School of Communication Studies

  • CCI Faculty, Graduate Students Shine at Annual NCA Convention  

    CCI Faculty, Graduate Students Shine at Annual NCA Convention  

    While exploring booths at the 2025 National Communication Association (NCA) Convention last month, College of Communication and Information (CCI) master’s student Md Ibnun Sarwar Rafi made an interesting discovery.   His first published article, “Barriers to discussing comprehensive sexuality education: a qualitative study of home tutor-student interpersonal communication in Bangladesh,” which investigated barriers home tutors faced when discussing comprehensive sexuality education with their students,…

  • Navy Veteran, Communication Studies Major Graduating After Finding His Home Sweet Home on Rocky Top

    Navy Veteran, Communication Studies Major Graduating After Finding His Home Sweet Home on Rocky Top

    Graduating senior Mason Vucinic was standing in the VolShop at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in a sea of orange and white merchandise when he made the decision to attend Tennessee’s flagship institution. It wasn’t the choice he’d originally anticipated making when he began his higher education search, but it was an easy one to…

  • CCI Faculty Recognized for Their Commitment to Improve Online Education 

    CCI Faculty Recognized for Their Commitment to Improve Online Education 

    College of Communication and Information faculty were recognized for their innovative approaches in online learning during the Digital Learning Faculty Recognition Lunch in October.  Hosted by Digital Learning at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, the event honored faculty and staff members “who demonstrated exceptional creativity and dedication in developing online coursework over the past year.” …

  • CCI PhD Student Wins TCA Outstanding Graduate Student Paper Award

    CCI PhD Student Wins TCA Outstanding Graduate Student Paper Award

    College of Communication and Information doctoral candidate Traci Lively recently won the Tennessee Communication Association (TCA) Outstanding Graduate Student Paper Award.  The award recognizes outstanding graduate student research in communication. TCA is a professional organization comprised of leading communication scholars, faculty, and students within the state.  “I was a little shocked,” Lively said. “This is…

  • CCI Taking Networking Trips to the ‘Next Level’ 

    CCI Taking Networking Trips to the ‘Next Level’ 

    Senior Sana Boghani always wanted to attend an industry networking trip, but there was always a scheduling conflict—until the most recent networking trip.  The communication studies major joined more than 90 students and faculty from the College of Communication and Information on a two-day industry networking trip to Nashville, Tennessee in October.  “As a senior…

  • Communication Studies Associate Professor Jenny Crowley Recognized for Innovative Research and Dedication to Service

    Communication Studies Associate Professor Jenny Crowley Recognized for Innovative Research and Dedication to Service

    Caption: Associate Professor Jenny Crowley at a networking reception during the 2025 National Communication Association’s Doctoral Honors Seminar in Knoxville. The past year has been a whirlwind of career accolades and leadership opportunities  for School of Communication Studies Associate Professor Jenny Crowley, who came to the College of Communication and Information in 2017 and achieved tenure…

  • Communication Studies Students Explore Intercultural Communication and Well-being in Dublin

    Communication Studies Students Explore Intercultural Communication and Well-being in Dublin

    Every year, the School of Communication Studies takes a direct approach to teaching intercultural communication to students via its long-standing annual global programs trip to Dublin, Ireland. For four weeks the students are immersed in a foreign culture all while taking two courses that dive deep into how different cultures around the world communicate. “This…

  • Rocky Top Business Awards Alumni Feature: Chris Oneal (’91), Owner of Stones River Consulting

    Rocky Top Business Awards Alumni Feature: Chris Oneal (’91), Owner of Stones River Consulting

    As an undergraduate majoring in speech, Chris Oneal (’91) tutored business majors who he recalls were terrified of talking in front of other people. With his minors in women’s studies and theatre, Oneal was at ease speaking in front of diverse audiences and realized that would give him an advantage in the business world over those lacking advanced communication…

  • Graduating Senior Addison Lafayette Found Confidence & Impactful Opportunities at CCI

    Graduating Senior Addison Lafayette Found Confidence & Impactful Opportunities at CCI

    There have been many impactful moments in and out of the classrooms at the College of Communication and Information for Addison Lafayette, who is majoring in communication studies. Whether she was learning how to refine her public speaking skills, making new friends, going on networking trips around the country, or sitting in a class taught…

  • CCI Honors 2025 Faculty and Staff Award Recipients, PhD Grads, and Retirees

    CCI Honors 2025 Faculty and Staff Award Recipients, PhD Grads, and Retirees

    Every year the College of Communication and Information (CCI) honors its faculty, staff, and graduate students with awards recognizing excellence in academic, professional, and service areas. Award winners, as well as four retiring faculty members and six graduating PhD students, were celebrated May 7 at a CCI faculty and staff event.  Below are all the…