There is no doubt that we are now experiencing the golden age of the College of Media
& Communication. As reported in these pages previously and highlighted in the current
story about President Lawrence Schovanec's address to the faculty, students, staff and alumni at the luncheon for our National Advisory
Board meeting, we are both the highest rated unit in research at Texas Tech University
and have the highest level of retention of undergraduate students.
The pairing of these two statistics demonstrates the kind of complementary creativity
and compassion manifested by all those who serve the mission of the college and Texas
Tech.
But we never forget that whatever beautiful edifice of learning we are building now
would not exist if it were not for the foundations laid with care and sacrifice in
the past. Many of our current and former faculty and administrators toiled in a time
of scarcity and limited opportunities for communication programs at Texas Tech.
Among the giants of the past whom we just recently lost and who is profiled here is Dr. Billy I. Ross. For those of you who did not know him, we list some major achievements of his career
in the accompanying story.
Here I wanted to offer a personal observation because Dr. Ross was actually the first
Texas Tech faculty member I ever met. He had retired from TTU and was serving as a
consultant at Louisiana State University where I began my career in the mid 1990s.
I got a chance to have many conversations with him. I immediately appreciated his
dedication, discipline, and commitment to the virtues of higher education. He obviously
had deep experience that he was able to share with a young faculty member who was
still learning his craft. He was a role model to me for how administrators should
interact with those they are trying to encourage and mentor. In short, long before
I came to Texas Tech, now almost 6 years ago, I had met an example of a great and
a good man who was proud of the institution he had helped build on the West Texas
Plains.
We will always be grateful to Dr. Ross for his material accomplishments, but those
of us who knew him as a person will also cherish the standard he set as a professional
and as a colleague.
David D. Perlmutter, Ph.D. Professor and Dean
A tribute to founding chair Billy I. Ross, Ph.D.
Billy I. Ross, Ph.D., professor emeritus, founding chair of the Department of Mass
Communication and tireless champion of the now Texas Tech College of Media & Communication
died on Oct. 8.
Ross was born on Jan. 21, 1925 to E. Herman and Mary Ward Ross. He is survived by
his wife of 69 years, Avis Ross of Lubbock, one son, three grandchildren and four
nieces.
He was a graduate of Murray High School, Kentucky, and earned an undergraduate degree
in journalism from the University of Missouri. He completed his master's degree at
Eastern New Mexico University, and then finished with his doctoral studies at Southern
Illinois University.
Ross served on the faculties at Hawaii Pacific University, Kentucky Wesleyan College,
Louisiana State University, Texas Tech University and the University of Houston.
After coming to Texas Tech and moving to the newly created Department of Mass Communications
from the College of Business Administration in 1970, Ross was selected as the first
chair of the department, where he worked to establish the core curriculum of advertising,
journalism, photography and telecommunications.
In 1987, Ross retired as professor emeritus, one of the highest honors for faculty
at Texas Tech University, after serving as the founding chair of the then-Department
and later School of Mass Communications for 17 years.
“From the first time I met him and interviewed with him, I knew he was a solid professional
who had the best interests of students, and his colleagues, at the heart of all he
did,” said Roger Saathoff, Ph.D., associate professor in journalism and electronic
media with the college. “After that first meeting, I was always happy to meet with
Billy and knew that he would consider seriously whatever I suggested or asked about.”
During his tenure at Texas Tech, Ross played a leadership role in establishing the
groundwork for CoMC. He also founded other projects including the prestigious CoMC
Hall of Fame and the Mass Communications Advisory Committee (now called the National
Professional Advisory Board).
Ross went on to establish the nationally acclaimed Thomas Jefferson Award and the
L.U. Kaiser Innovation in Teaching Award, along with the Don Belding Grant-in-Aid
for international students interested in advertising.
Following his retirement from Texas Tech, the American Advertising Federation honored
him with its Distinguished Advertising Educator of the Year award in 1989, which,
according to the website, recognizes the best advertising professors in the country.
Ross then continued to become a Distinguished Professor at the Manship School of Mass
Communication at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. He has been inducted into
the halls of fame at both schools for his academic leadership achievements, Texas
Tech University in 1991 and Louisiana State University in 2004.
Ross also served as one of the original founders of and held leadership roles at the
American Academy of Advertising, Kappa Tau Alpha, the American Society of Journalism
School Administrators (now the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication),
and numerous other regional and state organizations.
Ross served in the U.S. Army Reserve during World War II from 1943-46 when he was
stationed in England, France, Belgium and Germany, and retired from military service
as a colonel. His military awards include the Legion of Merit, the American Theater
Ribbon, the EAME Theater Ribbon with two Bronze Stars, and the World War II Victory
Medal.
