Communication Studies News

Senior Projects, Spring 2006

Please go to the RESEARCH page link (at the top of this page) to find the list of senior projects to be presented at the end of this semester. All faculty, staff, students - and the general public - are encouraged to attend senior project presentations to learn more about how our students have investigated the role of communication in our world.

Knox is chair-elect 

The CST Department is pleased to announce that Dr. Ronda Knox won the election for department chair. Upon administration approval, she will begin her three-year term this summer. Please congratulate Dr. Knox!  

Excellence Awards 

Please join us in a hearty “hooyeah” to Dr. Scott Dickmeyer, who will be honored with the College of Liberal Studies “Excellence Award for Service” at the CLS Recognition of Excellence ceremony on April 5 (7 p.m. in Toland Theatre). See earlier editions of the CST news (linked on this site) for examples of Dr. Dickmeyer’s past service to the department, the college, and the university. 

Student awards of excellence will be given on April 5, as will faculty awards for research and teaching. The ceremony will be preceded by a 6:15 p.m. reception in the CFA Lobby. Entertainment will be provided by the Departments of Music and Theatre Arts and the All Student Juried Art Show will be on exhibit in the University Gallery. The presentation will also feature videotape specials produced by students and faculty in the Department of Communication Studies. The whole show is being produced by students in the PRSSA chapter. 

Scholarship opportunities
 
Looking for some money to help pay for your tuition next year? Apply for the Public Relations Society of America / Madison Chapter scholarship and you could be awarded as much as $1,000 to help pay for these expenses. The PRSA is awarding up to two scholarships to PRSSA members from UW-La Crosse, UW-Madison and/ or UW-Stevens Point. If you are a member of PRSSA, you are welcome to apply for a scholarship!  
 
Find out more about the scholarship at www.prsamadison.org/scholarship.html and watch for additional information about the contest at a forthcoming UW-L PRSSA meeting. You should be a PRSSA member and at least a junior with a 3.0 GPA to apply for scholarship funds.*
The deadline for entries is April 28, 2006. Need more info?  Contact prssa@uwlax.edu
 
*If you are not a dues-paying member of the PRSSA, this is another reason why you should be.
 
“Perfect Pet”
 
The “Perfect Pet,” a weekly 60-second TV segment produced by students in Communication Studies, is again airing on KQEG-TV (channel 23, Charter 5) and during WMCM-TV’s weekly programs (channel 5 campus, channel 6 Charter). This is the fourth semester of producing this segment, which highlights animals currently available for adoption at the Coulee Region Humane Society. The segment is produced by Heidi Bolin, Emily Hintzman, Sarah Krueger, and Kelsey Svendsen, students in Dr. Pat Turner’s TV Workshop class. 

Advanced Video Class Programs Air on KGEG-TV 

Dr. Pat Turner’s advanced video class is currently producing two weekly programs that air on KGEG-TV. “Between the Games,” highlights what is happening locally in high school basketball. This program airs on Saturdays between the two high school basketball games. “News Update,” airs on Saturdays and Sundays immediately after KQEG’s Bargain House. This five-minute newscast focuses on the major news stories and sports in the Coulee Region. 

The class is also working on “Inside La Crosse,” a 60-minute PM magazine-type show. This semester-long project will air on KQEG-TV sometime in May (date TBA). The production will have four segments. Topics for the segments are haunted places, sex offenders, history of La Crosse, and tattoos. The segment titles are yet to be determined. Communication Studies students working on these productions are Lucas Breytung, Connor Cronk, Phil Dinges, Jennifer Ehlenbeck, Nate Hahn, Sarah Krueger, Jamie Lightfoot, Marc Lunde, Becky Sands, Karie Sullivan, Tim Synold, Ryan Weigel, and BJ Woodworth. 

Colleges Against Cancer Relay 

Students in the Colleges Against Cancer group held their “Relay for Life” February 25 and 25 at the Amy Mathis Center on the Viterbo University campus. Students raised $73,000 – which was a significant increase over last year. One of our CST majors, Kenzie Vlack, was involved in this fundraiser and also sold daffodils for the American Cancer Society on campus. Dr. Cheri Niedzwiecki is adviser for the Colleges Against Cancer student group. 

Russian Panel Presentation 

Dr. Cheri Niedzwiecki and her Russian colleague, Natalia Eydelman, are offering a panel discussion at the Russian-American Communication Association Conference in St. Petersburg in June. The panel is titled "Organizing and Running of an Intercultural Communication Email Exchange between Russian and American University Students." 

On the Road to Doctorates… 

Mary Anna Kidd reports that she has completed 23 interviews for her doctoral dissertation on “Communication and the Challenges of Sojourner Reentry: An Exploratory Analysis.” The interviews are being transcribed and analyzed. This is a follow-up to a pilot study where Mary Anna interviewed six people. When not interviewing or transcribing, Mary Anna was a reviewer for the Training and Development Division at NCA, and was a reviewer for the Mass Communication Division at CSCA. 

Becky Belter has passed her comprehensive exams en route to her Ed.D at St. Mary’s University in Winona, Minnesota. Go, Becky! She’s working on her dissertation proposal and hopes to have it to her committee soon. Becky’s study is "current perceptions of the Ph.D. and Ed.D. among university faculty.” The feedback on the proposal has been quite favorable. She'll be using the faculties of UW Madison, UW Milwaukee, Lawrence University, and one other private college to help her with data collection. If you’d like to know more, ask Becky about the project. 

Long-delayed holiday festivities

The long-delayed holiday festivities for the Comm Club were held in February (in February?) at the home of Drs. Scott and Linda Dickmeyer. A good time was had by all, including the gold fish who survived their perilous journey through “White Elephant” gifting. See photos.