Gifts of Time
Luanne Lawrence became the university’s vice president
for communications at the end of August. After 10 months of
double duty, serving as interim VP, I again had only this college’s
dean’s duties to attend to. It seemed as though I’d
been given a gift of time.
It was an illusion, of course. The 10 months of triage, setting
aside what absolutely, positively did not need to be done immediately,
had produced a pile (or two) of things unread and un-filed.
Most of them still are. I call them works in progress. How
about un-catalogued archives? Journalists’ offices often
have that ambience.
Even with only one official job, there have been other things
to do that have taken precedence over sifting and sorting.
The provost had a new assignment, asking me to chair the search
for the next law school dean. "You’ll have fun," he
assured me. I’m learning a lot about the law school as
the applications come in and we move forward with the search.
I was asked to get involved with a Central Carolina Community
Foundation endeavor to fund more literacy projects in the Midlands.
I’m on board. Nothing we do to give children a head start
is more critical than inspiring and encouraging their ability
and desire to read.
The Honors College fall lecture series on "civility" concluded
this past week with my lecture on the responsibility of public
journalism. I could hardly say no. Not too difficult to find
examples of media incivility. It’s not a new phenomenon,
but it does seem to be a 24/7 barrage.
There are a myriad of other things to attend to at the university
that gobble up time. Deans’ council, faculty meetings,
alumni events, scholarship lunch, student mentoring, prospective
students and their parents, football games. I'm not sure how
it all fit, but in one week I also managed to attend David
Carr's third in a series of thought-provoking lectures for
our School of Library and Information Science, another of the "civility" lecture
series, the first showing of Professor Dick Moore's documentary
of our study abroad trip through the former communist countries
of central Europe, and a delightful ballet presentation by
the USC Dance Company. The artistic and intellectual offerings
of the university are varied and plentiful.
But one calendar item seems an incongruous outgrowth of popular
— albeit questionable
— American culture. It's called "Dancing
with the Deans" and is part of the development office's
Annual Fund drive among faculty and staff. It was sprung on
the Council of Academic Deans as a fait accompli. Some of my
decanal colleagues seemed to discover schedule conflicts and
old ailments. In truth, if the deans had been asked beforehand,
we'd likely all have balked. Who's got time for that frivolity?
So I've squeezed a few dance lessons into the schedule and
have been educated about USC's splendid little dance program
in the process. The event takes place December 1, just as we
are sending this out. There's probably no way to keep it from
being YouTubed. But who's got time to even look?
News
Watch for InterCom
Our 2010 fall issue of InterCom has gone to print!
This season’s
InterCom will include features on many of the College of Mass
Communications and Information Studies events, including October’s
seventh annual I-Comm Week.
Look for the new InterCom in your
mailbox or pick up a copy at the College of Mass Communications
and Information Studies office.
Mildly Attractive Men of SLIS
 The fourth annual Mildly Attractive Men of SLIS Calendar
is now on sale. This year, the Library and Information Science
Student Association (LISSA) is bringing you all the hits
with a calendar that celebrates your favorite album covers
throughout the years. Not only does the calendar feature
hilarious photos of SLIS men, but it also includes important
national and state conference dates for the 2011 calendar
year. All proceeds from the sales will be used to fund SLIS
students' attendance at major conferences this year. These
calendars make great stocking stuffers but quantities are
limited, so make sure you get one soon! Get
yours here>
J-school Students Win National Award for Reporting
Jennifer Standard and Paul Bowers have won first place in
the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors national contest
for their work last spring in JOUR532 that was published
on Dateline Carolina. Capitolbeat’s annual college
contest seeks to recognize superior student work that focuses
on a state issue or personality and was published in a student-run
publication. Standard and Bowers were recognized for their
article published on Dateline Carolina and titled, "South
Carolina breastfeeding bill could affect custody cases."
SLIS Student Helps Haiti One Hair at a Time
SLIS student Chess Schmidt vowed to fellow students that
he would take the dramatic step of shaving his head, beard
and legs if they contributed a total of $750 to help Haiti
rebuild its libraries. Check
out the story here>
Associate Dean of the Graduate School Receives Women’s
Leadership Award
 Dr. Nancy Zimmerman, an associate professor
in the School of Library and Information Science, was honored
by the Palmetto Center for Women with a 2010 TWIN Award for
her work as associate dean of the Graduate School.
