Journalism alumn Omar Abdet-Baqui tells the story of how he became a reporter for the Wall Street Journal. I worked as hard as I could during the internship and made it clear that I wanted a job at the Journal. I was on the corporate reporting team -- a topic I didn't have much experience or interest in. I pitched aggressively, networked with people across the Journal and got to know my editor really well. Ultimately, I did all types of stories to develop and showcase my range. They had a position opening on the breaking news desk as my internship was coming to an end. I applied and on the last day of my internship, I found out I got the job. Next thing I knew, I was packing for New York.

I am a tenure-track Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Tyler. I am also a qualitative research consultant with our Office of Research & Scholarship's Research Design & Data Analysis Lab. Currently, I am working with colleagues from various institutions--some of which are Wayne State alumni and/or current professors--on research projects related to boil water notices during the recent Winter Storm Uri, vaccine risk perceptions, COVID-19 perceptions and protective actions among rural populations, and respiratory safety for agricultural workers. Since graduating from Wayne State in 2019, my research has been featured on journals such as Communication Studies, Western Journal of Communication, Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research, Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, and others.

Joshua Guitar recently published book (2021) Dissent, Discourse, and Democracy: Whistleblowers as Sites of Political Contestation and article (2021) Constructing Police as First Responders:  A Critical Rhetorical Archetype Analysis. In journal Critical Studies in Media Communication can be found here (book) and here (article)      

Shelly Najor (BA 1988, MA 1992, PhD 1999)

Shelly Najor is an associate professor of teaching and director of the undergraduate public relations program at Wayne State University. She also serves as faculty adviser to the student group Public Relations Student Society of America. She has managed a learning community for her PR students for the past 10 years and is a four-time recipient of a Ford Fund, which sponsors students in service-learning projects that engage the surrounding community.

Lukas is currently a tenure track professor at Lincoln University of PA, the first degree granting HBCU in the US and the current Chair of the ECA Media Division. He researched the interpersonal communication of ostracism and recently gave a virtual guest lecture in Indonesia for 150 students along with WSU alumn Dr. Kunto Wibowo. In the past year he has published several manuscripts and three of them were co-authored with Fatima Al Brehi and Sarah Walker from WSU Comm department. See manuscripts below.

Dr. Idrissa N. Snider is Alabama Appleseed's Jefferson County Project Manager and Liaison and coordinated the Jefferson County Equitable Fines and Fees Project (Project JEFF). This groundbreaking and innovative project was the first of its kind in the state to focus on eradicating the criminalization of poverty through excessive fees and fines. Project JEFF also sought to raise awareness about the long-term adverse effects created when low-income individuals become forced into a cycle of debt. As an advocate and educator, Idrissa's academic research interests laid in the subject matter of examining social justice and resistance at the intersections of race, gender, and class. Before shifting her career to public policy, Idrissa was a Visiting Professor at Samford University within the Department of Communication and Media. She also taught within the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of African American Studies, among other colleges and universities.

Don Ritzenhein joined others on a panel at NCA to pay tribute to the late Juddi Trent, past-president of NCA and co-author of the long-time best-selling text, Political Campaign Communication.  Juddi had close ties to Wayne.  She began a lifetime friendship with Ed Pappas beginning when he was the debate coach at Pershing High School, and who was later best man to then-Wayne professor Jimmie Trent, at their wedding.  Don was on Juddi's first debate team when she began her career as a debate coach at Belleville High School in 1962.  He shared photos and stories of her five years as a coach, which culminated in her team winning the Michigan state finals in 1968.  Don also joined fellow WSU alum and Matt Seeger's several times co-author, Tim Sellnow, along with Shelly Najor and Matt's son, Henry (now his own Dr. Seeger) in giving a toast to Matt at the Wayne reception.  

Chris Williams (B.A. 2001 M.A. 2020)

Wayne State Assistant Director of Editorial Services Chris Williams, B.A. ’01, M.A. ’20, loves a good movie, but for Williams, the movie experience isn’t complete until he writes a review for his newsletter, Chrisicisms. Read more about it here.

Part Time Faculty Member Merci Decker publishes book chapter with her sister Cassandra Decker. Read more about it here.

