News & Events in Communication

Take some time to peruse all of the things that are happening in the Communication Department here at George Mason University!

Fall 2007

Mason Film Festival, October 19-21, 2007

The Film and Video Studies program is beginning its first semester (this Fall 2007) with a Mason Film Festival. It has some student work but most is from national documentary and narrative filmmakers.

This includes Sundance Award Winner "War/Dance," "Operation Homecoming" and "The Nights the Lights Went Out in Georgia" (Ron Maxwell directed it and will be there Sunday night). See the website: http://www.masonfilm.org/

Many of the films have descriptions on the website and work well for Intercultural (War/Dance), Interpersonal (Simple Things) and Journalism (Operation Homecoming, HALO) classes. Please encourage students to come. Tickets are very inexpensive.
For more information, please contact Cindy Lont, clont@gmu.edu

Nuevo/Novo: New Latin American Film

A free film series that includes five fresh award-winning films from Mexico, Argentina and Brazil, screened for free on Wednesdays at the Johnson Center Cinema on the following dates for each film:

Amores Perros - 17 October at 3:30 p.m.
The Devil's Backbone/El Espinazo del Diablo - Halloween, 31 October at 3:30 p.m.
Madame Sata - 7 November at 3:30 p.m.
Bolivia - 14 November at 4:30 p.m.
El Perro - 28 November at 3:30 p.m.

Following the success of the AFI Silver's Latin American film festival, FAMS presents five fresh award-winning films from Mexico, Argentina and Brazil, screened for free at the Johnson Center Cinema. All screenings are open to the public, and detailed descriptions of each film can be found at the program's website at http://fams.gmu.edu. Come find out why the world adores Latin American film!

For more information, please view the .pdf file here or contact Jessica Scarlata at jscarlat@gmu.edu.

Video Available of Noted Communication Author and Scholar

Steven Beebe, PhD, author of numerous publications, including the COMM 100 Public Speaking book The Art of Public Speaking, presented a wealth of knowledge to the Communication Department in September 2007.

To watch either video, please click here. They are well worth the time you take to view and you will learn so much about the Communication field. Thank you to Brigit Talkington and Don Boileau for arranging this terrific opportunity!

Two Noted Speakers to Discuss Risk Analysis

Tuesday, October 23, Mr. Tim Bingman, a toxicologist and principal consultant for the DuPont Corporate Remediation Group, speaks from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Fine Arts Building, Room B108. He will discuss the Sierra-Crete case, a case where DuPont found dioxin present in materials it sold for road construction.

Tuesday, October 2, Dr. John (Pat) Philbin, director of external affairs at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, spoke from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. He talked about his efforts to re-earn trust in FEMA and about research concerning capacity to detect and respond to warning messages.

For more information on either of these speakers, please contact Dr. Kathy Rowan at krowan@gmu.edu

WGMU Rocks the Bistro!

WGMU rocked the Bistro, Tuesday October 9th, 2007, @ 9pm in the JC Bistro. WGMU hosted a local band night featuring Kill Ketura and Pilotless Drone. Student Media was present with information on getting involved. WGMU also had a table with information on how to get involved!

It was a great opportunity to see what Mason's Student Media has to offer!

For more information, please contact WGMU radio at wgmu@gmu.edu
Ph.D. Program Approved

The Communication Department is pleased to announce the approval of the Ph.D. in Communication with an emphasis in Health & Strategic Communication. We are currently recruiting for the fall 2008 class. For more information, please contact Dr. Carl Botan at cbotan@gmu.edu or Maria Verdino at mverdino@gmu.edu or (703)-993-3552.
Jeopardy Clue Crew Team Member Visited Campus!

Jimmy McGuire, a member of the Clue Crew Team from Jeopardy gave a speech and answered questions at the annual Welcome Back event for the Communication Department.

Thanks to Maria Verdino for setting the event up!
Welcome New Faculty!

Dr. Ed Maibach, Professor of Communication and Director of the CECCCR

Dr. Star Muir, Associate Professor of Communication

Dr. Anne Nicotera, Associate Professor of Communication

Dr. Melinda Villagran, Associate Professor of Communication

Dr. Connie Roser-Renouf, Term Research Assistant Professor.

