Communication Alumni Hall of Fame

The Department of Communication will honor the new members of our  Communication Alumni Hall of Fame at our annual autumn Open House on October 20. We salute these alumni for their successful careers, their service to community and for their mentorship for students.   Nominees were evaluated by a committee of faculty and alumni; the new Hall of Famers are:

Donal Carbaugh, Ph.D. 1984, leading Communication scholar, author of books, book chapters and scholarly articles on culture and communication, cross-cultural communication,  and language and communication.   He has been a leader in linking culture to communication and in demonstrating that communication is the vehicle by which meanings are conveyed, identify is composed and reinforced and feelings are expressed.  Educator and mentor; distinguished faculty member in the Department of Communication at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Micki Flowers, B.A. 1973,  a recently retired KIRO TV reporter and anchor who has been involved with professional organizations  (including the Seattle Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists), community organizations (including Achievement Rewards for College Scientists as member and public relations chair, AIDS Housing of Washington as a board member and chair of fund-raising committee, Junior League of Seattle as a Sustaining Member),  and the University (as co-chair of the UW Graduate Diversity Fellows Dinner in 2004-5).  She has mentored many aspiring young journalists.

Patricia Foote, B.A., 1971, journalist, editor, educator.   Foote has worked as a reporter, arts and entertainment editor, news feature editor and is currently assistant managing editor/administration and suburban news in the Seattle Times newsroom. She oversees staffing, policies, compensation and other human-resource issues in the newsroom and has responsibility for the Times' suburban news bureaus on the Eastside and in Snohomish County.  She taught journalism at the University of Washington 1986-90, and has remained active in supporting the journalism program and its students.  She is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and a winner of the Times’ Publisher’s Circle Award in 1998.

Jean Godden, BA, 1973, award-winning journalist and columnist (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle Times), city council member. She has been active in many community organizations, including League of Women Voters,  Multiple Sclerosis Society, United Way Council of Planning Affiliates, Lake City Community Council, Lake City Elementary School Parent-Teachers Association,   46^th District Democrats, King County Women's Political Caucus and the Uppity Ladies Book Club & Literary Circle.

Edwin Guthman, B.A. 1944,  reporter and editor (Philadelphia Inquirer, Seattle Star, Seattle Times, and Los Angeles Times). He received the Pulitzer Prize in 1950 for National Reporting while at the Seattle Times for his series on the clearing of Communist charges against Professor Melvin Rader, who had been accused of attending a secret Communist school. He served as press secretary for Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.

Evelyn Keiko Iritani, B.A. 1978, reporter (Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Los Angeles Times), winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 2004 (with Abigail Goldman, Nancy Cleeland and Tyler Marshall) for a seven-part investigative series on Wal-Mart.

Tom Koenninger, B.A. 1953, retired editor of the Columbian (Vancouver) and an active volunteer in a wide variety of community endeavors (e.g., the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges as member and chair; Vancouver's Celebrate Freedom Committee, the Conservation Land Trust Advisory Board, the Vancouver National Historic Reserve Trust Board and Long Range Committee, the Clark College Alumni Association Board of Directors, the "Festival 150" Planning Committee, and the Lewis and Clark Commemorative Committee. )  He has long been a member of the department’s visiting committee.

Don Kraft, B.A. 1948, advertising executive, consultant and community activist.  He has served as Secretary-Treasurer of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, chairman of the AAAA Western Region and of its Puget Sound Council, international chairman of the Affiliated Advertising Agencies International and as a board member of the Advertising Association of the West and the Seattle Advertising Federation.   His achievements include:  President of the Rotary Club of Seattle, President of the University of Washington Alumni Association (receiving its Distinguished Service Award); Chairman of the UW Tyee Board of Advisors and of the UW Development Fund Board; Prime Minister of the Seattle Seafair; The fiftieth King Neptune in 1999; Campaign chair of United Way of King County in 1994.

David Marriott, B.A. 1967, prominent public relations practitioner, mentor to students.  He specializes in crisis management, crisis communication, labor communications, litigation support and media training. Marriott is a 30-year public relations professional, nationally accredited by the Public Relations Society of America, and a member of its Counselors Academy. His career spans broadcast journalism, politics, corporate and agency public relations. He currently serves as a member and past president of the Centrum Foundation board, a member and past chair of the Seattle Center Advisory Commission and a member and marketing committee Chair of the Seattle Repertory Theatre board of trustees. He has also held board positions with Earshot Jazz Society, University of Washington School of Music Visiting Committee and the Seattle King County chapter of the American Red Cross.

