Bryce and industry analyst Nathaniel Bullard. Bullard argued in favor of clean energy, while Bryce argued against. Their debate centered on the cost effectiveness of clean energy and the experiences of other countries with alternatives to fossil fuels. The second panel, “Game Changers” was a discussion on energy research led by engineering dean Leah Jamieson, and featuring Purdue pro-fessors Maureen McCaan (Biological Sciences),

Wally Tyner (Agricultural Economics), and James Braun (Mechanical Engineering). Tyner, a member of the Purdue Center for Research of Energy Systems and Policy, discussed its work related to reducing carbon emissions, creating fuel efficient vehicles and meeting CAFE (Cor-porate Average Fuel Economy) standards. Braun described Purdue’s efforts to build more energy efficient buildings. Lastly, Eskew’s interview with Brian Lamb focused on UPS’s efforts to become more energy efficient. He highlighted the company’s use of lightweight and clean-burning vehicles to reduce carbon emissions,and the integration of trains into their transportation system. “To maximize our business for the consumer, we make sure we’re optimizing in every way we can,” he said. According to Eskew,about eight percent of the company’s revenue is spent on energy costs, primarily fuel. He said one way they save fuel is by consolidating the number of trips made on a daily basis. “In a perfect world, one UPS trip

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Please see “PICC” on page 2Ambassador Carolyn Curiel (right) watches as Purdue President Mitch Daniels cuts the cake during the PICC launch in September.

Launch Event Features Energy Future Forum

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takes 250 packages,” Eskew said. “If not for UPS, that would be 250 separate trips. We’re saving that much energy.” PICC, formerly known as Project Im-pact, was created to enhance Liberal Arts students’ educational and professional experiences at Purdue. Their forums are mostly student-run and topics are driven by current events and student interest, according to PICC director, Ambassador Carolyn Curiel. “Our forums aim to inform and in-volve; they are interactive, with questions coming from Twitter and from the live audience,” Curiel said. “Our students learn and so do our audiences.” Ashley Munson, a senior in political science and PICC member, has learned a great deal about the impact energy has for current and future generations. She hopes the forum encouraged those in attendance

to be more aware of its affects. “Energy has become a primary concern of government issues especially consider-ing oil prices and climate change,” Mun-son said. “Although the topic of American energy independence is complicated, being aware of it is vital.” In addition to the forums, PICC works to develop classes, internship opportuni-ties, and competitions that test students’ critical thinking and communication skills. PICC is university-wide and looks for students with initiative, curiosity, good language skills, and an interest in democracy. “The students have made more than me proud,” Curiel said. “Our guests univer-sally say they are great hosts and that the forums have been run at least as well as those put on by professionals.”

PICC from page 1

PICC students, faculty, and energy forum members.

By Yunjing ZhuJunior, Mass Communication Two years after graduating from the Brian Lamb School of Communication, Rachael Mattice is now a digital producer and music journalist for Gannett’s Journal & Courier newspaper of Lafayette. Originally from Wisconsin, Mattice moved to Califor-nia after graduation and spent three months looking for a full-time job, eventually landing a position in sales and marketing. Although she was glad to be working, Mattice said her true passion lay in journalism, so she kept looking for a media-related position and was ready to move back to Indiana when the job opened at the Journal & Courier. “Your first job may not be related to your major but you have to take what is offered,” Mattice said. “There are many people who are unemployed after graduating from college.” As a digital producer, Mattice is responsible for the newspaper’s online content, including writing, editing, fact-checking, and updating stories. She also takes photos and has shot and edited video packages for the web. In addition, Mattice creates social media content for the J&C, tweeting headlines daily. Although Mattice spends much of her day in the office working online, she has had the opportunity to do some reporting in the field as well, most recently working as a music journalist for the J&C. Mattice got started with music journalism by asking if she could write a blog about current issues in the music industry. From there she was asked to take on a weekly features column about music and later began to interview and photograph artists from all over the country. Mattice’s passion for music began with learning how to play instruments when she was young. She learned to play clarinet in fifth grade and joined jazz band in her junior year of high school. She also enjoyed playing piano and guitar with friends. Mattice said her ability to play instru-ments has helped her prepare forinterviews with musi-cians and relate to their experiences.

“I have inter-viewed many artists for work,” Mattice said. “The ability to play instruments helps me better communicate and understand artists during the inter-view.” As a music journalist, Mat-ticehas gone to the several concerts and festivals to both interview artists and shoot photo-graphs. Mattice’s interviews are then published online,

often in Q&A format to provide readers with the artists’ exact responses. She also publishes photo galleries of the events she has attended and photographed. Mattice said her secret for a successful interview is the amount of time she spends researching ahead of time, finding out what previous interviews have covered and looking for unique questions to ask. “Before the interview, I will spend hours of time on researching about the artist and listening to their music,” Mattice said. “It is important to know their reaction to questions from the past and think about what question should be asked or avoided.” Mattice’s interview credits include Whitechapel, Anthrax, Lita Ford, John5, Styx, Dane Clark, L.A. Guns, Clutch, Sevendust, Afroman, Dan Vapid, Saliva, Huntress, Butcher Babies, Battlecross, Five Finger Death Punch, Rob Zombie, Travis Warren, and Monster Magnet, in addition to numerous local bands and acts.

