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WSU-GEARS: Interdisciplinary Team Leads Effort to Investigate and Breakdown Barriers for Women and Underrepresented Minority Faculty in STEM
SPOTLIGHTS: Associate Professor Dr. Stine Eckert is part of an interdisciplinary team of Wayne State professors on a project to research and breakdown barriers for women and underrepresented minority faculty in STEM. The NSF Advance Adaptation: Gender Equity Advances Retention in STEM, or WSU GEARS, is funded by a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation, WSU GEARS takes a three-pronged approach to overcoming systemic hurdles: utilizing a collection of nuanced data related to faculty members' work environment experiences, enhancing existing programs to efficiently advance and support the success of women and underrepresented minority faculty, and creating new programs to work toward equity. Wayne State University strives to make progress toward equity. In 2018, according to Wayne State, the percentage of women that composed WSU's STEM faculty was 20%. This is an increase from 14% in 2010. Viewing this from an intersectionality standpoint, the percentage was even lower, 2.6%. Dr. Eckert says that the goal of WSU GEARS is to make some headway in addressing these matters of inequity and bringing a change to institutional culture. For more information on WSU GEARS, visit https://s.wayne.edu/nsf-advance/ and find WSU GEARS on Twitter @waynegears and Instagram @waynestategears. | 
Detroit Water Stories
Two Professors from the Department of Communication are working on a project that takes a look at a systemic issue that has affected thousands of Detroiters since 2014. Dr. Rahul Mitra and Professor Kelly Donnellan are working together on a trans-media project called Detroit Water Stories. The purpose is to highlight the Detroit mass water shutoffs, and how it has affected thousands of residents in the city, by gathering oral histories from stakeholders and creating online webisodes that address the crisis. | | Student/Alumni updates |  | Kelsey Mesmer Doctoral candidate, Kelsey Mesmer, won one of the two 2021 Garrett T. Heberlein Awards from the Graduate School at Wayne State. One of the reasons these awards exist is to shine a light on teaching as part of graduate education to prepare graduate students for serving as faculty for universities and colleges. Kelsey has taught 14 times in the Department of Communication. Her abilities are lauded by students and faculty members alike. Congratulations Kelsey! | | | Stanislav Kozedeyev Alumnus Stanislav Kozedeyev (Ph.D. 2020) was a recipient of the Humanities Center "Creative Response to Covid" mini-grant. Participant submissions given highlighted the pandemic's impact on groups that are vulnerable such as race and ethnic groups, the elderly, etc. These submissions included paintings, film, photography, drawings, and more. Kozedeyev's submission consisted of sound art techniques to create a "sonic memorial" for COVID-19's first wave of victims. |  | | | Kimberly Atkins Journalism alumna, Kimberly Atkins (B.A., 1995), co-hosts "SistersInLaw" podcast, which was featured in a story by the Free Press. | | | | | | | Kevin Papuga Kevin Papuga, a graduating senior from the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts, will be the commencement speaker for the college. Congratulations Kevin! | |  | Graduate Research Symposium Several Communication doctoral students presented, and won awards at the annual Graduate Research Symposium, which ran March 1-5, 2021. The students did excellent work and made the department look good at the university level! Fatima Albrehi won 2nd place in the Three Minute Thesis for "How do ostracism experiences effect people of colors' communication behaviors?" Fatimal also won 3rd place for her Wednesday presentation, "Speak no evil: a Burkean analysis of sexuality within a cultural artifact". Kelsey Mesmer – 1st place presenter on Monday, March 1 for "An assumption of bad faith: Using fake news rhetoric to create journalistic teaching moments." | | | Speech and Debate Team Updates Wayne State Debate has a National Champion! Junior Megan Dombrowski, a member of the public forum debate team, went undefeated at the 2021 National Educational Debate Association (NEDA) national tournament to claim the title of champion of the novice division. Megan was the Second overall speaker in novice as well. Senior Skyler Blackman had a strong showing at the tournament in the varsity division finishing in fifth place. The policy debate team of Mirabella Trestail and Jake Kostecke made it to the Final Four at the 2021 American Debate Association (ADA) Nationals tournament. Trestrail and Kostecke finished their debate season on strong note after going 4-2 in the preliminary debates to qualify for the elimination rounds in the novice division. In the quarterfinals they defeated the University of Miami on a 3-0 decision. In the semifinals, they