The
award honors women as leaders and role models in business and
the community. Since the inception of the TWIN Awards in 1980,
more than 490 businesswomen have been honored for outstanding
contributions to their professions and communities.
Retired Professor Leaves Generous Gift to Journalism School
 Mary Caldwell was a public relations professor in the School
of Journalism and Mass Communications from 1978 - 2000. At
her retirement, she was named Professor Emeritus. She died
on August 29, 2009.
In life, Caldwell made a positive impact
on her students and colleagues. Her influence will continue
in perpetuity for the school she loved, thanks to a generous
yet simple provision in her will. Caldwell's $600,000 gift
is designated to support the advancement of SJMC faculty
and student development. Watch announcement video>
Alumni Spotlight
Robin Roberts
By Meredith Martin, SJMC Student
 A School of Journalism and Mass Communications alumnus is
encouraging advertising students to get involved in public
affairs through the Washington Media Scholars Foundation he
has founded. Robin Roberts, a 1976 graduate, is president and
co-founder of National Media, Inc., a top public affairs advertising
agency in Washington.
"The foundation was established to lend a hand to students
interested in the public policy advertising world. The whole
idea is to give the students a first hand look at the kind
of people our agency deals with," said Roberts, who serves
as president of the Washington Media Scholars Foundation.
The Media Scholars Program begins with the Media Plan Case
Competition where undergraduate students compete as two-person
teams to strategically solve a hypothetical public policy issue.
The program is open to all students, but is specifically geared
toward students in the mass communications, marketing and political
science fields.
The finalists of the case competition win an all-expense paid
trip to Washington and get to participate in Media Scholars
Week. During this week, students dive into public affairs advertising
by meeting top executives in the field. Last year the participants
got to visit the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal,
Google, Walt Disney Company, Gannet Broadcasting, CNN and radio
station WTOP.
"We have also implemented a mentor program where the
foundation will match up students who have an interest in public
policy advertising with professionals in the field to help
point them in the right direction," said Roberts.
"We are not lobbyists." Roberts said about National
Media, Inc. "We are more on the advertising and communications
side of life. We help develop communications strategies and
then we implement them," he said. Roberts has worked
on more than 300 campaigns including all media research, planning
and placement for the Bush-Cheney campaigns in 2000 and 2004.
While Roberts’ success in public affairs advertising
has kept him busy, he has not forgotten his roots. "The
journalism school gave me the tools and the confidence I needed
to enter the advertising field. It’s been great to work
with the Dean and the leadership of the school over the years," said
Roberts.
Roberts was named a J-school Distinguished Alumnus in 2004.
He has served on the SJMC building committee and the Partnership
Board.
For more information on the Washington Media Scholars Foundation,
please visit www.mediascholars.org.
Faculty Spotlight
Dr. Karen Gavigan
By Katie Haswell and Lauren Todd, SJMC Students
 Dr. Karen Gavigan may be new to the School of Library and Information
Science this fall, but she arrived with a significant amount
of experience in the field of library science.
Prior to joining the SLIS faculty, Dr. Gavigan was the director
of the Teaching Resource Center at UNC-Greensboro. She previously
worked as a children’s services librarian, as a reference
librarian and as a school librarian for 15 years. She has also
been a children's services librarian and a reference librarian
in public libraries in North Carolina and Virginia. In addition,
she also has served as president of the North Carolina School
Library Media Association.
"I was attracted to the SLIS program because of the
impressive reputation of the program and its faculty. The
school library media program is ranked number two in the nation,
and that is my field, so I was delighted to have the opportunity
to join the faculty," said Dr. Gavigan.
Dr. Gavigan’s research interests include using graphic
novels to assist struggling male adolescent readers, flexible
versus fixed scheduling in school libraries, and the ways in
which poverty affects school library services.
"As information specialists, I think our profession
has done a great job of keeping up with a changing world. I
am telling my age, but when I was in library school our technology
training consisted of walking down the hall to see a mainframe
computer. Now, our students are active in Second Life
and have advanced technology skills that have prepared them
well for 21st Century jobs. It is exciting to see
the variety of jobs that are available to our graduates, whether
they are undergraduates, masters students, or Ph.D. students," said
Dr. Gavigan.
Dr. Gavigan received her Ph.D. in Teacher Education with a
concentration in literacy from the University of North Carolina
at Greensboro. She earned a Master of Library Science degree
from the University of Tennessee and a bachelor’s degree
in education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill. |
