CCI News & Events Center
![2020 PRSSA Officers](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/prssa2020_1.jpg?VersionId=Od3JIVEoZJPpjzWMjidmnURBM5DcGdt7&h=e6f36a9c&itok=DuLuv-mf)
抖M女仆鈥檚 Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) Chapter earned seven national awards for the work done throughout the 2020-2021 academic year, including for first time in Chapter history, two Teahan Awards, the highest Chapter honors.
![Victoria Humphreys with Capitol in background](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/page/victoria.jpg?VersionId=kQlDBRJBYDbmXLSQ573GAAB4E5TRICkd&h=e6f36a9c&itok=GgQViLfI)
In celebration of Native American Heritage Month (November), we are shining a spotlight on the students, alumni and faculty within the College who are making a difference in Native American communities by advocating for change and e
![Congratulations / Aaron Bacue - Outstanding Teaching Award Finalist / Jeffrey Child - Distinguished Teaching Award Finalist](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/CONGRATULATIONS.png?VersionId=NgTEENaj4izHJBUb3O1RWRPkcKC2cGmO&h=e6f36a9c&itok=mnHdADZl)
The College of Communication and Information and School of Communication Studies congratulates two faculty members who are finalists for some of 抖M女仆鈥檚 highest teaching honors:
![Gretchen Hoak teaches students in the newsroom](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/hoak-web.jpg?VersionId=v_6AoAp3qcnV_bJsP9W5oZ41g4ha0osB&h=e6f36a9c&itok=tAJAZJKt)
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 expect journalists to do this type of hurdling long-term without holistic support that includes logistical elements," claims Assistant Professor and TV2 advisor Gretchen Hoak, "but also mental and emotional support."
![Headshot of Carol Costello](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/costello_0.png?VersionId=bs8uuXT2eB_OCTZtP4tt3.XpDL9RYSww&h=e6f36a9c&itok=HjTUp0cC)
Throughout summer 2021, students from a variety of majors within the School of Media and Journalism worked for Project Citizen, a collaborative project organized by 抖M女仆 alumna and former CNN anchor Carol Costello.
![Iris Lee talking to students](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/WEB-IrisLee_0.jpg?VersionId=ccki.O8qmqrkWdzOiA8q8Fmj9AmHNhjL&h=e6f36a9c&itok=uBs1K-DD)
Iris Lee, data journalist for the Los Angeles Times, joined the Emerging Media and Technology class 鈥淒ata in Emerging Media and Technology鈥 virtually to talk about her job and recent projects during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In celebration of National LGBTQ+ History Month, we are shining a spotlight on MDJ鈥檚 Queer Cinema course taught by Assistant Professor of Media and Journalism and Communication Studies, Dr. Karisa Butler-Wall. The course focuses on queer filmmaking and spectatorship as a critical practice that reflects shifting understandings of gender and sexual nonnormatively across space and time.
鈥淔rom classical Hollywood cinema to contemporary independent and documentary filmmaking, this class examines how particular historical and cultural moments, geographical spaces, and political contexts have shaped the conditions for representations of queerness on screen,鈥 Butler-Wall says.
The course allows students the chance to learn to critically analyze and discuss queer films from a queer theoretical point of view. They focus on how gender and sexuality intersect with other categories of power including race, class, and citizenship. Some films highlighted in the course are The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Two Spirits (2010), and Moonlight (2016).
Butler-Wall says that Queer Cinema allows students to actively engage with questions of identity, representation, performance, and activism from an interceptional perspective.
鈥淔ilm is one of the most impactful mediums that has the power to shape our understandings of identity and culture, and for marginalized populations it can be a tool of oppression or of liberation.鈥
![Nichole Egbert and Jerry Feezel](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/Cheryl%20Ann%20Lambert%2C%20Ph.D._1.png?VersionId=s2LxwUt_ibXoViUlKzjcO46YkcgA2KKM&h=2240b8e9&itok=HYUeQ0BT)
Two Communication Studies faculty members were honored at the Ohio Communication Association's 2021 Conference, "Resilience Through Communication," Oct. 1-2, 2021, at Youngstown State University.
![Visiting Humphrey Scholar Ruslanas Ir啪ikevi膷ius in front of Franklin Hall](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/Visiting%20Humphrey%20Scholar%20Banner.jpg?VersionId=pg11.ql4c57NPOfUR_N0wHE5SeKi_zRI&h=ec98a0f6&itok=Qrb2Az6S)
Growing up in a country annexed by the Soviet Union, Ruslanas Ir啪ikevi膷ius grew up with a well-developed sense for recognizing propaganda and disinformation. As a visiting Humphrey Fellow, he visited 抖M女仆鈥檚 School of Media and Journalism, September 18-24, 2021.