Neil McReynolds, BA, 1956, journalist, editor, gubernatorial aide, prominent business executive, consultant, board leader.  His service to the community includes work for: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle-King County Economic Development Council, Bellevue Community College, Leadership Tomorrow, Seattle Center Foundation and the Washington State Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, Downtown Seattle Rotary Club and The Rainier Club.  Other service includes: Eastern Washington University board of trustees,  Chair of the Eastside Business Roundtable in Bellevue,  Co-Chair of Group Health Community Foundation's Annual Gala and a Board Member of United Way of King County, Horizon House and the Museum of History & Industry.

Lori Lei Matsukawa, M.A. 1996, award-winning journalist and anchor (KING 5 News, KONG TV).   Matsukawa’s professional awards include ARBY Awards in 1987, 1989, 1992, 1996 and 2000, given by the Academy of Religious Broadcasting; a Society of Professional Journalists award for Economic Reporting in 1989 and the "American Scene Award," from the local chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 1986. Matsukawa co-chairs a committee seeking to build a Japanese cultural and community center in Seattle. She also served on the Association Board of the YMCA of Greater Seattle. In 1999, she organized the Student Broadcast Project for UNITY, a multi-cultural journalism convention held in Seattle. She was chosen as an Asian-American Living Pioneer by the Northwest Asian Weekly Foundation in 1996. In 1993, she was given the Community Volunteer Award from the Asian Counseling and Referral Service, where she served as a board member and board president. She is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA). Matsukawa is a founding member of AAJA's Seattle Chapter. 

Other Alumni  News

The Women’s University Club honored Communication alumna Assunta Ng (publisher of the Northwest Asian Weekly and the Chinese Post) on May 12 as part of a program celebrating “the stars among us.”  The annual Brava Dinner and Celebration also honored Dr. Linda Buck, Nobel Laureate in Physiology/Medicine, and Colleen Willoughby, President & Founder of Washington Women’s Foundation.  Representing the Department at the event were Jan Ames (chair of our Visiting Committee), Jerry Baldasty, David Domke and undergraduate EmilyRose Johns.

Bryan Monroe, a 1987 graduate of the Department, visited campus on April 28 and spoke in three Communication courses: a course on graphics/design taught by Karen Rathe; beginning reporting taught by Mike Henderson; and a political communication course taught by Lance Bennett.  Monroe also visited with Ernest Morris (VP of Student Affairs) who had been a mentor for him, with Daily publisher Oren Campbell, and Seattle Times editors Mike Fancher ('86, Business) and David Boardman ('83, Communication).

“Back to the Future”

On April 22, the Department sponsored a “Back to the Future” alumni event; more than 150 alumni and friends came back to campus that evening.  Faculty and alumni joined in short “speed lectures” on current issues in communication.  Nancy Rivenburgh joined alumna Evelyn Iritani , a  Pulitzer Prize winning reporter at the Los Angeles Times, to talk about media and foreign affairs.  Kirsten Foot and alumnus Peter Callaghan (political writer/reporter for the News Tribune) discussed politics and the Internet.  Crispin Thurlow and alumnus Lucas Welch spoke on communication technology.

Thanks to all of those who contributed to the event – including volunteers Sue Lockett John, Dylan King, Jennifer Perry, Kate Dunsmore, EmilyRose Johns, Jennifer Beth Yee, and Autumn Parramore.   At a reunion of Daily staff members,  retiring publisher Oren Campbell was honored for more than 50 years in journalism.  Organizers of that event included several Communication alumni and friends: John Keister, Amanda Castleman, Gregg Herrington, Dean Paton and Kathleen Miller.

Special thanks to our alumni/friends organizing committee:  Suki Dardarian,  Stuart Elway, Jan Ames, Megan Coppersmith, Pat Foote, Becki Snellenberg, Kathleen Miller and Carol Vu.

The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma held a one day conference on April 15 to explore lessons learned for journalists in the aftermath of the South Asian tsunami, and identify the next steps in covering the social, political and economic fallout of the disaster. 

