Monthly Archives: June 2012

What successes have you had?

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Aylssa Murray, COMM Major & Miss Delaware 2012

We’ve had a string of exciting updates from both our fabulous alumni and our exciting faculty. Here’s the latest dish:

  • Dr. John Courtright has hit a yet another home run in national communication academic circles.  He had been named the Editor of Human Communication Research, quite an honor for John and our department.
  • Joy Stephenson, one of our recent grads, was featured in a UDaily story about Odyssey of the Mind – their team did really well in the world finals! Why to go “Weird Scientist”!
  • UD’s COMM 425 class (Advanced Politics and Broadcast Journalism) of Spring 2011 won a national award for their documentary. “The Quiet Riot: Apathy and Activism” won an Honorable Mention in the National Federation of Press Women’s 2012 Communications Contest. The student conceived and produced documentary explores stereotypes of college students as apathetic, instead presenting a view of UD’s engaged and caring student community. The students were Communication and Political Science majors.
  • Talent flows around here, we’ve got yet another COMM major, Maria Cahill from Newark,  claiming the Miss Delaware crown! You KNOW she did will know how to promote her “Drive Safe Drive Smart” campaign!
  • Two wonderful COMM undergraduates presented their own research this May, and a tiny little paper called “the New York Times” picked it up! What a “hit”!
Keep us posted on your successes, email them to bartoo@udel.edu! We love to hear about your adventures!

Do Olympians Win Because They’re Pretty?

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As the world prepares for Olympic fever to grip nations around the globe, we COMMsters may cheer for the broadcasters as well as the athletes. After all, many COMM alumni always secretly wanted to be Bob Costas, I know I did.

But . . .are they sportcasters really “calling ’em as they see ’em”?  Dr. James Angelini has discovered some interesting differences in the way male and female athletes are covered. He describes them here in this video.  He says women tend to be described “graceful” while men are described as having “skill and commitment”.

He and his colleagues also noticed differences based in race and nationality.

So when you’re at that first Olympics house party, keep a check list of how many “pretty” athletes vs. “skilled” ones show up in your viewing!

 

COMM Faculty Awarded Highest Teaching & Advising Honors at UD

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COMM alumni normally remember a few faculty members as “favorites” from their time on campus.  It looks like more than a few current students and fellow UD faculty think two of our COMM-sters, Dr. Lindsay  Hoffman and Dr. Steve Mortenson,  are memorable already! They’ve voted them into receiving this year’s prestigious “Excellence in Teaching and Excellence in Undergraduate Advising and Mentoring” awards presented last month.

Bravo Steve and Lindsay!