2014 Career Development Conference
video by Ben Jarvis and Blake Silverthorn

Please join us and register for the 2014 College of Media & Communication Career Development Conference Jan. 7, 2014 from 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. with optional networking opportunities from 3:30-4:30 p.m.

For more information and to register, visit http://www.ttucareersdallas.com/

Ben Jarvis is a senior media strategies major. He is currently president of the College of Media & Communication Dean's Student Council and TASEM.
Blake Silverthorn is a sophomore electronic media & communications major from Plano, Texas.

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New Associate Dean of Research
by Lauren Glover and Emily Pellegrini, photo by David Vaughn

A new position in the Texas Tech College of Media & Communication will allow for the coordination of research within and outside the college. Assistant Professor Glenn Cummins, Ph.D., was appointed to the new associate dean for research position Oct. 7.

Dean David D. Perlmutter said an associate dean for research position is common among other colleges on campus and in the communications field.

"We now have somebody that is sort of our point person, our go-to person for questions about research, our sort of matchmaker-in-chief of trying to pair our faculty in other units as well as internally on research projects," Perlmutter said.

Cummins said that prior to the new position, faculty had the added burden of coordinating their research across the college and across the campus.

"So having an associate dean of research to do that on their behalf takes a little bit of the burden off the faculty," Cummins said. "It also makes it easier for them to be engaged in collaborative research."

Perlmutter said another important role for the new associate dean of research would be to make other researchers across campus and in the community aware of the capabilities of the Center for Communication Research and the college's faculty.

"There's nothing, whether it's medicine, engineering or stem cell research that doesn't have a communication component," Perlmutter said. "And what we are saying is that you do not necessarily have to go and hire an outside consulting firm or you do not necessarily have to find partners outside of the State of Texas.

First, take a look at the people next door who might be able to help advance your own research."

The associate dean of research also will work to involve more undergraduates in research, Perlmutter said.

"Our goal is always that this will be to the benefit of our students, undergraduate and graduate, because your goal as a student is to build that professional portfolio," Perlmutter said. "Well, what helps you build a professional portfolio better than working on projects where there's a professional outcome?"

Cummins said undergraduates usually pair up with professors who have similar research interests.

He said he wants to make the greater campus community aware of undergraduates conducting research and their collaborations with faculty members.

"What we have right now is that the collaboration with the undergraduate students ends there," Cummins said. "No one knows about it. So, we want to increase awareness of these types of collaborations, increase undergraduate awareness of our research and how they can come involved in our research."

Cummins said undergraduate involvement with research is important because, in addition to learning research skills, it allows students to broaden their knowledge of career options.

"Getting involved in research is a good way to open their eyes up to a career they may not have envisioned and a career that is just as exciting as what they may have originally thought about," Cummins said.

Cummins said he is excited and flattered about the opportunity to serve as the associate dean of research.

"Frankly, every year we bring in more talented people, and I'm amazed about how smart these people are," Cummins said. "It makes my job that much easier to be surrounded by such bright, talented people."

Lauren Glover is a graduate student in the College of Media & Communication's professional master's degree program from Plano, Texas.
Emily Pellegrini is a senior journalism major from Cincinnati, Ohio.
David Vaughn is a senior university studies major from Spur, Texas.

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Faculty Profile: Jo Grant
video by Ben Jarvis and Blake Silverthorn

Professor of Practice Jo Grant discusses her educational and professional experience and her teaching style.

Ben Jarvis is a senior media strategies major. He is currently president of the College of Media & Communication Dean's Student Council and TASEM.
Blake Silverthorn is a sophomore electronic media & communications major from Plano, Texas.

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Top Student Q&A: Katie Cornblath
By David Peveto and Lauren Glover, photo by David Vaughn

A senior media strategies major with a minor in film studies, Katie Rose Cornblath will graduate in December 2013. Cornblath, who is originally from Pearland, Texas, joined the college as a freshman student, and she has been involved in providing video editing work for the Outpost Social Media Lab for the past several months. She also is involved with projects with the Texas Tech Student Association for Electronic Media (TASEM).

Cornblath is working on a film project with her friend Erika Laffin called "Sorority Lumberjacks."

 

Q: What made you want to work in film?

A: "It was right after I watched ‘Star Wars Episode 1' in the theaters, and I told my parents ‘I'm going to work on a ‘Star Wars' film someday,' and that's' what started everything."

Q: Why did you choose a media strategies major?

A: "I'm going into film, and I thought that media strategies was great to do because I can take all of the electives that I want that are still relevant to what I want to do in film, but I also get to learn the business and entrepreneurial side of it, and I really think that will come in handy later on."