Panelists at “Tsunami Aftermath: Consequences for Journalism and the Region.” included an array of US and international journalists and experts, including: Barry Petersen, CBS News Tokyo Bureau Chief; Brian Rooney, ABC News Correspondent; Kamina Lyall, Southeast Asia correspondent, the Australian; Jacqueline Koch, freelance photographer; Spencer Platt, Getty Images photographer; Hal Burton, Seattle Times reporter; Betty Udesen, Seattle Times photographer; Timothy Walsh, chief Washington State geologist; Bryan Atwater, U.S. Geological Survey; Robert Freitag, Director, UW Institute for Hazard Mitigation and Research, and Executive Director, Cascadia Regional Earthquake Work Group; Tom Paulson, Seattle Post-Intelligencer; Susan Moeller, University of Maryland; Chris Cramer, managing director, CNN International; Sarah Ward-Lilley, managing editor, news, BBC; Nurdin Hasan, political editor, Serambi Daily, Indonesia; Jane Preuss, specialist in coastal planning, and Jim Simon, Seattle Times.

CNN anchor Aaron Brown was keynote speaker. The Dart Center also awarded the annual $10,000 Dart Award for Excellence in Reporting on Victims of Violence, this year won by the Detroit Free Press for the  series "Homicide in Detroit: Echoes of Violence." Honorable mentions were presented to the Orange County Register and Rocky Mountain News. 

Mavin Foundation Generation MIX National Awareness Tour

The Department of Communication helped to sponsor the MAVIN Foundation’s Generation MIX National Awareness Tour, which started April 4 at UW.  Between April 4 and May 10, five multiracial young people traveled across the United States in a 26-foot RV, to raise awareness of the nation’s mixed race baby boom. During their five weeks on the road, they worked with local organizations to organize events in 15 cities in 13 states and the District of Columbia to promote a national dialogue about the multiracial experience and the changing face of diversity. They will also be creating a documentary film about their experiences.

The MAVIN Foundation creates innovative projects that celebrate and advocate for mixed race people and families to create a cohesive, multicultural society.

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Farewell Receptions

Several faculty who have been good friends of the Department of Communication will be leaving for other universities this year.  Please thank them for their wonderful support to the Department – send email or attend a farewell reception.

• The farewell reception for George Bridges, Dean of Undergraduate Education, will be on Thursday, June 2, in the Mary Gates Commons, from 3 to 5 p.m. (with the program starting at 3:30 p.m.) George will become the President of Whitman College.
• The farewell reception for Michael Halleran, Divisional Dean for Arts and Humanities in the College of Arts and Sciences, will also be on  June 2, 4-6 p.m., in the UW Club. He will become the Dean of Arts and Sciences at the University of Miami.
• The farewell reception for Gail Dubrow, Associate Dean of the Graduate School, will be Tuesday, May 31, 3-5 p.m. in HUB 200 A-C.  She will become Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Minnesota.

Other administrative personnel news

Judy Howard, chair of the Department of Women  Studies and professor of Women Studies and Sociology, will become the Arts and Sciences Divisional Dean for Social Science August 1. 

Bob Stacey, our current divisional dean, will return to full-time teaching and research in the Department of History.

Nancy Rivenburgh has agreed to serve as associate chair of the Department of Communication for 2005-6.

The Crowell Fund Run

Thanks to all who helped to make the annual Laura Crowell Fund Run a great success.  We set a record by raising more than $4,600 for the Crowell graduate student travel fund.

Many deserve praise for the event. First, we thank the Crowell team for organizing the event:  Cristina Brendicke, Dylan King, Dana Love, Stephany Rochan, April Peterson (graduate student representative), and Sarah Lippman (intern for winter quarter).   Thanks, too, to others who did so much – including volunteers Kit Kollmeyer and Maria King and staff Kim Hall.

Faculty, staff and students served as sponsors for many of the runners – and this was a significant source of revenue.  Sponsors included: Kate Dunsmore, Meredith Bagley, Jurg Koch, Crispin Thurlow, Patricia Moy, Anna Fahey, Al John, David Domke, Kristi De Vadder, Kathy Hall, Nancy Von Leuven,  Richard Kielbowicz, Patty Fortine, Danielle Endres, John Gastil, Nancy Rivenburgh, Phil Howard, Matt McGarrity, Lisa Coutu, Barbara Warnick, Leah Ceccarelli, Lisa Coutu, Jerry Baldasty, Kathy Gill, Mike Henderson, Valerie Manusov, Carla Rickerson, David Sherman, Victoria Sprang and Betty Winfield.

