Overview
Welcome to the third edition of the communication alumni newsletter!
We are very proud of our faculty, alumni, and students, and as you look through the stories contained here, we think you will see why. Our Faculty Profiles show the wide variety of the activities of our faculty members and the wide variety of honors they have achieved.
Our Student Highlights introduce you to an amazing group of students, both at the undergraduate and graduate level, and the awards they have received for their work.
We will share the excitement of our Undergraduate Awards Ceremony, our Graduate Awards Ceremony, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences's Undergraduate Research Symposium, and the university's Fourth Annual Celebration of Student Scholarship.
Finally, we honor the career of one of our esteemed faculty members, Dr. Cindy Lont, as she retires from George Mason University after 31 years.
We hope that you enjoy this edition of the newsletter. Keep in touch with us and join the Communication Alumni Society!
Faculty Profiles
Karen Akerlof: Karen Akerlof is a research faculty member. She conducted research and assessment of a community outreach program on saltmarsh restoration and sea-level rise and was the primary investigator: Akerlof, K. Research and Assessment for Pickering Creek Center’s Saltmarshes and Community Engagement program. Audubon, Maryland / DC. $20,000. She also conducted Maryland statewide surveys and message testing for the Climate Communication Consortium of Maryland and was a co-primary investigator with Dr. Edward Maibach: Akerlof, K. & Maibach, E. W. Establishing a Climate Change Communication Coalition in Maryland. Town Creek Foundation. $200,000.
Xiaomei Cai: Xiaomei Cai is a full time faculty member in the department. She received the OSCAR Mentoring Excellence Award at the 4th Annual Celebration of Student Scholarship.
Michael Dickerson: Michael Dickerson is a full time faculty member. He received a beautiful clock and an award from the communication department thanking him for his seven years of work producing the Communicator, a student magazine written by his Communication 411 (Public Relations Practicum) students. He also concluded thirteen years of successfully teaching the London International Public Relations Class.
Carla L. Fisher: Carla L. Fisher is a full time faculty member She won the National Communicator Association (NCA) 2014 Top Paper Award, District of Columbia Health Communication (DCHC) 2015 Poster Award, International Communication Association 2015 Top Panel Award, and Communication Graduate Student Association 2015 Graduate Mentor of the Year Award.
Bob Inglis: Bob Inglis is a research faculty member. He was named the recipient of the 2015 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award this year.
Paul LeValley: Paul LeValley is an adjunct faculty member. He is the executive director of Arlington Independent Media, which plans to launch a new community radio station this year.
Edward Maibach: Edward Maibach is a full time faculty member.and is also the director of the Center for Climate Change Communication (4C) at Mason. He took part on the panel “Actionable Information for Prevention: From Science to Social Media” as part of the White House Public Health and Climate Change Summit, broadcast live from the White House on June 23, 2015.
David J. Miller: David J. Miller is a full time faculty member. He won the Effective Practice Award at the 8th Annual Emerging Technologies for Online Learning International Symposium, presented by the Online Learning Consortium.
Mona Sarfaty: Mona Sarfaty is an affiliate faculty member. She won a grant award from the Georgetown University Environment Initiative: Sarfaty, M., GMU P.I. & Wellbery, C., Georgetown P.I. Assess Medical Student Knowledge as a Prelude to Curriculum Development on Climate and Health. Georgetown Environment Initiative. $20,000.
Student Highlights
Jordan Alpert: Jordan Alpert is a 2015 graduate of the communication PhD program. While he was a student, he won the Top Graduate Student Paper (Health Communication Division) at the Eastern Communication Association Conference for his paper “Just What the Doctor Tweeted: Physicians' Challenges and Rewards of Using Twitter.”
Omama Altaleb: One of our exceptional undergraduate student journalists is Omama Altaleb. As a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, Omama has successfully branded herself through original online publications by maintaining an online portfolio. Recently accepted to American University for graduate school in journalism, Omama created this original portfolio and resume to ensure a bright future in journalism.
Matthew Basil: Matthew Basil is an MA student who won the Communication Graduate Challenge Award for the year 2014-2015.
