School of Mass Comm Graduation--December 2008

The School of Mass Communications’ December Fall 2008 commencement ceremony ushered nearly 80 students into a world of opportunities as the latest VCU alumni stepped up to receive their diplomas.

Featured at the ceremony was guest speaker Dr. Lauren Tucker, director of consumer forensics at The Martin Agency — Richmond’s nationally renowned advertising agency. Dr. Tucker leads a team of consumer intelligence experts who transform data into business ideas and strategies.

A former tenured professor at the University of South Carolina, Dr. Tucker gave spirited tips to the graduates. Among other things, she urged them to “get rid of those toxic people in your life,” which inspired loud murmurs of agreement from the parents in the audience.

Dr. Tucker literally had the graduates – and even some faculty – dancing in the aisles when she ended her address with the popular dance song, “Live Your Life” by I.T. The lyrics, “You’re a shining star,” resonated throughout the Student Commons as the future professionals took the song’s name to heart and marched from the ceremony with diplomas in hand.

School of Mass Communications Graduation: December 13, 2008

The School of Mass Communications will hold its Fall 2008 Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 3 p.m. The ceremony will take place in the VCU Student Commons, located at 907 Floyd Avenue, in the Commonwealth Ballrooms.

As this anticipated date approaches, nearly 80 future alumni have mailed invitations, tailored their gowns and are anxiously waiting to receive their diplomas and move on to the next stage in their lives.

The school is proud to present degrees to this talented class of students. As with every year, faculty and staff look forward to seeing students put their teachings from the past several years to work in Creative Advertising, Strategic Advertising, Broadcast Journalism, Print Journalism and Public Relations.

Guest Speaker: Dr. Lauren Tucker
Featured at the graduation ceremony will be guest speaker Dr. Lauren Tucker, director of consumer forensics at The Martin Agency. Dr. Tucker leads a team of consumer intelligence experts who focus on uncovering data-driven insights that drive business ideas and strategies.

Educated at the Universities of Wisconsin-Madison, Texas-Austin and Virginia, Dr. Tucker has accrued more than twenty years of providing creative and disciplined thought leadership to colleagues and clients, including BF Goodrich Tires, Bacardi Rum, DaimlerChrysler and Kellogg.

A former tenured professor at the University of South Carolina, Dr. Tucker continues to take her passion for marketing and her communication education beyond The Martin Agency’s doors to inspire and encourage today’s professionals, educators and young thought leaders on whom the future depends.

Pictured: Dr. Lauren Tucker, director of consumer forensics at The Martin Agency

VCU student receives one of two PRSA Richmond scholarships

The Richmond Public Relations Foundation announced the two winners of their $1,000 scholarships for juniors or seniors at four-year colleges or universities in central Virginia who plan to pursue a career in public relations.

The scholarships were awarded at the Nov. 19 PRSA Richmond luncheon at the Sheraton Park Hotel.

• The winner of the Bill Dietrick memorial scholarship is Duncan Phillips a senior at the University of Richmond.


• The winner of the David Hurdle memorial scholarship is Lauren Gauthier a senior at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Learn more now.

Alumni Networking Reception

The School of Mass Comm and CRT/tanaka are hosting an alumni networking reception on Tuesday, Nov. 25. (more)

Graduate students in multimedia program produce high-quality journalism

The first class in the VCU School of Mass Communications’ multimedia journalism graduate program is well into its second semester. The group of thirteen students has already taken two courses in online journalism, as well as a research methods and a visual journalism class.

One visual journalism project involved the entire class. The idea for “Richmond is…” came from the students; the goal was to define what the city of Richmond means to its residents. Teams of three-to-four students set out on one day to talk to as many people as possible.


The multimedia graduate students also recently completed a series of online projects on topics ranging from the state fair to retirement planning to homeschooling. Teams of two or three worked together to use all the multimedia tools available to them, including video, audio, text and stills, and they experimented with various forms of interactivity and presentation. Check out the two projects linked below.

What lies beneath?
This exploration of Richmond’s slave history focuses on an old burial ground and other important sites that have been all-but destroyed by time and neglect. It also profiles the local groups trying to preserve this history and the latest initiative to get the city involved.

Go there now!




Homeowning 101
This project explores what a first-time home buyer will go through in the current economic environment, as well as provides useful information for anyone buying a home.

Go there now!

___________________

Read more about the program or contact:

June O. Nicholson
Associate Director for Graduate Studies
Room 1108 Temple Building
(804) 827-0251
jonichol@vcu.edu

Mass Comm annual food drive

The School of Mass Communications and its Student Advisory Board will host an annual holiday food drive November 10 through December 3. This is not the same old food drive that you are familiar with, there’s a twist; the Journalism, Advertising and Public Relations sequences will be competing against each other this year.

Students and faculty will compete to donate the most canned food and nonperishable goods to win class pride! Families across Richmond will benefit from your donation. In recent years, the School of Mass Communications has donated nearly 1000 pounds to the Central Virginia Food Bank.

Food donations can be dropped off in your sequence box located inside the School of Mass Communications office. Items will be tallied regularly and a winner will be announced December 3.

With your help and a little bit of competitive spirit, you will feed hungry families across Richmond this holiday season.

CreateAthon onCampus 2009 is accepting applications from non profits

Are you a nonprofit in need? Is your marketing budget next to nothing?

Apply to the 2nd annual VCU CreateAthon onCampus and you may be selected to receive free marketing materials. VCU student teams mentored by local professionals will create a wide variety of projects at no cost to the nonprofit organizations.

For a second year, VCU’s CreateAthon onCampus is looking for area nonprofits who are in need of marketing and/or promotional materials including but not limited to: logo, letterhead, business cards, brochures, posters, press kits, newsletters, ads.

There may be other needs you have that aren’t listed here. You never know until you ask if we can do it. The worst we can say is no, maybe next year….

Deadline for application: November 21, 2008

Learn more now!