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Brown wins inaugural faculty civic engagement award

Dr. Riva Brown

Dr. Riva Brown

Dr. Riva Brown was recognized April 20, 2021, with the first Distinguished Faculty Advocate for Civic Engagement award from the Division of Outreach & Community Engagement.

Dr. Lesley Graybeal, director of service learning, said the new recognition was created by UCA’s Vote Everywhere team to recognize the increased importance of civic engagement as a type of community engagement on our campus.

From the award announcement: “The Distinguished Faculty Advocate for Civic Engagement recognizes a UCA faculty member who displays a commitment to the civic engagement of students by developing students as citizens through intentional design of curricular and co-curricular experiences. Our inaugural award recipient not only relentlessly pursues civic learning outcomes in her public relations courses but has also modeled active citizenship in her role as advisor for the campus chapter of the NAACP and a member of the Civic Action Coordination Committee.”

Graybeal said: “Dr. Brown has been an incredible asset to civic engagement work on our campus. The way that she ties together innovative teaching, advocacy, and collaborative research for the public good is inspiring, and our students benefit so much from her support and the way that she models active citizenship.”

Posted in: Awards, Faculty, Public Relations on April 29, 2021

2021 SoC student award winners named

The School of Communication recognized several outstanding students during its annual awards ceremony held via Zoom on Tuesday, April 13, 2021.

Principles of Communication

Olive M. Hilliard Speech Showcase
  • Nicole Vincent, first place
  • Lamar Williams, second place
  • Joanna Arechiga, third place

First-Year Writing

Write-On Contest
  • Jaden Fleeks, first place
  • Ari Long, first runner up
  • Maya Giuffria, second runner up
InkWire Research Contest
  • Aurora King, first place
  • Maja Gledic, first runner up
  • Lona Ceccherini, second runner up

Communication

Glenn D. Smith Outstanding Student in Communication Award
  • Jamaal Lockings

Journalism

Harry S. Ashmore Outstanding Student in Journalism Award
  • Lauren McLemore
Outstanding Broadcasting Student
  • Austin Ashley
Outstanding Online Student
  • Alyssa Sparks

Public Relations

Alma O. Corley Outstanding Student in Public Relations Award
  • Jamaal Lockings
Public Relations Student Society of America Member of the Year- University of Central Arkansas Chapter
  • Shay Box
Client’s Choice Award for Best Capstone PR Plan, Fall 2020
  •  Spencer Casavechia, Ethan Dolan, Payton Hamric, Amelia Mackey and Rachel White
  • Client: Dolly Parton Imagination Library
Client’s Choice Award for Best Introduction to Public Relations Plan, Spring 2020
  • Mia Burrell, Mary Buddenberg, Lola Simmons and Nate Fielder
  • Client: Conway Men’s Chorus
Client’s Choice Award for Best Introduction to Public Relations Plan, Fall 2020
  • Hannah Phillips
  • Client: School of Communication
PR Pro’s Choice Award for Public Relations Techniques Best Mock News Conference, Spring 2021
  • Callie Ketcher, Morgan Trent

Writing

Joanna Castner Post Outstanding Student in Writing Award
  • Emily Dye
Up-and-Coming Major
  • Katy Reagan
Best Multimodal Project
  • Anna Van, Kaitlyn Bannon, Brandon Donaldson
Best Community Engagement Project
  • Harrison Hite, Kyrece Lasker, Greta Hacker
Best Scholarly Essay
  • Greta Hacker
Posted in: Awards, Communication, Journalism, Public Relations, Student Organizations, Students, Writing on April 17, 2021 Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

UCA Debate and Forensics Finishes its Virtual Season

UCA Debate and Forensics concluded its 2020-21 season by competing at the IPDA National Championship on April 9-11. Members of the team include seniors David Lee, Greta Hacker, Lauren McHenry, and Eli Stroud; junior Adam Cox; and sophomores Jayce Burney, Sian Fox, Aurora King, and C.J. Parrish. Additional support was provided by Nicole Vincent, Gavin Mattox, and Isaiah Williams. The team is coached by Associate Professor of Business Law and Director of Forensics Anthony McMullen.

