• Scholarship Established to Honor former Orange & White Editor, Alumna Linda Higgins’ Legacy

    Scholarship Established to Honor former Orange & White Editor, Alumna Linda Higgins’ Legacy

    Update: Linda Higgins passed away Jan. 20, 2024. The family asks that those who want to honor Linda’s legacy contribute to the endowed scholarship created in her name. Linda (Jennings) Higgins (’64) has more than one “first” in a long list of lifetime achievements—such as being the first woman elected to a citywide position in Jackson,…

  • Students Tell Impactful Stories Through WUOT

    Students Tell Impactful Stories Through WUOT

    Caption: Senior Caleb Colvin edits audio at WUOT-FM for his story on plans to expand Knoxville’s tree canopy. Senior Caleb Colvin’s first assignment with WUOT-FM was covering Tennessee State Rep. Gloria Johnson’s U.S. Senate bid announcement. The School of Journalism and Media major was paired with Jacqui Sieber, WUOT reporter and host of All Things Considered,…

  • Communication Studies’ Emily Paskewitz Part of Grant Team Supporting Family Dairy Farmers

    Communication Studies’ Emily Paskewitz Part of Grant Team Supporting Family Dairy Farmers

    When Associate Professor Emily Paskewitz was writing her dissertation, she often called up her father as often as she did her advisor to see if the theory she was applying to her topic made sense. Her father isn’t an academic in communication studies, as Paskewitz is, but he is a dairy farmer and her dissertation…

  • CCI Alum and Lecturer Brian Canever Publishes First Book

    CCI Alum and Lecturer Brian Canever Publishes First Book

    To meet Brian Canever (’15) is to meet a friend. His enthusiasm for connecting with people is evident from the first handshake, and he is unapologetically transparent about who he is and what he thinks. Communications is a natural fit for his exuberant personality. After graduating college in New Jersey he moved to Knoxville and,…

  • Graduate Student Mackenzie Ostrom Reflects on Time as a Graduate Assistant, Lady Vol, and VFL

    Graduate Student Mackenzie Ostrom Reflects on Time as a Graduate Assistant, Lady Vol, and VFL

    Graduate student Mackenzie Ostrom is the kind of person whose engaging personality and knack for community building results in the office outings being named, “Macktivities.” In the year that she worked as a graduate assistant at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Office of Student Engagement, Ostrom implemented a weekly office lunch and regularly scheduled coffee…

  • Senior Faith Mtabo Found Her Passion in Public Relations

    Senior Faith Mtabo Found Her Passion in Public Relations

    Public relations suits Faith Mtabo perfectly, though this wouldn’t be a truth she would discover until after her third year at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.  Mtabo knew she wanted a marketable major to easily land a job after graduation, so she initially chose business analytics. The business courses didn’t resonate with her, but she…

  • Tombras School Grad Students Create Communications Plan for the Tennessee RiverLine

    Tombras School Grad Students Create Communications Plan for the Tennessee RiverLine

    Caption, from left: Professor Brad Collett, Sydney Sinewe, Tammy Castany, Winston Roberts, Muslimah Yusuff, Logan Judy, Professor Beth Foster, and Lila Honaker stand in the Adam Brown Social Media Command Center after the five graduate students gave a presentation on the communications plan they created for the Tennessee RiverLine. The Tennessee RiverLine was initiated by…

  • Graduate Alumna Astrid Sheil Awarded Fulbright Scholarship

    Graduate Alumna Astrid Sheil Awarded Fulbright Scholarship

    When Astrid Sheil (’01, ’04) started the master’s program at the College of Communication and Information, she brought with her a wealth of experience and knowledge earned through working in the business world, including at two Fortune 500 companies and Knoxville’s own Busch Brothers. Her expertise has always been communication, but she has an ability…

  • Clinical Professor Cindy Welch Retires After 15 Years at SIS

    Clinical Professor Cindy Welch Retires After 15 Years at SIS

    Once upon a time, there was a woman who was many things. She was a mentor, a teacher, a librarian, a storyteller, and much more, to many people. Wherever she went, she spread her knowledge, humor, wisdom, and kindness, and she will be remembered by the hundreds of students who have experienced her tutelage over…

  • Alumni Father and Daughter Duo Bond Over Shared School and Profession

    Alumni Father and Daughter Duo Bond Over Shared School and Profession

    Kaitlin Shayotovich (’18) resisted following in her father’s career footsteps, but it seemed like every time she took a step forward, she was doing just that. Like him, she chose a major from the Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations, and like him, she now works at an advertising agency. As for her father, Eric…