MARTHA HAUN served as parliamentarian for recent board meetings and a convention in Dallas for the Academic Language Therapists Assn. and the spring board meeting of the International Multi-structured Language Education Council. Both organizations provide certification and training for teachers of children with dyslexia.

DEBORAH BRIDGES, together with Valenti School master's candidates Carmen Galvan and Alec Tefertiller, participated as community and alumna judges in the National Christian Forensics and Communication Organization's Houston Regional Invitational speech competition finals held May 3. Carmen is a former competitor and placed fifth in persuasive speaking at the regional tournament, qualifying her to compete at the national level during her term.

Former and current Valenti School of Communication students lead by Director Mary Arévalo won a Gold Remi (second place) in the film shorts division at the WorldFest Film Festival. Nine Lam, Karen Martinez, Angie Brown, Alex Olivares, Nael Diab and Arévalo created the short film Tiempo Suelto (Loose Time), a Spanish-language short about living in the loose time between a medical test and receiving the results.

Monette Chilson (M.A.) is publishing her book, Sophia Rising: Awakening Your Sacred Wisdom Through Yoga, by Bright Sky Press on June 1, 2013. See attachments.

Welcome Wilson, Sr. (B.A.) will receive an honorary doctorate degree during UH’s commencement weekend. He was instrumental in the naming of the Valenti School and the capital campaign for the building project. See some of his selected accomplishments here: http://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2013/may/05012013CommencementHonors.php

TEMPLE NORTHUP’s student documentaries are featured in Memorial News, highlighting the screening at 14 Pews. The project is part of the CLASS Gulf Coast Food Project, an interdisciplinary effort with the Dept. of History. The event was also noted in UH News Digest April 29. http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/memorial/living/uh-students-chronicle-what-houston-eats-for-gulf-coast-food/article_856a9d5d-db06-59dc-8db0-f976f92ca28e.html

LAN NI and BETH OLSON attended the OpEd Project workshop Friday sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. The OpEd Project’s mission is to increase female representation in media commentary. www.theopedproject.org

RANDY POLK worked with the Texas Motion Picture Alliance to sponsor an on-campus event April 25 where representatives from local and state professional film organizations met with approximately 60 Valenti School students. The following organizations were represented: Southwest Alternative Media Project, TXMPA, Houston Film Commission, Houston Writers’ Guild, Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Women in Film & Television. Students from the Creative Writing Program and the School of Theatre and Dance also attended.

BOB HEATH provided a summary of the research findings he and JAE LEE produced to the Deer Park Citizens Advisory Council. The research report, produced for the Deer Park Local Emergency Planning Committee is entitled “Longitudinal Analysis of Emergency Response Awareness and Practices in Deer Park, Texas" (1995, 1998, 2002) which was updated in 2012.

BOB HEATH and STEPHANIE PROUTHEAU (M.A.UH) have had their paper "Narrative of certitude for uncertainty normalisation regarding biotechnology in international organisations" published in the proceedings of the conference, Communiquer dans un Monde de Normes: L'information et the communication dan the enjeux contemporains de la "mondialisation," March 8-9, 2012, held in Roubaix, France. The conference was jointly sponsored by the International Communication Association, le Groupement d'Etudes et de Recheres en Information et Communication (Geriico) and la Societe Francaise des Sciences de L'information and de la Communication (SFSIC).

MARTHA HAUN hosted 20 faculty and students for the Phi Beta spring initiation April 29. Phi Beta is a national professional fraternal organization dedicated to the creative and performing arts.

JOE LEYDON is moderated two panels at the Nashville Film Festival:
http://www.movingpictureblog.com/2013/04/hanging-with-motion-piture-academy.html

Five Valenti School students received a $3,500 scholarship and iPad Mini from the Houston Association of Hispanic Media Professionals. HAHMP awards 10 scholarships per year. Four of the five are members are from the El Gato Media Network.
Rebeca Trejo- Broadcast Journalism
Edith Manzanares- Broadcast Journalism
Priscilla Riojas- Broadcast Journalism (Valenti alumna headed to Columbia Graduate School of Journalism)
Jessica Riojas- Media Production
Angelica Rodriguez- Broadcast Journalism (transferring to Valenti in the Fall)

UH PRSSA students Alexis Culver, Alice Doskosil, Ryan Perry, Lauren Rosenbaum and Candace Sanders won the Case Study Competition at the Loyola University Regional PRSSA Conference in New Orleans April 19-20. The case involved a situation involving e-coli contamination at a two-day crawfish festival, that was discovered after the first day’s events ended and before the second day’s events began.

DAVID McHAM’s student Minh Dam conducted an interview with President Khator for the Daily Cougar:
http://thedailycougar.com/2013/04/25/renu-khator-stays-humble/?utm_source=042513&utm_campaign=Email+Edition&utm_medium=email

ARTHUR D. SANTANA has published a book chapter entitled, “The New Role of Bilingual Newspapers in Establishing and Maintaining Social Group Identities among Latinos,” in Identity and Communication: New Agendas in Communication, eds. Dominic Lasorsa and America Rodriguez (New York: Routledge, 2013): 62-81.

MARTHA WOMACK HAUN and Robin Nicklin Williamson have an article entitled, “Listening Skills for the Parliamentarian,” published in the April 2013 Parliamentary Journal, LIV (2),pp. 60-66.

More information from the project KEITH HOUK and RANDY POLK’s students created with Diverse Works (Liz Magic Laser “Tell Me What You Want to Hear”) from Diverse Works website and the CLASS newsletter:
Here is a link to the project on Diverse Works website:
http://diverseworks.org/2013/liz-magic-laser-tell-me-what-you-want-to-hear/
http://www.uh.edu/class/news/archive/2013/april/art-exhibit/

Ali Younes (B.A. senior)’s Achieving The Greatest (ATG) Foundation created to prepare high school students for college is featured in the Houston Press. So far, his organization has assisted 300 high school students.
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2013/04/atg_foundations_colleges.php

Abigail Hagan will be an intern for Entertainment Tonight Canada and will be working at the Cannes Film Festival in May. She is the first recipient of the William Hawes Family Scholarship.

The Daily Cougar is listed as one of 100 exemplary college newspapers (see #66):
http://journalismdegree.org/exemplary-college-newspapers/

TEMPLE NORTHUP has been invited to join the University of Houston's Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects. The committee is responsible for the approval of all Human Subject (IRB) protocols for the university. Dr. Northup was invited to join the committee to add expertise to their committee in reviewing applications related to the communication discipline.

JULIE FIX, WARD BOOTH, and SHAWN McCOMBS provided a tour for 40 students from B.F. Terry High School in the Lamar Consolidated School District.

JOE LEYDON was interviewed on KHOU-TV and News 92 FM, and wrote a remembrance for CultureMap.com, following the death of his friend and colleague Roger Ebert.
http://houston.culturemap.com/news/entertainment/04-04-13-dammit-roger-ebert-did-you-have-to-cut-back-on-reviewing-this-much-1/

JOE LEYDON’s 1982 interview with documentary filmmaker Les Blank was reprinted on Indiewire.com after Blank’s April 7 death.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/les-blank-interview-from-1982-on-documentary-burden-of-dreams-chronicling-herzogs-chaotic-fitzcarraldo

JOE LEYDON paid tribute to the late Anne Funicello in an April 8 essay for CNN.com.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/08/opinion/leydon-annette-funicello/?hpt=us_c2

CHARLIE THORP’s Local Advertising Campaigns class project was again featured – this time in Ad Tech Digital Digest with other universities:
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/14360119-marketing-101-college-students-aim-to-drive-up-interest-in-honda-civic

MICHELLE REXROAT (B.A.) assisted in shooting stills for the production of a Levi’s commercial featuring Russell Westbrook and Walt "Clyde" Frazier.

KEITH HOUK and RANDY POLK’s students participated with Diverse Works Art Space to provide video production support for a project entitled "Tell Me What You Want To Hear." The opening reception is Friday, April 5 from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Details at:
http://diverseworks.org/2013/liz-magic-laser-tell-me-what-you-want-to-hear/

The Trustees of the Houston Assembly of Delphian Chapters Scholarship Foundation Fund are awarding a $500 grant to media production toward the purchase of a camera tripod and head system. Media Production and Journalism students will use the equipment to produce video and still images.

The Daily Cougar won 16 honors from the prestigious Columbia Scholastic Press Association's 2012-13 Gold Circle Awards. Winning entries written by Valenti School students are below (copy and paste into browser):

David Hayden (B.A., December 2012)
First place; Entertainment reviews for digital media, Graduate expands restaurant
http://thedailycougar.com/2012/08/28/uh-graduate-expands-restaurant-business-3/
Joshua Mann (editor)
Second place; Breaking news for digital media, Police arrest two in robbery
http://thedailycougar.com/2012/09/28/police-arrest-two-in-connection-with-second-robbery/

Brianna Leigh Morrison (B.A.)
Third place; single sports photograph for digital media, Sweet send-off for seniors
http://thedailycougar.com/2012/02/27/sweet-send-off-for-seniors/

Christopher Shelton (sports editor), Certificate of Merit for four entries below:
News feature for digital media, Human trafficking,
http://thedailycougar.com/2012/09/11/task-force-focused-on-human-trafficking/
Sports news for digital media, UH retains Bayou Bucket,
http://thedailycougar.com/2012/09/29/uh-defeats-rice-retains-bayou-bucket/
Sports features for digital media, Stewart makes impact as freshman,
http://thedailycougar.com/2012/09/21/stewart-makes-impact-on-the-defense-as-a-true-freshman/
Sports features for digital media, Levine's changes spark team,
http://thedailycougar.com/2012/10/08/levines-mentality-spreads-to-team/

NORTHUP, T. (2013). “Examining the Relationship Between Media Use and Aggression, Sexuality, and Body Image.” Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk, 4, Article 3. A summary and full article can be found online at: http://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/childrenatrisk/vol4/iss1/3/

LINDITA CAMAJ is quoted in the story “Blogging Away” in the Daily Cougar: http://thedailycougar.com/2013/03/26/blogging-away/

LARRY KELLEY and ROSARIO LAUDICINA’s National Advertising Campaigns class will have their National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) dress rehearsal Monday, April 8 at 6:30 p.m. in COMM 150. Please join them if you are able to do so.

