Communication Day Goodyear Blimp Visits UCF

Volume 5,
Issue 3
UCF
May 2011
Nicholson School of Communication
Goodyear Blimp Visits UCF
The Goodyear blimp made a surprise visit over UCF’s
main campus in February, circling 1,000 feet overhead
and drawing the attention of students and staff below.
The famed airship was in Central Florida to provide
aerial video coverage of Speed Week races at Daytona
International Speedway.
Doug Grassian, public relations manager for Goodyear
and an NSC alumnus, arranged for a group from UCF to
ride in the blimp. Journalism instructor Rick Brunson
and three of his students, Chelsea St. John, Maria
Parada and Christy Phillips, were joined by Tom
Messina, executive director of the UCF Alumni
Association. The group drove to Flagler County Airport
in Palm Coast to board The Spirit of Innovation, one of
three airships in Goodyear’s fleet. The 192-foot-long
helium-filled blimp lifted off and ascended at a 30degree angle before leveling off. The craft then cruised
easily and breezily at about 1,000 feet at 35 mph for the
60-mile trip to UCF. Capt. Matthew St. John, one of
only 60 licensed airship pilots in the world, flew the
craft and served as an entertaining host. The passengers
in the gondola took turns riding in the co-pilot seat,
oohing and ahhing at the sights below.
Communication Day
The Nicholson School of Communication hosted the
Communication Day event at the UCF Fairwinds Alumni
Center, which included workshops and presentations.
Those who attended had the opportunity to connect
with industry professionals, alumni and faculty.
The keynote speaker, Sally Hogshead, is an author and
brand innovation consultant who helps companies
develop messages that persuade and captivate. Her
clients have included Nike, Target and Coca-Cola.
During her presentation, Hogshead discussed the seven
triggers that make marketing messages more effective
and persuasive. She also spoke to students about
transitioning from school into the professional world.
“Just as the unique qualities of a product make it
fascinating, I want to help students to understand what
makes them different rather what makes them similar,”
Hogshead said.
“I like I-4 much better from up here,’’ Brunson said
jokingly.
(Continued on pg. 2)
Students attended three one-hour breakout sessions
that taught them how to develop themselves
professionally and land a job in the digital age.
UCF alumnus Dan Ward, partner and vice president of
Curley & Pynn Public Relations, was inducted into the
NSC Hall of Fame along with honorary member Joe Hall,
associate professor and area coordinator of the R-TV
program.
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Goodyear Blimp (Continued from pg. 1)
Once they arrived at UCF, the group got a bird’s eye
view of the distinctive, circular main campus, hovering
above for about a half-hour to capture photos and
video.
whole wonder of it can help create an opportunity for
students to learn and for schools to meet their
educational goals.’’
Two Incredible Faculty Members Retire
The students are part of Brunson’s Magazine Editing &
Production class, and their work appeared in the
inaugural issue of Centric Magazine. “This was an
opportunity of a lifetime,’’ said student Maria Parada,
wrote about the experience for the magazine. “It was
amazing.’’
Brunson, 50, recalls watching the Goodyear blimp on
television as it circled over America’s most famous
stadiums covering games for ABC’s “Monday Night
Football.’’
Carol Bledsoe has been a fixture on the UCF campus
since 1970. Beginning as a speech instructor in the
Communication Department, she has taught thousands
of students how to be confident and prepared when
giving presentations in the fundamentals of oral
communication course.
“Never would I imagine that I’d be able to one day ride
on the Goodyear blimp,’’ Brunson said. “I mean, it was
not even on my bucket list because it would never be
within the realm of possibility. You can’t even buy a trip
on the Goodyear blimp.’’
Bledsoe also brought her talents to administration,
having also served as assistant dean in the office of
undergraduate studies for several years and the
coordinator of the speech program.
Messina, who directs the 175,000-member alumni
association and graduated from UCF in 1984, was
awestruck. “I’ve seen aerial shots of UCF before, but
never like this, from up here,’’ Messina said. “It really is
a beautiful campus.’’
Ron Smith joined the journalism faculty in 1980,
teaching News Reporting, Mass Media Research, and
Mass Communication Law. He consistently received
positive reviews for the organized, user-friendly way he
delivered his Media Law course digitally, and the
learning outcomes never suffered.
In his time here, Smith also served as faculty adviser for
student-run Knight Wire, an online magazine, and
started the student chapter of the Society of
Professional Journalists.
The entire NSC wishes them well in their retirement;
both will be missed.