Christine Haynes, Term Instructor of Communication
Communication Minor to begin in Fall 2007
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences has a brand new minor! The Communication Department is pleased to announce the inception of a Communication Minor.

For more information, please click here to view the Word document or click here to listen to the .mp3 (2:35). You may also contact the Communication Department's advisor and Minor Coordinator, LaKesha Anderson.

Listen to Laura May's COMM Minor public service announcement, created as part of her class work!

Spring 2007

Faculty Members Involved with CHSS Committees
- Peter Pober, elected to a 2-year term on the College Governance and Nominations Committee
- Brigit Talkington, elected to a 2-year term on the College Student Policies and Appeals Committee
George Mason at Eastern Communication Association

Providence, Rhode Island

April 25-29, 2007

Papers:
- LaKesha A.--"Understanding the Role of the Internet for Women with Endometriosis: Analyzing Messages Portrayed on Endometriosis Websites."
- Brigit T.: "Designing and Implementing an Assessment Plan for the Basic Communication Course."
- Melinda V.
  - With Mary F. Hoffman--"Using Organizational Communication to Integrate Latino Cultural Values in Healthcare."
  - With Lisa Sparks & Elaine Wittenberg-Lyles--"Family Decision Making Across the Continuum of Health Care.
  - With Elaine Wittenberg-Lyles & Christopher Hajek-- The Relationships Among Perceived Physician Accommodation, Perceived Outgroup Typicality, and Patient Inclinations Toward Compliance."
Panels:
- LaKesha A. and Cathy W. "Talking Tech: Trees and Apples that Fall from Them."
- Janette Muir "Journal Editors Office Hours"
- Melinda V. "Comedy Isnt Pretty: Encactment of Humor in Everyday Life."
- Don B. "The Basic Course Director as a Higher Education Leader"
Attending the Executive Council Meeting of ECA
- Cindy Lont-- Chair of the Mass Communication Intrest Group
- Cathy Wright --Chair of the Human Information Technology Interest Group
Panel Respondents
- Cindy L. --Top Papers in Mass Communication
- Janette Muir - The Power of Incumbency: Taking a CloserLook at the 2006 "earthquake
Also Attending were:
- Mike D. , Nancy D., Paul P., Anita T., and Fran R. [great to have our Adjunct rep at the meeting!!!]
Forensics Team Places 6th in the Nation!!

Mankato, Minnesota was home to this year's American Forensics Association National Individual Events Tournament. 83 schools representing 45 states traveled to Minnesota State University - Mankato to compete in a field of nearly 1,500 entries, making this one of the largest national tournaments in the history of the AFA. This year marked the 30th anniversary of the tournament, and the GMU Forensics team once again finished in the top ten teams in the nation! Our 6th place finish nationally marks the 23rd time in the last 30 years that GMU Forensics has placed in the top ten nationally. We are proud to continue the legacy of excellence and remain one of only six schools in the nation to have attended the national tournament every year. Please join us in congratulating our exceptionally hard working Patriots!
Student/Alumni Banquet was Held Saturday, April 21st.

The annual Student/Alumni Banquet was held in George's Restaurant on the 3rd floor of the Johnson Center, from 11:45am to 2:00pm. The Communication Department's Outstanding Alumnus and Graduate received awards, as did honors students and those who distinguished themselves through their work in co-curricular activities.

The keynote speaker was Professor Roger Wilkins, a Clarence J. Robinson Professor at Mason.

The highlight of the banquet was Laura Mays' stirring song about the tragedy at Virginia Tech. Her beautiful voice and the guitar and piano accompaniment gave all present pause to acknowledge those lost and the outpouring of support to everyone.