Mattice said her education at Purdue provided the tools for her success in journalism and gave her a solid founda-tion in the areas of writing and digital production. “I still remembered the AP style quizzes from the writ-ing class,” Mattice said. “I use AP style now for writing online news and in my music blog.” Mattice said she also took video production and photography classes at Purdue, where she learned basic techniques and skills she uses on the job. She has had the opportunity to photograph several bands and live shows, including Whitechapel, Anthrax, Motorhead, Slayer, Slipknot, Lita Ford, DJ Starscream, Rob Zombie, Moody Blues, Chevelle, Cinema Sleep, AWOLNATION, Bush, Soundgarden, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Sleeping with Sirens, Battlecross, Butcher Babies, Children of Bodom, AmonAmarth, Mastodon, Five Finger Death Punch, Andrew W.K., Black Sabbath, Queens of the Stone Age, Ghost, Deftones, Avenged Sev-enfold, and The Eagles. In addition, Mattice has shot and edited video for the Journal & Courier’s website, a skill she said employers are looking for. Mattice advised current students to take various courses in different media-related topics, including writing, video production and photography. She also suggested stu-dents write outside of the classroom and said working for Purdue’s student newspaper, The Exponent, was one of the most valuable experiences she had in college. “Start making a voice for yourself. Start writing, be a leader of an organization, start volunteering, find some-thing you’re really passionate about now and work hard at it,” Mattice said. “Your work can be the best demonstration of your ability and skills when you need to show it to your employer in the future.” Mattice values her Purdue education and said it has had a positive influence on her career. She encourages students to study hard in college. “Hard work will always payoff,” Mattice said. “You will find many of the courses very helpful when you need it,

Rachael Mattice

Alum’s Love for Journalism, Music Brings Her Back to Indiana

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Petticrew Debate Team Wins Meets, Teaches Speaking Skills

By Amanda GeeSenior, Agricultural Communication Members of the Petticrew Debate Team enjoy a good argument, whether it’s about what kind of food they’ll have at their next event or about whether U.S. foreign aid to South Amer-ican countries should be dependent on coca eradication efforts. “Historically, Purdue has been very strong in debate,” said John Schultz, graduate student in political science and one of the team’s coaches. He said the debate club can trace its roots back to at least the 1930s. In 1990, C. Richard Petticrew, a Purdue alumnus and debater in the 1930s, made a large donation to the team, and it was renamed the Petticrew Debate Team. The tight-knit club, laughingly called a cult by some members, meets on Monday and Thursday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m. Schultz said students from any major and experience level are welcome to join the club. This year the club has about 12 members, and only about half of them were on high school speech and debate teams. And surprisingly, although the club is housed in the Brian Lamb School of Communication, the majority of current members aren’t communication majors. “It (the club) teaches communication skills to non-communication majors,” said Anna

Biela, a senior in nuclear engineering. She said science and engi-neering students aren’t always known for their communica-tion skills, and the club can help them strengthen skills through practical experience. “Science and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathemat-ics) areas work well with communication,”Biela said. The club practices on a wide range of political, social and science topics that may show up at a future competi-tion so members have knowl-edge in a number of areas, and

can construct a strong argument for or against the topics. “You get mad critical thinking skills,” said Rebekah Maddack, a junior in English educa-tion and classical studies. Chelsea Spring, a senior in public relations, said being on the team is a good learning

experience. She said there’s a quick learning curve for members, but practices help refine debating skills. The club has put those skills to good use this year at competitions across Indiana and the nation. At the Huber Debates hosted by the University of Vermont Nov. 1-3, Ryan Farrell and Josh Farrow, team co-captains, were semifinalists as a team out of 108 collegiate teams. Individually, Farrell was awarded fourth best speaker and Farrow was awarded seventh best speaker out of 216 individual competitors. Farrell, a senior in chemistry and statistics, said he enjoys debating an issue, but appreciates other parts of the club too. “I especially like to travel and interact with people,” Farrell said. “We often get to go twice a month.” This fall, the team also traveled to debates at Marquette University, the University of India-napolis and Ball State University. “The travel’s great,” seconded Taylor Brewer, also a senior in chemistry. “I love meeting new people.” Throughout their travels, debate team members have won many individual and team awards and are filling up their trophy case located on the second floor of Beering Hall. For certain competitions, members may be paired up. “Debate pairing is kind of like a marriage,” Schultz said. “When it’s good, it’s good, but when it’s bad, (it) doesn’t end well.” He said the Petticrew team has semi-fixed pairings, meaning there are students who nor-mally compete together but they’re also not afraid to change it up if needed. Brewer teamed up with a girl from another university at the debate tournament held in October by the Purdue team. He said he’s competitive and likes winning, and he took home fourth place overall speaker award at the competition. The Petticrew club also competes in a variety of events, including platform, interpretation and limited preparation, unlike some other university teams. They traveled to the Vermont debate to try their hands at world style, also called British Parliament, because they’ll be hosting the nationals for the event on April 11-13, 2014, at Purdue.

Debate Forum members pose for a group photo after their first-place team sweeps win at the University of In-dianapolis Forensic 500 Competition on Sept. 21. Back row, left to right, Shubhankar Takle, Taylor Brewer, Josh Farrow; middle row, left to right, Xiaoyuan Zhang, Graham Morrow, Savinay Nangalia, Allen Chu; front row, left to right, Chelsea Spring, Ryan Farrell, Bekah Maddack.

Josh Farrow and Ryan Farrell display the semifinalist award they received at the Huber Debates event in November.

Graham Morrow, Anna Biela and Juhong Chen take notes during a practice debate.

