News

Spring 2008
Communication Career Night a Complete Success
It was standing-room only at the annual Careers in Communication event on March 25th at the Kelley Center on campus. Returning to Fairfield to speak to Communication majors included Sonia Baghdady '96, anchor on WTNH TV; Terrance McCarron '99, Senior VP North American Sales, Greenfield Online; Melody Serafino '05, Senior Account Executive, Rosen Group PR; Meg Malinowski '06, Page Supervisor, "Late Show with David Letterman"; and Erica Penta '07, Contract Supervisor, ESPN.
   A networking social was followed by a panel presentation where graduates of the Communication program reminded students that communication theory matters in the workplace and that hard work in the classroom pays off later on. Drs. Sallyanne Ryan and David Gudelunas from Department of Communication and Sue Quinlivan from Career Planning organized the event. (Photo: Gretchen Toss).

Former chair of Communication Department appointed Dean of CAS

Prof. Robbin Crabtree

After six years leading the Department of Communication through important transformations, Professor Robbin Crabtree has been appointed as the new Dean for Fairfield University's College of Arts & Sciences. By the time of her appointment, Dr. Crabtree was in charge of the recently created Office of Service Learning, and while taking the helm of that unit she also ensured a smooth transition into the Communication Department's chair to newly arrived Associate Professor James Shanahan.

Professor Crabtree came to Fairfield in 2001 from New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, where she was an associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies. She was chair of the Department of Communication at Fairfield from 2001 until August of 2007. During that period, the size of the faculty grew from five to nine full-time members to meet immense student demand for the major, the curriculum and advising procedures were streamlined, department participation in interdisciplinary programs increased substantially, and a new graduate cohort-based program was developed. She also added new courses to the curriculum, redesigned the department internship program to be more academically rigorous, mentored and reviewed the performance of faculty, managed the department's budget, identified new revenue streams, and participated in the development of tools for student learning assessment.

Such a busy tenure as department chair did not prevent her from also engaging in numerous service-related activities within the university's community, the professional field of communication, and external NGOs, as well as maintaining an excellent performance in the classroom. The latter was recently recognized, when she was awarded the distinction of "Teacher of the Year" by Fairfield's Chapter of Alpha Sigma Nu Jesuit honor society.

While the Communication Department will certainly miss interacting with Professor Crabtree on a daily basis, faculty members in this unit know they will still count on her energy, can-do disposition, sense of humor, and reliable support from her new role as leader of the larger community of the College of Arts & Sciences. Our warmest congratulations and best wishes to Professor Crabtree.

Fall 2007
Communication Department appoints renowned scholar as new chair

Dr. James Shanahan

A nationally recognized researcher and teacher has recently joined the Department of Communication and been elected as its Chair for the next three years. James Shanahan, Ph.D., is a graduate from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He also holds a M.S. degree in Communication (Broadcasting) from Boston University, and a B.A. in Political Science from Tufts University. Before coming to Fairfield University, James Shanahan worked as Assistant and Associate Professor at Cornell University, and previously as Assistant Professor at Boston University. Currently, Dr. Shanahan is the outgoing editor of the Mass Communication and Society journal, editorial board member of the American Journal of Media Psychology; Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture; Learning, Media & Technology; and the Journal of
Communication, as well as manuscript reviewer for a number of specialized academic publications. Our new department chair's experience and impressive track record in research will bring an additional boost to our already highly productive and growing community of scholars. Welcome, Dr. Shanahan!