Grassian, who graduated from UCF’s Nicholson School
with an M.A. in Communication in 2004, said the trip is
part of Goodyear’s outreach to schools and universities.
Alumni News
Congratulations to recent NSC M.A. program
graduate Mollie McLaughlin who accepted an
offer of a full-time position with the Valencia
Community College faculty.
“Goodyear is attempting to integrate the blimp into
schools’ educational processes,’’ Grassian said. “The
hope is that students of all ages will be able to learn
through the blimp. This time it was journalism, but
there’s math and science behind the blimp. And the
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His research shows that while stalking is often assumed
to be related to psychological disorders, "the vast
majority of stalking cases are domestic in nature," he
said. Most victims of stalking know their pursuer. In
fact, 80 percent of victims know their pursuers and 44
percent are currently or have previously been
romantically involved with their pursuers, Cupach said.
NSC Faculty & Staff
Receive Excellence Awards
Drs. Tim Brown and Ann Miller were recognized at the
UCF Founder’s Day Convocation with Excellence in
Undergraduate Teaching Awards for 2011. Brown and
Miller were previously honored in a separate ceremony
by the College of Sciences. Of the five Excellence in
Undergraduate Teaching awards given out by the
College of Sciences, two were from NSC.
Stalking is more widespread than many people believe.
In the United States, 4 percent of women are stalked
along with 1.7 percent of men. That means, Cupach
said, that 3.4 million people are being stalked annually.
In addition to the psychological and social costs of
stalking, Cupach said that the problem also costs about
$342 million annually in terms of providing protective
services, such as police and counseling services. Cupach
said the rise of social media, such as Facebook and
Twitter, has provided “an even greater repertoire
available to stalkers." He pointed out that there are
even new smartphone applications that allow people to
track the movement of others.
Mr. Boyd Lindsley, assistant director of NSC, was
honored with the Excellence in Professional Service
Award. Ms. Rebecca Morales, coordinator of academic
support services, was presented with the Excellence in
Professional Advising Award.
Speaker Brings Stalking
Awareness to UCF
By: Jessica LaBruzzo
When asked what he wanted UCF students to get out of
his speech, Cupach responded that "the biggest thing …
is being direct, overt, and assertive" when dealing with
a pursuer or stalker. Taking a direct approach has been
shown to have the best results in stopping unwanted
attention. "Don't be mean, but avoid being
ambiguous," Cupach said.
Contrary to popular belief,
you're more likely to be stalked
by someone you know or used
to be romantically involved
with than by a crazed, psychopathic stranger, according
to a leading expert on the subject of stalking.
William R. Cupach, a renowned author and researcher
on stalking, spoke April 12 to about 200 students and
faculty in the Harris Corp. Engineering Building. Cupach's
speech, titled "The Dark Side of Interpersonal Attraction:
Obsessive Relational Intrusion and Stalking," was
sponsored by the Nicholson School of Communication
as a part of the College of Sciences' Distinguished
Speaker Series.
Cupach has authored or co-authored 13 books and
more than 50 journal articles, book chapters and
encyclopedia entries on his subject.
Students and faculty alike responded positively to
Cupach's presentation. Sherry J. Holladay, a public
relations professor in the Nicholson School, said "I
thought it was very good … the topic was particularly
relevant for college students." UCF student Victor
Brenes, a philosophy major, said he "might read
[Cupach's] book. I want to know more details."
Cupach says not all stalking is considered to be
Obsessive Relational Intrusion (ORI), a term coined by
Cupach and his colleague Brian H. Spitzberg. ORI is the
repeated and unwanted pursuit and invasion of one's
sense of physical and symbolic privacy by another
person who desires or presumes an intimate relationship.
Persistent and threatening ORI constitutes stalking.
UCF Debater Travels to New York for
National Tournament
Cupach, who is a communication research scholar and
director of graduate studies at Illinois State University,
studies how people manage problematic, challenging,
awkward or adverse social and personal relationships.
UCF forensics team member Christina Vitolo was
selected to compete in the Cross-Examination Debate
Association’s (CEDA) National Tournament from March
18-22 at Binghamton University in New York.
(Continued on pg.4)
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UCF Debater (Continued from pg. 3)
The event featured a total of 139 teams from 50
different colleges. Vitolo remarked, “It is an honor to be
asked to compete at such a big tournament with a great
team because it demonstrates how much influence we
have had on the debate circuit over just two
tournaments.”
News Fund (DJNF). The DJNF internship is the premier
editing and business reporting internship program in
the nation. Students are paid as full-time employees for
12 weeks and treated as professional editors at about
80 news organizations around the country. The
students were selected from among 600 applicants for
the prestigious paid internships.
