News and Events
School of Communication Updates
- School of Communication Updates: Dean Search
- Have some questions about the New School of Communication? Advising has put together some answers for your FAQs.
News and Events
- Forum Examines Chicago's Top Political Bloggers
- Debating Society Sponsors Film Screening
- Journalism Ricci Scholar Explores Media in Italy and China
- Ponce Honored at Sherwood Conservatory Gala
- Students Lauded at 10th Annual Honors Reception
- Platt Presents at First Undergraduate Film Festival
- Rockwell Recognized for Reviewing in TAA
- LUC Students Take Honors at SPJ Regionals
- Registration for FAll 2008 Start Monday
- Jounalism Interns Attend Obama Meeting
- Fletcher Presents Evidence to Forensic Sciences' Meeting
- Photojournalism Professionals Participate in Career Week
- Beta Rho Hosts Workshop
- Debate Team Wins Hollatz-Larson Debates
- Communication Major Named Ricci Scholar
- Sound to Date to Air on WLUW
- News Archive
2008
Forum Examines Chicago’s Top Political Bloggers
September, 2008—A lively discussion in Kasbeer Hall took place between the panel of political bloggers and the audience during 
the Sept. 16 forum of Chicago's top political bloggers. The event was sponsored by the School of Communication's Journalism program and moderated by Phil Ponce, host of WTTW’s Chicago Tonight.
Political bloggers have emerged as important disseminators of information. B
ut while they have had their share of scoops, they also have been accused of spreading false information and sometimes expressing partisan viewpoints. Those issues were addressed by the panel, which represented liberal, conservative and moderate views on the presidential campgain, Illinois politics, and the roles of citizen journalism and traditional media. Issues of self sensorship, monitoring, participant 
rights and responsibilities were also debated.
The panel featured: Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune, Rich Miller of capitolfax. blogspot.com, Georgia Logothetis of dailykos.com, Fran Eaton of illinoisreview.typepad.com, and Blake Dvorak of realclearpolitics.com.
One issue participants seemed to agree on was that there were a lot of people adding their input to the various blogs and there is not enough time to review them all.
Photos by Professor Sam Danna
Debating Society Sponsors Film Screening
August, 2008—The Loyola University Debating Society will host a screening of "The Great Debaters" Staring Denzel Washington Friday September 26th at 7:00 p.m.. The film will be shown in Damen Hall 144 (Finnegan Auditorium). The event is free to all undergraduates and Alumni. A discussion of the film and how you can get involved in the Urban Debate League of Chicago will follow.
Alumni are invited to attend the College of Arts and Sciences reception in Piper Hall beginning at 5:30 p.m.. The reception is part of Loyola's Family Weekend.
For more information about family weekend visit Alumni Relations.
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Journalism Ricci Scholar Explores Media in Italy and China
Chicago, July 2008—As a Ricci Scholar*, I was given the opportunity to study abroad in Rome in the fall 2007 and Beijing in spring 2008. The Ricci Scholars program presents an opportunity for undergra
duates to conduct intercultural research during their junior year.
During my time in Italy, my project entailed researching and writing a series of articles about the current issues and trends in journalism. I interviewed Italian journalists and student journalists. I also managed to squeeze in an on site visit to a to the RAI headquarters to interview a number of journalists working at the headquarters. I would be very interested in visiting again because circumstances have surely changed since Prime Minister Berlusconi was voted back into power this spring.
Beijing was a whirlwind of activity with the upcoming Olympics.
As a Journalism major, it’s important to see the way the media functions in other countries to more fully examine the American media that I will work in one day. My ultimate career goal is to become a foreign correspondent. If I return to Italy or China one day then I will already have a head start in examining the media environment in which I will be working. However, even if I work in a different country the experience of investigating journalism Chinese and Italian has given me a better understanding of how deeply the media affects every aspect of a country.
--Laura Burns
* You can check out some of Laura’s experiences posted on her blog: http://blogs.luc.edu/lburns/
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Ponce Honored at Sherwood Conservatory Gala
Chicago, May, 2008—The Ninth Annual Scholarship Competition and Gala of the Sherwood Conservatory of Music will honor Phil Ponce, WTTW-TV host and Professional in Residence in the Department of Communication’s Journalism program at Loyola University, on Friday, May 9 at the Arts Club of Chicago, 201 East Ontario Street.
The annual event raises tuition support funds for the conservatory and recognizes high achievement in the arts. This year, Ponce, host of Chicago Tonight and Arts Across Illinois, will be honored with the William Hall Sherwood Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts. Arts Across Illinois is a WTTW television magazine, which features Illinois artists, musicians, performers, and writers.
