CST Dept. News 03/22/2004

Students asked to “Show Us Your Cans”

The CST cans, illustrated on the opening page of our web site, are quite controversial. Some people really like them. Others hate them. Regardless of your position – be aware that there will soon be a change. We need to update the front page of the site and the old graphic with the cans is going to go. We will be asking CST students to help us through the “Show Us Your Cans” contest.

If you’re a CST student, you need to check in with the Comm Club or with Lambda Pi Eta to find out how the “Show Us Your Cans” contest is going to work. (It’s nothing naughty, but it does involve two sets of cans, a lot of creativity, and some clever photography.) We urge you to join in the contest!

Check Out WMCM’s New Web site

Take a look at the new web site for WMCM-TV. Very cool! [The site was designed and created by CST student Matt Ellenz. Thank you, Matt, for your hard work!]

http://www.uwlax.edu/commstudies/WMCM TV/index.htm

May Term and Summer Term CST Courses

Don’t forget that there are plenty of course offerings this summer for CST students at any level who need to pick up a few hours here or there.

CST offerings in May Term include CST 110 (Public Oral Communication), CST 250 (Small Group), and CST 260 (Professional Communication).

Dr. Doug Swanson is offering his CST 491 Special Topics – Grand Excursion course. The course involves 8 days of meetings and field trips all focused on the Grand Excursion (http://www.grandexcursion.com/). Each student in the class will perform 25 hours of “hands on” community service working with an agency involved in Grand Excursion. To learn more about this class, contact Dr. Swanson. A copy of the syllabus can be found here: CST 491 syllabus.

CST class offerings during Summer Term include CST 110 and CST 230 (Intro to Interpersonal Communication).

Dr. Scott Dickmeyer is again offering his popular CST 491 Special Topics – Leadership Communication. This course was very enthusiastically received last summer, and created a really good “buzz” among students in the department. See Dr. Dickmeyer for the details about the course and what it will cover.

Department Hosts Forensics Meet

The Communication Studies Department hosted the 33^rd annual UW-L High School Forensics Tournament on Saturday, February 21. Approximately 200 students from fourteen area schools participated. The tournament involved fifteen events ranging from radio speaking and oratory to prose and poetry interpretation. Dr. Scott Dickmeyer and Dr. Michael Tollefson organized the tournament. Other faculty members contributing to the tournament include: Dr. Doug Swanson, Dr. Ronda Knox, Dr. Larura Nelson, and Dr. David Piehl. Several students volunteered as judges or in running the tabulation room. They included: Katie Christianson, Kara Knack, Bethany Harnden, Lindsey Heimerl, Jeni Hatz, Lindsay Murty, Kevin Galezewski, Jenn Jackl, Kristin Hoepfner, Annette McKeown, Nicole Stoffel, Sara Brunner, Justin Kruse, Rachel Smith, John DeVries, Gretchen Herricks, Nathan Larson, Wenona Wolf and Becky Verhey.

Here are some pictures taken during the Forensics Meet:

Twin Cities PRSSA Skills Workshop

There has been a lot of interest among CST students in the Willard Thompson Annual Skills Workshop, to be held by the PRSSA chapter at the University of Minnesota on April 2-3. The title of the workshop is “Focus on the Future: PR in a Connected World.” The conference will run Friday night (starting at 7) and then all day on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Friday night is the social event with “dinner and activities.” Saturday will include a continental breakfast, an etiquette luncheon, and then a variety of different presentations from speakers who are experts on global technology and business. The conference attendance fee is $35 for non-PRSSA members.

UW-L CST students who attended the last PRSSA event (in Madison) were pretty happy with it, as indicated by the comments below. So this Twin Cities PRSSA event should be a worthwhile opportunity, also.

