The Thomas Jay Harris Institute for Hispanic and International Communication Newsletter
Fall 2013

Note from the Director

This year's newsletter is published later than usual so we may share exciting news: the institute has received a generous gift from the estate of Thomas Jay Harris, the late former editor of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. As Mr. Harris was a strong advocate of international education, his gift will support student research, study abroad programs, and other initiatives that will enhance students’ global understanding. The institute and professorship have been renamed to reflect the gift. The institute expresses deep gratitude to its founder, Dean Jerry Hudson, Ph.D., who retired in June. We welcome Dean David Perlmutter, Ph.D., and wish him great success.

Kent Wilkinson, Ph.D.
Thomas Jay Harris Regents Professor in Hispanic and International Communication

In this issue:

IHIC to Publish The Journal of Spanish Language Media

In February the institute assumed editorship of The Journal of Spanish Language Media, a key publication in the field, which was initiated and edited by Alan Albarran, Ph.D., of the University of North Texas. [ find out more ]

IHIC Advisory Board meeting from left: Doctoral students Merhnaz Rahimi, Dane Kiambi, Jessica El-Khoury and board member April Alejandro.

Reaching Audiences Conference

In February IHIC co-hosted an academic-industry conference together with Erik Bucy, Ph.D., the Marshall
and Sharleen Formby Regents Professor in Strategic Communication. [ find out more ]

IHIC Advisory Board Formed

In 2012 the institute convened an advisory board comprised of media professionals, some of whom
are alumni of the College of Media & Communication.
[ find out more ]

Collaborative IHIC Research Projects

During 2012-2013, IHIC-affiliated faculty and graduate students conducted a cross-national and cross-language content analysis of newspaper coverage of the 2012 U.S. presidential election in seven countries: China, France, Iran, Mexico, Russia, the U.S. and the U.K. [ find out more ]

In Spring, Liz Gardner, Ph.D., Rebecca R. Ortiz, Ph.D., and Autumn Shafer, Ph.D. conducted focus groups with Hispanic diabetics to better understand resistance to persuasive health messages, with the ultimate goal of developing more effective health communication for this underserved audience. [ find out more ]

IHIC Affiliates, Family and Friends from Left: Kent Lowry, Heather Davis, Kate Peaslee, Hazel Peaslee, Rob Peaslee, Coen Peaslee, Erik Bucy, Kent Wilkinson, Sun Young Lee, Merhnaz Rahimi, Krit Kachathan, Alicia Bouchillon, Brandon Bouchillon, Cece Bouchillon, Yunjuan Luo, and Jessica El-Khoury.

Affiliates’ Recent Activities

Liz Gardner, Ph.D., continues her work on health communication for underserved populations, with collaborative projects including focus groups with
Hispanic diabetics, interviews with diabetics in India, and a survey testing message design strategies for Hispanics.
[ find out more ]

Yunjuan “Lily” Luo, Ph.D., recently published “Mapping agenda-setting research in China: A meta-analysis study” in the Chinese Journal of Communication. [ find out more ]

Rob Peaslee, Ph.D., recently published articles in the International Journal of Communication and Mass Communication and Society. [ find out more ]

Weiwu Zhang, Ph.D., assumed responsibilities as assistant director of graduate studies in Spring 2013.
[ find out more ]

Recent Graduates

Dane Kiambi, Ph.D., successfully defended his dissertation “Country Reputation: Measurement and Audience Effects.” [ find out more ]

Patrick Merle, Ph.D., successfully defended his dissertation “Political Aptitude: A pas de deux with Agenda-Setting?” [ find out more ]

Doctoral Students

Brandon Bouchillon completed his Ph.D. qualifying exams in August. [ find out more ]

Boni Cui presented her co-authored research with Glenn Cummins, Ph.D., at the Broadcast Education Association conference in April. [ find out more ]

Jessica El-Khoury completed her Ph.D. qualifying exams in June, then presented a paper to the International Communication Association in London. [ find out more ]

Pria Khandelwal studies the communication of health messages, advertising and market research. [ find out more ]

Mehrnaz Rahimi completed her Ph.D. qualifying exams in August. [ find out more ]