April 11, 2018
Faculty and students represent K-State at Central States Communication Association conference
Communication studies faculty and students represented K-State at the annual Central States Communication Association conference April 5-8, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Sarah Riforgiate, associate professor of communication studies, and Natalie Pennington, assistant professor of communication studies, were presenters on several panels at the conference. Riforgiate presented on the panels, "Crystallized Teaching Methods: Using Teaching to Understand How Communication Organizes Differently," "Making a Difference in the Community: The Rewards and Challenges of Connecting with Nonprofit Organizations," "Narrative Pedagogy in the Classroom: Honoring Difference Through Students' Stories," and "Advice from Experts on Getting Tenure, Publishing, Teaching, and Moving into Administration: Mentoring and Networking in Organizational and Professional Communication." Pennington presented on the panel, "Are We So Different? A Discussion on the Intersection of Political, Interpersonal, and New Media Research for Coping with Conflict."
Riforgiate and Pennington also presented a paper coauthored with former graduate student Emily Ruder titled, "Blurring Lines and Spilling Over: The Role of Social Media in Work/Life Emotions."
Three graduate students also presented research. Noelle Doty presented a paper co-authored with Greg Paul, associate professor of communication studies, titled, "Caught in the Middle: Empowerment in Middle Managers." Kory Loaden presented "Communication Between Siblings of Alcoholics," which was coauthored with Grace Karber.
Communication studies professors have taken on meaningful leadership roles within the Central States Communication Association. Soo-Hye Han, associate professor of communication studies, served as chair of the political communication interest group. Colene Lind, assistant professor of communication studies, served as secretary of the political communication interest group as well. Riforgiate served as vice-chair of the organizational and professional communication interest group.