DCMA Faculty and Students Present at SWCA Conference

This year, writing faculty and students in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts (DCMA) had the pleasure of delivering multiple presentations at the Southeastern Writing Center Association (SWCA) conference in Memphis, TN From February 9-11.

The SWCA Conference is an annual event held to advance literacy and further the theoretical, practical, and political concerns of writing center professionals. The conference also serves as a forum for writing concerns among students, faculty, staff, and writing professionals from both academic and nonacademic communities in the southeastern United States.

Janine Morris, Ph.D., an Associate Professor of Writing in DCMA said, “After a 3-year hiatus, it was great to be back in person at the conference again. Our students did a great job representing NSU and talking about the work taking place at the NSU Writing and Communication Center.”

Posted 03/12/23

Art + Design Alum Featured at Visual Arts Festival

Art + Design alumna, Annie Nugget, painted a mural live during the first-ever Avenue of the Arts Festival (AOTA) in Fort Lauderdale.

“It was the first opportunity I had to collaborate with another artist (its_tryphonas) and be involved in a community mural fest. Connecting with other artists and walks of life through the event was insightful and reassuring in my own journey beyond my brush against the wall in my part of the event,” Nugget said.

Born and raised in the U.S., Nugget shared her experience as a first-generation Vietnamese American through multidisciplinary art. Her work is best described as the inspiration of contrasting concepts combining subjects and materials to convey a new vision of reinterpreted thoughts.

Learn more about NSU’s B.A. in Art + Design here.

Posted 03/12/23

Students Design Campaign for Ice Cream Business

Communication students in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts had a “sweet” semester collaborating with Sweet Aloha Ice Cream in Davie, Florida. The B.A. in Communication course, COMM 4300: Social Media Theory and Practice, is offered every other winter semester and provides students hands-on experience designing a social media campaign for a client. The course previously partnered with NSU’s Guy Harvey Research Institute.

“I am so proud of the professionalism and creativity that the 25 students in this course demonstrated while working with Sweet Aloha Ice Cream to deliver a strategic and successful social media campaign,” said Associate Professor of Communication Whitney Lehmann, Ph.D., APR, who teaches the course. “Sweet Aloha Ice Cream was such a fun client and community partner to work with and we enjoyed learning about its ‘Aloha’ organizational culture.”

Students worked with Sweet Aloha’s owner, Jimmy Anderson, to complete a social media audit, propose campaign objectives and complete deliverables, which included a social media channel strategy, a manual, a blog, a media relations toolbox, social media branding, professional imagery, audience-driven content, marketing materials and SWAG, and more.

The students presented the deliverables during a final showcase on Monday, Feb. 20, in the Teaching and Learning Studio in the Writing and Communication Center.

“My thanks to Jimmy and Sweet Aloha Ice Cream for providing this outstanding experiential learning opportunity for our communication students,” said Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts Shanti Bruce, Ph.D., “I was so impressed with the students’ presentations and creative efforts.”

For more information about DCMA’s community partners, click here.

Posted 03/12/23

Educators Publish Article in Southern Discourse in the Center

Nikki Chasteen, M.A., NSU Writing & Communication Center (WCC) Assistant Director; Kevin Dvorak, Ph.D. NSU WCC Executive Director; and Kelly Concannon, Ph.D., Eric Mason, Ph.D., and Janine Morris, Ph.D, NSU WCC Faculty Coordinators, published “From Crisis to Habit: Re-Shaping Academic Conferences for Remote Communities” in the Fall 2022 issue of Southern Discourse in the Center. Dvorak, Concannon, Mason, and Morris are all faculty members in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts (DCMA) in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences (HCAS). Chasteen is an alumna of the DCMA Composition, Rhetoric, and Digital Media master’s program.

“From Crisis to Habit” focuses on lessons learned while hosting the virtual 2022 Southeastern Writing Center Association (SWCA) conference, February 2022. Chasteen et al. co-hosted the conference, with support from DCMA and the SWCA board. Of the experience, Chasteen et al. reflect, “Almost two years into the pandemic, and with all of this uncertainty in mind, we wondered what we could do to engage conference participants in needed conversations, how we could understand this period as an opportunity to maximize our most productive habits, and what lessons we had learned in the process” (11). The article provides advice for educators interested in hosting remote conferences.

To access “From Crisis to Habit: Re-Shaping Academic Conferences for Remote Communities,” click here.

To learn more about the WCC, visit www.nova.edu/wcc

Posted 03/12/23

DCMA Hosts Masterclass with Broadway Artist Jake Swain

On March 13, 2023, the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts will host Broadway artist Jake Swain for a masterclass. Jake will teach a dance combination from the stage musical Mean Girls and tell participants about the Open Jar Summer Institute. There will be a Q&A session after the class. Come prepared to move!

  • Date: Monday, March 13, 2023
  • Time: 1-3 p.m.
  • Location: Don Taft University Center, Performance Theatre
  • Free event
  • Open to the public

For more information, contact Bill J. Adams at wadams@nova.edu

Posted 03/08/23

‘Women Who Tell Our Stories’ Panel, March 21

NSU’s Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts, the NSU Alvin Sherman Library and the Broward County Libraries Division present an interactive panel session with the women of NSU Student Media to celebrate Women’s History Month in March.