Thanks to those who participated on May 14, by running or walking around Green Lake:  Sarah Morgan, Hannah Peragine, Virginia Pelligrino, Clifford Tatum, John Gastil, Joanne King, Jody Nyquist, Kim Cline, Leah Sprain, Barry Hyman, Laura Black. Carol Jones, Dru Williams, Cara Larson,  Avery Alix, Whitney Anspach, Jerry Baldasty, Leah Ceccarelli, Kristi De Vadder, Tony Docan, Endres, Danielle, Alison Fujimoto, Maria Garrido, Irina Gendelman, Lyn Goeringer, Kathy Hall, Sue Lockett John, Edit Manosevitch, Tema Milstein, Katherine Oleson, Linda Peragine, April Peterson, Karen Rathe, Nancy Riverburgh, Michael Schamens, Victoria Sprang, Crispin Thurlow, Barbara Warnick and  Betty Winfield.

Thanks to others who supported the Run by registering, even though they could not attend: Diane Beall, Verena Hess, Taso Lagos and Carla Rickerson.

Some of the participants belonged to teams --- the cleverly named “Critical Communication Cronies for Crowell” (Danielle Endres, Whitney Anspach and Dru Williams) and the equally creative “Walkers for Wales” (Crispin Thurlow, Kristi de Vadder, Giorgia Aiello, Irinia Gendelman and Tema Milstein).

There were several awards, including one for the team that had raised the most pledges (Critical Communication Cronies for Crowell, raising  $885).  Awards for individuals were: first place, Dru Williams (raising $690); second place, Kristi de Vadder ($350) and third place, Sue John ($190).

Very special thanks go to Victoria Sprang, who worked closely with the team, staff and volunteers to produce the most successful Crowell Fund Run.

Visit the web site on the Crowell Run

Department Committee Assignments for 2005-2006

The committees are generally unchanged from 2004-5 – to provide continuity and cut down start-up time. Assignments are being announced this spring to allow committee chairs and members to develop agendas for next autumn.  We will not have a full faculty retreat in September, but we will have committee meetings beginning September 21 (we go back on the payroll September 16).

Graduate Committee:             

Moy, GPC and chair, autumn.   Gastil, GPC and chair, winter and spring.  Members: Ceccarelli, Thurlow, Underwood, Chan.  The Graduate Committee has the task of dealing with all aspects of graduate issues and policy except those given to the Professional Development Committee. Duties include: graduate admissions, quarterly review of graduate students, graduate curriculum review, general grad program policies, policy on seminars (scheduling, staffing).     Staff: Fortine.

Undergraduate Committee: 

Warnick,  UPC and chair;  members: Coutu, Kaplan, Fearn Banks, Giffard. 

This committee deals with all undergraduate issues, including but not limited to: admissions, curriculum review, work with advisers on course scheduling, student orientation, scholarships, graduation celebration.     Staff: Sherman.

Professional Development Committee

Ceccarelli, chair;  members: Underwood, Foot, Moy (autumn), Gastil (winter and spring). Duties include planning and overseeing TA/RA orientation, conducting on-going TA training, assignment and evaluation of graduate student assistants (TAs, RAs, Instructors of Record), on-going professional development (e.g., brownbag sessions) for all graduate students.         

Staff: Fortine.

Faculty Development/Colloquium

Manusov, chair; members:  Kielbowicz, Peters,  McGarrity, Gill,  Silver, Philipsen, Joseph.. This committee deals primarily with faculty careers. Its work includes tenure and promotion, general workplace environment, mentoring, departmental colloquia, publicizing faculty research and other activity, faculty recognition.

Journalism                             

Domke, head of journalism sequence and chair; members: Henderson, Kaplan, Baldasty, Rathe. Coordination of journalism sequence, course scheduling, journalism faculty meetings, outreach to media professionals, recruitment, curriculum review (in coordination with Undergraduate Committee).

Technology

Rivenburgh, chair; members:  Foot, Lau, Howard, Parks. This committee’s task is to develop faculty policy on technology.  Staff: Ford, Pelc.