Mollie Rose Canzona: Mollie Rose Canzona is a PhD student. She won the Dissertation Completion Grant Award, Provost, Spring 2015, the communication department’s Graduate Teaching Award,2014-2015, an Honorable Mention Presentation Award, DCHC, 2015 for Canzona, M., Fisher, C., & Peterson, E. “Enhancing Provider Communication Competence about Sexual Health in Breast Cancer Survivorship: Addressing Risk and Health Promotion Associated with Hormone Replacement Therapy,” and the Top Paper Award, Feminist & Women's Studies Division, NCA, 2014 for Weathers, M.R., Canzona, M., & Fisher, C. “Dealing with the Hurt: A Co-Cultural Theoretical Analysis of Coping Strategies Related to Digital Dating Abuse.”
Christy Forrester: Christy Forrester is a PhD student. She is the 2014-2015 recipient of the Wendy Balazik Communication and Social Change Award.
Jacob Fritzke: Jacob Fritzke is an undergraduate student with a concentration in media production and criticism. He is the 2015 winner of the department’s award for Best News Feature Story for “The Lord’s Table.”
Hugh Geepeay: Hugh Geepeay is an MA student. In October 2014, he won the Top Student Paper, National Association of Research, for "Interpersonal Relationships and Credit Hours: Bridging the Gap."
Adam Gambrel: Adam Gambrel is an undergraduate student with a concentration in media production and criticism. He is the 2015 winner of the communication department’s Best Music Video Project, “Hey.”
Allison Harper: Allison Harper is a PhD student. She won the Top Paper award at NCA, Cross Examination Debate Association, "A Preliminary Analysis of Attitudes toward Mutually Preferred Judging and Diversity in Intercollegiate Policy Debate."
John Kotcher: John Kotcher is a PhD student. In December 2014, he won the Outstanding Student Paper Award at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, "Scientists as Communicators: A Randomized Experiment to Assess Public Reactions to Scientists’ Social Media Communication Along the Science-Advocacy Continuum." He also won an award for “TV Weathercasters and Climate Education: Expanding the Reach of Climate Matters.” National Science Foundation, Edward Maibach, Principal Investigator (2014-2017).
Brenda MacArthur: Brenda MacArthur is a PhD student. She is a 2015 College of Humanities and Social Sciences Dean’s Challenge Award winner.
Reid May: Reid May is an undergraduate student with a concentration in media production and criticism. He is the 2015 winner of the department’s Best Commercial Project award for “EduTower.”
Cameron Perrier: Cameron Perrier is an undergraduate student with a concentration in media production and criticism. Cameron is the 2015 winner of the department’s award for Best Demonstration Project “How to Drive a Tractor.”
Camella Rising: Camella Rising is a PhD student. She won the Top Student Presentation Award at the 2015 DC Health Communication Conference for “Conceptualizing Levity Within the Context of Family Communication about Serious Illness.” She also won the Faculty Mentor Grant for the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program at George Mason University in spring 2015 for mentoring an undergraduate student in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies for “The Influence of Awareness of Calories on Emerging Adults' Food and Beverage Choices: Does Self-Control and Self-Esteem Matter?” In addition, Camella won the Susan T. Borra Fellowship in Nutrition Communication from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation, 2015.
Sidra Sajid: Sidra Sajid is an undergraduate student with a concentration in media production and criticism. She is the 2015 winner of the communication department’s Best Videography Project award for “Seeing Color.”
Ben Simpson: Ben Simpson is an undergraduate student with a concentration in media production and criticism. He is the 2015 WGMU Broadcaster of the Year.
Neil Stenhouse: Neil Stenhouse is a PhD student. He won the department’s Special Recognition in Science Communication Leadership Award for the year 2014-2015.
