“Service is the productive participation in the organization, activities, and/or projects of the department/college that enhance the college’s mission to serve its students and the community. The service role includes service to the faculty member’s department, the college, to other faculty, and/or to the community.”
Southwest Tennessee Community College
Harold Frank Entrepreneurship Institute
Silicon Valley 2017 & 2018
Faculty Mentor and Chaperone, Harold Frank Scholars Silicon Valley Entrepreneurship Experience (May 14-20, 2018). Joined 12 students and five faculty and staff on this weeklong professional experience. Students visited some of the world’s largest and most innovative companies and startups including Tesla, Google, Facebook, Zoox, and Intel.
Amazon Catalyst
A competition led by Carson College and co-developed with Amazon, the WSU offices of research, corporate relations, Murrow College, and Voiland College. Catalyst offers $300,000 in funding for business proposals for innovative solutions to problems facing our world.
Chris Cooney, Rebecca Cooney, Marie Mayes and Howard Davis, led four training sessions that were attended by over 200 students, faculty, and staff.
Outcomes: The competition attracted 97 proposals from interdisciplinary teams in the WSU community. Amazon funded ten teams. We plan to expand this initiative in 2018-2019.
During this day-long, university-wide event, the five MIC Interns created social media to promote
donor engagement.
Outcomes: We raised $44,655 for Murrow, including approximately $11,000 to support the Murrow Innovation Fund, which supports MIC activities.
Produce. Learn. Achieve. Network.
Faculty-Led Workshop for Academic Outreach and Innovation – focus on the Oaks Academic Technology Award.
Current Service & Engagement Activities
Voting member – Graduate Studies Committee
service to the university
Member-at-large: LMS Governance Committee
service to the university
Murrow Online Programs representative – Global Campus Academic Council
service to the university
Faculty representative, Entrepreneurship Faculty Ambassadors
service to the university
Committee member, Murrow Online Leadership Team
service to Murrow College
Committee member, Murrow Teaching Standards
service to Murrow College
Past service to WSU
- Faculty Advisor, Alpha Kappa Psi Beta Lambda Chapter (2017-2020)
- Faculty representative, Creative Corridor – Academic Outreach and Innovation (spring 2018-spring 2019)
- Faculty representative, The Commons partnership in entrepreneurship and innovation with Carson College and Voiland College (fall 2018-spring 2019)
- Participant in a study for American University School of Communication: “Understanding the current status of online master’s programs in the field of strategic communication for AEJMC.” (March 2017)
- Clinical Faculty Representative, Academic Integrity Task Force with emphasis on online education (2014-16)
- Online Faculty Representative, Digital Instruction Building Committee (2015-16)
- Online Faculty Representative, Blackboard Learn Early Adopters group (2015)
- Online Faculty Representative, Global Campus Technology Test Kitchen (2014-15)
Past Service to Murrow College
- Faculty representative and volunteer, Adobe Creative Jam – an inspiring two-part design experience that demonstrates and celebrates creativity and interdisciplinary collaboration (2018-2019)
- Served as faculty mentor and advisor for #CougsGiveDay for Murrow College social media led by Kai Amos. Also volunteered as a Global Campus Ambassador. (Mar 2018)
- Faculty administrator in support of the launch of Online MA Health Communication and Promotion and two online graduate certificates: Strategic Communication and Health Communication and Promotion (spring 2018)
- Committee member, Ad hoc committee to make recommendations for Clinical Faculty promotion, Ben Shors, lead (Spring 2017)
- Committee member, Ad hoc committee to make recommendations for Dean’s Council structure, Beth Hindman, lead (Feb 2017)
- Committee member, Ad hoc committee for the Muriel Oaks Award for Academic Technology, Rebecca Van de Vord, lead (Feb 2017)
- Committee member, Backpack Journalism/Global Expeditions Advisory Committee (2016-17)
- Search committee member, Clinical Assistant Professor of Strategic Communication (fall 2015). Hired: Cara Salazar
- Search committee member, Associate Dean (spring 2015). Failed search.
- Search committee member, Clinical Assistant Professor of Journalism (fall 2013). Hired: Laura Dubowski
Prior to 2012
- Board President and Member, Idaho Drug-Free Youth (IDFY) (2007-2010)
- Sr. Advisor – Idaho Drug-Free Youth Summit (June 2009 and June 2011)
- Faculty Advisor, Student Marketing Association, Eastern Washington University (2001-2003)
- Editor in Chief, Eastern Washington University Alumni Magazine 1997-2003
Murrow Innovation Community & The MIC Interns
In November 2017, the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication established the Murrow Innovation Community (MIC) as a strategic initiative. The goals for the first six months, or “Phase 1: Minimum Viable Project (MVP)”, were to implement basic operations and capabilities, build awareness and connections within WSU as well as alumni and industry partners, support interdisciplinary experiential learning programs and events, and begin developing instructional content to build student skills in digital media and to spark curriculum innovation. By the end of April 2018, all of these goals were met or exceeded. Over 350 faculty and students participated in events and activities that were either produced or co-produced by the MIC team. The MIC interns and Murrow development team raised over $15,000 for the Murrow Innovation Fund, which supports the MIC activities.
In January 2018, we hired five interns who worked 10-15 hours per week on communication projects including: Adobe Creative Jam, WSU CougsGive Day, Engineering Safety Videos, Entrepreneurship Primer Training, and MIC Messaging and Branding.
Outcomes: Our experience with these students proved that with guidance and minimal financial support, we can create a transformative experiential opportunity for our students that also delivers exceptional value to our partners.
In July 2017, over three days, five strategic communication faculty met with six companies and 14 individuals who are involved in the hiring process for entry-level positions and other communication roles – many of them Murrow alumni. Faculty conducted a needs assessment to identify the essential professional, collaborative, digital media and technical skills our graduates must possess to meet the preferences and demands of organizations in the 21st century. The focus was primarily on identifying required core strategic communication competencies and digital media skills. Also discussed were topics including desired soft skills, the value of past work experience, and expectations for portfolios and other tangible demonstrations of applied knowledge. The meetups were a success. The participants contributed to an engaging and thoughtful discussion on how to prepare our graduates for the 21st-century workplace.