School of Communications hosts lecture by public relations expert
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| James E. Lukaszewski |
Lukaszewski, a management consultant in communications who specializes in crisis management, is the author of "Why Should the Boss Listen to You? The Seven Disciplines of the Trusted Strategic Advisor." He is a former deputy commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Economic Development and assistant press secretary to former Minnesota Gov. Wendell Anderson.
Lukaszewski founded the Minnesota-based Media Information Systems Corporation in 1978. Prior to the founding of The Lukaszewski Group Inc. in 1989, he was senior vice president and director of executive communication programs for Georgeson & Company and a partner with the Chester Burger Company in New York City.
Public relations professor publishes book, receives two-year research fellowship
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| Kathy Fitzpatrick |
Kathy Fitzpatrick, professor of public relations and director of the graduate public relations programs, published a new book, "The Future of U.S. Public Diplomacy: An Uncertain Fate."
In the book, Fitzpatrick makes the case that public diplomacy has never been more important in international relations and should become a priority for the Obama administration. Unlike traditional diplomacy, which involves negotiations between national leaders, public diplomacy focuses on a nation's relations with foreign publics, including ordinary people, who have the ability to affect a nation's security and other interests.
"We need to combine history's lessons with new ways of thinking about and practicing public diplomacy in a new global context," she said. "My hope is that by examining issues and challenges relevant to public diplomacy's future, the work will contribute to the advancement of public diplomacy in the United States and around the world."
Fitzpatrick was also recently named a research fellow at the Center on Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California. The two-year fellowship will support a two-phased research study, "U.S. Public Diplomacy's Neglected Mandate--Advancing Mutual Understanding," which focuses on the need to improve Americans' understanding of the world and its citizens.
School of Communications appoints new director of interactive communications program
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| Phillip Simon |
The School of Communications has appointed Phillip Simon director of the graduate online interactive communications program. In his new position, Simon is responsible for overseeing the graduate interactive communications program, including program development and assessment, student recruitment and advising. He also teaches several courses in the program.
Prior to joining Quinnipiac, Simon worked as a freelance video producer, editor, photographer and computer graphics designer in New Haven. He spent 22 years at Yale University working as managing editor of the Center for Advanced Instructional Media, director of the Department of Biomedical Communications, and director of operations for Web design and development at the Yale School of Medicine.
Simon received his bachelor's degree in printmaking from the University of the Arts, and completed a master's degree in liberal studies at Wesleyan University in 2000.
Communications professor publishes book on "The Culture of Efficiency"
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| Sharon Kleinman |
From pregnancy management to cyber-stalking, a new book by Sharon Kleinman explores how the latest technologies are changing every aspect of our lives and our future. "The Culture of Efficiency: Technology in Everyday Life," is part of the Digital Formations book series published by Peter Lang Publishing. Kleinman, a communications professor in the School of Communications, conceived and edited the 416-page book, which includes 21 chapters written by experts from a wide variety of fields.
"I have focused for most of my career on communications technology, and I teach a course that deals with the social implications of the telegraph, the telephone and the computer," Kleinman said. "I wanted to extend that concept and look at technology from a broader, lifecycle-based approach." Kleinman sought out experts in fields ranging from transportation to entertainment and asked them to write about how new technologies are transforming their fields by introducing new levels of efficiency and effectiveness.
The 21 chapters of "The Culture of Efficiency: Technology in Everyday Life," explore both high-tech and low-tech innovations, from bicycle- and car-sharing programs to smart homes and radio frequency identification tags, from electronic medical records and mindfulness training to technology sabbaticals and food delivery. The book offers fresh insights into social and technological trends, practical suggestions for improving everyday life, and forecasts about the future of work, transportation and leisure.
"Everyone is talking about efficiency, about streamlining costs and improving quality," Kleinman said. "This book is for anyone interested in public policy or teaching in this area, including graduate students or advanced undergrads in classes that deal with culture, sociology, communications and psychology. You don't have to be a social scientist to understand this--it is accessible for the lay reader."
School of Communications hosts 7th annual Television News Institute
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| High school student PJ Alampi takes part in the 2009 Television News Institute |
"Students find that this week is an experience that they enjoy," said Michael Calia, director of the Ed McMahon Mass Communications Center. "What makes our program special is that we bring in working professionals and give students an opportunity to work in our high-end production facilities."
"The students are able to get a real TV experience that can help them decide on career choices and college choices," said Kenn Venit, adjunct associate professor of journalism and former WTNH-TV "Action News" staffer. "We even use simulated news situations in the classroom before they go out into the field to do stories for the two newscasts they produce by the end of the week."
Michelle Block, 17, a senior from Needham, Mass., said the program opened her eyes to the possibilities of the industry. "I was able to develop a lot of ideas for my show at school," she said. "I look forward to going back and sharing what I have learned."
Chris Cerbo, 17, at senior from Bernardsville, N.J., said he is getting the full television news experience. "Getting to not only do some reporting, but also to edit my own stuff has really shown me both ends of the broadcasting spectrum," he said. "These are lessons I'll utilize throughout my career."