Three advertising majors will receive Houston Advertising Education Foundation scholarships. They are: Courtney Coleman, Fahima Al-Uqhah and Julio Flores. Julio will receive an internship plus the scholarship from López Negrete Communications.

ARTHUR D. SANTANA & John Russial (2013). “Photojournalists’ Role Expands At Most Daily U.S. Newspapers,” Newspaper Research Journal (34, no. 1: 74-88). The paper examined the changes of the work of newspaper photojournalists, who are taking on the bulk of video work in conjunction with the growing emphasis on the online product.

Kim, J-N., & LAN NI (2013). Two types of public relations problems and integrating formative and evaluative research: A review of research programs within the behavioral, strategic management paradigm. Journal of Public Relations Research, 25, 1-29. DOI: 10.1080/1062726X.2012.723276

DAVE FEHLING received three Texas Associated Press Broadcasters (TAPB) Awards for his energy and environment specialty or beat reporting (1st place), reporting (2nd place) and for his feature story “Will Texas Taxes Pay for Damaged Counties in Eagle Ford?” Laurie Johnson (B.A.) received a 2nd place award for her general assignment story “More UH Students Choose Dorm Living.” They both work at KUHF News 88.7 FM, a division of Houston Public Media.

BRYAN BUTLER is leaving the copy desk at the Houston Chronicle to be an editor in the petrochemicals group at Platts. He also is the lead author for the chapter “Turning the Page with Newspapers: Influence of the Internet on Sports Coverage” in Routledge’s Handbook of Sport Communication, (Paul M. Pedersen, Ed.). Matthew H. Zimmerman and Sharon Hutton are the co-authors. (http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415518192/).

The photo of former CNN reporter Alphonso Van Marsh speaking to CAROLYN CANVILLE’s class was the featured photo in the UH News Digest March 14.

GARTH JOWETT and LINDITA CAMAJ are quoted in the Houston Press' article on Josh Trevino: A Chat with the Prominent Texas Conservative Voice Outed as Malaysian Agent (copy and paste link into browser): http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2013/03/josh_trevino_malaysia_payment.php?page=2

CHARLIE THORP’s Local Advertising Campaigns class is participating in the national Honda Civic Marketing Challenge. The class formed an ad agency called the Valenti Group to create an integrated communication campaign. The project was featured in the Daily Cougar: http://thedailycougar.com/2013/03/07/marketing-students-contend-in-competition/

ZHIWEN XIAO was invited to join the editorial board for the Journal of Therapy and Management in HIV Infection.

Alphonso Van Marsh shared his broadcast journalism experience with Valenti School of Communication students as the CNN reporter who broke the news of Saddam Hussein’s capture in Iraq. He’s also been a “one man band” freelance reporter in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East. He spoke with CAROLYN CANVILLE’s Advanced Electronic News class Thursday night.

Advertising students Amanda Nguyen and Judy Rojas have won the American Advertising Federation (AAF)’s Vance and Betty Stickell internship award. Each of the 125 AAF college chapters nominates two students for this award which includes a paid summer internship in a national advertising agency. Only 10% of the applicants are chosen. This is the first time Valenti students have received this honor.

ARTHUR SANTANA is featured in a Feb. 11 Daily Cougar article about his grant-funded research on social media: http://thedailycougar.com/2013/02/11/grant-propels-journalism-research/

MARTHA HAUN is the senior alumni advisor for the Alpha Epsilon collegiate chapter of Phi Beta National Professional Fraternity for the Creative and Performing Arts. SUZANNE BUCK is the junior alumni advisor. Robyn Lyn (speech comm) is the student leader. Membership is open to all students with a minimum B- average in communication, drama, dance, art and music (major or minor). An alumni chapter Pi Alpha Tau is active for qualified faculty.

KEITH HOUK’s Media Production I class completed three days of shooting for a collaborative project with Diverseworks and the New York-based artist Liz Magic Lazer. The project involved taping individuals in a workshop environment discussing the interview process. Participants included Linda Lorelle and Shannon Buggs. The footage will be used to create a trailer and it will be incorporated into an installation at Diverseworks in April.

The Media Production I class is also partnering with Mark Medoff's screenwriting class and the acting for camera class in the School of Theater and Dance to produce short films this semester. The students in Media Production I are producers for the projects as well as department heads on production days. KEITH HOUK’s Single Camera Film Style class will be the crew for the shoots. The first production will be taped Saturday on campus.
Sharron Reynolds-Enriquez, a Los Angeles-based script supervisor, spoke to RANDY POLK’s Preproduction Management and KEITH HOUK’s Single Camera classes last week. Reynolds-Enriquez has been a script supervisor for more than 30 years. She has worked on Pirates of the Caribbean, the Social Network, Benjamin Button, L.A. Confidential, and many other films. She was interviewed for the Daily Cougar (pdf link).

LARRY KELLEY and ROSARIO LAUDICINA’s 2012 National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) team won a silver Addy award in the category of best use of non-traditional media at the Houston Advertising Federation’s banquet.

KEITH HOUK’s Digital Cinematography class won a gold Addy award in the student category for Elements of Advertising, Visual, Cinematography with a 30-second spec ad. The entry automatically advances to the regional competition April 10 in Tulsa.

The Board of Regents approved the new concentration in Integrated Communication last week. We now wait for Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approval. The concentration was featured in a Daily Cougar article Tuesday, Feb. 5:
http://thedailycougar.com/2013/02/04/new-degrees-expand-uh/?utm_source=020413&utm_campaign=Email+Edition&utm_medium=email

TEMPLE NORTHUP and LINDITA CAMAJ are featured in a Daily Cougar article January 29 about grant-funded research: http://thedailycougar.com/2013/01/29/valenti-professors-granted-research-opportunities/?utm_source=012913&utm_campaign=Email+Edition&utm_medium=email

Students from JENNIFER VARDEMAN-WINTER’s Issues Management class, and ROSARIO LAUDICINA’s and MICHAEL STRICKLAND’S Principles of PR classes worked with Houston’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (METRO) fall semester to assist with campaign and research projects. METRO sought student help in order to “…strengthen the relationship between METRO and the university, increase public awareness of light-rail, and encourage student/faculty support for more than 500 businesses located along the North, East End and Southeast lines.” See news release attached.

BETH OLSON, ORLANDO ZAMORA, WARD BOOTH, SHAWN McCOMBS and JOSE VAZQUEZ conducted a tour of the building for about 20 students from Sharpstown High School Friday, Jan. 25.

CRAIG CROWE’S students - Katie Brown, Nine Nguyen, and Mary Arevalo - created two PSAs which will air on KPRC-TV for Black History Month (February). Brittaney Willmore completed the voice over for the two projects. One of the 20-second videos is about Lynn Eusan, student activist and the first UH African-American Homecoming Queen, and the other features UH quarterback Andre Ware, who was the first African-American quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy.

RANDY POLK has arranged for Sharron Reynolds-Enriquez, a Los Angeles-based script supervisor, to visit classes Thursday, Feb. 7. There will be seats available in Keith Houk’s Single Camera class at 4:00 in COMM 144 if you or your students might be interested. Ms. Reynolds-Enriquez has more than 30 years of experience working as a script supervisor; she has worked on The Lone Ranger, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Social Network, Benjamin Button, Panic Room and many other films. She is also presenting a professional workshop for the Houston chapter of Women and Film, TV Saturday, Feb. 3, coordinated by Valenti alumnus Michelle Mower. Workshop information: http://www.wift-houston.org/CalenderEditEvent.aspx?eventID=78&Type=0 and http://www.facebook.com/events/197886887017031/permalink/198542623618124/

JAE LEE and BOB HEATH presented their recent research project January 22 for the Local Emergency Planning Committee of Deer Park, Texas. This study entitled "Longitudinal Analysis of Emergency Response Awareness and Practices in Deer Park, Texas” assesses the community perception of the emergency planning and responsiveness of industry, government, and the public schools in one of the largest concentrations of chemical manufacturing in the U.S.

TEMPLE NORTHUP is quoted in a pair of stories in the Victoria Advocate about the local radio station's decision to remove a Ke$ha song from the airwaves:
http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2013/jan/20/jrp_censor_pro_012113_199565/
http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2013/jan/20/jrp_censor_con_012113_199566/

Degrees Employers Hate and Love (communication is 2nd-most-loved degree):
http://education.yahoo.net/articles/loved_and_hated_degrees.htm?kid=1MN32

XIAO, ZHIWEN W. (2012). Psychosocial correlates of premarital sex among Chinese college students. International Journal of Sexual Health, 24(4), 318-328. The paper was published in December 2012.

ZHIWEN XIAO has been awarded $3,000 through the University's Small Grants Program (2012-2013). The funds will be used to hire research assistants to survey ecological risk factors of HIV infection among African American women.

Amanda Nguyen and Fahima Al-Ugdah have been named national semi-finalists for the American Advertising Agency Association (4A's) Multicultural Advertising Internship Program. MAIP provides students with a paid summer internship plus living expenses.

