Tag: NSU Department of Communication Media and the Arts

Guest Lecture Series Highlights Rhetoric of Health, Wellness

Rachel Panton, Ph.D.

This fall, COMP 1500: College Writing hosted a guest lecture series highlighting the rhetoric of health and wellness. The series, facilitated by Assistant Professor of Writing, Rachel Panton, Ph.D., and the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts  in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences featured a variety of speakers and topics, such as the importance of science writing and communication, the rhetoric of public health during the pandemic, the rhetoric of women’s childbirth advocacy, and the rhetoric of mental health and social media.

“This lecture series was inspired by a desire to broaden student awareness to the centrality of rhetoric and writing in the sciences and humanities and to think across boundaries,” Panton said. “I wanted students to have a greater understanding of the interdisciplinarity and intersectionality of the rhetoric of health and wellness. Most importantly, I wanted them to feel as though they are contributors to these conversations, as well as agents of change.”

Featured speakers included:

Paola Espitia: NSU Marine Biology alumna, media producer, ocean communicator and speaker with the multimedia production studio Ola’Pi Creative

Patrice Leopold, Ph.D.: Assistant Professor for NSU’s Department of Counseling in the College of Psychology

Christi Navarro, Ph.D.: Assistant Professor of Public Health, Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine

Ravae Sinclair, former president DONA International: Doula Training and Doula Certification

Learn more about the Minor in Writing offered through the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts here.

Posted 12/12/21

‘Peace’ Musical Comes to Performance Theatre This Week

Join NSU’s ensembles and soloists for “Peace: A Musical Celebration,” a free concert celebrating the holidays hosted by NSU Music and the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences.

Date: Friday, Dec. 3
Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: Performance Theatre

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

Learn more about upcoming events and performances here.

Posted 11/30/21

Halmos Faculty Member Honored as Grammy Voting Member

Jessica Muñiz-Collado, M.F.A.

Jessica Muñiz-Collado, M.F.A., faculty in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Center, has been accepted as a Grammy voting member for the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (The Recording Academy). Muñiz-Collado joins the ranks of other voting members including Aerosmith, John Legend, Lil Nas X, Queen, BTS, and Beyonce. She indicated that she is humbled to receive this honorable recognition from such a prestigious music academy.

Muñiz-Collado is a published and commissioned composer. Her compositions have been reviewed by Percussive Arts Society: Percussive Notes Magazine and have been performed throughout the United States, Canada, Afghanistan and Argentina. Notable performers include members of the Diane Moser Big Band, legendary jazz tubist Howard Johnson, the Callithumpian Consort percussion trio, members of Bang On A Can and Asphalt Orchestra, the Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra (Alberta), and the Spokane New Music Ensemble.

In addition, she has worked as a media composer for large-scale media projects, including several Fortune 500 companies and a Super Bowl commercial. Muñiz-Collado composed music for MundoFox’s television series Los Golden Boys (produced by Oscar De La Hoya and Mario Lopez), award-winning COPILOT Music, Killer Tracks Production Music, Odyssey Earth Films, award-winning N.N. Media Productions, Open Door Film Productions, award-winning INC24 iMagination productions, and award-winning director Luis Argueta.

At NSU, she taught courses in composition, music production, and percussion. In addition, she directed the Mako Band, NSU Pep Band, and managed NSU Mako Records. Muñiz-Collado is the NSU’s faculty advisor for Grammy U, which is designed help the next generation of collegiate musicians get connected with music industry professionals.

Posted 11/17/21 

Halmos Alumnus Accepted Into NYU Theatre Writing Program

Nico Raimont

B.A. in Theatre alumnus Nico Raimont is one of 30 students recently accepted into the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program in the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Raimont, who graduated from the Halmos College’s Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts in 2021, will join composers, lyricists and book writers for the intimate and unique program that is the only one of its kind in the world emphasizing craft, the art of collaboration, rewriting, storytelling, and developing an original voice.

