Gabriele Harris (’07) went from being a college freshman who had no clue what she wanted to do with her life to becoming a driven, goal-oriented successful marketing and sales professional.

“You have to be willing to work hard—everyone says work smart, not hard. I say, no, you have to work hard, too. Otherwise you’re wasting a lot of time,” she said.

Anna Catherine Davenport (’04) learned a lot during her time as an advertising major at the College of Communication and Information, and she’s taken that with her all the way to where she is now, as executive assistant to the commissioner at the State of Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration. One of her major takeaways from both her college and career is that communications knowledge is applicable in every arena.

At her heart, Songhee Kim is an artist, and she’s found ways to incorporate that into her career path over the years. She earned an undergraduate degree in 3D animation and visual effects from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and went on to work for projects such as Disney Junior’s “Sophia the First” and CBN’s “Superbook.” Now she is the College of Communication and Information’s User eXperience Lab manager and graphic designer, as well as a graduate student at the School of Information Sciences.

Dr. Jon Hess has been named the next director of the School of Communication Studies at the College of Communication and Information, effective July 1, 2022. Hess currently serves as associate dean for faculty scholarship, internationalization, and inclusive excellence in the College of Arts and Sciences and professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Dayton.

“My goal here was to provide opportunities for students to have professional experiences so they could gain the confidence to pursue their dreams,” said Professor Sam Swan, as he explained why Dean Don Hileman hired him 37 years ago to build the Department of Broadcasting at what was then the College of Communications at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Homecoming Game weekend took on a personal note for alumnus Ryan McGee (’93), who returned to a place that was like home to him during his time as a student at the College of Communication and Information: WUTK studios.

“It’s awesome, the great thing about being back at the radio station is that I know it’s updated, but it looks exactly the same—maybe the stickers have changed, so as an old dude, it makes me feel good, I know where I’m going,” McGee said with a chuckle.

Faculty and graduate students from the College of Communication and Information presented eight research papers and a poster at the 2021 Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) annual conference.

Twelve CCI faculty from the School of Advertising and Public Relations and the School of Journalism and Electronic Media served as panelists, moderators, and discussants.