ARTHUR SANTANA has received a $6,000 New Faculty Research grant. The project, entitled "Engaging a New Channel of Information: Reporters' Use of Social Media," will explore how newspaper journalists are using social media as part of their reporting practices, including sharing the news, searching for sources and citing user-generated content in their news stories. The research will coincide with a course, COMM 4397 News & Social Media, he will teach in the spring.

TEMPLE NORTHUP has been awarded $3,000 through the University's Small Grants Program. The funds will be used to bring eye-tracking equipment to the school for the spring semester, which will be used for both research and teaching purposes.

LINDITA CAMAJ received a $6,000 New Faculty Research Grant which will be used to analyze the implementation of Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation in Montenegro exploring factors that facilitate and/or hinder journalists’ (proxy to citizens) ability to acquire public records and ways to improve their access to governmental information.

LARRY KELLEY’s Local Advertising Campaigns class placed third out of 20 teams in the Edventure Partners Chevrolet Campus Promotional Program. The team placed higher than teams from Texas A&M’s graduate business school and the University of Arizona.

Houston Advertising Federation Scholarship Application found at: http://www.houstonadscholarships.com/

GARTH JOWETT is quoted in USA Today about the power of the media spotlight: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/12/08/tragedies-power-of-media/1754939/

LARRY KELLEY comments on KHUF about the new rule beginning today that requires TV commercials to reduce audio levels (Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (or CALM) Act): http://app1.kuhf.org/articles/1355400552-Todays-The-Day-Television-Commercials-Must-Officially-CALM-Down.html

CATHERINE BURCH GRAHAM spoke to News 92 FM’s Bonnie Petrie Friday during its afternoon drive time about her father’s experience at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

SUZANNE BUCK completed nine hours of communication training for Intellectual Property Delegates from Hangzhou and Zhejiang Providences of China. Training included social and business etiquette, along with public speaking and Presentation skills.

BETH OLSON and SUZANNE BUCK attended the Valenti Alumni Association’s Holiday Mixer Wednesday, Dec. 5.

JOE LEYDON will appear at Fantastic Fest:
http://www.movingpictureblog.com/2012/11/fantastic-fest-it-is-celebration-of.html
Produced for public television station KLRU of Austin, All My Friends Are Vampires is a way-cool overview of the phantasmagorical frenzy that is Fantastic Fest, the world's wildest genre-movie exposition. I'm on screen to offer pithy commentary at the 11:30 and 15:00 marks (and off-screen, but still heard, at around 24:10). But, hey, you owe it to yourself -- and to director Mario Troncoso -- to savor the whole dang thing.
Posted By Joe Leydon to MovingPictureBlog at 11/30/2012 10:38:00

Advertising major Fahima Al-Uqhah is one of 40 finalists for the American Advertising Federation (AAF) Most Promising Minority Student award. She will attend the February banquet for the nominees in New York City.

Valenti alumnae Michelle Eulene is featured as one of the Red Heroes in the UH Keep Houston Red Campaign:

Keep Houston Red - Red Heroes

Red Heroes like Brenda Melgar and Michelle Eulene are dedicated to shaping a better future, one life at a time. Melgar, who will graduate this year with a degree in Entrepreneurship, volunteers as an art teacher in League City. “It’s really neat to encourage kids who are gifted or simply excited to paint,” she says. Eulene, who earned her Communications degree in 2006, plans to offer free photography sessions to needy individuals and families. “They could use a session to boost their self-confidence,” she says. Watch the videos below to learn more about how Brenda and Michelle Keep Houston Red.

Brenda Melgar	Michelle Eulene

CAMAJ, LINDITA. (2012). The Media’s Role in Fighting Corruption: Media Effects on Governmental Accountability. The International Journal of Press/Politics, doi: 10.1177/1940161212462741.

ARTHUR SANTANA is featured in the fall, 2012 UH Magazine in the “New Faculty Focus” section, p. 33.www.uh.edu/magazine

GARTH JOWETT is quoted in the KTRK-TV 13 story about the radio show Amos & Andy on the air in Houston: http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8883178

XIAO, ZHIWEN.W., Li, X. & Mehrotra, P (2012). HIV/Sexual Risk Reduction Interventions in China: A Meta-Analysis. Presented at the 98th Annual Convention of National Communication Association in Florida on Nov. 18, 2012.

NORTHUP, TEMPLE & Mulligan, N. (2012). Conceptual Implicit Memory in Advertising Research. Applied Cognitive Psychology, doi: 10.1002/acp.2892.

LARRY KELLEY was a guest speaker in ZHIWEN XIAO’s Health Campaigns course (COMM6345) on Nov. 14, 2012. He spoke about how to develop an effective health campaign from the institutional perspective.

SHAWN McCOMBS, DUNG HUYNH, ANTONIO FARIS, ORLANDO ZAMORA, JOSE VAZQUEZ, MICHAEL PHAN, and WARD BOOTH hosted a group of students from John H. Reagen High School (HISD’s magnet school for computer technology) who toured the building and campus Friday, Nov. 16.

MARTHA J. HAUN served as parliamentarian for the Delegate Assembly of the International Dyslexia Society (IDA) in Baltimore, MD on Oct. 25, 2012. She also served as parliamentarian for the annual Board meetings of the International Multi-Structured Language Education Council (IMSLEC), the Academic Language Therapists Association (ALTA) and the ALLIANCE (reps from IDA, IMLEC and ALTA) all of whom met at the same conference.

JULIE FIX conducted a full day workshop for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Houston Chapter on the Accredited in Public Relations credentialing process on Saturday, Oct. 27 at the Valenti School. Fix, who is Accredited and a member of the PRSA College of Fellows, also provided an overview of the 60+ knowledge, skill and abilities areas tested in the APR process, including communication theory and strategic planning.

LARRY KELLEY presented “How to Survive at NSAC” at the Houston Student Advertising Conference. More than 200 students from 20 universities attended the event; 20 students from the AAF-UH chapter participated. Student agency teams had eight hours to create an advertising campaign for Academy team sports. Valenti School students were on each of the top three teams: Dwayne O'Brien was on the third place team; Ebony Smith was on the 2nd place team and Amanda Nguyen was on the 1st place team.

JOE LEYDON will conduct the on-stage Q&A with veteran actor Ed Lauter after the Denver Film Festival screening of Ed Burns' "The Fitzgerald Family Christmas.”

JOE LEYDON will conduct the on-stage Q&A with director Jorge Hinojosa after the Houston Cinema Arts Festival screening of Hinojosa's "Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp.”

Baldemar Rodriguez, a Valenti School alumnus whose film has been featured on our home page, was included in the Houston Press’ 100 Creatives list:
100 Creatives: Baldemar Rodriguez, Film Director/Producer and Actor
Filmmaker Baldemar Rodriguez was studying acting at the University of Houston's School of Theater, when he encountered the age-old problem of finding interesting and relevant roles. "I thought, 'Instead of complaining, I'm going to do something about it. I'm going to get a different degree - I'll learn how to write, direct and produce.' It took me two extra years to get my degree, but now, 15 years later, I've written, directed and produced a film that's going to be distributed nationally."

For the full interview:
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/artattack/2012/11/100_creatives_baldemar_rodrigu.php

XIAO, ZHIWEN, X. & Mehrotra, P. (2012). HIV/Sexual Risk Reduction Interventions in China: A Meta-Analysis. AIDS Patient Care and STDS, 26(10), 597-613. doi: 10.1089/apc.2012.0151. AIDS Patient Care and STDS is a blind and peer-reviewed journal with an impact factor of 2.411.

ARTHUR SANTANA has been asked to serve on the editorial board of Digital Journalism, an international, peer reviewed journal published by Routledge, Taylor and Francis

JULIE FIX represented the Public Relations Society of America Houston Chapter at the society’s annual Leadership Assembly in San Francisco Oct. 13. She also attended the PRSA College of Fellows Induction Banquet that evening and the College’s annual meeting the following day.

JULIE FIX presented a “Lunch and Learn” program on Improving Communication Skills for employees of the British Consulate-General Oct. 17.

JOE LEYDON wrote the cover-story profile of Richard Gere for the 100th issue of Moviemaker Magazine.

JOE LEYDON appeared on "Great Day Houston" to discuss horror movies for a Halloween-themed segment with host Deborah Duncan.

Student Ethan LeCuyer wrote the profile on Adrees Latif’s classroom visits for CLASS News: http://www.uh.edu/class/news/archive/2012/november/pulitzer-prize/

Call for Entries

The Asian American Studies Center (AASC) at UH is launching a competition for the design of its logo. The AASC is an interdisciplinary academic center dedicated to the study of Asians/Asian Americans in the United States and abroad. Its mission is to generate knowledge in, increase awareness of, and foster rich opportunities for learning about the Asian/Asian American experiences. For more information about the center, please check: http://www.uh.edu/aasc/

Requirements

The logo should 1) symbolize and represent the mission of AASC; 2) be easily recognizable and memorable for audiences both inside UH and outside.

Prizes

• $1000 for first place winner
• $500 for second place winner
• $300 for third place winner

Procedure and Rules

The logo competition is open to all students at UH and the deadline for submission of entries is 5 p.m. on Nov. 18, 2012. Entries should be sent to aasclogo@central.uh.edu as high quality .jpg files.

The winning entries will be chosen by a panel of judges that currently includes Yali Zou, Lois Zomora, Gorge Gamble, Thomas DeGregory, Lan Ni, Ling Zhu, Louis Leung, and Elizabeth Gonzales. The winners will be announced by Nov. 30, 2012. The winners will have their designs on all AASC promotional materials in all kinds of media (digital and print). AASC will use the winners’ names in future publicity materials.