By Amanda GeeSenior, Agricultural Communication Prestigious College of Liberal Arts alumni, including BLSC alums Rusty Rueff and Todd Putnam, returned to campus Oct. 11 to advise and network with current Purdue University students in a “Road Map to the Real World” event. The event was sponsored by CLA and the Liberal Arts Student Council and was split into two sessions: a Q&A forum and a meet and greet with several CLA Dean’s Advisory Council members. Students could write down their questions or tweet them to @PurdueLibArts and the panel would answer them. One of the first questions came from Jim MacDon-ald, a junior in mass communication, who asked about

how to make a resume stand out. Rueff, a 1984 BLSC alum-nus, said there’s not just one thing that makes a resume look good, it’s the individual and their story. “What you’re managing is your story – you’re connect-ing story points,” Rueff said. People want to know how the story is going to end and how they can help you with your story. People don’t mind help-ing other people.” He also said students

shouldn’t stop growing and learning after graduation. “It’s so important to continue to push the boundaries of your learning,” he said.

Technology, jobs, and the world are constantly changing. Rueff said he and Putnam, a fellow 1984 BLSC alumnus, have a saying that has helped him stay relevant: “Where’s the puck?” The hockey analogy serves as a reminder that job duties, information and technology aren’t permanent. They’re dynamic, and adapt to different situations; students should also remember to be flexible and keep up-to-date. “You should stay as relevant and close to the ‘puck’ as you can,” Rueff told students. “And you want to skate to where the puck is or will be, not to where it was.” Putnam also offered advice on creating a successful resume. He said that although he had enjoyed a variety of

jobs, he’s always tried to include one of his pas-sions on his resume and relate it to a particular job. “People want to hire people who have passion, are articulate, know who they are and align with the organi-zation,” Putnam said. “Your plan and passion changes over time; it’s about defining who you are and what your brand is.” Rueff echoed the importance of develop-ing a personal brand and embracing the things that make people unique. “Find the things that are authentically

you,” Rueff said. “Don’t run away from things that could be your brand.” For example, his last name is similar to a more com-mon word, roof. He didn’t necessarily enjoy the com-parison early in his career, but he appreciates now that it

helps make him memorable. “It’s my brand,” he said. Chloe Brizendine, a senior in art history and visual de-sign, thought the advice from alumni was helpful. “Developing a personal brand can carry out to any job or career,” she said. The alumni also offered students ideas of things to do while still at Purdue to help in their future careers. Roy Byrd, a 1976 political science alumnus, said to stay in contact with friends made during college, because they

can help make introductions to others and grow profes-sional networks. Rueff told students to take advantage of the diversity present on campus. Different cultures, languages and backgrounds abound at Purdue University; but after graduating, students may not be exposed to many people that are dissimilar. “I wish someone would’ve told me that the world gets smaller after you graduate. I haven’t met anyone from Nigeria in forever,” he said. He said that now is the best time to meet so many people that are different from you, and students shouldn’t miss that opportunity. MacDonald, who asked questions during the forum and later at the meet and greet, said he appreciated the candor from the alumni and the opportunity to network with them following the forum.

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Alumni Offer Current Students a “Road Map”College of Liberal Arts event gives students advice for life after college

Liberal arts students talk with BLSC alumnus Todd Putnam during the Road Map event.

Students wait in line to talke with BLSC alumnus Rusty Rueff.

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Summer Class Highlights Local Nature, Video Skills

By Amanda GeeSenior, Agricultural Communication While some students were participating in an internship or soaking up the sun this sum-mer, a handful of communication students were creating a nature documentary series for Tippecanoe County elementary schools. Doug Osman, clinical assistant professor, taught a special COM497 class for the second time during this past summer.The 497 classes are built around a special topic or on a faculty member’s interest. “I’m interested in wetland habitats,” Osman said. “If I didn’t go into media production, I would’ve been a biologist.” Osman taught the class last summer as a part of an Office of the Dean of Students’ com-munity engagement grant. After talking with local teachers, he decided to have students focus their documentary videos on food webs and habitats. The 10 to 12 students in the class produced short, four to six minutes videos that are geared toward students in grades three through six. Because it was a summer course, it was condensed to four weeks. Students learned the basics of how to run the video equipment the first week. Garrett Brown, a senior in mass communication, said the repetition and tips and tricks learned during that first week served as a reminder from lessons learned during an introduc-tion to video class he had taken previously. “It helped tremendously to be able to use the camera for a week straight,” Brown said. The second week was spent on researching topics and writing the script. The students met in the Purdue Memorial Union and worked on the range of topics, including plant life, photosynthesis, habitats, and soil and erosion. They spent the third week shooting footage at Celery Bog on Lindberg Road in West Lafayette, Ind. During the final week, Osman and the students reviewed the footage and made some edits to ensure it would work for the documentary project. “I’m interested in the documentary side of things, the process,” Brown said. He said the summer class reaffirmed his views on exploring video as a career. For Jazmyn Edwards, a senior in communication and intercultural communication, the class offered a glimpse at another career potential path. “It was a great learning experience,” Edwards said of the summer class. “It gave me oppor-tunities I would’ve never experienced.” Edwards said she didn’t really know what she was getting into by joining the class, but she ended up really enjoying it. “I had seen a swamp-looking thing on the bus,” she said. “But the Lilly Nature Center is really nice, and it (the Bog) has paths and bike trails.” Edwards is interested in youth and women’s development and said she liked the class’s link to the community. “I think that it’s something I could do for a career,” she said. “I wasn’t just doing it to get a grade. What I was doing is going to affect the minds of children.” The students were split into pairs to work on their projects. Edwards said her partner had

