News & Events from Fall 2011
School of Communication Welcomes Local Anchor as Fall Commencement Speaker
WITN News Anchor Heather King will speak at the School of Communication fall recognition ceremony on Dec. 16. King has been waking up Eastern Carolina as WITN’s morning news anchor since 2002. She brings her experience as a reporter and anchor in both Missouri and North Carolina and will have “words of advice” for the School’s December graduates.
The ceremony beings at 8 p.m. and will be held in Wright Auditorium. Tickets are not required. [Full Story].
SOC Presents High School Media Workshop Day
The ECU School of Communication recently presented its fourth annual High School Media Workshop, co-sponsored with the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association.
Approximately 150 students from 12 eastern North Carolina high schools came to ECU for the one-day workshop. The students involved work on their schools' papers, magazines, yearbooks and radio/TV stations. The students had the opportunity to attend sessions throughout the day on topics like: news reporting and writing; sports reporting; news anchoring; conceptualizing story ideas; publishing in the digital age; social media; yearbook design; and media law.
This year’s keynote speaker was ECU alum John Cooper, who has worked for the Charlotte-based NBC News Channel for more than 20 years. NBC News Channel is the network's affiliate news service where video of national and international stories is gathered and distributed daily to NBC affiliates nationwide. Cooper is the Deputy Manager of the Live Desk. His primary role is to work with reporters in the field and to oversee and produce their news stories. Cooper graduated from East Carolina University in 1989 with a degree in Communication.
ECU’s School of Communication Hosts Distinguished Health Communication Scholar
To help celebrate the school's five-year anniversary of its master's in health communication degree, Dr. Gary Kreps, an innovator in health communication and Visiting Scholar at the ECU School of Communication, spoke about the importance of scholarship in the growing field in a public lecture on October 26.
Kreps gave his lecture, “Communication and the Continuum of Care: A Mandate for Health Communication Scholarship,” at the East Carolina Heart Institute. The ECU School of Communication was presenting Kreps’ lecture in conjunction with the ECU Brody School of Medicine Department of Public Health Grand Rounds.
Kreps has been working in health communication since its early days in the 1970s. Health communication includes doctors discussing care with patients, governments advising the public on health issues and societies working to ensure that diverse populations learn about how to stay healthy.
“Increasingly my own work is focusing on reducing health disparities for vulnerable and at-risk populations both domestically and internationally,” said Kreps, whose research projects have earned external grant awards totaling more than $31 million.
In addition to his lecture, Kreps met with several School of Communication and Department of Health Education and Promotion classes over three days of his visit.
Kreps’ visit helped the School of Communication mark the fifth anniversary of the Master of Arts degree in Communication with an emphasis in health. A celebratory reception was held at the Heart Institute following the public lecture.
School of Communication professor, John Howard, receives UNC Board of Govenors' Excellence in Teaching Award
Congratulations to Dr. John Howard, one of only 17 faculty members in the entire 16-campus University of North Carolina system to receive this teaching excellence award. Howard, who teaches undergraduate courses in organizational communication, persuasion and argumentation, along with graduate courses in social media influence, was awarded $7,500 in cash and a bronze medallion. A member of the UNC Board of Governors presented Howard with the award during spring commencement. [ Complete Story ]
The School of Communication Helps Better Student-Athletes For the Future
Student-athletes have a standard to live up to. Every athlete understands that they not only represent themselves but East Carolina University as well, not just on the track, on the field or in the pool, but at all times. It is not easy to juggle two practices a day, an average of 16 credits, community service and a social life. Although Pirate Kelsey Brosi would be the first to tell you how hard this lifestyle is, she makes it look easy. [ Full Story ]
The East Carolinian: [SOC] Student moves from Greenville to NYC to Embark on the Internship of a Lifetime
Having finished all but seven of the hours she needs to graduate and already having completed an internship in Greenville, one student decided to branch out for her last semester. Senior communication major Melissa Plunkett (photo: right) will finish her four years at ECU interning with MTV in New York City.
The East Carolinian: Two [SOC] Alumnae Find Success Building Their Own Savvy PR Company
When two Pirates and best friends packed up their bags, loaded their cars and headed to the West Coast for a warm-weather adventure shortly after graduating, they never imagined that it would lead them to where they are today.
These two alumnae, Jamie Sigler and Sarah Evans, are now the co-founding partner and managing partner, respectively, of J Public Relations, one of the top luxury hospitality and lifestyles public relations firms in the country.
School of Communication Graduate Student Receives Diversity Award from NASCAR
ECU School of Communication graduate student, Brittani Parker, who completed an internship with NASCAR, received special recognition from the organization.
“I still can't believe it,” Parker said. “I'm elated to know that NASCAR selected me for such a prestigious recognition. It's truly an honor to have interned with the NASCAR Foundation last summer and to be recognized for the NASCAR Diversity Internship Program Award.”
The award is in recognition of exemplary personal effort to incorporate diversity in the motorsports industry. Parker was recognized at the 4th Annual NASCAR Diversity Awards event in Daytona Beach, Fla. Key individuals from across the NASCAR community were present.
The NASCAR internship took place in the summer of 2010 following Parker’s May graduation from Winston-Salem State University. Parker’s internship was in the Charlotte office, where the NASCAR Foundation is located. She is now a graduate student in the School of Communication’s master’s degree program. The School of Communication offers a master of arts degree in communication with an emphasis in health communication.