For more information, contact Dr. Lan Ni at lni@uh.edu

JILL YAMASAKI is the new Valenti School Faculty Senate representative. She has been elected to serve through Dec. 31, 2015.

JULIE FIX facilitated two sessions –one on research and one on strategic planning – for the fall cohort of the Universal Accreditation Board’s Accredited in Public Relations online study program. The hour-long sessions, conducted as a webinar, were on Sept. 25 and Oct. 16.

LARRY KELLEY has again facilitated our access to Media Audit – the media audience measurement software. Some of the updates this year: inclusion of social media, online media, a trending feature, and the ability to access from anywhere (not just the comm lab). If you’re interested, see Larry for a username and password for access.

The UH Public Relations Student Society of America Chapter (PRSSA) kicked off the new academic year with a panel of recent UH grads who talked about how they got their jobs after graduation. Panelists were Nici Wright, a May 2012 graduate who is working as an intern to prepare for entering the job market, Justin Concepcion, who works as Mayor Annise Parker’s director of social media, Ariana Montelongo de Valdivia, who now works for Houston Media Services TV after previous stints with an agency and nonprofit organizations, Shelly White Millwee, who is director of communications for the Houston Metro Division, American Heart Association, and Ed Davis of Fifth Ring, who is PRSA Houston Chapter president. Wright, de Valdivia and Concepcion are all Valenti School PR majors and Davis was a PR minor.

GARTH JOWETT is quoted in a KPRC-TV story Oct. 12 about body language during the vice presidential debate:
http://www.click2houston.com/news/Body-language-during-VP-debate-decoded/-/1735978/16971488/-/sgrl3nz/-/index.html

MARTHA J. HAUN attended the Texas Speech Communication Association 2012 convention in San Antonio, TX Oct. 11-14 where she participated on a panel on “Reverse Mentoring.” Her presentation was on “The Importance of Sharing Narratives.”
She chaired a panel for the Interpersonal/Organizational Interest group on “Challenges and Choices Young Adults Face.”

DAVE McKINNEY wrote “Life lessons: How an on-campus demonstration inspired a PR class discussion” in a recent issue of PR Tactics. (see attachment for full article).
http://www.prsa.org/Intelligence/Tactics/Articles/view/9948/1055/Life_lessons_How_an_on_campus_demonstration_inspir#.UH2QZNT2MMM.gmail

BOB HEATH published "Was Black Rhetoric Ever Anything but Race in Public Relations? The Challenges of the Rhetoric of Identity" (Chapter 14, pp. 225-244) in Culture, Social Class, and Race in Public Relations, edited by Damion Waymer (Lexington Books, 2012). This is an updated publication based on Bob’s work on Black Rhetoric in the early 1970s.

JOSE VAZQUEZ and MICHAEL PHAN performed an upgrade in August so that the Valenti School's multi-camera studio is now producing content in High Definition (HD). The system utilizes existing studio cameras up-converted to HD along with a new HD switcher, router and signal processing equipment. The upgrade provides Media Production and Journalism students with access to HD equipment similar to what they might find in broadcast facilities after graduation.

The Valenti School's Lance T. Funston Communication Center has won the Texas Building Branch "Outstanding Construction Award" for its category. The award was presented to Bartlett-Cocke, the construction company, at the Texas Building Branch convention. Texas Building Branch is part of a national trade organization for general contracting companies.

JAE LEE (Principle PI) and Shin Jae-Hwa (University of Southern Mississippi) are completing a grant entitled “Cross-Cultural Study of Leadership in Public Relations and Communication Management in Korea.” This $1,800 grant was sponsored by the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations at University of Alabama and includes surveys and interviews of Korean PR professionals. Specific research agendas included: Current Leadership Issues, Abilities, Action Strategies, Leadership Perceptions, and Developing Future Leaders.

TEMPLE NORTHUP received an $8,000 grant for “Houston Eats: An Online Platform Mapping the Rich Culture and History of Food in the Nation’s Most Diverse City” from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)’s “Building a Bridge Between the Knight News Challenge and JMC Programs” initiative. The project will include the establishment of a website using DocumentCloud dedicated to showcasing student work related to food and food production.

XIAO, ZHIWEN. (2012). Correlates of Condom Use Among Chinese College Students in Hunan Province. AIDS Education & Prevention, 24(5), 469-482.  AIDS Education & Prevention is a blind peer-reviewed journal with an impact factor of 1.59.

JENNIFER VARDEMAN-WINTER, ARTHUR SANTANA, and BETH OLSON attended the Cougar Ally Training sponsored by the LGBT Resource Center Sept. 28. They will be publically identified as a Cougar Ally via a posted placard.

SUZANNE BUCK gave a presentation Sept. 30 on Sell Your Community: Mastering Presentation Skills to members of the International Economic Development Conference in Houston.

LARRY KELLEY has been named to the editorial review board for the Journal of Advertising.

JOSE VAZQUEZ assisted a group of media production and drama students from Yates High School who used the Valenti School’s studio to shoot a breast cancer awareness PSA.  Yates is HISD’s magnet program for communication (broadcast TV, radio, print and photography).

Crawford Jones (B.A., anticipated Dec. 2012) won the Houston Astros’ “You Make the Call” radio apprenticeship for next season. “To come this far and end up winning it, I’m blessed,” said Crawford, who is the backup quarterback on the UH football team. “I’m completely blessed to be here.” Houston Chronicle columnist Ken Hoffman and former Astros pitcher and manager Larry Dierker were among the members of the contest’s selection panel.

BOB HEATH has been reappointed to the Editorial Board of Management Communication Quarterly, one of the discipline's strongest journals in terms of citations.

MARTHA J. HAUN represented Phi Beta National Professional Fraternity for the Creative and Performing Arts at the 2012 meeting of the Professional Fraternity Association convention in Rochester, NY, Sept. 7-9. HAUN is a past national president of both Phi Beta and PFA which represents some two million Greek professionals nationwide. She and other members of Pi Alpha Tau, Houston alumni chapter, are overseeing the reactivation of the Alpha Epsilon chapter which is now recognized by UH as a campus organization. Robyn Lynn, communication major, is president.

BOB HEATH published a chapter titled “Risk Management and Communication: Pressures and Conflicts of a Stakeholder Approach to Corporate Social Responsibility” in A Stakeholder Approach to Corporate Social Responsibility: Pressures, Conflicts, Reconciliation, edited by A.Lindgreen, P. Kotler, F. Maon, and J. Vanhamme (with Michael J. Palenchar--UH MA, Katherine McComas, and Stephanie Proutheau--UH M) (2012, pp. 121-140). England: Gower Publishing Limited.

CATHERINE BURCH GRAHAM and CAROLYN CANVILLE are quoted in the Daily Cougar article “Students, faculty use online resources” Sept. 6, 2012: http://thedailycougar.com/2012/09/06/students-faculty-use-online-resources/

DAVID McHAM is quoted in the Houston Chronicle Thursday, Aug. 30:

Do you remember where you were when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon on July 20, 1969? Here's what a few Houstonians recalled:

"I was working at the Waco News-Tribune at the time, and as it turned out, I did the makeup for the front page and wrote the headline. The anticipation is what I remember more than anything. After the turbulent years of the '60s, this was a great, uniting experience for all of us."

David McHam, instructional professor at the University of Houston's Valenti School of Communication

http://www.chron.com/default/article/Houstonians-remember-watching-Armstrong-s-moonwalk-3825398.php

KEITH HOUK’s former students Jason Hartley, Kevin Housand, Charles Propst and Eric Salzman will participate in the Vegas Cinefest Film Festival next month. Their film “Chameleon Code” will be screened as part of the festival. They finished the rough cut of the film in a Special Problems course.

Chameleon Code

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2072920/vegascinefest.com

The following list of Valenti School of Communication students attended the National Association of Hispanic Journalists convention in Las Vegas, NV, last month. They are part of the UH student organization El Gato.

www.uhelgato.com

BOB HEATH published chapter 2, "Western Classical Rhetorical Tradition and Modern Public Relations: Culture of Citizenship" (pp. 25-41) in K. Sriramesh and D. Vercic (Eds.) Culture and Public Relations: Links and Implications. (Routledge/Taylor and Francis).
 
SUZANNE BUCK served as Lead Faculty Member during the summer New UH Student Orientations for parents.
 
SUZANNE BUCK completed an eight-week online training course, ACAdemic Learning, through San Jacinto Community College.  The program is designed to assist instructors with developing new ways to engage students face-to-face and online while promoting: Active- Collaborative- Authentic Learning Styles.
 
SUZANNE BUCK is the Faculty Advisor for ATG Foundations, a new UH student organization, founded by Ali Younes, communication major. The non-profit organization assists students in the transition from high school to colleges and universities. http://www.atgfoundations.org/index.html
 
Kate Blackburn (M.A., 2008) received a “Top Four Paper” award from the Interpersonal Communication Division for the NCA convention in November. Her paper is titled “Breaking Up is Hard to Do: Public and Private Pronoun Usage in Relationship Breakup Accounts.”

BOB HEATH organized and led a plenary session called "Looking for the Needle of Public Relations in a Disciplinary Haystack" at the International Conference on Social E-xperience held in Barcelona, Spain, July 3-4, 2012. He also delivered a paper titled "Needles, Public Relations, and Disciplinary Haystacks" to lead off the plenary.
 
BOB HEATH presented a workshop on "The Fundamentals of Issue Management" at the Issue Management Council Forum held May 8 at DuPont Corporation headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware.