previous video and broadcast experience, which helped her feel more confident about their soil and erosion video. “He was inspiring and it definitely inspired me to work harder,” she said. Osman said the class was created so undergraduates could get more experience behind a camera. “Putting them in controlled situations, guiding them, getting out of the classroom is the best thing,” he said. The practical experience with shooting and editing footage can give students a leg up when job searching. There is still some behind-the-scenes work to be done with the documentary series, but Osman said it should be released to area schools by the spring of 2014. Eventually, Osman said he’d like to see a live video feed from the bog with Purdue profes-sors and students in local elementary schools. But for now, he and the students will offer younger area kids a glimpse into nature through the documentary series. “We want to use them in some way to inspire careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engi-neering, Mathematics),” Osman said. During the summer 2014 semester, Osman would like to take a group of students to New Mexico as part of a similar nature-focused course.

Professor Doug Osman edits documentary footage.

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By Brittany BroadersSenior, Public Relations & Rhetorical Advocacy Because it’s common for articles written by university professors to be published in academic journals and not read by those outside of the field, it was a nice change for associate professor Josh Boyd to have his article “Cheering for Teams that Don’t Sell Stadium Names” published in the Wall Street Journal in August. “It was always a goal of mine,” Boyd said. “I’ve had people, friends and family, call telling me they’ve seen it. It’s nice to have something published that’s so widely read.” Boyd starting writing the article after the Dallas Cowboys sold their stadium-naming rights to AT&T, joining the large number of professional sports teams with stadiums renamed after corporations. In the article, he summarizes the history of naming-rights deals and discusses the effects they can have on the teams. He became interested in the subject during graduate school, and wanted to know how obtaining naming rights fit into an organization’s voice. While Boyd acknowledges the promotional advantages for the corporations and financial benefits to the teams, his primary concern is how the deal can detract from a team’s reputation. According to Boyd, economists argue that professional sports teams’ biggest benefit to communities is psychological. Professional sports are heavily centered on continuous, commemorative stories that give people a sense of pride in their hometowns. Corpora-tions try to use these positive attitudes and feelings to their promotional advantage when attaching their names to sports arenas. “It’s an association tactic,” Boyd said.“You like the Cincinnati Reds. They like the Cincinnati Reds.”

However, the association may not be long-lasting. Naming-rights deals last for a finite period of time, and as companies merge and acquire one another, frequent name changes can occur. These changes can disrupt the long-standing narratives that are a part of teams. Scandals in the headlines can also make the association rather inconvenient. Boyd notes in his article that playing at Minute Maid Park or Tropi-cana Field is unfortunately ironic when allegations of steroid use, or “juicing,” arise in baseball. Fans may not have been thrilled to attend a game at Citi Field or Bank of America Stadium either, while knowing that bankers received million-dollar bailouts that were funded by taxpayers. But Boyd doesn’t think all corporate-named stadium deals hinder hometown sports stories and

pride, for example when teams and companies both have long-standing ties to the cities where they’re located. “There are cases where it makes sense,” Boyd said. “Miller Park and the Milwaukee Brewers. Target Center in Minneapolis, where it is headquartered.” In the end, Boyd said nothing quite boosts town pride like an unsponsored sports venue, and resisting the pressure to “cash in” as they become rarer.

Josh Boyd

Boyd Champions Teams that Don’t Sell Stadium Names

Faculty Spotlight

By Brittany BroadersSenior, Public Relations & Rhetorical Advocacy BLSC Professor Brian Smith’s Social Media and Public Relations course is designed to teach stu-dents how to develop and implement social media campaigns. As part of their final project, students have the opportunity to create a strategic social media campaign for a real-life client. One group, seniors Sarah Karr, MikeAsem, Brittany Broaders, and junior Anna Bao, devel-oped a campaign for Team Rubicon, a non-profit, disaster relief organization that utilizes the military skills and experiences of veteran volunteers intheir efforts. Team Rubicon was founded by marine veterans Jake Wood and William McNulty in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Part of its mission is to help returning veterans gain a renewed sense of purposeby transferring their skill set from war zones to disaster zones. Since its launch, Team Rubicon has provided aid during domestic and international disasters such as Hurricane Sandy and Typhoon Haiyan, respectively. Karr, Broaders, Asem and Bao are specifically aiming to raise awareness about Team Rubicon and its mission while attracting financial sponsors, donations and volunteers. As part of their tactics the group is hop-

ing to start a viral video campaign that shares personal stories and testimonies of veterans and their families about the way volunteering helped with difficulties reintegrating into civilian life.

“Being a part of the ‘team’ has really broadened my horizons and allowed me to see the other side of mili-tary life,” Karr said. “ I never thought of the repercus-sions of coming home and feeling as if you no longer belong in this world due to the extreme conditions most have faced a mere few months before. Team Rubicon is such a great cause and can help so many military families worldwide.” The group is also working with a group of undergrad-uate students studying Communication at the National University of Singapore. Both teams have shared and compared notes on their objectives, strategy and tactics through email. “For me, it is a great experience to cooperate with the NUS team, since it is a valuable opportunity to share global perspectives and inspiring ideas,” Bao said. “As nowadays the emerging markets are getting global, multicultural communication skills play an important role in personal development, I think this cooperation opportunity really benefits my current education and future career.” All students presented their final strategy in class during the week of Dec. 2. The group is looking forward to the possibility of Team Rubicon providing feedback on their final product and hope their strategy and tactics could actually be put into action.

