Public Communication: Awards and Achievements

AU Student Named As Student of the Year Finalist

SOC student Brianna Kelley was named as a finalist of PRWeek's Student of the Year award with the possibility of winning $5,000, a paid internship at Hill & Knowlton, and the opportunity to attend the PRWeek Awards 2012. Congratulations Brianna!

Prof quoted in the Associated Press

Professor Matt Nisbet was quoted in the Associated Press commenting on how social networking sites affect the 2012 race. Read More

Tech tAUk SOC Faculty, Students

A special episode of AUTV's "Tech tAUk" focused on the AU Social Media Club's Social Learning Summit, featuring interviews with several SOC students and faculty members. Learn more

Frito-Lay Director of PR Speaks to Comm Class

Chris Kuechenmeister, Director of Public Relations for Frito-Lay North America was the guest speaker in professor Pallavi Kumar's COMM301 Public Relations class. He guest lectured for an hour and a half sharing the Doritos Superbowl Challenge case study and the Tostitos Reunion Campaign.

SOC Professor Selected as Research Fellow by USC

Associate Professor Rhonda Zaharna was selected as a research fellow by the University of Southern California (USC) Center for Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School. The Center is the recognized leader in the emerging field of public diplomacy and the competition for the 2-year research fellowship was intense and international. The goal of her project, “Exploring the Cultural Underbelly of Public Diplomacy,” was to stimulate greater awareness and knowledge of how culture influences public diplomacy and help generate multicultural perspectives of public diplomacy. It includes a research monograph and a monthly interactive blog/discussion forum hosted on the Center's website. Read More 

Quoted in NY Times

Professor Kathryn Montgomery tells The New York Times Business Day that food marketing now woven into fabric of kids' lives. Read more

AUTV's Tech tAUk SOC Faculty, Students

A special episode of AUTV's "Tech tAUk" focused on the AU Social Media Club's Social Learning Summit.  The show featured interviews and appearances with several SOC students and faculty members including Alex Priest, Scott Talan, and Caty Borum Chatoo.

Only in Washington: Students Get First-Hand Analysis of Presidential Speech 

Students in professors Bob Lehrman and Eric Schnure's speechwriting course experienced an “only in Washington” classroom opportunity. They invited Matt Teper, principal White House speechwriter for Vice President Biden to speak on President Obama’s speech on Libya. “He was great,” said Lehrman, who in the 90’s had Teper’s job, writing for then Vice President Al Gore, where he worked with Schnure, a Gore speechwriter as well. "He answered our questions for an hour. Then he hung around during the speech and took part in the discussion afterwards.”    Teper, who wrote speeches for a variety of nonprofits—and was the blogger for Rock the Vote in 2004 before winning the Biden job, hadn’t worked on the speech. But he’d seen the early drafts, and read it on his Blackberry before class in case there were things to point out. Teper seemed to be able to handle every question from the 34-member mix of grad and undergrad students, until SOC Senior Staci Cox asked him to tell the class about his “biggest mistake.” “Wow,” Teper said, “I mean, I’ve made hundreds.” Promising to get back to her, he took till the end of class before, true to his word, owning up to one. Teper's visit excited the class. “It was really remarkable,” said SPA Senior Jacqueline Grill ‘011. “To see someone so close [to our] age doing such amazing work.” "I don't think Matt was prepared to be treated like a rock star," Schnure said afterwards. "But he warmed up to it."

McCormick Grants Opens Opportunity for Political Reporting Specialized Training Session

Thanks to a $35,000 grant from McCormick Foundation, SOC will host a Specialized Training Institute on Political Reporting June 17-18 at American University.  Twenty reporters from around the country will attend to learn best practices in covering poll results, methodology and how to mine data.  Professors Dotty Lynch and Maria Ivancin will present.  Mark Mellman, just chosen "Pollster of the Year" by American Association of Political Consultants, will be the opening luncheon speaker.  Read more

Undergrad Gets Fellowship With PPIA

PC student Ty Tillett (BA'12) was accepted into the Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) fellowship.  He will be studying public policy and law at the University of California at Berkeley this summer.  The program has opened opportunities for him to further his knowledge of public policy and will also help fund his graduate education, up to and including full tuition plus a stipend at many of the top public policy programs in the country.

Prof. Quoted in CQ

Professor Gemma Puglisi was quoted in Congressional Quarterly about President Obama’s State of the Union address and the White House’s use of Twitter. During his speech, the White House tweeted quotes as Obama was speaking. Furthermore, according to a study, Obama’s speech also scored the lowest on ‘readability’ level. Read more

Prof Quoted on Ragan.com

Bob Lerhman, an SOC adjunct and former chief speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore, called President Obama's speech in Tucson "brilliant" in an article featured on  Ragan.com. "For the record," he wrote, "this was an immensely skillful speech, written, delivered and orchestrated with equal skill." Read more

Prof Quoted in New York Times

In a recent article in the New York Times about the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear and what it means to the attendees, Professor Lauren Feldman is quoted providing analysis based on her research in the area of political entertainment.  Read more

Prof Interviewed on WTTG- Fox 5

Public Communication Professor Lenny Steinhorn was interviewed on WTTG-FOX 5 about recent national primary election results and what it means for November. “When the Alaska senator lost her primary to a Tea Party candidate, and people started wondering if this could happen elsewhere, well it did happen in Delaware,” he said about the Tea Party's sudden surge of popularity. Download file

Prof Quoted in Wall Street Journal

In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal concerning online privacy being worse on popular children’s websites, Professor Katharine Montgomery was quoted for her suggestion that clearer explanations of what’s happening to people’s online are needed, instead of using the legal jargon that obscures what privacy policies are saying. Read more

Awesome Washingtonian Competes for Miss Chinese American

Serena Linn, public communication MA candidate, was named Awesome Washingtonian of the Day by the Awesome DC blog. She is also competing for the title Miss Chinese American. She hopes to use the title to foster greater cultural exchange between China and the U.S. The event is Sept 17th at the Strathmore.

Awards Just Keep Coming for SOC Alum

The awards and honors keep rolling in for SOC alum Michael Kempner. He is the president and CEO of MWW Group, which recently won the 2010 Golden Bridge Award for Best Midsized PR Agency of the Year.  MWW Group was also honored by the Holmes Report, a leading independent publication dedicated to reporting on the public relations industry, as "2009 Strategic Public Relations Agency of the Year." Kempner was inducted into the PR News Hall of Fame at the 2009 PR People Awards. Read more