Since I arrived at Rutgers in 2015, I have been impressed by how much joy and passion SC&I faculty put into their teaching and research. The virtualization of our practices this semester has challenged us to work out how to sustain this passion when we are atomized across different locations, each with our local challenges, connected through a web of overlapping communication platforms, working through sometimes unreliable WiFi, taking care of children, pets, or feeling simply a sense of isolation. The experience has been scary, uncertain, and confusing. It has been an extraordinary achievement to get through this semester delivering extremely high-quality teaching to a cohort of students whom themselves face multiple challenges. I would like to express my deep gratitude to the faculty, staff, PTLs, and others with whom we are sharing this adventure. I feel humbled by the commitment shown, the energy, and the care for the academic enterprise.
SC&I is not going through this in isolation, of course. The crisis highlights our interdependence with local communities and people in occupations with far more risk, most dramatically in the local hospitals and clinics but also in a multitude of service settings.
For example, I personally treasure the Hidden Grounds baristas who have kept the place running for pick up and carry out throughout the pandemic.
Vaccines are arriving. That several highly effective vaccines are in major production (with the important involvement of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and Johnson & Johnson) is wonderful news. Our challenge will be to start back after the break with this bright future starting to glow, but initially, we will be overshadowed by frightening rates of COVID and the prospect of another semester run virtually. It will stretch our community and our resilience. We will need to look after one another.
Nevertheless, 2021 will eventually bring relief. As most of us get vaccinated, we can expect a fall that brings students back to campus. It may not be quite like before. Faculty and staff will be in their offices, maybe not with the same density. There will be life and community, and some face-to-face mingling. We will be celebrating something that we took for granted and we can now see is so precious.
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A Prepared Mind is Indeed a Collective, Cooperative Undertaking |
Fortune favors the prepared mind. So goes the adage attributed to the famous biologist Louis Pasteur who made fundamental discoveries for the principles of vaccination. A researcher never knows when inspiration will strike but all recognize the importance of their context of discovery. An important part of life as a researcher involves sustaining a prepared mind. All researchers set their context accordingly –the routines, the data sets, the books, the observations, the equipment, and the conversations. However, this is not just an individual task. Setting a context of discovery is an important collective, cooperative effort of a community of researchers. This is one of the great aspects of research at SC&I. Recently there have been some important developments at SC&I for this otherwise hidden aspect of research life.
We have a new working group that focuses on Power and Inequality in Media and Technology. They have collaborated with the Rutgers Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine to advance research on misinformation and the pandemic. Led by Assistant Professor of Library Information Science Britt Paris and Assistant Professor of Journalism and Media Studies Khadijah White from SC&I and Associate Research Professor Shuchi Dutta from IQB, the initiative has delivered a series of compelling research workshops and brainstorming sessions. Another new working group focuses on exploring digital life and unpacking the meaning of the digital era. Led by Assistant Professor of Communication Jeff Lane and Associate Professor of Journalism and Media Studies Melissa Aronczyk, the Digital Ethnography Working Group has developed an engaging series of writing workshops that bring together faculty and graduate students from Rutgers and around the world. The result is a pioneering effort that is redefining ethnographic field research methods. One of our established research entities, the Health and Wellness Cluster, is currently chaired by Professor of Communication Itzhak Yanovitzky. The cluster is developing new activities to advance research at the intersection of the important achievements of its senior members and the emerging work of our exciting new cohort of talented researchers in this area. This excitement is further embellished by our significant collaborations with faculty from Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and the launching of our new Master of Health Communication and Information.
With faculty and our IT staff, SC&I is embarking on a strategic initiative to rethink IT for research. This has already led to the initial startup of a research workbench, which integrates new services for conducting and managing research projects. The aim is to reduce the overhead of starting up new, innovative projects while scaffolding ways for our researchers to collaboratively invent and share best practices for research conduct.
A prepared mind is indeed a collective, cooperative undertaking. This is an exciting and serious part of what we do at SC&I.
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Help Students Succeed with an End-of-the-Year Gift |
We know that communication, information, and media play a vital role in helping each of us address crises, whether they are personal, institutional, or social. Our commitment to serving our mission and helping our students succeed has never been stronger. So how can you help? Consider making an end-of-the-year gift. If you are currently planning your estate, consider making a bequest gift. If SC&I is in your will, let us know about it. There are countless ways to support the school and our students. Our Assistant Dean for Development, Rob Eccles, would love to discuss your involvement.
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JMS Senior Hayden Klein will Perform with the CBDNA Intercollegiate Marching Band
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Qun Wang Ph.D. '20 Received Outstanding Doctoral Student Award from the Rutgers School of Graduate Studies
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Luna Laliberte COM '21 Embraces Opportunities and Finds Her Voice
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Alumna Radwa Ali MLIS ’11 Received ALA's 2020 Gale Award
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Mary Chayko published the third edition of her book, “Superconnected,” a multidisciplinary exploration of digital technology and society.