The performing, graphic, and media arts have major status among the Ponce family. Phil is a vocational trumpet player, and his wife, Ann, is a painter and portraitist. Their three grown children are: Dan, who left a singing career to become a reporter for Chicago's ABC7; Anthony, a reporter for Chicago's NBC5; and daughter Maria, a photographer in Manhattan.
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Students Lauded at 10th Annual Honors Reception
Chicago, April, 2008—The Department of Communication 10th annual Honors Reception marked a turning point not only for the outstanding students who were graduating, but also for the faculty and the department, which will shortly become a School of Communication. Faculty and students along with their families attended the annual event at Piper Hall on the Lake Shore Campus on Friday, April 25.
Elizabeth Coffman, chair of the department, opened the awards ceremony applauding the achievements of the department’s Communication, Advertising/Public Relations and Journalism programs, students and faculty. The rapid growth in those three majors have given the university the opportunity to create a new school for the first time in 40 years she said. While the prospects and opportunities of the new school were exciting, she also noted, with some sadness, that this would be the last time she would addressing the department’s honors graduates as chair.
In a meeting prior to the reception, Loyola University Provost Christine Wisemen informed faculty that Donald Heider Ph.D., of the University of Maryland, had been appointed the first dean of Loyola's new School of Communication. Dr. Heider will officially take that position August 1. The new school will be housed in the Clare on the Water Tower Campus, which is currently under construction. Plans call for Loyola to take possession of the SOC floors on July 1 so the build out process could begin. The facility is scheduled to be completed in December.
| Awards presented | |
|---|---|
Outstanding Communication Major: |
Senior Patrycja Malinowska |
Junior Mary Nash | |
Outstanding Advertising/PR Major: |
Senior Katherine Johnston |
Junior Emily Kelly | |
Outsanding Journalism Major: |
Senior Jaime Sharer |
Junior William Barrett | |
Outstanding Service Awards: |
Mandy Holcomb |
Amanda Daly | |
Leslie Taege | |
Loyola Mellon Humanities Award |
LeeAnn Maton |
Jim Gibbons Memorial Scholarship |
Melissa Suran |
Also honored were the 43 students in Communication, Advertising/PR and Journalism graduating with departmental honors.
Platt Presents at First Undergraduate Film Conference
South Bend, Ind., April, 2008—History major, Daniel Platt, presented a paper he wrote for his Cinema History: War and Revolution class to the University of Notre Dame's Midwest Undergraduate Film Conference in South Bend, Ind., April 11-12.
Encouraged by his teacher, Prof. Elizabeth Coffman, Platt submitted the paper, a genre reclassification of the German silent picture "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari," informed by ethnographic theory, to the first of its kind, undergraduate film studies conference.
Impressed by the facilities at Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and the multi-media presentations Platt found the experience a positive one. “Reading my paper in front of a group of intelligent scholars - most of them students, not faculty - was fun. The question and answer session was exciting; as I was able to learn what parts of my argument had confused listeners, which parts needed greater defense, and where I might take my research in the future.”
Rockwell Recognized for Reviewing in TAA
Chicago, April 2008—Communication students get a chance to experience Associate Professor Hannah Rockwell in the classroom, but it is her work as an academic reviewer that grabbed the attention of the Text and Academic Authors Association. An article titled “Reviewing Other’s Work Offers Numerous Lessons” was published in The Academic Author which is the print version of the association’s Web site news coverage. The profile piece covered a full page and featured a photo of Rockwell.
Writer and editor, Kim Seidel focused on how Rockwell started reviewing manuscripts and what she looks for in other’s work. According to Seidel for Rockwell first impressions do matter, explaining that Rockwell looks for polish, presentation and clarity in a good manuscript.
Rockwell has been a member of TAA since fall 2007 and is glad to have her work recognized by the organization. “It was such a happy surprise to show up on page two,” said Rockwell. After reading the story, she said that Seidel captured her experience accurately and she was glad that the article gave credit to her mentor, Mary S. Strine.
Rockwell is currently working the manuscript for her own book The Life of Voices: Bodies, Subjects and Dialogue, which she hopes to complete this summer.
--Alysse Dalessandro
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LUC Students Take Honors at SPJ Regionals
Chicago, April 2008—Loyola University Chicago Journalism students captured a number of awards April 5 at the Society of Professional Journalists Region 5 Mark of Excellence Conference in at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind.
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Mosaic, the student-produced social justice magazine, won third place for Best Student Magazine. Mosaic is a product of the Journalism Program and is sponsored by the Department of Communication.
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The Phoenix, Loyola's independent student newspaper, also received a number of awards:
- Writer LeeAnn Maton won a first place award for general news reporting for her article,
Black, White and Shades of Gray?
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G. Barrett Newell took third place in the same category for his article, It’s Our Day to Come Out;
- Phoenix Editor Nick Gamso won first place honors for general column writing; and
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The Phoenix also won third place in the category of best non-daily student newspaper.
