Year In Review 2016 N I C H O L S O N S C H O O L O F C O M M U N I C AT I O N U N I V E R S I T Y O F C E N T R A L F LO R I DA • O R L A N D O, F L
3 From the Director
W
hat an exciting year to be part of the Nicholson School of Communication at UCF. While undergoing leadership and organizational changes this year, NSC faculty and staff have launched initiatives, garnered new external grant awards totaling more than $250,000 and contributed expertise to their respective academic programs. In addition, the successful recruitment of key faculty and staff has laid the groundwork for an infusion of new perspectives prompting even greater successes in the future. NSC continues its commitment to the core focus of our mission: “to provide excellence in instruction and research.” Our numbers are strong, with 614 undergraduate and 26 master of arts degrees conferred during the past year. Regarding research, faculty productivity and impact is at an all-time high. NSC students are consistently ranked among the best in the nation. Once again, our weekly Knightly News won “Best Newscast” by the Associated Press, for example. The addition of the Hispanic Media Initiative, the planning for an expansion of international exchange programs and the increase in internship opportunities demonstrate the commitment of NSC to prepare students for professional careers or advanced graduate study. With NSC preparing to move the communication and conflict and human communication undergraduate programs, as well as the graduate program to UCF Downtown in the fall of 2019, faculty are providing leadership in campus and institution-wide committees to shape new curricular opportunities with Valencia College and plan for effective space utilization. The sponsorship of the 6th annual International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference, the launch of the new International Journal of Crisis and Risk Communication Research and the drafting of a proposal for a doctorate in strategic communication provide further evidence of all the exciting, innovative and unique initiatives underway in NSC. In short, Nicholson School of Communication is a success story that continues to evolve. We invite you to learn more about what we are accomplishing, share your talents and support our efforts.
Enthusiastically, Robert S. Littlefield, Ph.D. Director and Professor
4 Looking Ahead HISPANIC MEDIA INITIATIVE UCF strives to meet the needs of the growing Hispanic/Latinx student population and respond to an industry need for bilingual professionals in the field. Through programs such as the Hispanic Media Certificate and courses such as Hispanics in Media in the U.S. and Knightly Latino, the school offers a communication program that teaches students how to deliver and reach native and bilingual audiences. PH.D. IN STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION As the field of strategic communication expands and develops, demand is growing for academics and professionals with strategic communication expertise. NSC is quickly becoming a powerhouse of knowledge and expertise in strategic communication. The Ph.D. in strategic communication at UCF will be a cutting-edge program that focuses on crisis, risk, health and instructional communication. This Ph.D. will help position NSC as a national and international leader in these fields of communication. DOWNTOWN CAMPUS UCF’s Downtown Orlando campus will be the academic “heart” of downtown Orlando. The new campus will serve more than 7,000 students and offer degrees in high-demand fields including communication. Several NSC programs will relocate to the downtown campus in 2019, beginning with bachelors’ degrees in human communication and communication and conflict, a master’s degree in communication and a graduate certificate in corporate communication.
UCF Downtown Campus Rendering
5 New Faces
Sierra Cater
Coordinator of Academic Advising
Tommiea Jackson
Coordinator of Communication, Marketing and Events
Eve-Lyndssa Mercure Admission Specialist
Shameika Daye
Coordinator of Academic Programs
Robert S. Littlefield, Ph.D. Director and Professor
Susan Morris
Coordinator of Accounting
David Gamradt
Instructor and Coordinator of Broadcasting, WUCF Liason
Jeff Kunerth
Instructor, Journalism, Radio-TV and Ad/PR
Andrea Scott, Ph.D.
Lecturer, Human Communication
6
20469619 1981 298
2016 Nicholson School Communication Students 119
5
125
35 52
283
21
614 Undergraduate Degrees Awarded
26 Graduate Degrees Awarded
Advertising-Public Relations
Interpersonal Communication
Human Communication
Mass Communication
Interpersonal-Organizational Communication Journalism
Radio-Television
2016 Nicholson School Communication Faculty
$3,600
1 book publication
$276,727
12 book chapters
24 refereed publications
TOTAL GRANT FUNDING
71 presentations
Internal
External
611 citations
7 2016 HIGHLIGHTS • NSC students raised more than $1,500 for victims of 2016’s Hurricane Matthew in Cuba and Haiti. In partnership with Lions Club International, the two-hour long Uknighted Hope Telethon aired on WUCF-TV and was streamed on Facebook. • Nearly 150 crisis communication practitioners and scholars from around the world converged on UCF as NSC hosted the International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference, making it the most-attended in the conference’s six-year history. • Joan McCain, associate instructor and advertising/public relations program coordinator, was named Florida Public Relations Association 2016 PR Professional of the Year. • NSC played host to the National Debate Coaches Association’s National Debate Championship in April welcoming 400 people including students, coaches and judges from 17 states and 55 high schools. • NSC is one of only 24 institutions of higher learning nationwide to offer the Certificate of Public Relations Principles exam preparatory course. NSC students can also boast of 100 percent pass rate, giving them a huge boost in the job market. • Chris Tomasso became NSC’s 33rd member inducted to its Alumni Hall of Fame. Tomasso, who earned a bachelor’s degree in advertising/public relations, is president of First Watch Restaurants.
• Shirley and Art Sotloff named Adam Manno, a senior journalism student, as the first Steven Sotloff Memorial Endowed Fund scholarship recipient. The scholarship honors the memory of the previous NSC student and freelance journalist who was taken hostage and killed by the terrorist group ISIS in 2014. • Reciprocal student exchange programs allowed 21 NSC students to spend up to a semester in the United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, Sweden and 17 students from those countries to study at NSC. Six NSC students also participated in a study abroad program in Austria. • Timothy Sellnow, Ph.D., professor of strategic communication, was presented the Gerald M. Phillips Award for Distinguished Applied Communication Scholarship at the National Communication Association convention. • Due to NSC’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, NSC sponsored the Black Faculty and Staff Association, the Latino Faculty and Staff Association and the Pride Faculty and Staff Association. • Seven NSC faculty members received the UCF Teaching Incentive Program (TIP) Award. Of the College of Sciences’ 23 awardees, seven were communication faculty members: Christine Hanlon, Ph.D., Shari Hodgson, James Katt, Ph.D., Lindsay Neuberger, Ph.D., Gino Perrotte and Jennifer Sandoval, Ph.D. and Joan McCain.
Excellence in Education Excellence in Research Undergraduate Programs Advertising/Public Relations, B.A. Communication and Conflict, B.A. Human Communication, B.A. Journalism, B.A. Radio-Television, B.A. Health Communication Certificate
Graduate Programs Master of Arts in Communication with tracks in: - Interpersonal Communication - Mass Communication Corporate Communication Certificate
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