CST 300 Poster Sessions

If you come, it is very informal--students will be scattered throughout the third floor of CFA from 2:15-3:40 (although more likely 2:30 once we get started) on each of the following dates--Tues, 12/02; Wed, 12/03; Thurs, 12/04; Monday, 12/08; Tuesday, 12/09; and Wed, 12/10.  Come to one, come to several!  Simply browse and/or ask the students some questions.  They are interested in your feedback. 

We invited the Dean's office, and have heard that Charles and John are coming to some sessions--pretty exciting!

Communication Club News

Our next meeting will be the Holiday Christmas Party at the Dickmeyer home. Please plan on bringing a dish to pass along with a beverage of your choice. We will also be doing a White Elephant Gift Exchange - so start looking for some old stuff to get rid of! More details on the Christmas Party soon.

Finally, Dr. Rodrick is interested in starting a Student Advisory Council. This group will meet once a month for about an hour to discuss important issues going on in the CST Department. This is your chance to have your voice be heard and help make improvements to the department or keep things you like about it. Plus, it will look great on your resume and it will give you a chance to meet some faculty and students in the major. If you are interested, please email me back and I will give you more details.

Video examines communication strategies

A video produced by two communications studies classes provides help for common communication problems.

“Bridging The Gender Gap: Effective Communication Strategies” examines effective communication strategies for dealing with five common communication problem situations. The five scenarios involve dealing with indirect and direct communication problems between a mother and daughter, a boyfriend who treats his girlfriend differently around his male friend, a girlfriend who is trying to get her boyfriend’s attention during a Badger basketball game, a female supervisor who must now give orders to an unwilling male subordinate, and a girlfriend who gives her boyfriend an ultimatum concerning her girlfriend.

After each scenario, suggestions for solutions are discussed by a male and female host. All of the scenarios in the video were written and performed by students in Cheri Niedzwiecki’s Women, Men and Communication classes last spring. The video was produced and directed by Pat Turner and students in TV production classes in communication studies. The video was funded by a grant from Affirmative Action and Diversity.

CST Department's 525% growth noted

The Department of Communication Studies kicked off the 2003-04 school year with our "all majors meeting" at Cleary Center in early September. Dr. Rick Rodrick, our new department chair, presided at the meeting. In his remarks to students and faculty, Rodrick noted that our department enrollment has grown 525% in the past five years - making CST one of the largest academic units on campus. Dr. Rodrick took note of the increasingly positive recognition our department is getting on campus for hard work - particularly in light of our challenging but rewarding Senior Project requirement for Communication Studies majors.

CST by the numbers:

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Rodrick to his new position as department chair!

Snapshots from spring, 2003 CST activities....
(CST students, faculty, and staff having fun at the Knox farm during our spring 'end of semester' picnic - plus an added shot of Dr. Linda Dickmeyer and Leah Scholl getting waaaay too excited over bowling with the Comm Club!)

Dr. Elsie Patterson retires

The Department of Communication Studies wished "farewell" to Dr. Elsie Patterson at the end of the summer term, 2003. Dr. Patterson retired after many years of service to our department and to UW-L. Dr. Patterson had cancer surgery on September 10, and at last report was doing well. We extend our best wishes for a speedy recovery and many happy and productive years in retirement.

Say hello to new faculty

Please join us in welcoming our new CST 110 faculty members for fall, 2003. There are several new faces in the department, along with the "old" ones you're already accustomed to (!). New faculty members include: Becky Belter, Susan Schuyler, Carey Thaldorf, and Joseph VanOss.

Guest speaker discusses river life, hospitality industry

The Communication Studies Department hosted a guest speaker on October 3. Tony Suttile, Hotel Manager on the Delta Queen Steamboat Company's American Queen, spoke to students and faculty about what it's like to live and work on the Mississippi River. Suttile has been in the hospitality industry 29 years - and spent most of that time managing hotel and resort properties. He joined the American Queen last year. Suttile is responsible for the activities of about 200 crew members who work for him on the boat. He's also responsible for seeing that 400 or so passengers aboard the boat are being taken care of properly. It's a demanding job - and one that keeps Suttile busy 12-16 hours a day, for three to four weeks at a time. (He usually works 3-4 weeks on the boat, and then has two weeks off.) Suttile's advice to students entering the workplace today: Strive for excellence in everything you do, work hard, pick a job you love to do, and always keep a sense of humor.

Grand Excursion May term class planned

Dr. Doug Swanson will be offering CST 491 (Special Topics: Grand Excursion) during May term 2004. The course will allow students to gain a much greater understanding of the Mississippi River and its social, cultural, economic, and environmental impacts on communities in our area. The class will meet during May term - and will require students to be involved in "hands-on" public relations work during the "Grand Flotilla" of Grand Excursion, June 23-July 4 - www.grandexcursion.com. For more information about the course, see Dr. Swanson.

Looking for a "sassy" internship? See Dr. Knox!

Dr. Ronda Knox is our new internship coordinator. If you are looking for an internship in Communication Studies (or plan to seek an internship in the next year or so), Dr. Knox is the person to see. Her office is CFA 315. The internship bulletin board remains just outside and to the right of the department's main office.

New course descriptions

Students, please note that there have been several changes in CST course descriptions. Refer to the course catalog. See your advisor if you have any questions about our course offerings.

Student web master needed

We're looking for a CST student who would like to earn internship credit (CST 450) by working as our department's web master. If you are interested in this opportunity, see Dr. Doug Swanson in CFA 319.