Save the Date! March 27th at 8:00 pm in the JC Cinema
GMU Forensics cordially invites you to attend a performance showcase featuring interpretation of literature and public speaking. Come support the award winning GMU forensics team as they showcase their performances on the eve of the national tournament.
GMU Forensics Team Places First!
Once again, GMU Forensics earned accolades at the Bowling Green State University "Pirates of the Competition" speech tournament. If you see a forensics member, be sure to congratulate him/her!
Forensics Team Places First!
Peter Pober, head of the GMU Forensics Team, is thrilled to announce that the team placed first at the James Madison portion of the Virginia is for Lovers Swing. Schools from 12 states as far away as California and Florida
came to join us for a snow-filled but fun weekend. Pober was very pleased by the support that several alums showed by coming to judge. This event leads up to a final push toward nationals!
Communication Career Day

This semester event was held on Thursday, February 22, 2007 in Dewberry South, Johnson Center from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and hosted a variety of panel and panelists who spoke about how communication and elements of communication affected their careers.

Communication Career Day is the spring semester’s premier event with the goal of re-acquainting continuing students and welcoming new students to our faculty and courses. This event also focused on helping students learn about student co-curricular activities (debate, forensics, Yearbook, Broadside, Public Relations Student Society of America, WGMU radio, etc.), “pre-internship” classes that help them build their portfolios of professional work, the internship program, and faculty in their concentrations,

If you'd like to be involved in next semester's event, please contact Kathy Rowan, Associate Chair at krowan@gmu.edu.
Hell Froze Over

Patriot Forensics Team placed third in the Hell Froze Over Swing in early January. Peter Pober, Forensics Coach wrote of his team, “This is the 3rd consecutive national level competition in which our GMU students have placed either 2nd or 3rd. I could not be more proud of them. We even had 2 freshpersons in national final rounds. They have once again brought great honor to GMU.” Way to go!

Faculty Active in Research & Publishing

Xiaoquan Zhao’s article examining the effectiveness of anti-drug ads that employ a normative appeal to persuade adolescents not to use marijuana was published in Health Communication. His ongoing research includes the development of an argument strength scale that can be used in a variety of health persuasion contexts and examination of smokers' cancer information seeking behavior.

Mark Hopson’s article entitled “Playing the Game: Recalling Dialectical Tensions for Black Men in Oppressive Organizational Structures” appears in The Howard Journal of Communications. He also has a special interest in research regarding intercultural communication.

Fall 2006

The Communicator, Fall 2006
Take a look (.pdf file) at the student-organized newsletter produced every semester. Filled with a variety of information about the happenings of the Department, it's something that should not be missed!

Video Classes Showcase Semester's Work

On Wednesday, December 13, Prof's Lont and Dillon's Video classes showcased their work. This semester-end tradition is one much looked forward to by faculty and students alike.
Pre- Internship Workshop Offered
On December 11th, Prof Mike Dickerson and Ann Mills held a pre-internship workshop. This workshop focused on learning information about internship application procedures, course requirements and a listing of available current internship offerings. Please contact Prof. Dickerson with any questions at mdickers@gmu.edu

For more information, please listen to this .mp3.

Rodger Smith presented a program about the WGMU Summer Radio Camp at the 2006 National College Media convention in October. The session was designed to teach participants how to organize and promote a radio camp that helps the station reach ou to the communities they serve.
Pober Wins Distinguished Forensics Honor

Dr. Peter Pober is the 2006 recipient of the L.E. Norton Award for "compassion, commitment, and dedication to forensics." The annual award is presented nationally to one scholar/educator who has
significantly influenced the discipline. Named after one of the
founding forensic academics, the award is one of the highest honors
bestowed by the forensic community each year. Dr. Pober is honored to
be this year's recipient and sincerely hopes he is worthy of such
recognition.
Dr. Michael Schudson lectured about American Journalism and Research in progress on Monday, November 6. The Department of Communication sponsored these lectures.

The first lecture was “American Journalism Today: Getting Better or Getting Worse?”

The second lecture was “Reflections on Research in Progress—Revealing, Disclosing, and Accounting: Making Matters Publicly Visible, 1960-Present.”

Media Career Panel
Tuesday, October 24, 2006 from 5:30 – 7:00pm in the JC Cinema

Each panelist spoke about his or her own career and offered advice
for students who are interested in working in a media career. A
question and answer period followed.