ZHIWEN XIAO presented "Mediation Analysis of Safer Sex Self-Efficacy, Sexual Communication, and Condom Use among Chinese MSM and Young Migrants in Beijing," at the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) in Washington, D.C., 22-27 July 2012.
 
XIAO, Z.W., Li, X., Liu, Y., Li, S., & Jiang, S. (2012). Sexual communication and condom use among Chinese men who have sex with men in Beijing. DOI:10.1080/13548506.2012.687826.
 
ZHIWEN XIAO received the $4,000 UH Friends of Women's Studies Faculty Summer Fellowship for her project “Understanding Sexual Communication and Sexual Assertiveness in Reducing HIV/AIDS among African American Women.”

BETH OLSON spoke about media political coverage on KUHF July 19:
http://app1.kuhf.org/articles/1342718269-How-Reliable-Is-Media-Coverage-When-It-Comes-To-Politics.html
 
LINDITA CAMAJ presented two research papers at the AEJMC conference in Chicago.
The paper titled "Need for Orientation, Selective Exposure and Attribute Agenda-Setting Effects: Change versus Reinforcement" was presented in a Political Communication Interest Group session. The other paper titled "Media Use and Political Trust in an Emerging Democracy: Setting the Institutional Trust Agenda" was presented in an International Communication Division session. Both papers were part of her dissertation.
 
LINDITA CAMAJ also served as a paper discussant for the International Communication Division session on the topic of "Gender and Media Production and Consumption."
 
MARTHA J. HAUN recently attended the centennial convention of Phi Beta National Professional Fraternity for the Creative and Performing Arts in Columbus, OH where she was elected to the National Council as Director of Special Services. This position includes parliamentary and meeting planning services. She is a past national president of the fraternity.

JILL YAMASAKI, with co-PIs Drs. Janis Hutchinson and Andrew Gordon from the Department of Cultural Studies, received a UH QEP Curriculum Development Grant in the amount of $9,878 for "Anthropology and Family Health: An Interdisciplinary Perspective."
 
JILL YAMASAKI was invited to serve on the board of directors of PAWS Houston, a nonprofit organization in partnership with all hospitals in the Houston Medical Center to promote the human-animal bond and the health-related benefits of that relationship.
 
ARTHUR SANTANA defended his dissertation entitled “Civility, Anonymity and the Breakdown of a New Public Sphere" May 24.
 
BETH OLSON, JULIE FIX, WARD BOOTH, JOSE VAZQUEZ, MICHAEL PHAN, SHAWN McCOMBS, and ANTONIO FARIS conducted tours of the media production area and the CTC Aug. 1 for five groups and August 8 for six groups of high school students participating in Project Grad Career Exploration. A total of approximately 200 students visited the building on those two days. Project Grad is designed to increase high school graduation rates and college attendance rates for economically disadvantaged youth. http://ci.projectgradhouston.org/default.aspx
 
JULIE FIX served as a judge for the 2012 Harris County Medical Society’s Francis C. Moore, M.D., Medical Journalism Awards and attended the awards luncheon June 1. Several Valenti School alumni were there, either as winners, judges or HCMS employees.
 
JULIE FIX conducted a two-day writing training for communication and marketing employees of Mitsubishi/Caterpillar North America May 29 and 31.
 
JULIE FIX was a co-facilitator on strategy for the Online Accreditation Study Group’s Summer Cohort on July 10.
 
Lisa Merkl (B.A. 1992, Journalism; M.A. 1997, PR) won an IABC Bronze Quill Award of Excellence for the story: "Sensors to Detect Explosives, Monitor Food" and an IABC Bronze Quill Award of Merit for the story "Evolutionary 'Winners' and 'Losers' Revealed."
http://www.bchs.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2011/0602_chronicDisease.php
http://www.chem.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2011/0120_sensors.php
She also won two Houston Press Club Lone Star Awards in the following categories:
· Press Release (Hard News) - Second Place
· PR Communicator of the Year – Second Place
 
Mike Emery (lecturer) received the following awards:
Public Relations Society of America – Excalibur Award
Blog – Gold award
Houston Press Club Lone Star Awards:
Press Release (Hard News) - First Place
Press Release (Soft News) - First, Second and Third Place
 
Maegan Clements (B.A. PR in progress) won two International Association of Business Communicators' Bronze Quill Awards:
the Rising Star Award (honoring a promising communications professional)
an Award of Excellence for Writing in the Student Division.
 
Blake Bibby (B.A., 2012) was awarded outstanding senior thesis honors for his UH Honors College project, "Bridging the Cultural Fundraising Gap Between Inner-City Nonprofits and Potential Partnerships." His Senior Honors Thesis was overseen by Dr. Jennifer Vardeman-Winter and Professor Julie B. Fix. Working with an inner-city nonprofit in Houston's Fifth Ward, Blake targeted strategic public relations opportunities that would help fund the Fifth Ward Saints, a youth football organization and after school program. Studying message appeals, target publics, and the philanthropic practices of corporate America, Blake's ideas have been implemented ranging in areas from corporate pitches, social media, and partnership correspondence for the Saints.
 
Wenjun Zhu (M.A. 2011) will be attending UH Graduate College of Social Work in the fall.

Louis Casiano (B.A.) is interning with MSNBC in Seattle.

Ruy Lozano (B.A., 2011) has been named chief PIO for the Houston Fire Department.
 
Randi Germann (B.A. 2012) is the Disney Internships & Programs Coordinator at Disney Worldwide Services, Inc.
 
Anna Gallegos (B.A. in progress) interned at the Oakland Tribune. See one of her stories here:
http://lnkd.in/upDeUw
 
Mayra Cruz (B.A. 2009) is in graduate school at the University of Missouri. She interned at the Houston Chronicle.
 
Ariana Benavidez, Matthew McIntosh, Audris Ponce, Jed Ocot and Eduardo Venegas were recent interns at the Houston Chronicle.
 
Josh Siegel, Gilbert Requena, John Brannen and Phillipe Craig are working as contract employees in the sports dept at the Houston Chronicle. They are current or recently graduated students.
 
Sam Kahn, Jr. (B.A. 2005) will join ESPN next month to be a correspondent for their website featuring Texas A&M. He has covered UH sports for the Houston Chronicle.
 
Zahra Ahmed (B.A. 2012) joined the Fort Bend Herald as a reporter.
 
Naheeda Sayeeduddin (B.A. 2012) joined the Fort Bend Herald as a reporter.
 
John Rigg is working at Community Impact, a newspaper in northwest Houston.
 
Casey Wooten (B.A. 2010) has accepted a fellowship to work toward his master’s degree at American University.
 
Sasha Schwendenwein (B.A. 2010) is job hunting in New York City after graduating from the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University.[A note from David McHam, who also graduated from the journalism school at Columbia: Sasha is the 14th former student of his to graduate from the journalism school there.]
 
Patricia Estrad (B.A., 2010) completed her master’s at Universidad Europea de Madrid.
 
Misha Campbell is the Director of Communications for the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Mid-Atlantic Chapter and continues to write for MSN.com and is an alumni instructor at Georgetown University.

Although Valenti School classes are mostly full for Fall, there are some great courses with seats still available.

Some of them are being offered at our outreach campuses: Northwest (Lone Star College in Tomball) and Sugar Land. These are both great campuses to take classes on, especially since parking is free and plentiful.

And, there are two Selected Topics courses (COMM 4397) scheduled for right here in our Com Building that have spaces available. One, taught by Dr. Lindita Camaj, takes advantage of the presidential political season, Media and Political Campaigns. The other, taught by former KHOU-TV anchor/reporter Dave Fehling, focuses on Media Production for Journalists and offers insight into how to develop good story-telling skills that cross from print to broadcast to web.

To find these classes, log on to PeopleSoft, do a search on Fall 2012 COMM undergraduate classes with open seats.

LARRY KELLEY will receive an Outstanding Faculty Award from the Houston Alumni Organization at the Life Member Circle of Excellence Reception. The award is designed to recognize faculty members for excellence in teaching as well as those who build a sense of community among students and strengthen the bond between students and the university. Students nominate faculty for one of three such awards the HAO gives annually.

COMM 3369 Public Relations Writing students Lorena Cozzari, Nina Martinez, Courtney Riedmann as well as student Luis Morales-Lopez recently formed Evoke Communications and compiled a media plan for a grant-funded project under the guidance of instructor CATHERINE BURCH GRAHAM. The students presented their media plans to 150 attendees at a May 2 event showcasing semester-long work by College of Technology students.

DEBORAH BRIDGES and SUZANNE BUCK provided two days of communication training for the Pearland Parks and Recreation management, directors, and communications personnel. Topics included professional and public speaking and media and crisis communication. Each received a Certificate of Appreciation from the city for excellence in instruction to the department.

MARTHA J. HAUN, Professional Registered Parliamentarian, has recently served as parliamentary consultant for the Memorial Student Center Board; Texas A & M University; The Memorial Council of Homeowners, Houston,; Kingwood Homeowners Association and the county Republican convention (April 28, 2012) at Brazosport High School in Freeport.

LAN NI (2012, co-author with Jeong-Nam Kim, Sei-Hill Kim and Jangyul Robert Kim) has published "What makes people hot? Applying the situational theory of problem solving to hot-issue publics," Journal of Public Relations Research, 24, 144-164.

LAN NI presented a paper entitled "Intercultural competencies and immigration experiences: Organization-public relationships and impact on mental health" at the University of Houston symposium, Immigration and the Immigrant Experience: Houston and Beyond on April 20, 2012.