At the Championship, Varsity debaters Lee and Parrish both reached the elimination rounds with a 6-2 preliminary round record. Both were eliminated in the octafinals. Varsity debater Burney barely missed the elimination rounds with a 4-4 record. In addition, at the Team IPDA portion of the event, which took place March 27-28, the team of Burney and Parrish reached the quarterfinal round.

For the season, UCA Debate and Forensics finished sixth in the Varsity division and eighth and the Team IPDA division. The team of Burney and Parrish finished ninth in the Team IPDA division. Burney finished tied for 15th in the Varsity division. Lee finished in 19th place, and Parrish, Hacker, and McHenry all placed within the top 30 competitors in the division.

These accolades are in addition to those earned through the semester. Most prominent is UCA Debate and Forensics repeating as Arkansas State Champion at the Southern Forensics Championship last January. Cox was the Arkansas Champion and overall tournament runner-up in the Varsity IPDA division. Burney was a varsity IPDA semifinalist and took second in the individual overall sweepstakes. Parrish was recognized as the top Arkansas speaker in the Varsity IPDA division, the Arkansas Champion in impromptu speaking, and placed third in the individual overall sweepstakes. Lee was the Arkansas Champion in extemporaneous speaking and poetry interpretation.

The team will be having its final meeting of the semester on Monday, April 19 to discuss plans for next year. While the team appreciated having a virtual forum to compete this year, it looks forward to returning to travel in the 2021-22 season. The goal will be to travel to at least four events each semester, concluding with the 2022 IPDA National Championship, which will be hosted by Abilene Christian University. Those interested in joining the team should contact any member of team or Director McMullen at AMcMullen@uca.edu.

Posted in: Communication, Public Relations, Student Organizations, Students on April 12, 2021 Tagged:

McLemore’s public scholarship results in multiple media appearances

Dr. Dylan McLemore’s Al Jazeera appearance

Dr. Dylan McLemore, assistant professor of public relations, has made recent media appearances with Al Jazeera Newshour, CNN’s Reliable Sources, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and Relevant Magazine regarding the social media ban on Donald Trump and the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He also appeared on the Metamorphosis podcast discussing Christian nationalism.

 

 

How long have you been at UCA?

This is my fifth year.

Which courses do you teach?

Introduction to Public Relations, Media Law and Ethics, Public Affairs, and Portfolio

How did you connect with Al Jazeera?

I connected with AJ over Twitter (naturally). Last summer, a producer saw some of my commentary on Trump and the media and they reach out to me on occasion for that niche. I love public scholarship – getting our expertise out to general audiences – and one of the silver linings of the pandemic has been the simplified logistics of making that happen. I literally Skype into London from my spare bedroom.

Dr. Dylan McLemore speaks with Al Jazeera anchor

How do these pieces connect with courses taught/research interests?

Content moderation by social media companies will always be relevant to our public relations students as social media management becomes a greater part of their careers. I also talk to journalism and PR students about understanding their audiences, which includes the social identities and filter bubbles they view our messaging through.

I’m conducting ongoing research into how fringe partisans use social media, and how algorithms feed that extremism (some of the preliminary findings are in the ADG column). The religion piece is an application of my dissertation research, which looked at the effects of fused religious-political social identities on information processing. It’s also a place where my research can intersect with my personal faith. I’m a Christian and care deeply about the future of the church in America.

Anything else to add?

I’m thankful to be in a School with colleagues who appreciate and encourage this type of work.

Dr. Dylan McLemore’s tweet published in CNN’s Reliable Sources

-Tami Phillips

Posted in: Faculty, Public Relations on February 18, 2021 Tagged: ,

PR, the Press & Public Affairs class reports on BLM protests in central Arkansas

This semester COVID-19 prevented our PR, the Press & Public Affairs class from holding a campus/community event as we have in past years. Nevertheless, the class knew what they wanted to focus on from Day One – the summer Black Lives Matter protests in central Arkansas. So, students did original reporting to capture the protests through the eyes of activists, aid workers, police, journalists, small business owners, educators, and more.
Their work is published here: https://ar2020protests.wordpress.com/
–Dr. Dylan McLemore
Posted in: Faculty, Journalism, Public Relations, Students on December 9, 2020
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