- Writer LeeAnn Maton won a first place award for general news reporting for her article,
The honorees were awarded certificates on April 5 during the Spring Conference held at Indiana University. First place regional winners advance to the national round of judging, which is currently taking place. National winners will be announced in mid May.
The Society of Professional Journalists works to improve and protect journalism. The organization is the nation’s most broad-based journalism organization, dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical behavior. For more details on the awards, visit the SPJ Web site.
Registration for Fall 2008 Starts Monday, April 14
Chicago, April 2008—Before you register next week take a look at the attachd list of new and special topics courses being offered for the Fall 2008 semester, when the Department of Communication transitions officially into the School of Communication!
You can tell that it is a Presidential election year... You can also tell that Loyola University Chicago is doing a special celebration for the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth in 2008-09. We've got Lincoln and Citizen Journalism, Communication in Presidential Campaigns, Writing for Public Relations and Media Planning. Keep an eye out for all of the special Lincoln events next year too.
We've also got courses on Global Warming, Action Cinema, Post-WWII Cinema, Sports Journalism, Arts/Entertainment Writing, Advertising Campaigns, Animation, and 2 interdisciplinary classes--the Biodiesel course, which produces fuel from our cafeteria fryer oil, and a new course, Stateville Speaks, cross-listed with Criminal Justice, Fine and Performing Arts, and Sociology, which produces a publication by, about and for Stateville prisoners and their families.
If you have questions about how the transition to the School of Communication will will affect you take a look at the list of Frequently Asked Questions put together by advising on our School of Communication Updates link.
—Elizabeth Coffman, Chair
Journalism Int
erns Attend Obama Meeting
Chicago, March, 2008—Journalism students Anna Tyrkala and Patrycja Malinowska, interns at the Chicago Sun‑Times, sat behind Sen. Barack Obama during his March 14 meeting with the newspaper’s editorial board. At the meeting the Senator addressed issues concerning indicted fund-raiser Tony Rezko and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, his longtime pastor.
Loyola interns at the Sun‑Times have many opportunities like these, and routinely report and write stories that appear in the paper with their bylines.
Photo courtesy of the Chicago Sun Times
Fletcher Presents Evidence to Forensic Sciences' Meeting
Washington, March, 2008—Associate Professor Connie Fletcher was invited to present findings from her most recent work, an oral history of forensic science, before the American Academy of Forensic Sciences annual convention in Washington on February 22. AAFS is the largest, and most prestigious, forensic science organization in the world. Fletcher was one of only two forensic authors invited to present before AAFS.
Dr. Fletcher has made numerous presentations to scientists and the general public over the last two years, because of the success of her recent book, Every Contact Leaves a Trace. The book, published in 2006, has been translated into Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, and Chinese. Fletcher has written five books including, Who Runs Chicago?, a collaboration with two Chicago Tribune reporters, outlined the power structure in Chicago and three oral histories of police: What Cops Know, Pure Cop, and Breaking and Entering: Women Cops.
Fletcher's latest Power Point presentation included a video narration of a sculpture at the Minnesota Crime Lab in St. Paul, Minn., which represents contemporary forensic disciplines; video of a crime scene team leader describing a case solved by one hair and one fingerprint; as well as some of her sources' audiotaped stories.
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Photojournalism Professionals Participate in Career Week
Chicago, March 2008—The Chicago Alliance of African-American
Photographers and Loyola’s Journalism program co-sponsored a panel discussion with professional photojournalists on Feb. 18 as part of both Communication Careers Week and Black History Month at the Water Tower Campus.
Milbert O. Brown Jr., CAAAP president, photojournalist at the Chicago Tribune and a member of the adjunct faculty at Loyola teaching photojournalism, organized the event. Students asked questions of the panelists and several, currently enrolled in Brown’s class, photographed the event.
Photo by Steven Kent
Moderated by Michael Bracey, a former CAAAP president, panelists discussed their approach in photographically documenting the Black communities in Chicago, throughout the United States and aboard through a photo essay exhibit entitled “The Passage: Chicago Streets to African Roads.” Featured panelists included: Brook Collins, a Loyola alumnus and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley’s personal photographer; Bobby Sengstacke, former Chicago Defender editor and photojournalist; Curtis Morrow, Sharon Abena Dale, Ron Morris, and Philemon Najieb.
CAAAP also presented the Ernest Withers Award for community photography to Morrow, the Roy De Carava Award for fine art photography to Dale and Eugene R. Stewart Award for photographic education to Rudy Hudson.