Moderated by Director of Student Media, Chris Delboni, the panel event will highlight three female students who hold leadership positions in Student Media, including: Alex Hernández, the station manager for Mako Radio, NSU’s student-run radio station; Paulina Riojas, the general manager and executive producer for Mako TV, NSU’s student-run television station; and Nicole Shaker, editor and former editor-in-chief for The Current, NSU’s student-run newspaper.

  • Date: Tuesday, March 21, 2023
  • Time: 5 p.m.
  • Location: Cotilla Gallery, 2nd floor, Alvin Sherman Library
  • Free event
  • Open to the public
  • Register for the event here: https://nova.libcal.com/event/10418501

For more information, contact Jim Hutchens at jamesh@nova.edu

Posted 03/08/23

Art + Design Professor Delivers Guest Lecture

Science and art came together for students who participated in a guest lecture led by Art + Design Professor Kandy Lopez-Moreno of the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts.

The guest lecture sought to teach environmental science students in Professor Paul Balduaf’s ENVS 3000 course basic concepts and techniques for freehand field sketching. The 2-hour and 24-minute-long lab session instructed students in sketching fossils, plants, and landscapes to a specific scale. Through this experience, environmental science students developed the basic sketching skills and techniques needed to capture important visual data.

“Dr. Baldauf and I have been working together for a few years now to try to connect science and art majors. Most of our students have either majors or minors in both programs and it’s important to showcase some of the similarities between these disciplines,” said Professor Lopez-Moreno.

The collaboration, supported by the Interdisciplinary Research and Teaching Initiatives Committee (IRTIC), helps foster student and faculty engagement across disciplinary boundaries.

Posted 03/05/23

Students Gain Experience as Social Media Strategists

M.A. in Composition, Rhetoric, and Digital Media students in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts had the chance to put on their social strategist hats when their class partnered with Symphony of the Americas as part of a class collaboration during the Summer 2022 semester. The graduate course, WRIT 5250: Social Media Writing and Strategy, is offered every other summer and offers students hands-on experience designing a social media campaign for a client.

“It was exciting seeing our students in action as social media professionals for a Broward County Major Cultural Institution that has served the South Florida community for 35 seasons,” said Associate Professor of Communication Whitney Lehmann, Ph.D., APR, who teaches the course. “We are so grateful for the opportunity to work with and learn from the Symphony of the Americas team.”

Students worked with the organization’s executive director, Steven Haines, and community development manager, Erin Fontes, to complete a social media audit, propose campaign objectives and complete deliverables, which included a social media manual, a newsletter, a content calendar, social media branding, audience-driven content, social media analytics and more.

In addition to the class collaboration, one CRDM student, Kaitlyn was also selected for a social media internship with the organization for the 2022-2023 academic year.

“It was an honor to work with Symphony of the Americas,” said Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts Shanti Bruce, Ph.D., “this was an outstanding professional experience for our graduate students.”

For more information about DCMA’s community partners, click here.

Posted 03/05/23

Annual Juried Student Art Exhibit Reception is March 22

NSU Art + Design in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts presents the 14th Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition opening reception on March 22, 2023 in Gallery 217 of the Don Taft University Center located on NSU’s Davie Campus. Juried by the NSU Art Museum’s Bryant-Taylor Curator, Ariella Wolens, the exhibit showcases original studio art and graphic design media by current NSU students. Students selected to be a part of the exhibit are eligible to win cash prizes for their exceptional contributions.

Gallery 217 is open Monday through Friday from 10:00AM-4:00PM and is free and open the public. The exhibit will continue through April 19.

  • Date: Wednesday, March 22
  • Time: 5:00 p.m.
  • Location: Don Taft University Center, Gallery 217
  • Free event
  • Open to the public

For more information, contact Professor Kandy Lopez-Moreno at klopez1@nova.edu.

Follow NSU Art + Design on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok @nsuartdesign and Gallery 217 on Facebook and Instagram @gallery_217.

WCC Director and HCAS Faculty Co-Author Book Chapter

Kevin Dvorak, Ph.D., and Mario D’Agostino, Ph.D., co-authored “Afterword: Reflecting on Post-COVID Experiential Education and Learning” in Diverse Pedagogical Approaches to Experiential Learning, Volume II: Multidisciplinary Case Studies, Reflections, and Strategies (edited by Karen Lovett). Dvorak is the Executive Director of the NSU Writing and Communication Center (WCC) and a professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts (DCMA) in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences. D’Agostino is an assistant professor of writing in DCMA.

“Reflecting on Post-COVID Experiential Teaching and Learning” uses the authors’ experiences in the WCC and DCMA classes to explore how teaching practices changed during the pandemic and apply lessons learned to future teaching contexts.

According to Dvorak and D’Agostino (2022), “[n]ow, a year into the pandemic, with an eye on returning to some sense of normalcy, we offer ideas for the future of [experiential learning], based largely on adjustments colleagues have made to their programs and how the global workforce has rapidly evolved in response to the coronavirus.”

You can access Diverse Pedagogical Approaches to Experiential Learning, Volume II, published by Springer, here.

To learn more about the WCC, visit https://www.nova.edu/wcc/

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