lost on a split decision, 2-1 to the top seeded team in the tournament from Liberty University. They also won an award for 2nd overall novice team in the ADA for the season. The individual events team had an outstanding showing at the 2021 National Speech Competition. Sophomore Colin Murtagh made it to the quarterfinals in Extemporaneous speaking, Impromptu speaking, and Persuasion. Sophomore Ethan Martin was a national semifinalist in After Dinner speaking and Senior Spencer Haisha was a quarterfinalist in Prose and finished 2nd in the nation in Poetry. Between the three of them they placed 13th overall in the country in team sweepstakes while competing against much larger squads! Congratulations to them and their hard-working assistant coaches, Alex Azzopardi and Natale Hedberg, on this amazing accomplishment! | | | | | Faculty/Staff updates |  | Jessica Greenwald Congratulations to Jessica Greenwald who is being promoted from Academic Advisor to the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Jessica had this to say about her advancement: "I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the department's amazing students and faculty over the past seven years, and am looking forward to being a part of its continued growth and success in this new position." | | | Elizabeth Stoycheff Associate Professor Elizabeth Stoycheff and her partner, Ralph, welcomed Charlotte Moriya Stoycheff to their family on Dec 30, 2020. She was 6lbs, 9oz and 19.75" with so much dark hair. Time with their new little one is flying by! |  | |  | Paul Echeverria Assistant Professor Paul Echeverria premiered a new film titled Saffron Mourning, at the 74th UFVA Conference. He also presented on a panel titled Communication and Technology in the 21st Century at the 78th Annual NYSCA Conference. | | | Juanita Anderson Juanita Anderson, Carr Center Media Artists in Residence and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Communication, curates film exhibition Resistance and Resilience. |  | |  | Rahul Mitra Dr. Rahul Mitra, Associate Professor of Communication, and Dr. Carol Miller, Professor of Civil & Env. Engineering were awarded an EPA P3 grant, where they will be advising a stellar group of interdisciplinary PhD students to monitor Detroit's groundwater levels for various contaminants. This semester, two student teams from COM 5900 (Com Studies capstone) are working with the EPA research team to design 4 short animation videos and 4 infographics to assist in our community engagement efforts. The material will address the importance of groundwater, how it might be affected by stormwater surge and flooding events, and implications for urban water management systems. Dr. Mitra also joined the Editorial Board of the NCA journal, Journal of Applied Communication Research. | | | Fred Vultee Fred Vultee, Associate Professor, speaks about his research team's work on clickbate. The podcast covers clickbate and headlines that attract readers, but undersells the story. A discussion is had about clickbate, and if it could actually be beneficial in the world of new media and immersive storytelling. Check out episode 2.1 about clickbaits. |  | |  | Lena Antoon OTL spoke with Lena Antoon, Adjunct Professor in Communication, about teaching asynchronously in Winter 2021. | | | | | Susan Palazzolo, Scott Burke, and Courtney Spivak Adjunct Professors Susan Palazzolo, Scott Burke, and Courtney Spivak presented at the 2021 Michigan Canvas Users Conference held on March 12, 2021. Each presenter discussed the challenges that comes with conducting virtual labs such as time restraints and lacking in-person assistance when learning how to utilize new equipment. For more information about the event visit https://tech.wayne.edu/mcuc2021 | | | Scott Burgess, Darryl Frazier, and Kelsey Mesmer Awesome doctoral candidates Scott Burgess, Darryl Frazier and Kelsey Mesmer are co-authors. | | | Tonja Lawrence Dr. Tonja Lawrence participates in a conversation on the T.E.A. podcast. T.E.A., or The Educational Architect, podcast covers a variety of topics including education, human literacy skills, diversity of educational thought, and more. | | | Announcements/Upcoming Events | | Toastmasters Club The Wayne State University Mike Ilitch School of Business is seeking to start a Toastmasters International Club. Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. The club will meet twice per month for 90 minutes of professional development. | | | Teaching Tips | | Teaching on "Days After" Contentious Events and Student Distress Response Tips Office of the Provost sends along helpful tips on teaching on days after contentious events, and how to help students in distress. | | | Publication news | | Publications Nowling, W., & Seeger, M. (In Press). Communicating death and dying in the COVID 19 pandemic. In H. D. O'Hair, & M. J. O'Hair (Eds.), Communicating science in times of crisis: The COVID 19 pandemic. Wiley-Blackwell. | | | | | | | | |