Panelists:
Lucy Caldwell*, PR spokesperson for VA Dept of Health,
Katy Jones, Associate Producer, National Geographic TV and Film,
Nancy Kerr, Features Editor, Washington Post Newsweek Interactive,
Carl Neubecker, VP Media Management Services, The Maslow Media
Group,
Brian van de Graaf, Meteorologist, ABC7 News/WJLA,
Rich Wiedemann**, Traffic Anchor, Metro Networks,

Media Resources:
American Society of Newspaper Editors-
Detroit Free Press–
Public Relations Society of America
Virginia Association of Broadcasters
Recently, the George Mason University Forensics Team took home
their second consecutive team victory during the Virginia is For Lovers
Swing. Schools from 13 states came to our campus in what was a
fantastic competitive experience. Out of 42 speeches and performances
we entered, GMU placed 20 in the top 6 and won the team sweepstakes
award by more than 30 points.
Steve Klein and the Copyright Office have put together a panel of industry experts on the issue of downloading copyrighted materials on campuses, such as music, documents, and movies. It will be held from 1:30-3:30 in the JC Cinema.
Dr. Xiaomei Cai is joining us from the University of Delaware. Her expertise is in media and children.
Nithya Muthuswamy successfully defended her dissertation at Michigan State this month. Congratulations Dr. Muthuswamy.
Dr. Tomoko Takayama will be joining us for the academic year from the University of Okinawa Medical School at a Senior Fulbright Scholar. She will be working with Gary Kreps on health communication research and outreach. Dr. Takayama has recently been selected to develop a Japanese version of the Cancer Information Service in Tokyo as part of the new Japanese National Cancer Center.
We also welcome Brigit Talkington as the new Basic Course Coordinator.

Summer 2006

Congratulations to the almost 300 students who earned a degree (MA or BA) in Communication in 2005. Click here to see those who accomplished this goal!

161 students from 23 states came to campus July 20 for the 2nd year of the George Mason Institute of Forensics. This in-depth program coaches and prepares high school students for the rigors of Forensics. The showcase event was held on August 3 from 8:30-12:00 in Lecture Hall One.

Spring 2006

Communication Department Demonstrates Scholarship: See what Dr. Lont, Dr. Rowan, Steve Gladis, and Bob Lichter have done!

Dr. Gary Kreps, Chair of the COMM Department, received the 2006 Pfizer Visiting Professorship. Award was presented on Wed., March 15 @ 2 pm in the Finley Building

Steve Klein participated in "Going Global: The ethics & politics of a GMU campus in the Middle East." on 2/20 @ noon in Mason Hall.

Steve Klein welcomes impressive guest-speakers throughout the semester

GMU Forensics Team taking the US by storm!

Dr. Cindy Lont, recipient of prestigious Crystal Award

Dr. Tim Gibson to head Graduate Studies in COMM dept. beginning this summer.

Former COMM undergrad now producer at CNN

GMU's Basketball Season to be broadcast on our very own WGMU!

Rosie Clark mentioned in Media Report to Women, as part of book collaboration: Color Television: Fifty Years of African American and Latino Images in Prime Time Television.

Fall 2005

GMU's Forensic's Team hosted over 400 high school students at 2nd Annual Patriot Games Classic December 3 & 4

Klein rounds out Semester of Speakers with Podesta, Others

Pat Sperry wins prestigious Mary Roper Award!

Steve Klein and Rosemary Chase moderated a discussion about Peer-to-Peer Sharing of music on campus at event on October 26, 2005.

Steve Klein's COMM 399 class participated in a distance session with Walter Cronkite on Oct 11, 2005.

Forensics Team Places 13 of 16 in Competition. (Oct 7, 2005).

Frank Sesno moderated a Dialogue on Underage Drinking on Sept 27th.

Frank Sesno moderated a Conversation with Secretary Michael Chertoff, Department of Homeland Security, on Sept. 9th.

The Communciation Department hosted its annual Fall semester Ice Cream Social on Thursday, Sept 8.

Summer 2005

Members of Communication, Biodefense use summer to publish research. Read about it in the CASConnection

Rowan, Communication, speaks out about radiation risks.
Read about it in the CASConnection

Want more? Check out our archives!