Left to right, Anna Bao, Sarah Karr and Brittany Broad-ers work on campaign development.

Students Use Social Media to Campaign for Non-Profit

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By Sarah WhitesideJunior, Public Relations/Political Science Dorothy Snyder, a BLSC graduate student, spent two weeks this semester in West Africa as part of Purdue Peace Project to help create peaceful resolutions for conflicts in communities. Snyder is in her third year as a doctoral student in the Brian Lamb School of Com-munication in organizational rhetoric with a minor in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. Because she is not currently teaching in a classroom she was able to travel to Ghana, West Africa as part of the Purdue Peace Project (PPP). She believes PPP gives her the chance to influence society in a meaningful way. “I want to do something that would have an actual impact on people and be able to get outside the walls of academia,” Snyder said. The Purdue Peace Project’s main goal is to eliminate violence in conflict-prone regions of West Africa by assisting local leaders in creating peaceful resolutions. With only eight members, the group revolves around teamwork and collaborative ideas. Kelly Vibber, a research graduate assistant in the Purdue Peace Project, believes that every member involved brings new innovative ideas to the table to help local leaders in Africa. “All of the team members bring a different background and perspective to the issues, which makes for a productive and synergistic working environment,” Vibber said. Kai Kuang, another graduate research assistant in Purdue Peace Project, finds the motto of the PPP to fit their mission well. She agrees that the goal of PPP is to “promote peace through local action” and that is why they select small scale action to ensure success. Snyder become involved in this close knit group in the spring of 2012 and she assisted in Ghana from Nov. 1-13 of this year. While overseas she worked with local leaders in the Nandom district and the rural communities to clear up confusion about land disputes.

Snyder worked directly with the Elders in these communities to gain a better under standing of how different plots of land were divided in the past to help the farmers in the area come to a compromise on the land boundaries. She explained how much these communities still rely on word of mouth from the Elders for informa-tion, which has caused conflict over land ownership. While working with farmers and local leaders to come to a final decision on land boundaries, the Purdue Peace Proj-ect helps these communities write up documents for concrete proof in the future. As an advocate for communica-tion, Snyder found her initial experience in Berekum, Africa, to be especially signifi-cant. After 14 years of a crumbling chieftaincy that left roads, schools, and all funding at a standstill, Berekum finally elected a chief to help bring the town back together. As a symbolic gesture, the fountain that sat dilapidated in the center of the town was refurbished and presented at the annual Harvest Festival. “As someone so involved in the art of communication, this gesture speaks volumes to me,” Snyder said. This fountain stood for much more than just aesthetic appeal, it was a symbol of a town coming together after more than a decade.” Snyder intends to stay involved with Purdue Peace Project until she graduates in 2015. She hopes to carry the opportunities and experiences gained in PPP throughout her career and continue to make a difference for others in the future.

Dorothy Snyder

Snyder Makes an Impact Through the Purdue Peace Project

Lindsey Anderson received the Brian Lamb School’s 2013 Bruce Kendall Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student.

Erin Doss co-authored an article in the Quarterly Journal of Speech titled “Balancing Mystery and Identification: Dolores Huerta’s Shifting Transcendent Persona” (with Robin E. Jensen at the University of Utah).

Christi Larimer Eden won the PRSSA 2013 Outstanding Firm in the Nation Award for her undergraduate firm, Top Dog Communication, at the University of Indianapolis.

Andrew Illiadis recently interviewed Bruno Latour, a distinguished sociologist of science and technology, for the journal Figure/Ground Communication, an open-source, para-academic, interdisciplinary collaboration. Illiadis serves as the scholarly and managing editor of the journal, which has received awards for its contributions to the field of media ecology.

Patricia Gettings received the Brian Lamb School’s 2013 Bruce Kendall Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student.

Kristen Hatten earned a Graduate Teaching Certificate from the Center for Instruc-tional Excellence at Purdue University.

Linda Hughes-Kirchubel presented work from her master’s thesis titled, “What’s on your mind? A serial killer’s family resists media coverage on Facebook,” at the Na-tional Communication Association conference in November.

Graduate Student News

Student Spotlight

Purdue University is proud to announce the launch of both a MS in Com-munication and a Graduate Certificate in Strategic Communication Manage-ment online. An enormous amount of time, research and planning has gone into the creation of a digital experience that fully replicates the quality of learn-ing on campus students currently enjoy. Both programs will begin offering online courses in May 2014. These programs are targeted to working professionals interested in a quality, online graduate program designed to enhance student understanding of strategic communication to facilitate their professional development. The Online Master of Science in Communication consists of six core courses and four electives that can be completed in less than 24 months. The Graduate Certificate in Strategic Communication Management consists of three courses and can be completed in six months. To learn more or request information call (877) 487-5851 or visit http://www.cla.purdue.edu/communication/onlineprograms/

The BLSC Launches New Online Program

Master’s Degree and Certificate Available

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Josh Boyd was inducted into Purdue University’s “Book of Great Teachers,” which bears the names of faculty who were chosen by their students and peers for excellence in teaching and scholarship. He was also part of a grant from the U.S. State Department in the spring called the Junior Faculty Development Program for Afghanistan. He is also in the second year of a two-year term as a Faculty Fellow at Purdue’s Center for Instructional Excellence.