The DJNF Interns:
● Michelle Dendy will complete a multimedia internship
and will be trained at Western Kentucky University by
Dr. Pam Johnson.
● Jessica Gillespie will complete a sports copy editor
internship and will be trained at the University of
Nebraska, Lincoln, by Dr. Charlyne Berens.
● Justin Sanak will complete a copy editor internship
and will be instructed by John Dillon at Pennsylvania
State University.
● Chelsy Tracz will complete a copy editor internship
and will be instructed by John Dillon at Pennsylvania
State University.
Journalism Students Launch Campus
Magazine and Website
Centric, UCF’s new student-produced magazine about
interesting and inspiring members of the campus
community, debuted on April 19. The magazine was
edited, produced and distributed by students in
journalism professor Rick Brunson’s Magazine Editing
and Production course. In addition to a glossy, full-color
print version of the magazine, students also created a
website with related content and a digital “flip’’ version
of the publication that readers can view online. The
website includes video, photo galleries and other web
extras that enhance the magazine’s text and provide the
reader with a richer, more interactive experience. Some
of the featured articles include a behind-the-scenes
look at UCF’s mascot, Knightro; a first-person account of
a flight above UCF on the famed Goodyear blimp; and
an inspiring profile of Kyle Coon, a member of UCF’s
wrestling team who is blind and a cancer survivor. “We
hope the publication of the magazine becomes a spring
tradition at UCF,’’ said Brunson. “The students worked
hard, took ownership of the project and created
something they and the Nicholson School can be proud
of.” To view the magazine online click on the link:
www.centric.cos.ucf.edu
Five Inducted into Top Honor Society
Congratulations to the five new student members of
Kappa Tau Alpha, the national college honor society
that recognizes academic excellence and promotes
scholarship in journalism and mass communication.
Selection for membership is a mark of highest
distinction and honor. Founded at the University of
Missouri in 1910, KTA is the seventh oldest national
honor society and the only one in journalism/mass
communications recognized by the Association of
College Honor Societies. KTA chapters are located at 93
U.S. colleges and universities. Journalism instructor
Lance Speere is the KTA Chapter adviser at UCF.
Katherine Adams
Kendall Bierer
Jacqueline Gilovoy
Jordan Keyes
Brendan Sonnone
UCF Debate Team
Compete in Georgia
Journalism Students Selected For
Prestigious Dow Jones
News Fund Internships
In their first ever traveling experience, the team of
Emily Johns and Christina Vitolo earned a 5-1 record
and qualified for the semifinals at the District 6 tournament at Emory University outside of Atlanta. This
marked the second tournament for UCF’s resurging
debate program and the second strong showing by the
Four UCF journalism students have earned elite
internships for summer 2011 through the Dow Jones
(Continued on pg. 5)
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UCF Debate Team (Continued from pg.4)
team. Of the trip, Vitolo said, “The tournament was a
great experience. It was hard at times, especially for the
novices, but those who showed commitment proved
they had the potential to make it all the way to the NDT
(National Debate Tournament).”
Students of the Year Awards
The students of the year awards were presented during
Communication Day at the Fairwinds Alumni Center.
Graduate Students:
Dr. Sydne Kasle, the team’s coach, added, “All of the
debaters had a nice time learning about debate,
tournament practices and meeting debaters from all
over the Southeast region. Our formidable opponents
from schools such as Louisville, University of Georgia
and Vanderbilt provided for lively debate and healthy
competition.“
Much has happened for the team in a short time.
Between organizing events and making travel
preparations, the team has somehow found time to
hone their craft and practice their skills. Of this, Dr.
Kasle said, “It is a dream come true to reunite the
alumni, host a tournament and qualify for semifinals all
in the month of February.”
Kristen Van Vonderen
Meeske Outstanding Graduate Student of the Year
NSC Faculty Receive Four TIPS
In recognition of their exceptional commitment and
dedication to superior teaching performance, four
faculty members in the Nicholson School of
Communication have been awarded a UCF Teaching
Incentive Program (TIP) Award. Tim Brown, Christine
Hanlon, Jim Katt and Harry Weger were selected as
recipients. This award recognized their excellent work in
instructing students and shines a spotlight on the
tradition of outstanding teaching that is occurring in NSC.