FRED SCHIFF and four M.A. students authored a paper that’s been accepted for the American Sociology Association’s national conference in Denver on Aug. 19.  It's entitled "Institutional Elites and the Upper Class" and will be presented in the panel on Inequality, Poverty and Mobility. The four students are: Adriana Baltazar, James Duvall, Erin Jordan and Robert (Clint) Walker.
The url is:
http://convention3.allacademic.com/one/asa/asa12/index.php?click_key=1&cmd=Multi+Search+Search+Load+Session&session_id=163823&PHPSESSID=a7480076ccb08c4a66acf957f3b0e1d9

Erin Jordan (M.A. candidate, PR) was awarded the Alfred Fleishman Diversity Fellowship with Fleishman-Hillard, a leading global strategic communication firm. This competitive fellowship was designed to increase diversity within the organization, by offering ethnically diverse students an opportunity to receive mentorship from senior public relations practitioners and a training opportunity to join Fleishman-Hillard at higher career levels. Erin is one of seven fellows selected nationwide and will join the Fleishman-Hillard Dallas office. Additional information about the fellowship is available at: http://fleishmanhillard.com/2012/01/04/fleishman-hillard-creates-alfred-fleishman-diversity-fellowships-to-provide-career-opportunities-for-minority-college-students/

Cheng-en Lee (B.A. advertising) has been accepted to the Syracuse graduate program. She will focus on advertising.

Houston Chronicle internship partnership is featured in the Spring 2012 issue of UH Magazine:
http://issuu.com/uhmagazine/docs/spring2012uhmagazine/22

CATHERINE BURCH GRAHAM participated in a roundtable discussion about partnerships between charitable organizations and the Valenti School of Communication, which is the focus of Graham's 4368 PR Campaigns class this semester. Social workers from across the country attended the event at Epiphany Community Health Outreach Services.

JOE LEYDON hosted a panel titled "Evolution of Women Behind the Camera" with actresses-turned-filmmakers Nicole Kidman, Famke Janssen, Beth Grant and Carrie Preston April 21 at the Nashville Film Festival.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nashvillefilmfestival/7101940811/in/photostream

LAN NI was awarded a $6,000 Grant-in-Aid from the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. Her project is titled "Immigration Experiences and Mental Health: The Role of Intercultural Communication Competencies and Organization-Public Relationships." She will be conducting surveys and interviews with immigrant publics to examine the role of individual- and organizational-level factors on these publics' anxiety and uncertainty management as well as their mental health state. The grant will be used to fund two graduate research assistants who will assist with data collection.

LARRY KELLEY and ROSARIO LAUDACINA's National Student Advertising Competition class tied for 5th place in the District 10 Competition. The top six teams were all within 10 points of each other. American Advertising Federation (AAF) judges gave the student team a Team Character Award, as well. Scott Gilbert will receive the District 10 scholarship for Most Outstanding Advertising Student.

LARRY KELLEY received the AAF District 10 AT&T Outstanding Advertising Educator of the Year award. He is now entered into the national pool of the top 18 Advertising Educators in the country. Here's the link to the story in The Daily Cougar: http://thedailycougar.com/2012/04/19/professor-awarded-advertising-honor/

JULIE FIX was interviewed by a TSN (Texas State Network) freelance reporter for a piece on the second anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon crisis.

LAURA ASHLEY hosted a roundtable on Friday, April 13th for "Internships for Academic Credit" at the 3rd Annual Effective Teaching Practices seminar co-hosted by UH Faculty Development and Instructional Support (FDIS) and UH Learning through Discovery.

Jesus Acevedo (B.A.) has received a 2011 Texas Associated Press Managing Editors award in the Sports Writing (Spanish Language) Category. The story was a feature on a female boxer from Houston, Marlen Esparza. Jesus took Advanced Reporting and Feature Writing with DAVID McHAM and wrote for The Daily Cougar. He wrote the story while he was an intern at the Houston Chronicle. Here is the link to the award.http://www.tapmecontest.org/winners/viewentry.cfm?newspaperid=91&entryid=11394 

CHARLIE THORP's Local Advertising Campaigns class was featured in The Daily Cougar: http://thedailycougar.com/2012/04/12/cougars-advertise-for-honda/

NORTHUP, T. (2012). Triggering body dissatisfaction: The role of familiarity on subsequent evaluations of the self. Journalism and Mass Communication, 2, 294-303.

Amanda Kennedy (M.A. 2012) has been accepted to the doctoral program at University of Maryland to study public relations.

LINDITA CAMAJ’s student Michael Carrell will be presenting a research paper titled "U.S. Media Coverage of the Humanitarian Crisis in Tibet" at the UH Spring Undergraduate Research Symposium, which takes place on Thursday, April 12th, 2012 in the Honors College Commons. He wrote this paper for COMM 4314 Social Issues in Journalism last semester. He will be representing the Comm department alongside 75 other selective students from other departments. He is scheduled to present his paper at 1:30. See the flyer attached.

KPRC-TV reporter Mary Benton and former Houston Chronicle reporter David Ellison spoke to DARRYL EWING's Comm 2310 class Saturday about covering diverse communities in conjunction with the Multicultural Reporting chapter in the course text.

BOB HEATH gave the closing presentation at the 27th International Communication Conference, "Building Trust through Communication in Times of Crisis," hosted by the Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain, on March 23, 2012. The title of the paper is "The Construction of Organizational Discourse: Rhetoric and Social Legitimacy." He was also interviewed for the student-run blog on communication problems and solutions.

BOB HEATH served on a panel discussing public relations and organizational communication curriculum for Spanish Universities, March 24, 2012. The other panelists were scholars from Britain and New Zealand. Six universities from Spain had participants in the seminar.

Tatjana Hocke (MA, UH) successfully defended her dissertation, "Prepared for Natural Disasters? How Children and Families Understand and Make Sense of Natural Disaster Preparedness,” at the University of Tennessee. It was directed by Michael Palenchar (MA, UH).

Meng Chen (M.A., 2011) has been accepted by the doctoral program in communication at UC-Davis.

Scott Gilbert (B.A. student) and Bené Petty (M.A. candidate) will be honored at the Advertising Education Foundation of Houston April 18. Gilbert will receive an AEFH Scholarship, and Petty won the Saurage Research Academic Distinction Scholarship.

TEMPLE NORTHUP was an invited panelist at "Words Awake," a conference held at Wake Forest University celebrating alumnae from Wake Forest who have worked successfully as professional writers. Temple discussed his time in L.A. working on sitcoms as well as his transition to teaching at the college level.

RANDY POLK interviews Lucas Mireles (B.A., M.A.) at SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, where Mireles’ short film playtime (spielzeit) was screened. Students Ali Iqbal and Viral Bhakta taped the interview for the Student Video Network (running time 10:50 with acknowledgment to Valenti School at approximately 10:00):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRQr7bPnhuc&feature=youtu.be

Kristen Boucher, a master's candidate in public relations, is the first recipient of the Chester Burger scholarship for excellence and leadership in corporate communication given the Public Relations Society of America Foundation. The award will be presented at the PRSA Foundation's annual Paladin Dinner in NYC where she will give a short speech. The Paladin Dinner honors industry leaders who have been advocates for the profession by advancing academic research, study and leadership in public relations. The news release announcing Kristen's award may be found here:
http://media.prsa.org/article_display.cfm?article_id=2544

BOB HEATH and Stephanie Proutheau (MA, UH) delivered a paper on March 8 at a conference in Roubaix, France entitled: Communiquer dans un Monde de Normes: L'information et the communication dan the enjeux contemporains de la "mondialisation." The paper title was "Narratives of Certitude for Norms of Uncertainty Regarding Genetically Modified Organisms: Norms, Norms, Who Has the Norms?" The conference was jointly sponsored by the International Communication Association, le Groupement d'Etudes et de Recheres en Information et Communication (Geriico) and la Societe Francaise des Sciences de L'information and de la Communication (SFSIC).

Lauren Rosenbaum, who is currently serving as vice president of the Public Relations Student Society of America UH Chapter, was elected to serve on the PRSSA National Committee as vice president of public relations.  She will serve a one-year term, beginning June 1.

John Rigg, one of the interns at the Houston Chronicle, was the first reporter to arrive on the scene for this story:
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Siblings-found-living-in-abandoned-school-bus-in-3389783.php

The following advertising students have been named to the AAF Alpha Delta Sigma Honor Society. This is a national honor based on AAF activity and GPA. They are: Scot Gilbert, Fahima Al-Uqdah, Mike Le, Ari Diozon and Ginnie Carrillo.

SMITH, B. G. (2012). Organic integration: The natural process underlying integrated communication. Journal of Communication Management, 16(1).

SMITH, B. G. (2011). Becoming Quirky: Towards an understanding of practitioner-blogger relations in public relations. Public Relations Journal. 5(4)

LARRY KELLEY’s advertising students’ performance at the Houston American Advertising Federation awards dinner was featured in The Daily Cougar:
http://thedailycougar.com/2012/03/08/mad-fest-is-a-success-for-ad-students/

Keith Cordero Jr.  (B.A. 2011, Broadcast Journalism) who featured March 5th in a Houston Chronicle story about job search strategies in the present economy:
http://www.chron.com/default/article/Q-A-Facebook-isn-t-just-for-party-pics-3378760.php

Melissa Seuffert (B.A.) is now the director of communications and promotions at the Houston Downtown Alliance. She was previously part of the Houston Symphony marketing team.

BOB HEATH and Judy Sultan (M.A. UH) recently published a chapter in Pre-crisis Planning, Communication, and Management edited by B.A. Olaniran, D.E. Williams, and W. T. Coombs. The chapter title is Pre-crisis Management and Communication: Slippery Steps or Solid Footing? The case featured in this chapter was drawn from Ms. Sultan's master's thesis.

