WORDS FROM THE WISECarrie Moore presents the winners of

this year’s Wisdom Award for Public Speaking Excellence.

NEW FACULTY FEATURENew addition to the Department of

Communication, Dr. Adam Richards, discusses his recent research

endeavors.

HORNED FROGS ABROADWe explore the worldly nature of the

Communication Studies program with Dr. Debi Iba as academics be-

gin to cross international borders.

from DEPT.COMM to you

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

As another year on the aca-demic calender draws to

a close, the Bob Schieffer Col-lege of Communication would like to reach out to those who are currently a part of the Communication Studies fam-ily, as well as those who have come and gone. The year of 2013-2014 has been good to the third floor of Moudy South,

and we would like to at once memorialize the progress and success of the department, as well as look forward to more wonderful opportuni-ties for the future. Thank you to all those who have passed through the doors of the de-partment, and welcome to those who are now joining us. Go Frogs!

COMMUNICATION STUDIESALUMNI NEWSLETTER

TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY SPRING 2014

2013-14 has been an incredible year in the life of our department! We are delighted to an-nounce that Drs. Kristen Carr and Adam Richards have joined our faculty as Assistant Profes-sors. Dr. Carr studies family communication and has a special interest in serial arguments (you know, the kind that just won’t go away?)! Kristen received her PhD from University of Ne-braska and was with us last year as a full time instructor as she wrapped up her dissertation.

Dr. Richards joins us from the University of Maryland, where he just completed his PhD. He is in-terested in topics such as social influence, health communication, and preserving the des-ert cactus (OK, that’s not a research area, but you should see his office!). Adam teaches our undergraduate research class and is a specialist in experimental, observational methods.

THIS SPRING IN MOUDY SOUTH a word from department chair Dr. Paul King

Left to right: Daniels, Milligan, Lewis, Ritchie

2 nd place STEPHANIE MILLIGAN$500 scholarship 3rd place

KELSEY RITCHIE$250 scholarship

JACLYN CRAVELLOLYDIA MCGARVAASHLEY HODGE & TREVOR FAYE&1st place

MICHAEL DANIELS$1,000 scholarship

“the power of words” “participation awards” “pop culture” RUNNERS UP

Would you like to be involved? Help us ensure that this award will be sustained for years to come. Call 817.257.7275.

UNDERGRADUATE AWARD WINNERSThe Wisdom Award for Public Speaking Excellence scholarship was established by the generosity of Alli-son and Stephen Lewis in the fall of 2010. In the fall of 2013, undergraduate students from a wide-variety of majors auditioned for the final round with an original, 10-minute persuasive speech. On Friday, October 11, the seven finalists competed for the College of Communication Board of Visitors who served as our distinguished panel of judges. The Board was so very excited with the quality of student speeches, for the first time, they awarded prizes for the 2nd and 3rd place speeches. SEE BELOW FOR RESULTS OF THE FINAL ROUND. -Carrie Moore

THE WISEST OF THEM ALL

TCU Forensics faced the Irish National Debate Team, winners of the Irish Times Debate Final, in a public ex-hibition debate on Friday, April 4. Students, faculty,

and staff are joined for a parliamentary-style debate in the BLUU Auditorium. A reception after the debate allowed attendees time to greet the debaters from both Ireland and TCU while enjoying light refreshments.

The Irish team consists of three debaters: Kieran O’Sullivan (Law School of Ireland), Dearbhla O’Sullivan (Law School of Ireland), and William Courtney, (University College Dub-lin Medical School). They debated three TCU debaters on the subject of international sporting events and human rights violation. Competing for TCU were: Kelsey Fahler (Ju-nior, Strategic Communication major), Timothy Betts (Fresh-man, Mathematics and Philosophy major), and Donald Griffin (Freshman, Journalism and Psychology major).

TCU was chosen to host the Irish debaters during their six-city U.S. tour through a competitive bid process through the National Parliamentary Debate Association. The Irish enjoyed three days in Fort Worth as guests of the Depart-ment of Communication Studies and TCU Forensics.

INTERNATIONAL DEBATE

TCU Forensics team hosts, debates Irish Debaters

RIGHT: Kieran O’Sullivan of the Law School of Ireland opens for the Irish Debate team. The Irish advocated for the acknowledgement of human rights violations in sporting event bids.