News & Events
Undergraduate Awards Ceremony
Lambda Pi Eta Inductees
Our 24th Annual Communication Undergraduate Awards Ceremony was held on April 11, 2015 in the Pilot House at George Mason University’s Fairfax campus. While the participants devoured delicious appetizers and desserts ordered from Mason Catering, our featured speaker, Patrick Delaney, Outstanding Undergraduate Alumnus of the Year, began his speech. Patrick gave a wonderful testament about the amazing opportunities his Mason communication degree has given him and had the entire crowd (of 100!) hooked. Once he finished, our students received their awards. At the very end of the ceremony, Professor Susie Tomasovic held her annual Lambda Pi Eta Induction, bringing 18 new students into the LPE fold.
Our phenomenal undergraduate student award winners for the 2014-2015 semester are:
Communication Challenge Award—Honorable Mention
Ashley Hill
Karla Ponciano
Communication Challenge Award—Finalists
Tyler Byrum
Michael Kamel
Production Awards
Best Multimedia Journalism Project (Audio Show): Carola Gorena Morales
Best Videography Project: Sidra Sajid
Best Commercial Project: Reid May
Best News Feature Story Project: Jacob Fritzke
Best Demonstration Project: Cameron Perrier
Best Music Video Project: Adam Gambrel
PRSSA Special Recognition
Erin White, Logan Rice, Angel White, and Demetrius White
WGMU Awards
Broadcaster of the Year: Benjamin Simpson
Announcer of the Year: John Barnes
Beth Kauffman Award for Creativity: Reid May
Undergraduate Academic Awards
Dr. Bruce Manchester Outstanding Academic Achievement Award Omama Altaleb
Excellence in Communication Awards
| Altaf Al Dailami | Nathan Ammons |
Chelsey Boulden |
| Bridget Bush | Oscar Cordova |
Victoria Cordova |
|
Kate Delacy |
Rawan Elbaba | Johanna Escobar |
|
Michelle Hook |
William Houck | Soraya Mayel |
| Rachel McCraw | Alec McDowell |
Hannah Menchhoff |
| Alissa Mirsky | Elizabeth Misanin |
Kelly Pizzingrill |
| Kaitlyn Reitz | Pary Shuaib |
Saira Sohail |
| LeeAnna Sorrell | Kamna Talwar |
Stephanie Way |
The Lambda Pi Eta Sigma chapter honorable new members are:
Samuel C. Abney Nathan D. Ammons Tracey A. Buckhold
Zachary J. Dittami Diana C. Flecher Amina Faly Gueye
Victoria J. Harvey Paige L. Healey Jaeun (Joy) Lee
Arvie L. Martinez Caroline R. Moyer Kelly M. Pizzingrilli
Margaret N. Rhodes Logan M. Rice Daniella V. Rodriguez
Sidra Sajid Katelyn R. Squicciarini Angel D. White
Undergraduate Research Symposium
Every spring, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences hosts an Undergraduate Research Symposium. The symposium is a forum for undergraduate students to showcase their scholarship and creative activity.
Students present posters or give oral presentations. Faculty panels select award winners in a number of categories.
All undergraduates with a major in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences are eligible to participate. They are invited to submit proposals, which can be class projects or independent work being done under the supervision of a faculty mentor. The best proposals are selected for inclusion in the symposium via a competitive process.
Congratulations to all of our students on their impressive work and a special congratulations to communication major, Karla Ponciano, for winning the Outstanding Poster Presentation for her research paper, "Relational Dissolution: Can It Take a Knapp?”
Fourth Annual Celebration of Student Scholarship
Congratulations to Dr. Xiaomei Cai for winning the OSCAR Mentoring Excellence Award. She is truly amazing and we are so proud to have her with us.
Dr. Cai was recognized at the Celebration of Student Scholarship on Tuesday, May 5, 2015 in the Center for the Arts. Everyone (students, faculty, staff) was invited to show their support and appreciation for Dr. Cai and all the winners.
Cindy Lont Retirement
Don Boileau, Cindy Lont, Anita Taylor (retired emeritus faculty)
Most of the Student Video Center Supervisors from across time: David Miller, Rob Goldheim, Cynthia Lehman, Mark Hyer, Cindy Lont, and Richard Wood.