If alumni wish to recognize Ross's many achievements, the family suggests memorials
to the Billy I. and Avis M. Ross Achievement Award with the College of Media & Communication.
CoMC proud to host Presidential Scholars
The College of Media & Communication boasts many gifted students. It's also home to
an ever-increasing number of exceptional students – especially in the realm of academic
achievements. This group of remarkable students includes recipients of the Texas Tech
Presidential Scholarship, a recognition awarded to incoming first-year and transfer
students who have been admitted to Texas Tech and who demonstrate excellent academic
ability.
During the 2017-2018 academic year, Texas Tech University awarded the highest number
of Presidential Scholarships in the school's history, and several of these awardees
continue their academic pursuit of excellence in the College of Media & Communication
this year. The college has a total of 127 Presidential Scholars enrolled this semester.
Todd Chambers, Ph.D., CoMC's associate dean for undergraduate affairs, has seen the
benefits of the Presidential Scholarship program, both as a faculty member and as
a parent, and noted that Texas Tech is determined to make college affordable for high-performing
students.
“The Presidential Scholarship program has grown exponentially. They've awarded more
money than ever before, and they're going to keep doing that,” said Chambers. “What
it boils down to is that Texas Tech University's Scholarship Office is committed to
helping students.”
Raven Nelson, a senior creative media industries major from Austin and seasoned Presidential
Scholar, is now in her fourth year at CoMC. She cites her scholarship as a notable
achievement and an important financial resource that allows her to focus on her studies
and on her future aspirations.
“I feel a sense of pride knowing that I earned this scholarship through hours of hard
work,” Nelson said. “It gives me peace of mind, knowing that I will consistently receive
this financial aid so long as I continue to keep up my work ethic, and I will be able
to pursue the more fun careers I am genuinely interested in, rather than chasing money
to pay off student loans.”
Another Presidential Scholar and CoMC student is Lauren Kriss, a senior public relations
major from Austin. She feels that her scholarship is the result of her dedication
and hard work, but she believes that her tenacious academic drive is of the utmost
importance. Kriss said that while academic excellence is significant, learning should
always be the top priority.
“I focus on learning as much as I can and doing work that I'm proud of, and then the
numbers, grades, and scores tend to fall into place after that,” Kriss said. “I would
say that everyone's primary goal should be to learn and develop as a person, and the
scholarships and awards will follow.”
Traveling on a slightly different academic path, transfer student Lea Maric, a senior
media strategies major from Dallas, was awarded her Presidential Transfer Merit Scholarship
in recognition of her excellent performance at the community college she attended
previously. Her decision to become a transfer Red Raider was largely due to this prestigious
academic honor.
“Originally, I was going to go to a different school which did not have that great
of a transfer scholarship,” Maric said. “[However,] once I decided on Tech and saw
the awesome scholarship opportunity, I was even more inclined to attend.”
The CoMC is proud to be called a home for these high-achieving undergraduate scholars
who demonstrate extraordinary dedication and commitment to their ongoing pursuit of
academic excellence.
Presidential Scholarships are awarded to first-year students who demonstrate exceptional
ability through superior test scores and class ranking. The scholarship is renewable
for up to four consecutive years (or eight total terms). Presidential Transfer Scholarships
are renewable for up to two consecutive years (or four total terms), and recipients
must enroll in a minimum of 12 credit hours.
TTU President notes CoMC achievements in National Advisory Board address
Texas Tech University is special and it is growing.
That's what TTU President Lawrence Schovanec, Ph.D., noted at the CoMC National Professional
Advisory Board annual meeting on Nov. 2.
In support of this statement, the president, a former department chair of mathematics
on campus, showed several slides that demonstrated how TTU and the College of Media
& Communication are excelling in the present – and preparing for the future.
According to Schovanec, Texas Tech's freshman enrollment has increased by 34 percent
to more than 6,000 students, and the student-to-faculty ratio has improved as classes
are shrinking in size to allow more personalized instruction in the classroom.
“We do continue to grow, but we're not obsessed with growth,” he said.
Schovanec went on to note that not only is it important to attract new students to
the Red Raider community, it's even more important to retain those students who are
already enrolled.
Recent reporting from the TTU Office of Institutional Advancement shows that CoMC
excels at student retention with its 90.7 percent retention rate for first-time degree-seeking
freshmen.
“I believe that this is the highest of all undergraduate-serving colleges at TTU,”
added David D. Perlmutter, Ph.D., CoMC professor and dean. “This shows we are attracting
motivated students who love our curricula, people and culture!”
Schovanec added, “the staff and faculty of CoMC frequently go out of their way to
mentor students to keep them connected with Tech.”