Going global became a reality for students and faculty in the Communication Stud-ies department in Summer, 2013. In the department’s inaugural Study Abroad program, nine students and two faculty members jetted across the pond for the

“Communication and Debate in the UK” program.

The June program included a specialized study of Parlia-mentary Debate and Great British Orators in the United Kingdom. London and Edinburgh offered the ideal set-tings to study the parliamentary system of government as well as the famous speeches of monarchs and prime ministers across the centuries. Students had the chance to visit historic sites, view historic documents, witness a live parliamentary session, and gain an understanding of other cultures.

Sites visited included Henry VIII’s Hampton Court, Windsor Palace, Canterbury Cathedral, Stonehenge, and the Brit-ish and Scottish Houses of Parliament, among others.

“One my favorite things about the Parliamentary Debate class is that we debated issues that were relevant in the UK and we were doing them in front of such beautiful backdrops,” said student Erika Simonson. “We debated in Stonehenge and York, and that was very exciting.”

This international program offered a unique learning en-vironment and unique learning tools. The Communica-

tion Studies department provided iPads for all students and faculty to read texts, complete assignments, record videos, and even take exams.

“The iPad provided a great opportunity for us to have a global classroom,” said student, Anna Livingston. “We could have class wherever we were—on the train, in the gardens of Hampton Court, or Kensington Palace.”

#commfrogsabroaddr. debi iba discusses past & present international study opportunities

Madison Buckner (left), Kelsey Player (right) at Stonehenge

Students will be able to explore communication from Aristotle’s perspective. Photo courtesy of Merriam-Web-ster.

Italy is the site of the department Study Abroad 2014 Summer program called Italy: Communication & Culture. The 20 students and two faculty in this program will depart for Rome and Florence in June. Students could enroll in two courses—Rhetoric: An-

cient Rome to Modern Oratory and Nonverbal Com-munication Across Cultures.

Sites this year include the Roman Forum, the Vatican, Colosseum, and Uffizi Gallery in Florence. Side excur-sions will take students to Tivoli, a Tuscan vineyard, and to an agriturismo (working farm). Students are also en-rolled in Italian language lessons and culinary classes. Local guides and guest lecturers also enhance the cross-cultural emphasis.

“Students have an incredible opportunity to see the ancient roots of our area of study,” said Carrie Moore, faculty member. “We will stand in the very place that is the foundation of public speaking.”“We’ve been able to locate expert guest speakers to learn more about Italian gestures, the historical impor-tance of clothing and identity as well as political and papal rhetoric,” said Iba. “Students will have a very rich experience.”

Part of the global experience requires students to com-municate their experiences with a wider audience. Stu-dents will tweet on Twitter #commfrogsitaly throughout the trip. - Dr. Debi Iba, d.iba@tcu.edu

up next:COMM & CULTURE

The Department of Communication Studies invited all students, faculty, and staff to join in a departmen-tal awards ceremony and showcase on Wednesday, March 26 at 5:00 in Moudy South, room 320.

Special departmental awards for both students and faculty were presented. TCU Forensics showcased two nationally qualified performances including a program oral interpreta-tion by Kelsey Fahler and a persuasive speech by Paige Mi-chel. New member inductions to both Lambda Pi Eta and Pi Kappa Delta were also held.

- Dr. Amorette Hinderaker, a.hinderaker@tcu.edu

Right: The newly-inducted members of communication hon-ors fraternity Lamba Pi Eta stand with their cords as they are congratulated by Dr. Andrew Ledbetter (not pictured).

students, faculty celebrate at the DEPARTMENTAL AWARDS CEREMONYSHOWCASE:

Internships represent a key way in which the Com-munication Studies department connects to the Fort Worth community and beyond. Dr. Johny Gar-ner explains that “an internship is like a lab, where students take book knowledge from their classes

and see how it works in the real world.” This year, stu-dents have interned at nonprofit organizations such as

Susan G. Komen, Make a Wish, and the Alzheimer’s As-sociation, and businesses such as Clear Channel Com-munications, Cockrell Enovation, LComm Marketing, Cash America Corporate Offices, Catapult Health, Ph-ysAssist, Reach Media, and Jan Simus Events, and the Dallas branch of the U.S. Mint. But don’t think that these students are just making coffee--they are meeting with clients/customers, working with venders, and seeing the in’s and out’s of how businesses operate!