Development and Alumni Outreach

Baldasty (chair); members: Philipsen, Domke, Bennett, Simpson, Henderson, Rathe, Neff.

Outside communities: coordination of alumni/development events; oversight of key development events (e.g., Crowell); alumni outreach, marketing, visiting committee, development.  Staff: Sprang

Simpson Receives Bosch Award

The Western Washington Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists has honored Roger Simpson with the Susan Hutchison Bosch Award.  The Bosch Award was created to honor the former Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter who died at a young age of lymph cancer. In the resolution establishing the award, the chapter noted that Ms. Bosch  “personified intellectual honesty, deep understanding of people and their problems,  abiding fairness, grace, perseverance and quiet courage," and the award recognizes recipients whose work reflects those qualities.” 

Congratulations to Roger for this honor.

Film 48

On April 20, Film 48 featured short films made by and about our UW graduate students and faculty. The audience, from Communication, Geography, Anthropology and the Information School, munched on pizza and saw Marwa Maziad’s film Conversation 1: American Perceptions of the War on Iraq, Jonathan Tomhave’s film Half of Anything, a film about the notion of Indian identity, and a documentary about The September Project Mural organized by UW   graduate students and faculty.

The Film 48 series began in 2002. At least once a quarter, students, faculty and staff get together, eat food, watch a movie and talk. The goal of the series is to create an informal opportunity for inspiration, insight and socializing. It is a way to strengthen our academic community, share our work with one another, discuss ideas and build new collaborations.  The series is organized by Irina Gendelman, sponsored by the Laura Crowell Fund and the viewing lounge is provided by The Simpson Center. For more information visit the Film 48 website .

Visual Studies

The first Visual Studies meeting will take place in the Simpson Center’s lounge on Wednesday, June 8, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. This is an informal event for graduate students who are pursuing or intend to pursue research in areas such as visual communication, visual culture and visual ethnography. Students from Anthropology, Communication, English, Geography and Visual Communication & Design will attend this meeting to exchange ideas and information about their research.

The Visual Studies research group is for anybody who is interested in scholarly research about visual culture and visual communication, theoretical and applied work in visual arts, film and design, and fieldwork through visual data collection methods. However, this group also focuses on the development of creative ideas (e.g. innovative ideas in the area of teaching and learning) as well as on collaborating with local artists, activists and organizations working in the area of visuality (e.g by showing locally produced creative and community work).

Starting in the Fall, Visual Studies will feature round-table discussions with UW faculty and graduate student speakers, teaching workshops, brown bag meetings and other fun events!

For questions and to RSVP for the meeting on June 8, contact the organizer Giorgia Aiello (giorgia@u.washington.edu)

Archiving Seattle

In Autumn 2004, graduate students Irina Gendelman and Tom Dobrowolsky (from the Information School) began developing research methods and pedagogical tools for the study of public space. This spring, Giorgia Aiello joined the project. Her expertise in visual communication has been the perfect addition to the team and thanks to Paul Ford, “Archiving Seattle” has a new website (www.urbanarchives.org).

This is an ongoing effort to collect research data and artifacts (images, objects, text, sounds, video clips) in the city of Seattle. By the end of spring quarter, the University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections will host “Urban Archives”, a collection of the artifacts gathered in the course of this project. These will become part of the permanent library collection, available to all scholars and citizens for further use, research and analysis.

The main goal of the project is to develop systematic methodology and to build on existing theory in order to contribute to the current cross-disciplinary conversations about public space. Another important goal is to develop a pedagogical curriculum that will give undergraduate students an opportunity to apply theory and methods through fieldwork, turning their city into a laboratory for the study of urban communication. Students participate in collaborative and experiential learning. They also engage in public scholarship within their community.

Irina, Tom and Giorgia are currently mentoring and working with undergraduate students as research partners and collaborators. Below are some examples of texts that have been collected and analyzed as part of “Archiving Seattle”:

The “Urban Archives” contain images, objects, interviews, video clips and primary documents collected in Seattle’s public spaces. Additionally, “Archiving Seattle” consists of original scholarly analysis of these various texts. By studying public spaces and their narratives, the project explores the city through and beyond its vibrant tapestry of signs and interwoven stories. Select examples of undergraduate and graduate student research work can be found in the “Projects” section of the website.