Along with significantly successful retention rates, CoMC has also been moving up
the ranks with regard to academic research. The college now numbers 34 in the Shanghai
Jiao Tong Academic Ranking of World Universities, a number that Perlmutter reports
is the highest of any academic program at Texas Tech.
“That the two indicators [undergraduate student satisfaction and high research productivity]
have achieved such heights at the same time is doubly significant,” he said. “Our
faculty and programs balance devotion to the success of individual students, keeping
up modern curricula, and fulfilling the mission of a major research university.”
These soaring numbers are no accident for the college.
“Our staff and engaged alumni support our students and the mutual enterprise of student
success and research productivity,” added Perlmutter. “Teamwork means excellence across
the board!”
CoMC alumni, former dean honored at 2018 Hall of Fame dinner
The College of Media & Communication honored its founding college dean and three alumni
at the annual Outstanding Alumni and Hall of Fame Awards dinner at the Overton Hotel
on Nov. 2.
Jerry Hudson, Ph.D., was inducted into the college's Hall of Fame. Hudson is the founding
dean emeritus of CoMC, and holds a bachelor's and a master's degree from West Texas
A&M University and a Ph.D. from the University of North Texas.
During his time at Texas Tech, Hudson served as director of the School of Mass Communications
and went on to become the founding dean of the College of Mass Communications (now
Media & Communication). Hudson also held positions as the coordinator of graduate
studies and director of the Institute of Communication Research in the college.
He served as president of the Texas Association of Broadcast Educators and the Southwest
Council of Journalism and Mass Communication, and was awarded the President's Academic
Achievement award in 1995.
"No one has made such an enduring contribution to the birth and success of our College
as Dean Hudson," said David D. Perlmutter, professor and dean of the CoMC. "We are
proud to give him our thanks in the form of our highest honor and award."
Additionally, three CoMC alumni were recognized as outstanding alumni: Joe Fairless
(Advertising, 2005), Jill Hockenbury (Journalism, 1987), and Tony Wright (MA, Mass
Communications, 1999).
Fairless earned a bachelor's degree in advertising from the College of Media & Communication
at Texas Tech in 2005, and has spent the majority of his career transferring his knowledge
of advertising and communication to the fields of finance and real estate. He is a
co-founder and managing principal of Ashcroft Capital, a multifamily investment firm.
Hockenbury earned her bachelor's degree in journalism from the then-Department of
Mass Communications at Texas Tech in 1987, and has built a career in the world of
health care marketing and communication. She now serves as director of physician outreach
at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Wright earned his master's degree in mass communications from the college in 1999,
and has crafted a career in interactive marketing, public relations and journalism.
Founder of WrightIMC in 2009, his company was named one of the top 10 search engine
marketing firms by Ad Age.
CoMC's Outstanding Alumni Awards program began in 1981 to recognize alumni who have
made significant contributions to the field of communication. The Hall of Fame recognizes
individuals who have contributed to the quality education in the college. Award recipients
were chosen by a committee of faculty college administrators and alumni.
Toreador Media awarded national honors for college media
All three Toreador Media publications, including the La Ventana yearbook and both
The Daily Toreador newspaper and website, have been nominated for and won some of
college media's highest national professional honors.
The Daily Toreador is a finalist for the Associated Collegiate Press' Online Pacemaker
Award and is also a winner of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association's Crown Award
for print.
Not to be outdone, La Ventana, Texas Tech's official yearbook, is a finalist for the
CSPA's top Pacemaker Award for the 2017 yearbook for the second consecutive year.
This is the first time all three Texas Tech student-run publications have been nominated
for top national awards at the same time.
“We are so proud of the hard-working students and staff of Toreador Media,” David
D. Perlmutter, Ph.D., professor and dean, said. “They acted like consummate professionals,
covering some of the most difficult kinds of stories that challenge journalists. They
deserve the highest praise for their talents and commitments. We are overjoyed that
they were officially honored by their peers.”
McKenzi Morris, The Daily Toreador's editor-in-chief, said, “tt's kind of overwhelming.”
Morris, a graduate student in mass communications from Allen, has been on the newspaper
staff for five years and has held the position of editor-in-chief for the last two
years.
“We knew that we were doing good work, especially with all the stuff we had last year
that happened on campus. We really prided ourselves on the work we were doing and
the content we were creating, but you don't do it for the awards,” she said.
“I know that sounds so cheesy, but that's kind of the last thing on your mind when
you're doing your day-to-day [activities],” she added.
In 2017, following national print trends, the newspaper shifted from a print focus
to a digital focus, and within a year of doing so has already received positive national
attention.
“I think that's just where the industry is heading,” Morris continued. “People say
that newspapers are dying, and I don't think that's true. I think it's just changing.
The more that we started to embrace that, the better we knew we would reach our audience,
and so that was the biggest thing for us.”