Photo by Chelsia Marcius
Milbert O. Brown Jr. presents Dr. Elizabeth Coffman,
Department of Communication Chair, the promotion
picture used for "The Passage"
Beta Rho Hosts Workshop
Chicago, February, 2008—The Communication Department's Honors Society, Beta Rho, is hosting a Resume and Cover Letter Workshop on Tuesday, March 11 and an Interviewing Workshop on Wednesday, March 12 in Crown Center 530 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Department faculty and representatives from the Career Development Center will be available at both events. Basic "how to" presentations will be provided followed by a brief Q&A. At the resume event, students will then be able to have their current resumes evaluated. At the interviewing workshop, students can come dressed in professional attire for an attire evaluation and possibly have a one-on-one mock interview with the faculty at the event if time allows.
For further details, be sure to take a loot at the FaceBook events "Beta Rho Resume/Cover Letter Workshop" and "Beta Rho Interviewing Workshop." (And RSVP!) Or feel free to contact Beta Rho at betarholuc@yahoo.com.
Loyola University Varsity Debate Team Wins Hollatz-Larson Debates
Wheaton, Ill., February, 2008—Loyola University’s varsity debate team was victorious at Hollatz-Larson Debate Tournament held February 15th-16th at Wheaton College in Wheaton IL. Of the 22 teams entered, Loyola’s top two teams closed out the final round in the varsity division.
Senior Alison Rane and her partner Audrey Anderson advanced through octo-finals in one bracket to the finals to meet Senior William Baldwin and Sophomore Matthew Muir. Baldwin and Muir were the top seed at 7-1 in the preliminary rounds. Of the 44 speakers entered in the varsity division, Rane was named the first place individual speaker and Baldwin was awarded the individual honor of second place speaker of the event.
Other schools in attendance included University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Ind.; Wheaton College, Hillsdale, Hillsdale, Mich.; Grove City College, Grove City, Pa.; Cedarville University, Cedarville, Ohio; Malone College, Canton, Ohio, and McKendree University, Lebanon, Ill. These two Loyola teams will represent Loyola at the National Parliamentary Debate Associations championship tournament at the United States Air Force Academy at the end of March.
Communication Major Named Ricci Scholar
Chicago, February, 2008—Communication and International Studies double major, Connor Dearing, along with five other Loyola sophomores, was selected to participate in the Ricci Scholars program for 2008-2009.
Dearing, a sophomore from Buffalo, N.Y., is an officer of the Loyola Swim Club, an occasional writer for the Phoenix, a lifeguard at the McGaw YMCA, and a volunteer at the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum. In the past he has worked in the English Department, volunteered at the Uptown Soup Kitchen, and attended an alternative break immersion to New Orleans.
Unlike other international experiences, the Ricci program allows students to engage two cultures within the space of nine months and also challenges them to integrate these experiences with a third culture, that of the United States. The six students will spend the first semester at the John Felice Rome Center, and then will travel to Asia to spend the second semester at the Beijing Center.
Dearing’s project will explore the differences in freedom of expression present in both Italy and China and the role culture plays in how freedom is defined through public modes of expression.
Sound to Date to Air on WLUW
Chicago, February, 2008—Students in this semester’s Community Radio Production class will be going on the air with a monthly radio show called Sound to Date, starting Friday February 15 at 10am on WLUW. The four programs will air on the third Friday of the month, with the last one on May 16.
Sound to Date is a monthly exploration of the Loyola community's arts and cultural scene. Whether it's a restaurant review, a profile of a local band or a peek at the action on Devon, the eight person Sound to Date production team will take you there. Sound to Date is written, produced, edited, and hosted by the Community Radio Production class, with editorial and technical oversight by Tony Sarabia, the class instructor.
Chicago, January, 2008—The Board of Trustees of Loyola University Chicago has just approved the first new school in 39 years—the School of Communication!Our faculty and staff are excited about what this approval means for the Department in the next year—new faculty, new staff, a new building and a new Dean. See dean search for more information about the search for a Dean and our plans for new facilities and program growth.
The School of Communication will have its headquarters in The Clare, which is the new building under construction next to Lewis Towers and across from Baumhardt Hall on the Water Tower Campus. Classrooms, facilities, faculty and administrative offices will be located on three floors at the base of The Clare, which opens in January 2009. The School's new state of the art "convergence media lab" on the ground floor will support live studio production work for video, audio, and new media.
Our undergraduate majors in Advertising and Public Relations, Communication, and Journalism provide the curricular base for the School of Communication. We will have additional new faculty and staff to offer these majors in '08-'09, and new curricular growth at the graduate and undergraduate levels in the future. The School will continue to provide curricular and facility support for the International Film and Media Studies program and for WLUW.
If students have any questions about the School of Communication, please ask a faculty member or your adviser in the Communication Department or contact our administrative offices.
—Elizabeth Coffman, Chair