Vincent Santilli
Outstanding Master’s Thesis
Alumni News
Shreya Trivedi has been named the ombuds
officer for UCF. Trivedi came to UCF in the
fall of 2001 as an international student from
Kenya. She graduated in 2005 with a
bachelor's degree in advertising and public
relations at which time she was also selected
for the Order of Pegasus. She served parttime in the ombuds office for five years
before assuming a full-time position in the
International Service Center in 2006. Her
background, experience, and skills well qualify
her for the ombuds officer position.
Erin Lovell
Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant
Outstanding Undergraduate Students:
Gustavo Marrero (Ad-PR)
Elisabeth Mendes (I-O)
Brendan Sonnone (Jou)
Chad Mills (R-TV)
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Dr. Denise E. DeLorme's article, "The
State of Public Research on Over-TheCounter Drug Advertising" published in
the International Journal of Pharmaceutical
and Healthcare Marketing has been
selected as an Outstanding Paper
Award Winner at the Emerald Literati
Network Awards for Excellence 2011. DeLorme also has
a co-authored article, "Skepticism toward DTC
Advertising: A Comparative Study of Korean and
Caucasian Americans," accepted for publication in the
International Journal of Advertising. In April, she
presented a paper, "The Information Utility of DTC
Advertising in Different Media: Does It Matter Where
DTC Ads Are Placed?" at the American Academy of
Advertising Conference in Mesa, Arizona.
Scholar Athlete of the Year
Katie Detlefsen was named the 2010-2011 Scholar Athlete
of the Year for UCF. The award is for a student athlete
who demonstrates outstanding scholarly achievement
and athletic leadership.
Faculty Research and Publications
Dr. Tim Brown was invited to be part of
the faculty for the Inaugural Research
Methods BootCamp hosted by the
Broadcast Education Association. The
purpose of the BootCamp is to help
professionals moving from media
industries adjust to doing research in the academy. Dr.
Brown’s emphasis on “taking professional problems and
turning them into academic questions” was the kickoff
of the workshop.
Dr. Jim Katt presented the results of a
study co-authored with NSC colleague Dr.
Steve Collins at the Eastern Communication Association conference in Arlington,
Virginia. The study is titled “The Power of
Provisional/Immediate Language Revisited:
Adding Student Personality Traits to the Mix” and was
presented to ECA’s Communication Traits Special
Interest Group.
Brown delivered the keynote address to the University
of North Florida STARS Research symposium. Dr. Brown
was invited back to UNF for the keynote after his
workshop at the Florida Undergraduate Research
Conference, also held at UNF. Dr. Brown’s speech,
“Telling the Story: How to Effectively Communicate
Your Research,” was an outgrowth of the workshop he
does every year for UCF’s Research Week, sponsored by
the Office of Undergraduate Research.
Dr. Katt also presented a paper at the annual
convention of the American Educational Research
Association in New Orleans. The paper, “A Personality
to Grow Old With: The Relationships Between
Personality, Sense of Well-Being, Perception of Health
and Geriatric Depression” is co-authored with Dr. Linda
Speranza (Valencia State College), Dr. Wendy Shore
(Johns Hopkins University) and Dr. Lea Witta (UCF
College of Education). Dr. Katt was one of 13,000
educational researchers who attended this year’s
conference.
Dr. Steve Collins was awarded a
Fulbright award for this coming
academic year. He will be stationed in
east Africa collecting data on the role of
journalism in the development of social
institutions and democratic norms. The
Fulbright Program is the flagship
international educational exchange program sponsored
by the U.S. government and is designed to “increase
mutual understanding between the people of the
United States and the people of other countries.” The
program makes a number of awards at undergraduate,
postgraduate, post-doctoral and fellowship levels.
Fulbrights are prestigious, career-enhancing awards.
They also confer special status on winners during their
year of foreign study, as outstanding, officially
recognized representatives of their country.
Dr. Kim Voss’ article, "Anne Rowe
Goldman: Refashioning Women's News in
St. Petersburg, Florida," was published in
the 2011 FCH Annals: Journal of the
Florida Conference of Historians.
Voss presented the paper, "'You Can't Hug a Newspaper': Janet Chusmir, the Miami Herald and
Newspaper Management," at the Florida Conference of
Historians in Fort Lauderdale, April 2011.
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(Continued on pg. 7)
Voss (Continued from pg. 6)
She also presented, "'I Weep When I Read the Lines
About Not Being a Feminist': Gloria Biggs' Transition
From Women's Page Editor to Publisher," at the Florida
Historical Society Annual Meeting in Jacksonville, May
2011.