Wayne State doctoral candidates Darryl Frazier, left, and Keena Neal present the Research Gang’s paper “Spinning toward Secession: The Interplay of Editorial Bellicosity and Exchange News in the Press before the American Civil War,” at the 2018 AJHA annual conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. The manuscript is now in press in the Southeastern Review of Journalism History. Michael Fuhlhage was also interviewed by The Intelligencer, an American Journalism Historians Association newsletter, about the Research Gang after winning the  J. William Snorgrass Award for best paper on minority journalism history at the convention. 

Mary Grenfell and her wife Piper welcomed identical twins, Georgia Grace (nicknamed Georgie) and Genevieve Hope (nicknamed Vivie), on October 20, 2021. They were born almost 11 weeks prematurely, so they spent time in the NICU, but are home and doing phenomenally well. So well, that they will likely be discharged from the NICU by Christmas. These two tiny Warriors, Mary, and Piper so appreciate all of your kind words, well wishes, thoughts, and prayers, as they continue to grow and thrive! Thank you, CFPCA family!  

Assistant Professors Rosie Jahng and Anita Mixon

Dr. Rosie Jahng and Dr. Anita Mixon are awarded with the 2021 Harriet Dowdell Bantz, Sandra Petronio, and Charles R. Bantz Faculty Development Award

Part TIme Faculty Member Sheila Tomkowiak wins Novemeber 2021 election for Mayor. Congratulations Sheila!

• Pelliccio, L. J. & Walker, S. (2021). Examining ostracism as communication: A seven-phase model of interpersonal ostracism message reception and interpretation. Florida Journal of Communication (In press).

• Pelliccio, L. J. & Brown, T. (2021). Ostracism hurts, but how is it communicated?: A qualitative exploration of the interpersonal communication of ostracism. Kentucky Journal of Communication (In Press)

• Pelliccio, L. J. & Walker, S. (2021). What is an interpersonal ostracism message?: Bringing ostracism into communication studies. Atlantic Journal of Communication, 1-16. doi: 10.1080/15456870.2020.1859509.

• Pelliccio, L. J. & Brown, T. (2021) Critical thinking as a pedagogical approach: Using critical/cultural studies to analyze music videos. Discourse: The Journal of the SCASD, 6, 41-48.

• Al Brehi, F. & Pelliccio, L. J. (2021). Considering ostracism events as precursors to school shootings. In K. Vanslyke-Briggs (Eds.), A Relentless Threat: Scholars Respond to Teens on Weaponized School Violence. Rowman & Littlefield: Lanham, MD.

M.A. Student Najma Akhther receives Top Grade Paper Award from the student section of the National Communication Association (NCA). See below for conference information.  Akhther, N.  (2021, November). Peer-to-peer support for mental Health: Perceived benefits of information-seeking and information-sharing about depression and anxiety on social media. Presented at the 107th Annual Convention of the National Communication Association (NCA), Seattle, Washington, USA. 

Media Arts and Studies alumnus David Leins, WDET, wins prestigious Edward R Murrow Award

On Saturday,  October 30th, Media Arts & Studies MA candidate Carrie LeZotte screened the scene she directed for "The Detroit Musical," a cooperative film project being produced by Planet Ant and funded in part by the Michigan Humanities Council. The originally funded staged musical was scheduled to open on March 13, 2020. When the COVID quarantine prevented the show from going on, the company pivoted to producing a feature film and divided the scenes among more than twenty directors. The Detroit Musical is a comedic look at Detroit's 300-year history. You can see LeZotte's scene here and the completed film will premiere at Plant Ant on March 13, 2022, Detroit's 313 Day.  

Ariel Seay-Howard (PhD)

The panel, "Rocks, Spirits, and New Materialist Rhetorics beyond Western Boundaries", submitted by Ariel Seay-Howard, PhD Candidate, has been accepted for presentation at RSA 2022!

Liz Ryan

The Donald P. Durocher Memorial Scholarship is presented to undergraduate students majoring in public relations, communication, or journalism on behalf of the PRSA-Detroit Chapter. Applicants of the Donald P. Durocher Memorial Scholarship must respond to a series of questions, demonstrate academic excellence, and be available for possible interview by the Scholarship Committee. This year's scholarship winner was fellow Wayne State Warrior Elizabeth Ryan. Elizabeth is a senior communication major and the current Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) President. After graduation, Elizabeth intends to apply for a master's degree program and travel. She was presented with the scholarship during the PRSA-Detroit Annual Meeting on November 18.

Read more about Wayne State Speech and Debate Team's acheivements here.