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The new “Routledge Handbook of Digital Media and Communication,” edited by Leah A. Lievrouw and Brian D. Loader, includes chapters by Mary Chayko and Britt Paris.
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Dafna Lemish and her coauthor published the paper, “'We Decided We Don’t Want Children. We Will Let Them Know Tonight': Parental Humor on Social Media in a Time of Coronavirus Pandemic," in the International Journal of Communication.
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Katherine Ognyanova coauthored a nationwide survey that finds more young adults are thinking about suicide and death.
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Britt Paris published the article, “The Internet of Futures Past: Values Trajectories of Networking Protocol Projects,” in Science, Technology, & Human Values.
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In a chapter titled “Networked Street Life,” published in the new “Oxford Handbook of Sociology and Digital Media,” Jeffrey Lane identifies a new area of ethnographic field research.
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John Pavlik wrote, “Speaking Truth to Power: Core Principles for Advancing International Journalism Education” in the 75th Anniversary Special Issue of the Journalism & Mass Media Educator published by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
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ITI alumnus Kevin Samaniego Calva ’20 and ITI students Julianne Bulatao ’21 and Zach Clark ’21 are helping bring to market an innovative COVID-19 detection app, with an underlying operating system designed to maintain both the user’s privacy and data ownership.
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Through the ITI Capstone course and then the Rutgers I-Corps, a group of ITI students created DOS, an innovative product aimed at ending nicotine addiction, and then conducted product research to help launch it.
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Read all faculty COVID-19 coverage in the media.
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Melissa Aronczyk was quoted in the HuffPost article, “PR Firms Are Being Shamed For Helping Fossil Fuel Companies ‘Green’ Their Image.”
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Mark Beal, speaking about how to engage Gen Z, gave the keynote address for the prestigious “Major League Baseball Speaker Series,” held during the 2020 World Series. He also delivered a keynote address during the Rutgers Residence Hall Association’s Leadership Development Day.
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Jack Bratich was quoted in a Gothamist article, “QAnon Lurks Behind the Election, from Your Family Text Chain to an NJ Congressional Race.”
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SC&I mourns the death of part-time lecturer Karyn Collins, who died on Oct. 28. Collins was the director of the Hugh N. Boyd Journalism Diversity Workshop.
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Richard Dool published an op-ed in NJ.com titled, "Leaders Must Listen to Employees, Especially in These Uncertain Times."
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Mary D’Ambrosio compiled a list of over 65 campus and professional publications for SC&I students who wish to pitch and publish their work.
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Lauren Feldman was an invited panelist, for “How Can We Be Better Communicators about Science When Misinformation Abounds?" at the Institute for Science & Policy Symposium, a project of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
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Ralph Gigliotti guested on an episode of the “Phronesis: Practical Wisdom for Leaders” podcast, “An Eye Towards Innovation, Learning, and Transformation.”
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Juan D. González, Democracy Now! co-host, discussed “Mainstream Media Has Missed the Real Story About Latinx Voter Turnout.”
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David Greenberg was quoted in USA Today, “Vice President Pence Remains Silent on Election Outcome While Campaigning for Georgia Runoff."
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Ph.D. student Shravan Regret Iyer's photograph wins World Meteorological Organization 2021 award.
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Vikki Katz was quoted in NorthJersey.com, “Most NJ Students Have Computer Access, But That Won't Close Divide, Advocates Say.”
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Naomi Klein authored “The Great Reset Conspiracy Smoothie” in The Intercept.
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Chenjerai Kumanyika was quoted in the Vox article, “Obama Said 'Defund the Police' is a Bad Slogan. This Shouldn’t Come as a Surprise.”
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Deepa Kumar co-authored an op-ed in NJ.com titled, "It's the Law, so Why are Women at Rutgers still Fighting for Equal Pay?"
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Telehealth pioneer James Tuchi, a longtime patient of cardiologist Clifton Lacy, pledged $8 Million for innovative Rutgers programs.
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Britt Paris was named "100 Brilliant Women in Al Ethics."
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Rebecca Reynolds was quoted in The Signal article, "Gov. Murphy Takes Stance on Potential Covid-19 Shutdown in New Jersey."
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Todd Wolfson was quoted in Inside Higher Ed, "Losing to Win."
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SC&I is launching a NEW certificate in Professional Health Communication in the spring.
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Over 30 SC&I faculty and students attended the 106th NCA Virtual Conference in late November.
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4 Huntington Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Phone Number:
848.932.7500
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