Category Archives: Student News
CCI Faculty, Graduate Students Present at 2021 AEJMC Conference
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.
Faculty serving in AEJMC leadership roles include: CCI dean emeritus Mike Wirth on the Executive Committee, JEM associate professor Amber Roessner on the Standing Committee for Research, and JEM assistant professor Joy Jenkins as head of the Magazine Media Division. ADPR associate professor … Read more “CCI Faculty, Graduate Students Present at 2021 AEJMC Conference”
CCI Students Named to 2020-21 SEC Academic Honor Roll
Seventeen students in the College of Communication and Information were named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll during the 2020-21 academic year.
Among the academic honorees was track and field standout sprinter Maia McCoy, who completed her master’s degree in Communication and Information. This year, she was an All-American and a Southeastern Conference bronze medalist in the 100-meter dash. She also competed at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials.
SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll
Football
Trevon Flowers – Communication Studies
Cade Mays – Communication Studies
Alontae Taylor – Communication Studies
Cedric Tillman – Communication Studies
Soccer
Alicia Donley – Communication Studies… Read more “CCI Students Named to 2020-21 SEC Academic Honor Roll”
Q&A with PhD Student Jules Morris
After spending most of career in the marketing and communication fields, Jules Morris is pivoting to education and research while pursuing her PhD in Communication and Information with an emphasis in Journalism and Electronic Media.
Morris had spend the last six years as the Director of Marketing and Communications for the UT College of Education, Health and Human Sciences. She is now a lecturer in the Haslam College of Business Department of Marketing.
What made you choose to get your PhD in Journalism and Electronic Media?
I am all-VOL. My undergraduate and master’s degrees are from UT in Journalism and … Read more “Q&A with PhD Student Jules Morris”
Q&A with PhD Student Dennis McCarty
Dennis McCarty is beginning his fourth year as a student in CCI’s doctoral program and is a graduate teaching assistant in the School of Communication Studies’ Public Speaking Center.
McCarty earned his bachelor’s degree in print journalism and his master’s degree in education from Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas.
What made you choose to get your PhD communication studies? What are your previous degrees in?
My previous degrees are in journalism and education, and I first became attracted to communication studies because of the theoretical components of my experiences teaching English as a second language and public speaking. I think … Read more “Q&A with PhD Student Dennis McCarty”
Q&A with PhD Student Mark Willoughby
Mark Willoughby is no stranger to Rocky Top. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Haslam College of Business and has been working full time for the college since 2007.
He is currently the Director of Student Engagement for the Haslam College of Business. After contemplating a PhD for several years, he enrolled in CCI’s program because the communication studies emphasis is a strong combination of his previous experiences in marketing and HR.
What made you choose to get your PhD in Communication Studies?
For the past couple of years, I have been contemplating the pursuit of a … Read more “Q&A with PhD Student Mark Willoughby”
Q&A with Recent Master’s Graduate Lily Crosby (MS C&I ’21)
Lily Crosby was drawn to strategic communications after working for the Appalachia Service Project (ASP), a housing non-profit that works with people in Central Appalachia. She returned to school to improve those skills, graduating in May 2021 with her master’s degree in Communication and Information with the concentration in public relations.
Crosby wants to use her enhanced public relations and strategic communication skills to serve the community through nonprofit organizations.
What has it been like juggling an internship while attending graduate school? Do you have any time management tips?
Juggling an internship while in grad school has been one of … Read more “Q&A with Recent Master’s Graduate Lily Crosby (MS C&I ’21)”
Q&A with Recent Master’s Graduate Phil Servello (MS, C&I ’21)
After four years of full-time copywriting work, Philip Servello was drawn back to college to pursue a degree that would help him pivot to a sports production career.
He recently completed his master’s degree with a concentration on journalism and electronic media. He took full advantage of the student media programs that CCI offers, serving as sports and news director for WUTK 90.3 the Rock and a news producers and sports director for UT Today. He was also a freelance sportswriter for the Oak Ridger covering high school sports.
Before coming to UT, he earned his undergraduate degree in advertising … Read more “Q&A with Recent Master’s Graduate Phil Servello (MS, C&I ’21)”
Q&A with PhD Student Jessica Barfield
Jessica Barfield is pursuing her PhD in the College of Communication and Information with a concentration in information sciences and recently completed her first year of studies.
She is an active member of the CCI Graduate Student Association and served as vice president during the spring semester. She is a graduate research assistant working with Professor Dania Bilal and also works in the Adam Brown Social Media Command Center.
What made you pursue your PhD in Information Sciences? What are your previous degrees in?
My path to the PhD program in information sciences has not been direct. My undergraduate degree … Read more “Q&A with PhD Student Jessica Barfield”
Q&A with PhD Graduate Scott Sikes
After being inspired by his wife simultaneously working and earning her Master’s degree, Scott Sikes looked to Rocky Top for his return to higher education. He earned his Master’s degree in Information Sciences in 2018 and recently completed his PhD with a concentration in Information Sciences in 2021.
He successfully defended his dissertation, “In Our Very Blood: The Use of Social Media in the 2018 West Virginia Teachers’ Strike.”
What made you decide to pursue your masters degree and PhD at UT? What made you decide to go back to school?
When I was looking at graduate programs, the … Read more “Q&A with PhD Graduate Scott Sikes”
Inside Global Programs: Sarah Ali
Sarah Ali (JEM ’20) participated in the Going on Assignment in Prague program during the summer of 2019 with Professor Mark Harmon. A senior at the time, she has since graduated from UT, but we caught up with her to talk about her first time out of the country.
Learn more about CCI’s Going on Assignment in Prague summer program.
Why did you choose to study abroad through the Going on Assignment in Prague program?
I knew I wanted to study abroad since my freshman year, but the semester long programs made me really anxious because I had never … Read more “Inside Global Programs: Sarah Ali”