Happenings in the Communication Department, Spring 2023

SPRING 2023

Welcome Back!

Welcome to comm·unity, the biannual newsletter reporting on new and exciting developments in the Communication Department! We are so thrilled to have so many stories to share this semester. The department has been up to some incredible stuff - read on to see for yourself!

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From the Chair's Chair

I can’t believe I am writing this sentence, but this is my last column for comm·unity. After four years of serving as Chairperson of the Communication Department, I will be stepping down at the end of the semester to direct the newly created interdisciplinary major and minor in Game Design & Production. Dr. Arshia Anwer, someone familiar to you all, will take over duties as the third chairperson in the history of our department. While her official duties begin in the fall, she already has been working with me to prepare for a smooth transition. I know the department will be in good hands in the years to come.

Like our graduating seniors who started their journey here four years ago, I began my new role

as chair in Fall 2019, full of optimism and ready with plans to grow and build on our successes.

That fall was the launch of our ESPN+ live broadcasts and the first cohort of Integrated Marketing Communications students. After an energetic fall, we began the spring semester with momentum and promise, until everything ground to a halt in March 2020. Our sports media production students crewing the MAAC tournament games in Atlantic City were called home, our journalism students moved to digital-only publication, and internships suddenly were cancelled or moved to remote status. We quickly pivoted to remote instruction and found new ways of doing things, some of which have stayed with us to this day.

Throughout these challenges, I am proud of the resilience and determination our students have shown, turning obstacles into opportunities. Over the last two years, we have been rebuilding and reinventing what we do: classes are back fully in person, we are hosting live events again (with food!), and a record 26 students are completing internships with top media companies this spring. In this issue of comm·unity, we are featuring several outstanding projects that our seniors produced in our capstone seminar course, as well as senior Angelica Niedermeyer’s article on Thailand that was published in U.S. News & World Report (go Angelica!). We also are sharing a profile of our new faculty member Patrick Bender and COMM students who have been contributing to community reporting at BronxNet and The Bronx Times. Finally, congratulations to Amaya Behsman and Olivia Donovan on being awarded the Branigan summer 2023 research grant!

As we wrap up the semester, be sure to share with us your successes, awards, internships, and job offers and congratulate your fellow students’ accomplishments by subscribing to and engaging with @MCCOMMDEPT on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook. For graduating seniors, be sure to wave to your fellow students running the cameras during the Commencement livestreams in Draddy. We will continue to adapt to new developments (hello, ChatGPT), but with the critical education in communication and media that empower our students, I am confident that we will continue to keep pace as ethical and innovative leaders in our careers and lives. Congratulations to our graduates, and we look forward to welcoming current and new students back on campus this fall.

Dr. Michael Grabowski

Chair, Communication Department

Student Successes this Spring

PRSSA Junior Board President Shares Her Experience at Leadership Conference in Arizona

by Olivia Donovan

When I was told that Manhattan College’s Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) chapter would send me to Scottsdale, Arizona, for PRSSA’s 2023 Leadership Assembly, I immediately started packing my bags.

Journalism & Media Production Students Contribute to Community Reporting

by Timmy Kwong

In recent semesters, there has been a growing trend of Manhattan College’s journalism and media production students getting involved in community reporting in The Bronx. In particular, some students, including RJ Giannichi and Caroline McCarthy, have worked with BronxNet and The Bronx Times to produce news stories and feature pieces about their local community.

Angelica Niedermeyer Reporting on Tourism in Thailand Makes it into U.S. News & World Report

by Caroline Bart

This past summer 2023, junior communication major Angelica Niedermeyer was able to travel to Thailand with The New York Times to work on specific areas of environmental reporting after hearing about the opportunity from her Advanced Journalism professor, Nick Gilewicz. Niedermeyer was accepted to participate in the trip, and wrote an article entitled “Thailand’s Tourism Rebound Puts Elephant Abuse in the Spotlight,” which was published in U.S. News & World Report in November 2022.

"9 to 5: After Hours":

A Collaboration Between the Manhattan

College Players and MCTV

by John O'Connor

Every spring, the Manhattan College Players put on their spring musical. This semester, the college’s award-winning theatre troupe on campus brought the hit musical, 9 to 5, to the stage of Squeri Hall in late April.

In effort to publicize the highly anticipated event, the Manhattan College Players partnered with Manhattan College TV to create a “late night show” which highlights members of the cast, crew, and creative team behind the production of 9 to 5.

Bringing Class Outside the Classroom

Journalism & Media Production Class Collaborating on New Project

by Analia Santana

During the spring 2023 semester, media production students in COMM 419: Advanced Television Production taught by Dr. Michael Grabowski, Ph.D. are working with journalism students in COMM 330: The Journalistic Tradition taught by Dr. Nicholas Gilewicz, Ph.D. on an assignment that showcases community events and how they impact the Manhattan College student body. The teams working on the assignment together consist of two to three students with one of the students from the journalism class.

Senior Seminar Spotlights

Seniors Cara Fitzgerald, Cal Lepkowski and Skylar Rossi were selected by their professors to speak about the projects they pursued in COMM 409: Senior Seminar in the comm·unity newsletter's first video feature. Click here to watch!

Faculty News

Dr. Arshia Anwer Appointed as New Communication Department Chair

by Christina Rella

Communication Department faculty member, Arshia Anwer, Ph.D. has

been appointed chair of the Communication Department as of the 2023-2024

school year. Anwer has had a successful career thus far at Manhattan College,

especially over the last year. In the 2022-2023 school year, she received the

Costello Award for teaching, received a promotion to associate professor and

earned tenure status.

Coming Up in the Communication Department...

Communication Department Contributing to New Game Design Program in Fall 2023

by Cal Lepkowski

There will be a Game Design program coming to Manhattan College for the fall 2023 semester! The program will have both a major and minor that will venture across three separate departments and two

separate schools.

Profile: The Future of Game Design at Manhattan College Starts with Patrick Bender

by Sterling Grant

Manhattan College is constantly evolving and with our new adjunct professor, Patrick Bender, learning game design has become a greater opportunity on campus. Bender has a wealth of knowledge to

share and develop now that the game design program will be officially

a major offered at Manhattan College as of the fall.

Letter From the Editor

Hi everyone!

Thank you for taking the time to read the spring 2023 edition of comm·unity! This newsletter would be impossible without the help of the department's student workers, who contributed by writing these articles.

There have been some major events this semester in the Communication Department that didn't make it into the newsletter: The Quadrangle student newspaper raised about four thousand dollars on GoFundMe after they lost their budget. The Communication Club (@mccommclub on Instagram) collaborated on an event with WRCM Radio. Finally, LOTUS magazine published their 12th issue and hosted the second annual fashion show.

I'm sad to say that this is my last semester as comm·unity newsletter editor and as a Manhattan College student. A lot of the opportunities I had would not have been possible for me without this department, and the support of Nick Gilewicz, Thom Gencarelli, Michael Grabowski and Arshia Anwer. I'd also like to shout out Mike Plugh, Rebecca Kern, Jared Diamond and Joe Ruggiero, for all their support. Congrats to the graduating class of 2023!

Jilleen Barrett

Editor, comm·unity newsletter