CST Students Attend PRSSA ‘Mini Conference’

Several students from the Department of Communication Studies attended the PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) conference in Madison on February 18. The event was a Wednesday evening gathering that offered advice on networking and landing that first job in PR. Here are some comments from those who attended:

• “The PRSSA mini-conference last night was great- thanks again for the email, and I hope they keep us posted on more events this semester! I was able to do some networking, see other sides of PR (internal PR at American Family Insurance), and tighten up my resume.”
• "The conference was set up in stations, and we had a set 25 minutes for each.  We were able to choose 4 stations that we were interested in, ranging from resume tips, press releases, interview tips, portfolios, internal PR etc. All speakers were professionals in the Madison area, or teachers at the University.  I think that the material covered was directly on cue with what is being taught in the department!!! Yeah for us! After the sessions, we were able to network with the professionals, and ask any questions. They were MORE than willing to talk to us and hand out business cards for future contact.  I felt they were extremely helpful and willing to provide us with a "real world" picture.  Overall it was super- and I think the CST department would benefit from teaming up with PRSSA again. Well worth the $5.”
• “I thought the organization of the PRSSA conference in Madison was good. I think that if they are going to invite other schools, they should provide better directions and signage in the building. Other than that, the information sessions were helpful--it was obviously more geared towards Madison students and the resources that they had available, but still beneficial for us UW-L students to hear too.  I think the biggest benefit from the conference was networking with other employers and students from another school.”
• “I had never attended a PR conference or anything like it, so I went into the conference completly open minded, not knowing what to expect. I was surprised there were only about 50 people there.  I thought it was very informative and informational. I learned a lot about various activities in PR and how to put together a resume. Very important things that I feel I need to know right now in my major. It was organized well...we were to sign up prior to going to the conference about subjects we were interested. We were to pick 4 of 8 or 9 topics.  You were at each table for about 25 minutes, before moving to the next. Those who were leading the topics, brought information about the topic, for example I went to one titled, 'how to land your first 'real' job.  It was all about getting out there and not giving up on something you want, what to wear to the interview. He gave everyone handouts.”
• “I left the conference with lots of things, newspapers, resume examples...I also left with a better knowledge about PR and what I need to be doing and WHY.”
• “The conference gave a lot of tips dealing with job interviews, effective PR campaigns, etc.  It gave us some good "networking" contacts to use and really was an eye-opener for myself.  I had a great time but also came home feeling like I was extremely behind career-wise, compared to many of the Madison students who are involved with PRSSA. Thanks for passing the info. on about the conference, it really made me excited about my emphasis and I learned a lot!”
• “I attended the sessions that dealt with resume writing, interviewing, portfolios and how to land your first PR job.  I was so interested in the seminar and the PRSSA that two other peers and I from UW-L are now looking to start a PRSSA chapter here in La Crosse.  I think the PRSSA would help the students in CST learn more about the PR field and allow students to get out in the real world and gain knowledge and experience of communications. I am very happy that I attended this event and am looking at possibly going to the one in the Twin Cities.”

Faculty Honored

Several CST junior faculty were nominated for the annual College of Liberal Studies Recognition of Excellence Awards. Dr. Linda Dickmeyer was nominated in the teaching excellence category. Dr. Scott Dickmeyer was nominated in the service excellence category. Dr. Doug Swanson was named in the research excellence category. The winners in the three categories were all from other departments. Awards will be handed out on Wed., April 14.

We urge you to attend the presentation on April 14 (7 p.m. in Toland Theater) because Dr. Pat Turner has been working hard on a little project that will have its public debut on that night. It’s a presentation you won’t want to miss.

“Thank You” To Students

The CST Department would like to thank all the students who took part in on-campus interviews for faculty hire candidates. We hosted candidates on February 27, March 1, and March 8. Dozens of CST students took part in classroom teaching/ research presentations, in dinners with candidates, and in informal Q&A sessions. The CST Department is very appreciative of all the feedback submitted by students who met the three candidates. Again, we thank you.

We are especially appreciative of Natalie Degezelle and Sara Weisenbeck, the two student members of the CST Search & Screen Committee. They put in dozens of hours of time reading files, making telephone calls, and in committee meetings. Thank you, Natalie and Sara! (The faculty members of the Search & Screen Committee were chair Dr. Linda Dickmeyer, Rick Rodrick, Doug Swanson, and Pat Turner.)