Harry Weger gave a talk titled,
“Tipping
in
Restaurants:
The
Application of Compliance Gaining
Principles to The Restaurant Tipping
Context” at the Rosen College of
Hospitality faculty research colloquia.
The NSC Sigma Eta Chapter of Lambda Pi Eta is
pleased to welcome 18 new inductees into the Sigma
Eta chapter. The members of Lambda Pi Eta are
undergraduate and graduate students who have
declared an interest in the field of communication and
have achieved a high level of academic excellence.
The purpose of Lambda Pi Eta is to recognize, foster,
and reward outstanding scholastic achievement,
promote and develop professional and research
interests among communication majors, encourage
undergraduate research, and enhance relationships
and mutual understanding between faculty and
students. Shari Hodgson is the faculty advisor.
Congratulations!
Spring 2011 Inductees:
Noelle Adderton
Madeline Armstrong
Oliva Barica
Kristen Bartlett
Katherine Campbell
Megan Clancy
Melissa Evans
Rene’ Gordon
Courtney Henderson
Kelsy Howell
Jolene Lent
Elisabeth Mendes
Benjamin O’Donnell
Kira Rosa
Laura Shafer
Amy Simpson
Kevin Stevens
Savannah Strickland
Maria Wodele
It is with great pleasure that we announce the news
that our two tenure-earning faculty members who
were up for tenure and promotion to associate
professor have both received positive recommendations from the provost and president. Please
congratulate newly promoted associate professors:
Dr. Kimiko Akita
Dr. Tim Brown
In addition, please congratulate Ad-PR Instructor
Ryan Sheehy who has passed the APR exam
(Accredited in Public Relations). This accreditation is
awarded by the Public Relations Society of America
(PRSA) and is a symbol of professional achievement
in the field. The APR exam is comprehensive,
covering history, theory, research, practice as well
as ethics, and is extremely rigorous.
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Graduate Program
Students’ Research
Alumni Spotlight
NSC graduate program students Yan Shan and Sarah
Crytzer presented their research at the Graduate
Research Forum in March. Crytzer’s presentation was
titled, “Comparing Media Coverage of the Gulf Oil Spill
Between the US and the UK: Implications for Global
Crisis Communication” and Yan’s presentation was
titled, “Do You Know the Love Stories of Your
Parents? Explore the Interactions of Parents and
Children in Chinese Family When Parents Disclose Their
Relationship Stories.” Shan has been accepted to
present at the International Communication Association
annual conference.
Ed Foster
From 1974 to 1976, Ed Foster was a force on the
nationally recognized Florida Technological
University debate team. During those years, he
paired up with fellow debaters Dave Larkin and
later Pat Jerome to attack the intercollegiate
forensics circuit.
Attending around 14
tournaments a year, Ed estimates that he and his
partners made it to the elimination rounds in at
least 10 of those showings each season. He and
Jerome won the Southeast District Tournament
during the ’75-’76 season and consequently
earned a trip to the National Debate Tournament
in 1976.
Nicole Jackson presented research at the National
Communication Association annual conference, as well
as received one of the COGS Mentoring Fellowships.
Alumna Joins NSC
“Debate did help me enormously in polishing my
speaking and argument skills, and in introducing
me to a whole cast of characters − teammates,
opponents and coaches from across the nation, and
[coach] Jeff Butler − whose differing
backgrounds, cultures, experiences, worldviews,
and personalities opened up whole new vistas
to this Alabama-born, Ocoee-bred, naive young kid.”
The Nicholson School of Communication
is pleased to announce Stephanie Jarvis
has been hired as the school’s Information
Specialist. Stephanie is a graduate of NSC
with a master’s in mass communication
and a bachelor’s degree in marketing.
Stephanie will be responsible for internal
and external communication for the NSC
including the newsletter, websites, social
media and event planning amongst other
duties.
After going on to the University of Florida to attain a
law degree in 1979, Ed became an attorney and
shareholder at the Akerman Senterfitt firm; a
position he still holds today. He resides a mere
four miles from his forensics alma mater in
Oviedo, Fla.
"In a very real sense, debate has been responsible
for much of the professional success I have enjoyed
in my career as a commercial litigation
attorney. When I interviewed at Akerman − now
one of America's 200 largest law firms − while still
in law school, my debate experience caught the
eye of one of our senior partners, who had
himself been a college debater some years
before. My debate experience and success, and
the fact that his old partner, Tenny Williams, was
the coach at Wake Forest and knew me and
apparently spoke well of me, cemented the firm's
decision to hire me all those years ago.”
We want to hear from you. For
submissions please contact:
[email protected]
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