Q: Why do you like to be involved with TASEM?

A: "Before TASEM, there was no organization for EM&C majors for people interested in photography or film, so we get to produce movies, learn more about the Adobe software programs, or about the mechanics of video editing, so it's skills that I'm going to be using for my whole life."

Q: Tell us about your work on "Sorority Lumberjacks."

A: "We're working on the script now, and it's going to be our senior project with Dr. Robert Peaslee, and our goal is to have the film done by November so we can premiere it as our final exam. 'Sorority Lumberjacks' is among the first full-length feature films to be produced by Texas Tech students. Between it being on Facebook and its @SororityLJ on Twitter, it's being pushed harder than any TASEM project I've worked on."

David Peveto is a senior public relations major from Houston, Texas.
Lauren Glover is a graduate student in the College of Media & Communication's professional master's degree program from Plano, Texas.
David Vaughn is a senior university studies major from Spur, Texas.

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Heads Up Display
video by Ben Jarvis and Blake Silverthorn

Heads Up Display is a student production in the Texas Tech College of Media & Communication that reviews games using a panel format to give gamers a well rounded review of all the games they love. View more of their episodes at www.depts.ttu.edu/comc/Publications/hud/.

Ben Jarvis is a senior media strategies major. He is currently president of the College of Media & Communication Dean's Student Council and TASEM.
Blake Silverthorn is a sophomore electronic media & communications major from Plano, Texas.

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New Faculty Member Brings International Voice to Texas Tech
By Lauren Glover, photo by Melissa Wofford

Hailing from Switzerland, new faculty member Lea Hellmueller, Ph.D., brings an international perspective to the classroom and the research lab. Hellmueller focuses her research on journalistic norms in practice throughout the world. Born in Switzerland, Hellmueller worked as a sports reporter in the country. She also worked in Cape Town, South Africa, for The Cape Times.

"If you just look at one country, you cannot see how politics affects new content because you do not have a comparison," Hellmueller said. "You can say we are pretty free, but what does that mean? It is always in comparison to other countries, and if we didn't have that comparison, we couldn't define what a free press is."

Todd Chambers, Ph.D., chairperson of the Department of Journalism & Electronic Media, said the current era of global communication makes international voices necessary for the classroom.

"For a student sitting in a classroom in Lubbock, Texas, at Texas Tech University to be able to learn and experience a perspective that is an authentic international perspective, I think, is one of the most important things to give our students," Chambers said.

"I think that Lea's background professionally, background from a research perspective, and recent work as a post-doc and a National Science Foundation Fellow matter because they bring into our undergraduate and our graduate classrooms these unique perspectives."

Hellmueller teaches two classes in the college, News Presentation I and Sports, Scandals and Social Media.

Hellmueller said the Sports, Scandals and Social Media class is roughly based off her master's thesis about the development of sports scandals and the role journalists play in that framework.

"I think it is really cool because I see a lot of students here that are really interested in sports," Hellmueller said. "So, I think they are engaged and more critical of the class because they feel like they know so much about sports."

With the changing landscape of journalism, Hellmueller said preparing for News Presentation I has been a challenge.

"There are a lot of new things for me to learn as well as the students," Hellmueller said. "But I worked in television and as an online journalist, so I have some experience. The industry is changing so quickly, so you really have to teach yourself well."

The existence of a journalism program in the College of Media & Communication was a major factor in Hellmueller's decision to apply for a tenure-track faculty position at Texas Tech.

"That's really hard these days because everyone is moving over to public relations where the enrollment numbers are increasing," Hellmueller said. "In journalism, that is not always the case, and it is harder because students are afraid due to the job industry. I have a passion for journalism, so I wanted to be at a place where I can do what I like."

Hellmueller said she also liked the equal emphasis the College of Media & Communication gives to research and teaching.

"I think it is a perfect place because, from what I learned since I have been here, they really care about those two things," Hellmueller said. "They have a lot of good teachers. Sometimes you go to those research institutions and you do not really see a lot of people caring about teaching."

Chambers said that the college supports new faculty members by giving them a lighter teaching load their first semester and by helping them financially to either start or maintain their research.

"I think that Lea is an outstanding faculty member, and I want to make sure that whatever we can do to make sure she is here 30 years from now, we do," he said. "She is going to impact a lot of students and a lot of their lives and a lot of their careers."

Lauren Glover is a graduate student in the College of Media & Communication's professional master's degree program from Plano, Texas.
David Vaughn is a senior university studies major from Spur, Texas.

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