School of Communications now offering master's degree in public relations
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| Kathy Fitzpatrick |
"Health care public relations, for example, is one of the fastest growing areas of public relations practice as the nation's population ages. International public relations also is expanding as globalization increases at a rapid pace. Other expanding practice areas include technology, litigation, crisis management, multicultural and public diplomacy."
The program is for early to midcareer professionals interested in advancing their careers in public relations or transitioning into public relations from complementary fields, such as finance, law, health care, technology, human resources, journalism and marketing. The program also helps recent graduates with bachelor's degrees in public relations or other disciplines gain a competitive edge as they enter the workforce.
Public relations students team up with local nonprofit
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| From left: CfAL board chair Tony Farah, Stephanie Palumbo '11, Brittany James '10, CfAL executive director Curtis Hill, Desiree Fontaine from WTNH-Channel 8, Jessica Hickernell '10, Brittany Tomkiewicz '11, and associate dean for School of Communications Michele Moore. |
Four students from Quinnipiac's Public Relations Student Society of America chapter teamed up with the nonprofit organization Concepts for Adaptive Learning (CfAL) to help plan its "Planting Seeds of Knowledge" celebration.
CfAL, which is based in New Haven, trains parents in computer technology to help to improve public school education and increase parent involvement. The March 18 event was held to mark the 1,000th parent receiving training from Cfal.
The event provided Quinnipiac students with an opportunity to enhance their learning experience and to advance their knowledge and skills in the public relations profession, says Michele Moore, associate dean for the School of Communications.
The University donates used computers to the CfAL program. Upon completing the training, each parent receives a computer and support services.
School of Communications to offer bachelor's degree in film, video and interactive media
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| Liam O'Brien |
The new degree focuses on creating content and telling stories using standard and high definition digital video formats and 16 mm film. Film courses will focus on fiction and documentary storytelling. Video courses will concentrate on single and multicamera studio and field production. Interactive courses will immerse students in Web and mobile platform production and delivery, such as an iPod or BlackBerry.
Previously, the School of Communications offered media studies and media production only as a concentration as part of a bachelor's degree in communications. "This reflects the growth and maturation of the school," said David Donnelly, dean of the School of Communications. "The broader focus reflects changes in the media industry. We are training students to tell stories across all media platforms."
University hosts Connecticut Film Industry Training Program
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Quinnipiac was selected as a host for the 2009 Connecticut Film Industry Training Program June 1 to 26. The program, which was launched by the state last year, teaches individuals the basics of feature and episodic television film production.
By establishing a skilled in-state film workforce, the training program provides an additional incentive for producers to select Connecticut as a location for film and television. The state's strengthened production infrastructure will support a range of projects, making it easier for companies to carry out long-term productions in Connecticut.
Quinnipiac also served as a host in 2008, with several School of Communications professors leading the program. Quinnipiac's program was selected as one of five award winners statewide for noteworthy workforce development initiatives by the Connecticut Economic Development Association.
"Quinnipiac is always interested in promoting economic development in Connecticut," said Liam O'Brien, associate professor of media production in the School of Communications. "We hope our participation will help students and others find new ways to create vibrant economic opportunities and further strengthen the Connecticut economy."
Media production students receive award for documentary
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From left: Mark Medaglia '08 and communications professor Rebecca Abbott |
Thirteen students and two School of Communications professors, Rebecca Abbott and Liam O'Brien, traveled to Capetown and Chigar in South Africa for three weeks during the 2007 winter break. The students filmed the 21-minute documentary highlighting the role of colonialism and its impact on the children of South Africa. During their time in South Africa, the students witnessed the social problems associated with poverty and a high crime rate.
The participants received their award at the BEA Festival of Media Arts: Faculty and Student Documentary Competition Awards Session in Las Vegas on April 23.
Communications professor publishes book about how search engines influence society
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Alex Halavais |
"The focus of the book is on the ways in which search engines are changing society and ways society is changing search engines," said Halavais. "Just about everything we do involves a search."
Halavais presents issues most people might not consider about search engines, such as how they impact democracy's goal of everyone having a say and forming decisions based on many different ideas, not just one perspective. However, top search engine results often concentrate on just a handful of popular Web sites. "Even if anyone can publish, that doesn't mean anyone can read," Halavais said.
He explores how educators are rethinking how much students should memorize. "We no longer have to remember the same things," Halavais said. "We can just Google it." He also studies how people can type a name into a search engine or social networking site and find information and photos about the person. "Because of search engines, we are all treated like celebrities, but not always in a good way," Halavais said. "This is personal branding even for those who would never think of that as a concept."
School of Communications receives J-Lab grant
The School of Communications, Quinnipiac University Online and the Polling Institute received an $11,000 grant from J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism to produce online materials on the use of polls for citizen journalists and community engagement.
J-Lab is an incubator for innovative news experiments that use new technologies to help people engage in public issues. Its core mission is to improve public life by transforming journalism for today and reinventing it for tomorrow. Thom Gillespie, the new director of the master's degree in interactive communications program, will serve as project director.