Summer 2007
2007 Comm Graduates Conquer the Job Market
The Department of Communication congratulates the Class of 2007 who secured job placements at some of the nation's most prestigious communication and media companies. Among the many success stories from the Class of 2007 are Keegan Forte and Christina Tesauro who are employed by ABC Networks, Brenna Jordan who is working as a recruiter at Onward Healthcare, Joanna Cella at 42 West Public Relations in New York City, Janet Reinhardt at MMW Public Relations in New York City, and Michael Barrett at the LOGO Network. Many of these students gained both academic training in the classroom and practical experience through the department's internship program. We're always interested in hearing what our graduates are up to professionally, so please feel free to drop us an email and keep us in the know (email to dgudelunas@mail.fairfield.edu)

Elizabeth Blake

Summer 2007
Comm Major from Class of 2007 Wins a Fulbright Scholarship
Recently graduated Communication Major Elizabeth Blake is among five Fairfield University's students who were awarded Fulbright scholarships for the 2007-08 academic year. By conducting a study entitled "Social and Economic Effects of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI)," Elizabeth will explore the implications of the reinforced U.S. patrol controls and policies at the border between this country and Canada. The WHTI is a set of measures mandated by the U.S. Congress as part of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 that resulted from the conclusions of the 9/11 Commission.

After completing this research project, Elizabeth (who also holds a major in Political Science and a minor in Classical Studies) plans to pursue a Master's degree in Political Science at the University of Windsor.

Spring 2007
New B.A. in Communication graduates
95 Communication majors received their B.A. degree during the 57th Fairfield University's commencement ceremony celebrated on Sunday, May 20, 2007. This newly graduated class had the opportunity to witness, and benefit from, important changes taking place in the Communication Department, including expansion of its faculty and addition of new courses to the curriculum. Congratulations to the new grads and best wishes for their future professional endeavors!

Comm Graduates Alexis Bartiromo, Natalia Ahern,
and Michael Barrett, during the commencement exercises

Celebrating their new degrees after the graduation ceremony (left to right):
Katie Keogh, Gabrielle O'Reilly, Corrine Conway, Keegan Forte, and Christina Tesauro

Spring 2007
New Graduates from the M.A. and Certificate in Communication Programs
In collaboration with the University College, our department maintains off-campus Certificate and Master's programs that are offered to local corporate and organizational cohorts. This year, a total of 24 students graduated from these programs: 12 students received Certificates and 12 students received Master's degrees. Many recipients of Certificates are also continuing studies in the cohort Master's Program, which provides a flexible schedule of evening and weekend classes especially designed for professionals and working adults.

Dr. Edna Wilson, Dean of University College, and Dr. Robbin Crabtree,
Chair of the Communication Department,
with new M.A. degree recipient Kristie O'Hayre (and her baby).

Spring 2007
Professor Robbin Crabtree named Teacher of the Year

Our outgoing department chair, director of Service Learning and colleague, Dr. Robbin Crabtree, was designated Teacher of Year at Fairfield University, in recognition for her oustanding pedagogy and dedicated advising during the six years she has been working at this institution. The award is conferred by Apha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit honor society, which solicits student nominations based on a professor's effectiveness in the classroom, availability outside the classroom and contact with student groups. In a ceremony celebrated on May 16, 2007, as part of the Seniors' Brunch, communication major Michael J. Barrett described Prof. Crabtree's teaching job in the following terms: "once you take her class you understand that she is hard, but only because she wants her students to feel accomplished and get them to do better in the communication field. Even though she is the Communication Chair she always has time for her students no matter how small the problem ... She could talk for hours about any subject and not just communication. She has the biggest depth of knowledge I have ever come across and I feel I have learned more from her than all of the other teachers I have had combined."

Spring 2007
New Communication Majors Inducted into Lambda Pi Eta Honor Society

The 2007 Lambda Pi Eta-Epsilon Sigma inductees

17 members of the 2007 class were recently inducted into Lambda Pi Eta, the national undergraduate honor society in communication. The primary purpose of Lambda Pi Eta is "to recognize, foster, and reward outstanding scholastic achievement in communication." Since its inception in 1985, the honor society has grown to more than 250 chapters nationwide. In March 1997, the National Communication Association (NCA) recognized our local chapter, Epsilon Sigma, in hopes of promoting and honoring academic excellence in communication here at Fairfield University. Membership is conferred upon graduating seniors who maintain high standards of general scholarship, achieve outstanding academic success in communication, and demonstrate genuine commitment to the field of communication.
This year's inductees are:

Spring 2007
Students presented results of study about GLBT issues
In a ceremony celebrated at the Alumni House on March 27, 2007, the awardees of the first Fairfield University's Student Diversity Grant presented the results of research projects they have been developing for almost a year, on a variety of topics related to different cultures, origins, creeds, lifestyles, and populations coexisting in our campus. One of the winners of the grant was Communication major Michael Barrett (2007), who co-authored with Lauren DiGiovine and Michelle Holmberg a project entitled "The Collegiate Closet: Exploring GLBT Issues at Fairfield University." Dr David Gudelunas was the faculty advisor for this study that aims at documenting attitudinal trends towards GLBT students, propose relevant policies, and engage the campus community in wider discussions about diversity. This research team also led a town hall meeting on the subject on May 1, 2007, where important policy recommendations were raised.

The group who presented results of studies conducted as part of the 2006-2007
Fairfield University's Student Diversity Grant. In the center of the group:
Michelle Holmberg, Lauren DiGiovine, and Communication major Michael Barrett.

Spring 2007
Dr. Maggie Wills recommended for promotion to Associate Professor
Communication Faculty Member Maggie Wills has been recently recommended by the Rank & Tenure Faculty Committee for promotion to the level of Associate Professor. This decision recognizes Dr. Wills's productivity as a scholar, as well as her excellent teaching performance. Part of the latter is reflected by the frequent acceptance of Communication Majors' research projects, which have been developed in Dr. Wills's Research Capstone courses, into nation-wide competitive research conferences. Congratulations Dr. Wills!

Fall 2006
Comm Faculty Member Dr. Gudelunas Met Joan Rivers in New York City
"I've spent a lot of time studying and publishing on the topic of home shopping networks and parasocial interaction," said Gudelunas. "Joan Rivers is a legend in the industry and she was every bit as funny and nice as expected."

Fall 2006
Fairfield U. Communication Majors Keep Capturing the Spotlight...
This Time on National TV.
Communication major Jeffrey Michaud (class of 2007) had a lucky stint at the long-running television show "The Price Is Right" during this past summer. Here's a personal chronicle of his first taste of national fame:

"It's 4:30 in the morning on Beverly Avenue outside the CBS Studios in Los Angeles and the California sun still hasn't risen to warm any of us up yet. As I take a look around me I begin to realize that I am standing on the only street in America where, on a daily basis, you can be sure to find hundreds of people decked out in their most ostentatious and eye-catching garb, hoping that their bright neons and cleverly phrased t-shirts will stand out among all the others. You could call us crazy for waiting in line a solid ten hours just for the fleeting chance to be a contestant on The Price is Right, but I think I speak for the lunch ladies from Omaha, the sisters from Kentucky and the family reunion from Raleigh, who would agree with me when I say that there is nowhere else we would have rather been that day. In fact, many of the people I met in line who had planned their entire family vacations months in advance just to be there were actually surprised when I told them that I had been planning my trip for over fifteen years. I grew up watching game shows with my grandparents and always said that I was someday going to be a contestant on one of the shows, but it was only until I found out that The Price is Right auditions every single audience member prior to the show that I became determined to stand on that stage with Bob Barker.

So there I was in my 'Fairfield University Loves Bob' t-shirt standing before two producers in charge of selecting contestants for the show. They listened to my whole life story in a matter of fifteen seconds as I enthusiastically told them that I myself was a game show host here at Fairfield, ready and willing to be Bob's protégé. They then thanked me and moved along through their extensive processing, which took another two hours until everyone finally got seated on the set. I can honestly say that never in my life have I ever experienced the level of excitement and electricity that charged through the atmosphere in that room, and with the lights flashing and the music blaring I thought to myself, 'It can't get any better than this.' I was wrong. Three out of the first four contestants, including the woman sitting right next to me, were called down to stage to be on The Price is Right, leaving one more name to be called to open the show. It was only a split second before I heard the words that I had spent fifteen years and ten hours in line waiting for, 'Jeffrey Michaud come on down, you're the next contestant on The Price is Right.' "