On May 8, 2015, faculty, students, alumni, and staff from the communication department, College of Visual and Performing Arts, Student Video Center, and Film and Video Studies (FAVS) program, gathered together to join in celebrating Dr. Cindy Lont as she retired from the university after 31 years (1984-2015). At this celebration, several long-time colleagues told stories about Dr. Lont, who then delighted the crowd with a series of video out-takes from her many educational projects at Mason.
Dr. Lont’s career at George Mason University has focused on dedicated service to its educational mission. She has also provided exceptional service to our discipline’s educational mission. She has produced, written, edited and/or appeared in approximately 20 videos designed for classroom use. She taught the very first distance education course in communication at Mason, using broadcast video. She was selected by the National Communication Association to produce and direct the 2005 Past Presidents Project of interviews with association presidents. Studio A, a program of interviews with filmmakers that she produced with GMU-TV for 6 years (2007-2013), generated over 60 shows and was honored with nine awards, including the Gracie Award from the American Women of Radio and Television in 2008.
Dr. Lont has also served in numerous Mason leadership roles, including chair of the Department of Communication, director of the telecommunications graduate program (now the MA in communication), founding director of the FAVS BA program, founding director of the FAVS concentration in the master of interdisciplinary studies program, director of the Student Video Center, director of the Student Technology Assistance and Resource (STAR) Lab, GMUView (yearbook) advisor, and WGMU radio station advisor. In her faculty function, she has served nine programs at George Mason University and has played significant leadership roles in the development of six new programs. She assumed vital leadership positions in the Department of Communication (e.g., chairing important committees such as curriculum or promotions and tenure). She also served on faculty senate and on countless committees at the college and university levels.
In addition, Dr. Lont has served as president of the Eastern Communication Association and was active in the Virginia Association of Communication Arts and Sciences, including coordinating its student film festival. She has been honored with numerous teaching and mentorship awards. In addition to scholarly journal publications, conference papers, and creative works, she authored three textbooks—one of which received three excellence awards. She has served our national and regional professional associations in a variety of governance positions, served on editorial review boards for several scholarly journals, and actively engaged in community service.
Dr. Lont received her associate degree from Cayuga County Community College, bachelor’s degree from State University of New York at Oswego, master’s degree from Southern Illinois University and her doctoral degree from the University of Iowa. Her doctoral work focused on mass communication, cultural studies, and communication theory, and she wrote her dissertation titled, "Between Rock and a Hard Place: Model of Subcultural Persistence."
Graduate Awards Ceremony
Our fifth annual Graduate Awards Ceremony was held on May 14, 2015 in the Research I building on Mason’s Fairfax Campus. Our featured speaker, Outstanding Graduate Alumnus of the Year, Lindsay Hughes, was unable to attend the event due to a commitment that took her to Frankfurt, Germany, but we were able to read a lovely tribute in her honor about the success she has had using her communication degree. While we ate our appetizers, our students were presented their awards. We also were able to celebrate the graduation of three doctoral students, Dr. Jordan Alpert, Dr. Mollie Canzona, and Dr. Wan Lin Chang. Seven of our students plan to defend their theses and graduate with their PhD’s in the summer 2015: Yuxiang Du, Christy Forrester, Allison Harper, Hyun Oh, Justin Rolfe-Redding, Neil Stenhouse, and Kristen Willett.
Our phenomenal graduate student award winners for the 2014-2015 semesters are:
| Outstanding Graduate Alumnus of the Year | Lindsay Hughes |
| Outstanding MA Student | Jackie Poapst |
| Outstanding PhD Student | Allison Harper |
| Graduate Teaching Award | Mollie Canzona |
| Commitment to the Graduate Program | Jordan Alpert |
Challenge Awards
| COMM Graduate Challenge | Matthew Basil (MA) |
| CHSS Dean's Challenge | Brenda MacArthur (PhD) |
| Wendy Balazik Communication and Social Change Award | Christy Forrester |
| Special Recognition in Science Communication Leadership | Neil Stenhouse |
| Graduate Faculty Recognition (presented by CGSA) | Carla L. Fisher |
A special thanks to Ryan and Dave from Mason Catering who helped us immensely before, during, and after our event. We appreciate your hard work, dedication, positive attitudes, and professional demeanor.