Houston American Advertising Federation (AAF) recognized the Valenti School students (taught by LARRY KELLEY and ROSARIO LAUDACINA) with a total of seven gold and silver medals in their recent ADDY awards dinner. The 2011 National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) students won four ADDY’s (two gold; two silver) for their work on the client JC Penney’s for overall mixed media campaign, magazine category, television and collateral categories. KEITH HOUK’s Television II class assisted with the television campaign. Individual students recognized included Isabelle Chabrier (gold), Joe McKinney (silver), Jaime Alvizar (silver) and Matt Whiteley (silver). Gold medal winners advance to District 10 student competition. The group’s awards placed them eighth overall, ahead of 52 other companies that entered.

The Hyundai Equus ad (“So Fast”) that aired during the Academy Awards was shot in Houston.  Four UH students/recent grads worked as production assistants on the ad. The production company was based in Los Angeles and contacted Zen Films (Houston) looking for crew members. Michael Penny (B.A. Media Production) works at Zen and tapped four of his classmates from KEITH HOUK’s Fall 2010 Digital Cinematography class who were hired to work on the production.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCF9zsyujHA

• Do you have an excellent GPA overall and in your Comm major?


• Do you demonstrate a financial need and need additional assistance in paying for college expenses: Tuition, fees, books, etc?


• Do you possess strong leadership qualities, strong work ethic, and social skills in community avocation?


• Are you close to graduation and have a clear path for your future career goals?

Natalie Wong Camarata (B.A.) created the first Twitter feed of an open-heart surgery Tuesday, Feb. 28, in her role as Digital Marketing Manager at Memorial Hermann Hospital.  Intern Jared Culpepper (B.A. media production, 2012) assisted with the postings.

  http://www.memorialhermann.org/locations/northwest/heartandvascular/live-tweet-heart-surgery/ 

  http://blog.chron.com/medblog/2012/02/follow-along-with-a-live-open-heart-surgery/

  Keith Nickerson (M.A. Spring 2012) has been accepted to the doctoral program in mass communication at the University of Texas at Austin.  His offer includes a four-year assistantship. 

BOB HEATH published an article in the recent special issue of Management Communication Quarterly on Corporate Social Responsibility and State-owned Enterprises. The article title is State-owned Enterprises: CSR Solution or Just Another Bump in the Road, 25, 725-731.

TEMPLE NORTHUP has been selected to participate in this year's Scripps Howard Leadership Academy.  The Academy, which takes place in June at the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University, brings mass communication professionals and scholars together with seasoned administrators to share administrative strategies and insights.

"Let's start at the end of the story to provide meaning and context to the beginning. At the end of my 24 year tenure as a producer and director for ABC Sports, I was widely considered one of the elite producers/directors in sports television history having been nominated 17 times for Emmys and having won 7 Emmys. I was also given the distinct honor of directing the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. During my years at ABC Sports I produced/directed six Olympic Games, a Super Bowl, Indy 500, 68 Major Championships of golf (U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship), numerous episodes of ABC's Wide World of Sports, and was Howard Cosell's (most famous sportscaster of the time) handpicked producer and produced the majority of his programs during his prime.

And it all started at the University of Houston.

ABC Sports was televising a PGA TOUR event in Houston and members of the golf team were invited to work with ABC announcers as spotters and scorers. Most passed on the opportunity, but I thought sounds interesting. After my first taste of TV sports I knew it was for me spanning the globe to bring a constant variety of sports, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat what a terrific way to live a life.

This event caused me to switch my major to Radio/TV and it was my great good fortune to be put into the knowledgeable and caring hands of Dr. Hawes and his colleague Dr. Battin. It was in my junior and senior years at the U of H that I learned the basic fundamentals of television both technically and artistically in the sense that we worked on video, audio, lighting, along with storytelling and music, etc. My years at the U of H were terrific exciting, informative, challenging, and fun. Dr. Hawes was always there offering the proper balance of study and encouragement. He has the greatest of all gifts of a teacher…he helps you believe that you can do it. He helps you understand what about you is special and helps you nurture and grow from your own personal strengths.

During my final few months at the U of H, ABC hired me as a production assistant and literally the day after graduation, I flew to New York to start my job and professional life with the network. It might be a stretch to say that I could've never accomplished this without the encouragement, guidance, respect, and love that I receive from Dr. Hawes and others at the U of H, but let's just say that he and they played a hugely important role in my success.

One final comment to any student who may be reading this you can do it you have to believe in yourself and your dream and dedicate all that's required in terms of time, thought, and effort to achieve your goals and never let anybody or anything discourage you and you can do it."

Terry Jastrow

TEMPLE NORTHUP has received a $6,000 New Faculty Research grant from the UH Division of Research.  The project is entitled "Moderated Mediated Model of Implicit Cultivation," and will explore how implicit attitudes mediate the relationship between media exposure and explicit attitudes.  He will be using software and procedures to test millisecond response accuracy.

JENNIFER VARDEMAN-WINTER was awarded a $6,000 New Faculty Research grant from the UH Division of Research. Her project is titled, "Communication strategies of women-focused grassroots organizations," and she will be interviewing communicators of local grassroots campaigns in the Houston area. This research will support a general theory of women's health/risk communication to define communication attributes according to different groups of women.

BETH OLSON, DAVID MCHAM, and CRAIG CROWE have been asked to serve on the Center for Student Media Task Force, chaired by Matt Dulin, director for the Dept. of Student Publications. Student Publications has been moved to the new "Student Life" cluster within the Division of Student Affairs which also includes the Student Video Network and Coog Radio. The task force is charged with providing a set of recommendations for a future Center for Student Media to be developed by fall, 2013.

JOE LEYDON discussed Academy Award nominations on KROI-FM Tuesday morning.

JOSE VAZQUEZ, MICHAEL PHAN, five Media Production work-study employees and one alumna, Michelle Rexroat (B.A.) provided video documentation for the Houston Marathon Committee on Sunday, January 15th. This marks the eighth consecutive year of shooting the finish line and documenting other critical points for the Marathon. The committee has already arranged to work with the Valenti School again next year.

The Jack J. Valenti School of Communication Alumni Association is pleased to announce the availability of up to $10,000 in scholarships for the 2012-2013 academic year. Scholarships will be awarded to undergraduate students majoring in Communication, and will range from $1,000 to $2,500 in amount.

The Scholarships

The scholarships will be paid in two installments (fall and spring semesters) to assist with tuition, fees and textbook costs. The recipients must enroll full time each semester, and must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.50 at the close of the fall semester to receive the spring installment. These awards apply only to students attending the University of Houston Main Campus and not other universities in the UH System.

Eligibility Requirements – Please note there are separate applications for incoming freshmen and current undergraduates. Be careful to complete the correct application.

Incoming Freshmen

• U.S. citizen or permanent Texas resident.
• Texas high school graduate approved for admission to the UH main campus in the 2012-2013 academic year without waiver, on an unconditional basis.
• Full time enrollment (12 hours per semester) at the UH main campus.
• 3.00 minimum cumulative high school GPA.
• Declared Communication major.

Undergraduates

• U.S. citizen or permanent Texas resident.
• Current School of Communication undergraduate.
• Full time enrollment (12 hours per semester) at the UH main campus.
• 3.50 minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA.
• Declared Communication major.

Selection Criteria

The scholarship selection committee will consider academic performance, financial need, extracurricular activities, and personal essays. The committee will also consider the applicant’s level of interest and experience in the communication field, although experience is not required for consideration. The committee will determine the relative weight given to each criterion. There are no restrictions to applicants based on gender, race, nationality, physical disability or sexual orientation.

Top candidates may be asked to participate in a brief telephone interview.

Recipients will be notified in writing in April 2012 and are required to attend the Valenti School of Communication Alumni Association’s annual meeting, to be held in August 2012, to accept the awards.

Application Requirements

Applications may be filled out online or mailed to the Houston Alumni Association office. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered. Include all of the following items in the application package:

• Completed and signed application (unsigned if submitted online).
• Official high school transcript(s) - Incoming Freshmen applicants only.
• Official undergraduate transcript(s) – Current undergraduate applicants only.
• A minimum of two letters of recommendation. One must come from a teacher/professor, and the other(s) may come from a teacher/professor, advisor, community leader, employer or counselor.

Application Deadline

Application packages must be received or postmarked by March 23, 2012 to be considered. Mail complete application package to:

VSOCAA Scholarship Committee
Houston Alumni Association
P. O. Box 230345
Houston, Texas 77223-0345

Questions? Please contact Tempest Solcich

LARRY KELLEY's Local Advertising Campaigns class was featured in the December issue of Texas Medical Center News. UH Students Help Recruit Doctors to U.S. Public Health Service (on pages 1 and 12 in hard copy): http://www.texasmedicalcenter.org/root/en/TMCServices/News/2011/12-15/UH+Students+Help+Recruit+Doctors.htm  You also can click on this link – http://tinyurl.com/869ftjq – to get a PDF version to view/save

Lucas Morales' (B.A., '06; M.A., '10) short film will be screened at the Sundance Film Festival. KEITH HOUK is quoted in the story. http://thedailycougar.com/2012/01/17/former-cougar-gets-ready-for-playtime-date-at-sundance/

ZHIWEN XIAO received a $6,000 CLASS Grant-in-Aid to Start New Research. This project is an on-line HIV prevention survey of gay males in Texas. The goal of this study is to compare the efficiency and cost of recruiting these subjects from the Internet versus other venues and examine the demographic and behavioral differences between participants recruited from each type of method.  