Patrice Buzzanell co-organized the first ICA Regional Conference in China. The conference involved the top 18 universities in the People’s Republic of China plus institutions in Macau, Taiwan, and Japan. Local organizers included BLSC alumnus Dr. Qian Wang, and organizing tasks included everything from setting up masked paper reviews to incorporating networking sessions and a dinner boat cruise in Shanghai. In addi-tion to conference organization, Buzzanell received an Outstanding Article Award from the Family Com-munication Division of the National Communica-tion Association for “Memorable messages of hard times: Constructing short- and long-term resiliencies through family communication” published in the Journal of Family Communication (co-authored with Kristen Lucas). Buzzanell is also now the Associate Editor for Human Relations and co-authored articles in Communication Monographs (with Mahuya Pal), Hu-man Relations (with BLSC alumnus Suzy D’Enbeau), Journal of Communication and Religion (with BLSC alumnus Suchitra Shenoy-Packer), Journal of Business and Technical Communication (with Ph.D. students Ziyu Long and Kai Kuang), and Western Journal of Communication (with Suzy D’Enbeau), as well as a chapter in the “Communication Yearbook 37” titled “Constrained and constructed choice in career: An examination of communication pathways to dignity” (with Kristen Lucas).

Robin Clair was inducted into Purdue University’s “Book of Great Teachers,” which bears the names of faculty who were chosen by their students and peers for excellence in teaching and scholarship.

Stacey Connaughton received a College of Liberal Arts Study Abroad and International Learning grant of more than $5,000 to fund her proposal titled, “Com-munication in Global Organizations in China.” Grant funds will be used to reduce the cost of this Maymester program for undergraduates.

Jerri Faris is a Faculty Fellow for IM:PACT (Instruc-tion Matters: Purdue Academic Course Transforma-tion). She is working to redesign the BLSC’s Interview-ing Principles and Practices course by producing voiced-over PowerPoints students will watch prior to class, making little in-class lecture necessary and freeing up time to do more, longer in-class interviews. Faris also presented at a National Communication As-sociation Pre-Conference “Challenging the Prison-In-dustrial Complex and Working for Justice: A Precon-ference for Scholars, Activists, Artists, and Educators” and published two book chapters: “Ex-Prisoners are Coming Home: A Reentry Court’s Family Focus” in “More than Blood: Today’s Reality and Tomorrow’s Vi-

sion of Family” and “Serving Time by Coming Home: Communicating Hope through a Reentry Court” in “Working for Justice: A Handbook of Prison Educa-tion and Activism.”

Lorraine Kisselburgh and colleagues received a $25,000 seed grant from the College of Engineering to study the development of ethical reasoning in online con-texts. The grant supports partnering with a company to professionally produce storytelling/narrative mod-ules that include interactive capabilities to promote ethics education. Kisselburgh also received a Top Four Paper Award from the Communication and the Future Division of the National Communication Association for a co-authored paper titled, “The Social Ecologies of Collaborative Design in Visually Integrated Cyber-Enabled Design (V-ICED) Environments” (with BLSC graduate students Jeremy Foote, Patricia Gettings, and Teis Kristensen).

Sorin Adam Matei was named Cyber Center Research Director for Computational Social Science at Pur-due University. He also won a $22,000 Exploratory Research in Social Science Grant Award with Nano-Hub and CyberCenter and organized a kredib`le.net workshop in October at Stanford University in col-laboration with MediaX, titled “Reputation, Trust and Authority.” Matei was also selected to be a member of the pioneering cohort of Faculty Fellows for the new Purdue Polytechnic Institute.

Marifran Mattson was inducted into Purdue Univer-sity’s “Book of Great Teachers,” which bears the names of faculty who were chosen by their students and peers for excellence in teaching and scholarship.

Glenn Sparks made numerous media appearances on a variety of topics, including Collide Magazine (Pacific-Azusa University) on “Lasting Friendship,” WFYI (Indianapolis) on “Movie Ratings,” KRCL Radio (Salt Lake City) on “The Allure of Fear,” Carol Hanner (Book Writer) on “Paranormal Beliefs,” Rockford Star (Rockford, Ill.) on “Cyberbullying,” KNPR (Las Vegas) on “Appeal of Scary Media,” Medical Daily (online) on “Why Do We Watch Horror Films?,” TheStokesNews.

com (North Carolina) on “The Thrill of the Scare,” BioBioChile.cl (Chile) and Side2 (Norway, online) on “Frightening Films,” Reuters (Los Angeles & Chicago Tribune) and The Globe & Mail (Canada) on “Gun Violence in PG-13 Movies,” WLFI-TV (West Lafay-ette, Ind.) on “Internet Addiction,” and WIBC Radio (Indianapolis) on “Media Violence.”

Krishnamurthy Sriramesh has been invited to serve on the Independent Advisory Committee of the Humid-tropics project — a $164 million initiative that seeks to transform the lives of the rural poor in sub-Saharan Africa, tropical Latin America and Asia, home to 2.9 billion people. Humidtropics brings together world-wide experts to help improve farming practices and thereby the livelihoods of farmers who can live in a sustainable environment. Sriramesh was also appoint-ed as Honorary Professor in the School of Arts and Humanities, University of Stirling, Scotland, UK.