While working in those organizations, students attend Dr. Garner’s 8:00 am class and learn about being a new employee, managing stress, professionalism, and voca-tional advancement. These students leave with valu-able experience, and with a better grasp of how their communication studies degree can help them as they enter the work force.

If you would like more information about the Commu-nication Studies Internship program, contact Dr. Garner at j.garner@tcu.edu.

If you have not yet heard the news, the College of Com-munication is now officially the “Bob Schieffer College of Communication.” Mr. Schieffer has anchored CBS’s Face the Nation since 1991. He has also worked for

CBS news as reporter, chief Washington correspondent, and evening news anchor since he joined CBS in 1969. Bob attended TCU before serving in the U.S. Air Force and working for a time as a reporter for the Star-Telegram.

Since he now represents the entire College, Bob arranged to spend a week at TCU this spring, meeting with students

new name represents both past and future of communicationand with faculty. Bob had lunch with Communication Studies students Brooke Ingstad, Colton Perry, and Parker Ragland and spent an afternoon being briefed on the work of the department by the full faculty of Communi-cation Studies. Dr. King, speaking on behalf of the facul-ty, indicated his pleasure for the opportunity to be iden-tified with a public figure widely known for integrity and fairness. He noted that Mr. Schieffer’s frequent appear-ances as moderator of Presidential Debates could be in-valuable to our new program in parliamentary debate.

REAL WORLD:COMM STUDIES

Dr. Johny Garner discusses internship opportunities

outside of the classroom

The department welcomes Dr. Adam Richards as a new Assistant Professor. His academic interests focus on persuasive communication in inter-personal and health contexts, and he teaches classes in interpersonal communication, social

influence, communication inquiry, and research meth-ods. He is also an avid grower of cacti and succulents (feel free to stop by his office to see his weird collec-tion of plants!). Dr. Richards’s research covers a diverse range of topics related to interpersonal influence. Here are a few summaries of his most recent studies:

Dr. Richards recently completed a series of experiments about how the facial structure of a persuasive source affects an audience’s susceptibility to influence. One of these studies looked at the persuasiveness of sourc-es who look similarly to their targets. Using specialized computer software, he morphed an undetectable per-centage of audience members’ facial photographs into a photograph of a stranger’s face. Some people read persuasive messages attributed to the self-mor-phed stranger, while others read persuasive messages attributed to the stranger who did not look like them. People were better persuaded by sources who looked like them, even when they did not recognize that the source was facially similar. These results show that peo-ple have deep-seated tendencies to be persuaded that operate below their level of awareness.

In another study, he looked at strategies for improving persuasive messages that encourage college students

to drink alcohol more responsibly. Such messages are noto-rious for actually causing the unhealthy drinking behaviors they try to prevent! Dr. Richards tested whether forewarning college students about this negative “boomerang effect” might increase the possibility of their responding favorably to the messages in the future. His findings show that edu-cating college students about the possibility of the boo-merang effect decreases their desire to drink excessively after reading the message advocating for healthy drink-ing. These results have important implications for improving student safety related to binge drinking.

Finally, some of Dr. Richards’s research attempts to figure out why people choose to pursue or avoid interpersonal arguments. One study questioned whether people decide to argue with friends based on their predictions of how like-ly the conflict is to be costly to their relationship. He found that people exhibit an optimism bias when it comes to de-ciding to argue: They anticipate positive outcomes to be more likely and negative outcomes to be less likely to oc-cur to them. People intended to engage in arguments in which they deemed positive outcomes were likely. These results show that people use a cost-benefit analysis to make social decisions similarly to how they make economic deci-sions.

These studies make important contributions to the field of Communication. Dr. Richards continues to bring an excite-ment for interpersonal influence to his research and teach-ing. We are pleased that he has joined us at Texas Christian University.

new faculty featuredr. adam richards

top graduate students 2014

samuel hardman taylormona, ut.

media use & family tiescornell university

j. parker ragland fort worth, tx.

organizational dissentarizona state university