The newspaper staff will find out whether they win a Silver or Gold Crown at the CSPA
ceremony in March in New York City.
The 2017 La Ventana yearbook won its second consecutive Pacemaker Award. It was one
of only six yearbooks nationwide that earned the ACP award last year.
The annual campus publication is edited this year by senior Davian Hopkins, a graphic
design and creative media industries dual major from Lancaster.
Under Hopkins' leadership, the yearbook was awarded Pacemaker Awards for both 2016
and 2017. And after taking a break last year from the position, Hopkins is excited
to be back working on the 2019 edition, his third yearbook.
“I still try to process it every day,” Hopkins said. “We hadn't won [a Pacemaker Award]
since 1996. That was the year I was born, and so it's kind of crazy. When I made these
[publications], I definitely did step away from the traditional, or the norm, in terms
of how the books looked. I made them more graphic, more visually interesting, so I
think that was part of it,” he said. “They just didn't feel like a traditional yearbook.”
Associate Director and Media Adviser Sheri Lewis agrees.
“That's amazing,” she said. “That just doesn't happen. For [Hopkins] to have come
back and taken on a third book is so exciting. I think it's a testament to his ability
to lead the staff and to share his knowledge. He's so creative and just so cutting
edge.”
Hopkins first joined the yearbook staff in the fall of his freshman year, and was
promoted to the position of the publication's editor-in-chief only a few months later.
Though he started with a background in writing, Hopkins said he discovered his passion
for graphic design through his time working on the yearbook.
“It was kind of nerve-wracking to be in that position as a freshman,” he said. “It
was a lot of pressure. I was new to campus, so I wasn't really familiar with all that
goes on here. But now, having written for the book before I became editor and having
seen how things operate here, I feel like it helped prepare me for this position.”
As the publication staffs continue to develop their current projects, both editors
work hard to keep the content relevant. The goal, Lewis said, is for student staffers
to be able to take their experiences from their time on staff and then use them for
their future careers.
“To be honest, I take no credit whatsoever, and I don't really think that any of the
professional staff members would either,” Lewis said. “The students do this. We are
simply here to support, to advise, to give the resources to get this done. It's all
in the students, and they have done an amazing job.
“La Ventana has a national reputation. And it has for the entire time I've been here.
It's amazing to work with students who command that kind of respect on a national
level,” she said. “It does feel great, but it feels great to see the students be able
to celebrate their own victories. I don't count it as my victory. I count it as theirs.”
The Daily Toreador prints on Mondays and Thursdays and publishes online every day.
The new La Ventana edition is available for purchase online and will be available
for delivery in May. Both The Daily Toreador and La Ventana began publishing in 1925
and have continued to serve the campus community since.
Toreador Media, formerly Student Media, joined the College of Media & Communication
at Texas Tech University in June 2017.
CSPA's Crown Awards are judged on overall excellence as a publication, and the ACP
Pacemaker Awards are judged on coverage, content, quality of writing and reporting,
leadership, design, photography and graphics, according to the organizations' websites.
CoMC faculty and students in full force at NCA conference
The College of Media & Communication was proud to send a large contingent of TTU representatives
to present research at the recent 104th Annual Convention of the National Communication
Association held Nov. 8-11 in Salt Lake City.
Following the overall conference theme of “Communication at Play,” the presentations
ranged widely from the topics of how college students handle communication with their
parents to how gameplay can influence flow dynamics and more.
Both Mark Gring, Ph.D., associate professor in communication studies, and Luke LeFebvre,
Ph.D., assistant professor and director of the CoMC's Communication Training Center,
gave pre-conference workshops to participants.
Three students in CoMC's graduate program (Robyn Adams, Michelle A. Hershberger and
Samer Melhem) were also selected to give presentations on their academic specialties.
Another point of pride is Justin Keene, Ph.D., assistant professor in journalism and
creative media industries, who was recognized with the Distinguished Article Award
from the Communication and Social Cognition division during the conference. Included
as co-author was CoMC alum Jacob Fisher (MA, 2016). The article was titled, “The limited
capacity model of motivated meditated message processing: Looking to the future.”
The complete list of CoMC representatives and alumni who presented at the conference
is as follows:
Robyn Adams (TTU MA 2018) (presenter)
Erik Bucy, Ph.D. (presenter) – Marshall and Sharleen Formby Regents Professor of Strategic
Communication
Glenn Cummins, Ph.D. (presenter) – associate professor, JCMI, and associate dean for
research and grants
Jacob Fisher (MA CoMC 2016) (presenter)
Mark Gring, Ph.D. (presenter) – associate professor, COMS; assistant graduate director
Michelle A. Hershberger (presenter) – CoMC graduate student
Amy N. Heuman, Ph.D. (2x presenter) – associate professor, COMS