Steve Wilson received the 2013 Hancook Faculty Fellowship from the Center for Families at Purdue University for research that maximizes the health, well-being, and development of adults as individuals, parents, and partners. The fellowship is support-ing his research exploring how family members talk with returning U.S. military service members who are having difficulties reintegrating to civilian life about seeking mental health care. He also co-edited a special section of the journal Health Communication on “Communication and Wartime Deployment” with Professor Katheryn Maguire (Wayne State University), co-authored a chapter entitled “Communication in Military Families across the Deployment Cycle” in the SAGE Handbook of Family Communication (with Professor Leanne Knobloch, University of Illinois), and published recent articles in the Journal of Family Communication (with Ph.D. students Skye Chernichky and Jen Owlett and Purdue alum Professor Kristi Wil-kum), Communication Research (with Purdue alum Professor Elizabeth Munz), as well as Tamara: Journal of Critical Organizational Inquiry (with Purdue alums Professors Suzy D’Enbeau and Elizabeth Munz).

Faculty News

The IAC (including Krishnamurthy Sriramesh) at its first meeting held at the campus of the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan, Nigeria.

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Alumni Spotlight

By Brittany Broaders Senior, Public Relations & Rhetorical Advocacy BLSC alum Kendra Bracken-Ferguson received an Emerging Voice Award from the College of Liberal Arts Sept. 27. She is a co-founder and chief operating officer for Digital Brand Architects, a New York-based boutique agency specializing in social media. Often described as a pioneer in social media, Bracken-Ferguson worked for Fleishman-Hillard and Ralph Lauren before starting her own company. During her time at Fleishman-Hillard she became one of its youngest vice presidents and helped Cingular Wireless and MySpace launch their Mobile Music Studio. At Ralph Lauren she was the director of digital media and developed its global social media department. Bracken-Ferguson graduated with a B.A. in commu-nication in 2002. During her time at Purdue she was a member of the Purdue Goldusters, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, and the Black Cultural Center, even writing for their newsletter. She also interned with the Purdue

Athletics department,which led to one of her first jobs interning for the Indiana Pacers. “Purdue gave me a solid foundation and work ethic that translated from on campus to the professional envi-ronment,” she said. “This was in the form of class work and hands on teachers that were not only professors but advisors and mentors, my work at the BCC and in the Athletes Department as well as my involvement with extracurricular activities.” During her acceptance speech she encouraged stu-dents to take advantage of all the opportunities Purdue provides. She stressed that students should remember

their college experiences are helping them to build traits and skills that will help them in the professional world. Her advice for those interested in following her social media success is to learn as much as possible about evolving communication technologies. “Learn as much as you can through reading, trying out new platforms, networking with people in fields you are interested in and taking on internships,” she said. “The communications and marketing fields will con-tinue to evolve and education is the key to staying on top of innovations that will also enable you to think broader and in ways that others may have not done before.”

CLA Emerging Voice Award Recipient Reminds Students Education is Key

BLSC alumnus and College of Liberal Arts Emerging Voice Award Recipient Kendra Bracken-Ferguson visited campus in September to accept her award.

Bracken-Ferguson talks with (left to right) BLSC Profes-sors Josh Boyd and Ralph Webb, and Interim School Head Marifran Mattson during a meet and greet event sponsored by the BLSC.

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1965

Joann DiGennaro is serving as the president of Pur-due’s Center for Excellence in Education. In 2012, DiGennaro was named one of 100 U.S. Women Leaders in STEM by U.S. News and STEMconnector for having made significant contributions to sci-ence and technology. Over the last 30 years, she has advanced the STEM cause both nationally and inter-nationally. She serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board of the College of Liberal Arts at Purdue University, the Board of Visitors of the National Defense Intelli-gence College, and is a Board member of the Global Policy Research Institute at Purdue University. Recently, DiGennaro was appointed to Purdue Uni-versity’s Global Affairs Strategic Advisory Council. DiGennaro is a Council Member with the Method-ist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center and is on the Advisory Board for the USA Science & Engineering Festival. She also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Keck Graduate Institute of Life Sciences.

1970

Kristena LaMar is retired, but staying busy. During the school year, she volunteers to help kindergar-ten to third grade students with their reading skills through SMART (Start Making A Reader Today). She also took the Home Horticultural course through Oregon State University and became a Master Gardener. She decided that wasn’t enough, however, and took the training to become a Master Recycler as well. She puts all those skills together as an Americorp Volunteer at the SMART grade school.

1977

Mary Wise is retiring in December. She has been the Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs at Elon University (in North Carolina). Prior to this, she was the founding Associate Dean of the School of Communication at Ball State University.

1981

Shelley Poston Triol is the Assistant Vice President of External Affairs at Purdue University.

1982

Wendy Levi Lienhart is happily working as a media relations consultant while home with her three chil-dren: Banistre, 17, Cooper, 15, and Peyton, 13.

1984

Kristine K. Stevens recently published a book titled, “If Your Dream Doesn’t Scare You, It Isn’t Big

Enough: A Solo Journey around the World.” When her 40th birthday was approaching, Stevens evalu-ated her life and ended up selling her house, quitting her job and traveling around the world. Her book tells the story of what happened during her adven-ture. Stevens now works at the Savannah College of Art and Design as the senior web content manager. Although she thrives in Savannah, Georgia--despite its monstrous palmetto bugs--Stevens and her husband, Gene Beeco, are plotting another global adventure, this time focusing on the Pacific Rim. 1986

Anne Fliotsos, Professor of Theatre at Purdue University, recently co-edited International Women Stage Directors, published by the University of Il-linois Press. She spent part of her sabbatical teaching acting at Tongji University in Shanghai, China.

