Image Alternative Text: Marcus Hunter & Rex Jones

Department Welcomes Two New B&DJ Faculty Members

The Department of Communication welcomed two new faculty members for fall 2023. Marcus Hunter and Rex Jones both join the Broadcast & Digital Journalism concentration with years of industry experience between them.

Image Alternative Text: Dr. Terry Likes

Likes shares ‘Cowbell Culture’ audio documentary exploring iconic university symbol

Just in time for Mississippi State’s season opener in football—September 2’s MSU vs. Southeast Louisiana game—a veteran journalist at MSU is releasing an audio documentary looking in depth at the influence of the iconic university tradition, the cowbell.

Image Alternative Text: Bebe Rayborn

Communication student, Rayborn, helps increase trafficking awareness

“Barbie” movie extra. International magazine and runway model. World traveler. Communication and philosophy student at Mississippi State University. Rayborn, an MSU junior and native of Brandon majoring in Communication and Philosophy, is using her talents to build a nationwide platform for human trafficking awareness.

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EXCITE grant furthers adult vaccine education

Mississippi adults will continue to be offered science-based vaccine information by the Mississippi State University Extension Service with help from a national grant. MSU Extension received the Extension Collaborative on Immunization Teaching and Engagement, or EXCITE, grant to provide adult vaccine education in Mississippi. MSU was one of 37 institutions chosen for this award.

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Rex Jones' "Camille" film airs on BTV in August

August is the anniversary month of Camille and Katrina, and this month on BTV the public is reminded to stay prepared with replays of “Camille: The original monster storm”. The city’s municipal TV channel, BTV, is airing Mississippi filmmaker Rex Jones’s hour-long documentary of the storm that ranks as the second-most intense hurricane to strike the continental United States, claiming the lives of 256 individuals and causing more than $1 billion in damage.

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Mississippi Book Festival features communication instructor Foreman

The Saturday [Aug. 19] “Literary Lawn Party” -- free and open to the public -- will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the historic downtown State Capitol and surrounding grounds and in nearby Galloway United Methodist Church. The festival is a nonprofit event founded in 2015 by reading advocates. For complete information, visit www.msbookfestival.com.

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Degree options in two high-demand communication fields added by College of Arts and Sciences

Mississippi State University now offers students new ways to combine multiple interests with two additional College of Arts and Sciences degrees. Begun this semester, a new concentration in entertainment technology has been added as a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies, or BSIS, option and political communication now is offered as a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts, or BALA, choice.

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Seitz presents research at ICA

Dr. Holli Seitz, an associate professor in Communication & Media Studies, attended the International Communication Association annual conference in May. She shares, “I was able to give an oral presentation of my research, co-authored with recent graduate Sarah Rendon, ‘Effects of Community-Engaged Learning on Student Perceptions and Outcomes’ and received excellent feedback.”

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Dr. Uyanga Bazaa presents "Conceptual Definition, Operationalization, and Factors of Value Perspective"

Assistant Communication Professor Dr. Bazaa presented her paper titled "Conceptual Definition, Operationalization, and Factors of Value Perspective" at the 73rd International Communication Association's Annual Conference that will be held between May 25 and 29, 2023. Her presentation explores value congruence, as an antecedent of the organization-public relationships, benefits from a valid measurement scale to predict quality relationships between organizations and the public.

Image Alternative Text: Tonya Hays

Lifetime Achievement Award presented to Communication's Hays for contributions to the arts

Tonya S. Hays, assistant professor of theater performance in MSU’s Department of Communication, is a recipient of the Dr. Penny Wallin Lifetime Achievement in Arts Education Award for “consistently making meaningful contributions to her art form and advocating for the arts throughout her career.”

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CO Connection: Bethany Shipp

Mississippi State University's Department of Communication Head Dr. Terry Likes interviews Bethany Shipp, Marketing and Communication Coordinator for MSU’s Office of Public Affairs. Shipp discusses her varied career path from her days from MSU as an undergraduate student, to working at Disney in Orlando, to the world of Public Relations. Shipp also discusses her love of dance to her leadership role with the PR Association of MS-Starkville chapter.

Image Alternative Text: Dr. Terry Likes

Communication Department Head receives top honors from state broadcasting organization

The Mississippi Association of Broadcasters—the state’s premier organization dedicated to recognizing the highest standards of broadcast television production—has awarded Mississippi State Professor Terry Likes highest honors for his broadcasting skills during the group’s spring awards ceremony.

Image Alternative Text: 2023 PRAM Student of the Year & Outstanding Student

Communication students sweep PRAM Awards, Faculty also win PRism awards

At the April Public Relations Association of Mississippi annual conference, MSU swept most categories, with MSU senior communication and philosophy major Zoie Henson from Philadelphia winning PRAM Student of the Year, and MSU senior communication major Reagan Young from Chelsea, AL, winning PRAM Outstanding PR Student.

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Speech & Debate Team finishes another successful season

The MSU Speech and Debate Council, led by communication faculty member Cheryl Chambers and Brett Harvey, MSU’s Title IX/EEO director, garnered 209 awards this year, and 52 individual event (speech) honors, both annual record highs.

Image Alternative Text: Bailey & Foreman Photos

Faculty & students win broadcasting awards

At the National Electronic Media Association competition in April, MSU Communication Instructor Victoria Helena Bailey won 1st place for a news report, and Bailey and Josh Foreman, a communication instructor, won 1st place in the production ‘other’ category.