Students in CATHERINE BURCH GRAHAM's COMM 4368 PR Campaigns class presented their final projects in the M.D. Anderson Library Rockwell Pavilion during a Red Carpet Event hosted by the College of Technology. The first-of-its-kind collaboration highlighted the college's "Operations Reality Show" project and aims to reinforce recognition of UH in the Houston community.

DAVID MCHAM is featured in the on-line Baylor Alumni Magazine. Click on "Play Video" on p. 34 for the story:  http://www.pursuantmedia.com/baylorline/1211/default.asp?sid=TPG+5rl5ZCEF

MARTHA HAUN recently served as parliamentarian for the International Dyslexia Association in Chicago; The International Multi-Structured Language Education Council in Chicago; The ALLIANCE, in Chicago; The Association of Public School Nurses in Austin; and Post Oak Lane Owners Association in Houston.

BETH OLSON has been invited to join the Jack Yates School of Communications Advisory Committee. Yates is an HISD magnet school.

KEITH HOUK and MIKE EMERY's classes hosted KTRK Ch. 13 meteorologist Casey Curry's visit to JJVSoC on Nov. 29. Curry, who also appears on ABC national broadcasts, toured the school's new television studios and spoke to students. The following day, she talked about her visit and showed photos of her with students during the morning newscast. Curry also is serving as the honorary chair of UH's International Association of Business Communicators' "Cougar Paws for the Cause" campaign benefitting aniMeals on Wheels.
Here's some additional coverage of last week's guest speaker (with photos): http://mikemcguff.blogspot.com/2011/12/ktrk-13s-casey-curry-becoming-uh.html

Two advertising students, Rose Hinojosa and Mike Le, have been named to the American Advertising Federation's Most Promising Minority Student Class of 2012. These two students are among 60 chosen out of hundreds that apply.

BOB HEATH participated in a daylong pre-conference program at the National Communication Association (NCA) on November 15, in New Orleans. The program, entitled "Risk and Crisis Communication Scholars Panel Discussion: Best Practices for Partnering to Build Community Resilience,” featured work by scholars from 11 Universities, various state and federal agencies, and local officials in the New Orleans region.

He also presented two position papers. One was on the use and development of risk and crisis response networks for coastal preparedness. Another addressed the role of conflict and strategies for conflict resolution and planning. This program was co-sponsored by NCA and the American Meteorological Society.

BOB HEATH participated in a second daylong pre-conference program at NCA on e-publishing. He presented a challenge paper addressing the perils of e-publishing and promotion and tenure.

BOB HEATH presented a paper entitled "Was Black Rhetoric Ever Anything but Race in Public Relations? The Challenge of the Rhetoric of Identity" at the NCA conference Nov. 18. The program title was "Opening Minds, Expanding Possibilities: Exploring the Role of Race and Class-based Perspectives in Public Relations." It included a paper by Michael Palenchar (MA, UH) on "Risk Communication, Community Right-to-know, and Risk Equity."

LARRY KELLEY and seven AAF-UH students attended the AAF National Student Conference in Washington D.C. where they participated in a two-day workshop about the National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC).

Please tell your students to apply for a series of 24 Advertising Education Foundation of Houston scholarships. Scholarships are available to advertising, public relations, corporate communication and production majors. Many include internships. One application puts a student in the running for all scholarships. Last year UH students received six scholarships, more than any other school.

Application available at: (please copy and paste into your browser):

www.houstonadscholarships.com

DAVID McHAM received the Baylor University’s first Legacy of Excellence Award in Journalism Education to mark his 50 years of teaching. See attached file for coverage from Baylor University.

DAVID McHAM and MICHAEL “TATE” BARKLEY provided a three-hour seminar about U.S. media law and regulation to a group of delegates from the Beijing Institute of Graphic Communications.

SHAWN McCOMBS and YOUMEI LIU also provided a three-hour seminar on the impact and role of information technology in media for this group. A tour of the Computer Technology Center was included.

WARD BOOTH provided a tour of the Media Production Area.

SUZANNE BUCK coordinated the visit, which was sponsored by the Houston Mayor’s Office.

Eighteen students took part in the Houston AAF student conference where students from the region spent the day as teams developing an advertising plan for Sunkist. Two students were on the winning teams: Joe McKinney was on the 1st place team, and Dwayne Obrien was on the 3rd place team.

One announcement for your students:

December 1 is the kick-off for ADDY entries. Students can pick up their forms between 4 to 7 p.m. on that day at Locke Bryan Productions. While the ADDY Awards are largely an advertising industry recognition, there are categories for film, corporate communication and other areas for student work from public relations, corporate communication and production.

MARTHA J. HAUN attended the 2011 convention of the Texas Speech Communication Association in Dallas, Texas where she served as a member of the Executive Committee (as Parliamentarian) and the Executive Council. She participated in three programs: (1) Teaching on-line communication classes; (2) Primary Intervention in crisis management; and (3) Sharing the Story of our Organizational Heritage and Culture.

Recent public relations major Amanda Jovliet (B.A. 2011) served as a spokesperson for Valenti's School of Communication, describing the public relations research and strategic counsel she and her fellow students completed in JENNIFER VARDEMAN-WINTER's Issues Management class. The students interviewed consumers about health care preferences, and they advised Legacy Community Health Services about how to improve communication to those likely to benefit from their services.

The project was featured in a recent UH Moment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J04aK_uGKhk&feature=youtu.be

LARRY KELLEY’s The Advertising Media Workbook and Sourcebook with co-authors Donald Jugenheimer and Kim Sheehan is now in its third edition. The book is published by M.E. Sharpe.

BOB HEATH participated in the 2nd International Conference on Crisis Management and Communication in Aarhus, Denmark. The Aarhus University School of Business and Social Science hosted the conference entitled Crisis2 Communication Crisis in an Age of Complexity, 6-8 October 2011. Heath delivered the closing lecture entitled: "Crisis Analysis: What's a Crisis as Part of Analyzing Crisis." His presentation focused on the management, technical, communication, public policy, global business, and reputational aspects of the BP Maconda Well disaster.

LARRY KELLEY’S book Advertising Media Planning: A Brand Management Approach is now in its third edition. Donald Jugenheimer and Kim Sheehan are co-authors.

JOE LEYDON will interview actor Ethan Hawke next month when he is here to receive the Levantine Cinema Arts Award from the Cinema Arts Festival. Hawke's latest film, The Woman in the Fifth, will also screen at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, on Nov. 12. with the interview to follow.

Ninety media market databases are available soon from Media Audit as a contribution from alumna and sales manager Karen Marvin. The data is valued from $20,000 – $90,000. See Larry Kelley for more info.

The Valenti School Alumni group is having a homecoming happy hour Friday, Oct. 21, at 6:00 p.m. at the Salt Bar.

Location:
http://saltbarhouston.com/location.aspx

LINDITA CAMAJ presented a paper entitled, “Setting the political culture agenda," which is part of her dissertation at the "Agenda Setting in a 2.0 World" conference Sept. 29-Oct. 1 at the University of Texas in Austin. The proceedings of this conference will be compiled in a book edited by Maxwell McCombs and Thomas Johnson. The book will be published by Routledge as part of the New Agendas in Communication series.

GARTH JOWETT comments in a story on Gov. Rick Perry facing a test in N.H debate which aired on KPRC-TV Oct. 11:
http://www.click2houston.com/news/29455824/detail.html

JULIE FIX co-facilitated an online study session on communication theory and models for the national fall cohort of public relations practitioners reviewing for their Accreditation in Public Relations exam. She also co-facilitated a similar session in June.

JULIE FIX was elected to another three-year term as Leadership Assembly Delegate for the Public Relations Society of America Houston Chapter. She will attend this year’s Assembly Oct. 15 in Orlando, Florida, and also will attend the PRSA College of Fellows Class of 2011 Induction Banquet while there. She is a member of the Fellows Class of 2010.

SUZANNE BUCK, in conjunction with the UH Center for Public Policy, conducted six hours of training to IP (Intellectual Property) attorneys, judges, and scholars from China. Training seminars consisted of Business and Professional Communication Skills, Cross Cultural Communication, and American Lifestyles/Pastimes.

Thanks to our Ribbon Cutting Event Student Ambassadors: Advertising students Marilyn Parilla, Candance Queen, Christie Nguyen; Media Production students Chelsea Stout, Juan Gonzalez, Alyssa Ramirez, Lezlee Brinkman, Jackie Moreno, Ellen Chao; and Public Relations students Laura Park, Natalie Petrie, and Iris Solis.

DARRYL EWING’s Writing and Reporting for Print and Digital Media class attended Pres. Khator’s Fall Address Tuesday as a class assignment to write a story about it. A picture featuring Dr. Khator and some of the students is in rotation on the UH home page.The photo is attached to this email.

LARRY KELLEY’s Advertising Local Campaigns students are representing just one of four schools out of 60 to be selected to develop a branding and recruitment (integrated communication) campaign for the USPHS. The USPHS is the world's largest healthcare organization and one of seven commissioned corps in the United States. Valenti students were selected based on the past success of the advertising program and their access to the Medical Center. The other schools participating are NYU, UCLA and Pitt.

Some of CAROLYN CANVILLE and BETSY KAUFMANN’s Electronic News students took advantage of the opportunity to interview Tina Knowles after her talk on campus Monday (and met Beyoncé):
http://thedailycougar.com/2011/10/04/knowles-family-graces-campus/

Schipul Communications donated $4,000 in student scholarship for advertising students to attend a two-day digital marketing/media seminar. Schipul Communications, a leading national digital advertising firm with offices in Houston, Los Angeles and Seattle, provided ten free tickets to Valenti students.