1990

Rachel Holloway was appointed Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs at Virginia Tech. Holloway will directly oversee areas that enhance the overall undergraduate experience such as aca-demic support services, student success, University Studies, University Honors, First Year Experiences, undergraduate research, the Undergraduate Honor System, and the revision of the current Curriculum for Liberal Education.

Cathy Hollinden Tweedie is the new Communica-tions Manager for Special School District of St. Louis County. SSD serves more than 25,000 students in 22 school districts and 265 schools offering spe-cial education and technical education services.

1992

Carole C. Dotson has worked with InTelegy Corporation for 17 years, most recently as Director of Consulting and Partner. Dotson has special-ized in assisting California Health and Human Service Agencies streamline the cli-ent service delivery model for benefit application and ongoing case maintenance processes for more than nine years. One of Dotson’s clients, Fresno County, was

awarded the prestigious 2013 CSAC Challenge Award for their Lobby Modernization and Improved Client Experience.

Katie McCaskey rode her bicycle across Iowa in

RAGBRAI this summer and her nearly five-year-old Main Street business, George Bowers Grocery, was featured in “Raising Dough: The Complete Guide to Financing a Socially Responsible Food Business” by Elizabeth Ü. More info is available on her blog: http://bit.ly/1h1FeWw.

1993

Bey-Ling Sha was promoted to full professor and appointed director of the School of Journalism & Media Studies, San Diego State University.

1999

Sarah (Womack) Brown received the 2013 Indiana University School of Nursing Alumni Association Dotaline E. Allen Award.

2000

Laura Bukowski was elevated to VP, Media Direc-tor at Starcom Worldwide in Chicago. She has been with the company since graduating from Purdue in 2000. In addition to company and client projects, she enjoys being co-captain of the Purdue Recruit-ing Team at Starcom and coming back to campus each fall to meet prospective candidates.

2003

Daniel Koutsis was recently named the Head Varsity Boys Basketball Coach at Lake View High School in Chicago.

Corrie Wollet and her husband Jacob Bonk (Also a 2003 grad) have relocated to Shanghai, China, from New York City. Corrie is currently working with Ketchum Public Relations as the Vice President of Consumer Branding. Her focus is working with multinational companies such as Procter & Gamble and The Hershey Company.

2004

Rob Heise married University of Illinois MD/PhD graduate Claudia Winograd and moved to Portland, Maine, for her Family Medicine Residency. Heise is working as IT Application Analyst Manager at IDEXX Laboratories, supporting custom in-house built Global Customer Relationship Management System.

Sarah Sullivan was promoted to Off-Highway Communications Manager at Cummins, Inc. She is responsible for public relations and marketing com-munications for the oil and gas, mining, agriculture and construction markets for Cummins.

Alumni News

Dotson

2005

Megan E. (Turner) Wolenberg was promoted to Interna-tional Marketing Manager in the International Group, a division of Wolverine World Wide, Inc., in April. She works on brand and marketing strategy with distribu-tor partners in Latin America and Asia Pacific for the Merrell, Chaco and Patagonia Footwear brands. She married Erik Wolenberg (a Michigan State University alumnus) on 12.12.12 in a dream wedding through their local Grand Rapids news station, Woodtv8.

2006

Christopher Adam is now work with Marketing and Media at Purdue University.

2013

Scott Oliver is in law school at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. He has become involved with various organizations within the school

such as the Health Law Society, Indianapolis Bar As-sociation, Student Bar Association, and the Shortridge Mentoring Program. Additionally, he was recently elected to serve as the Class of 2016 Student Repre-sentative. Through this position, he is able to work with faculty and administration to help voice student concerns and create options for overall improvement. In his spare time, he has had the privilege to network around the city and meet with numerous distinguished professionals in various areas of law.

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Alumni News

Rhetoric Students

Celebrate “Toga Day”

Professor Clair, dressed in a toga, lectures in Purdue’s re-creation of a Roman ampitheater (Photos by Charles Chaersi, Senior, Public Relations & Advertising).

Students in Professor Robin Clair’s COM 312 Rhetoric in the Western World course held “toga day” this semester as they finished a section on classical rhetoric and moved to studying rhetoric in civic life—from past to present. Students in the class worked to create their own online petitions concerning social-political issues.

Rhetoric students walk to the “ampitheater” wearing their togas.

CommunicatorThe

The Communicator is the official alumni publication of the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue University. It is pub-lished twice a year and all content is produced by undergraduate students in the BLSC under the direction of editor Erin Doss. The newsletter is available online at lambschool.net both in online and PDF formats.

Interim School Head Editor Marifran Mattson Erin Doss

Contributing Writers Brittany Broaders Amanda Gee Sarah Whiteside Yunjing Zhu Please address letters and comments to:

Communicator: Brian Lamb School of CommunicationBeering Hall of Liberal Arts and Education, Room 2114100 N. University StreetWest Layafette, IN 47907-2098

Email: communicator@purdue.edu

Visit The Communicator website at lambschool.net

for more stories, including:

• PRSSA club connects students to national organization and alums

• BLSC receives $2 million gift for lecturer position, initiative funding

• Danish exchange student compares life in Denmark, United States

• The Association for Women in Communication celebrates leadership, relationships

• Graduate student delves into “green jobs” and sustainability

• Continuing lecturer champions reentry problem solving court

• Students participate in service learning project with local parks

facebook.com/PurdueBLSC

Beering Hall of Liberal Arts and Education, Room 2114100 N. University StreetWest Lafayette, IN 47907-2098