“He is a developing musical theatre composer bringing his experiences growing up in SoFlo to the Musical Theatre genre,” said Bill Adams, professor and program director for Music and Theatre in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts. “In New York, he will rub elbows with all kinds of artists and expand his voice in the birthplace of the American musical.”

During his time as a Theatre major, Music minor and Razor’s Edge Shark Talent Scholar, Raimont appeared in NSU Theatre productions such as “Little Shop of Horrors,” “DNA,” and “She Kills Monsters,” and he participated in “The Mayfly: A 24-Hour Theatre Project” as an actor, director and writer. He also co-hosted the Shark Talent Showcase twice.  These experiences helped prepare him for this next chapter, he said.

“The Theatre students are hungry for something new,” Raimont said. “Whether it be the Mayfly or fanfiction-turned-stage play, the Theatre department is a hub for people who aren’t afraid to be creative in new and imaginative ways. I found myself connecting to students and faculty who shared my point of view and wanted to explore theatre the same way I do.”

As a Theatre major, Raimont produced original works such as “Shadow Infenety: Volumes 1 & 2” and “Como Correr: A Hip-Pop Musical.” Since graduating, he has continued to create original music and content for stage and the screen, he said.

“The Theatre program at NSU helped me by giving me tons of opportunities to put myself out there, not only as a writer but as an actor and director as well,” he said.

Learn more about the B.A. in Theatre program.

Learn more about the B.A. in Music program.

Posted 10/31/21

Guest Artist Jefreid Lotti Holds Exhibition in Davie

Come and enjoy a guest artist exhibition at the Don Taft University Center on NSU’s Davie Campus in Gallery 217. This exhibition features observational paintings Jefreid Lotti created at the mechanic shop where he works, making reference to the shop being open during the pandemic lockdown when most places were closed.

The exhibition, which is a free and sponsored by the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, will run through November 12, 2021. Call 954-262-7620 to schedule an in-person gallery visit.

For more information, contact Associate Professor of Art + Design Kandy Lopez at klopez1@nova.edu.

Posted 10/21/21

Art + Design Majors Named ‘Students to Watch’ By Magazine

Vivian Duran

Sol Santecchia

Vivian Duran and Sol Santecchia, Art + Design majors in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, were recently named “Students to Watch in 2021” by Graphic Design USA (GDUSA) magazine.

“It is certainly an achievement for our students to gain this national recognition,” said Miriam Ahmed, Ph.D., assistant professor of graphic design for the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts. “GDUSA is a widely recognized publication in the industry, and having our students featured in the magazine demonstrates to the field that our NSU graphic design students are on par with students from top design schools across the country. As we promote and grow the Art + Design program, accolades earned by our outstanding students are indicators of the caliber of talent recruited into our program and their successful career trajectories.”

The magazine’s April 2021 issue also added Nova Southeastern University to GDUSA magazine’s compilation of “Highest Honors: Top Graphic Design Schools.”

“I am so proud of our outstanding Art + Design students and faculty,” said Shanti Bruce, Ph.D., professor and chair for the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts. “They have worked hard, and this is a well-deserved honor.”

Check out the magazine feature!

Learn more about the Graphic Design concentration offered through the B.A. in Art + Design program.

Halmos Faculty Examines Latin Music at Virtual Event Oct. 2

Jessica Muñiz-Collado, M.F.A., faculty in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts, in the Halmos College of Art and Sciences and the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center (HCAS), will be the featured virtual presenter on Saturday, October 2, 2021, from 2 to 3 p.m. for the Broward County Library. Muñiz-Collado’ s presentation, “Same Yet Different,” will explore the similarities and differences in Latin Music.

Jessica Muñiz-Collado

Muñiz-Collado has performed and recorded with numerous musicians and artists including Grammy-nominated saxophonist Steve Elson, jazz vibraphonist Arthur Lipner, Cookie “Conga” Lopez, Anders Astrand, Jean Geoffroy, Ney Rosauro, and trumpet all-star John Walsh. She has also performed throughout North and South America, toured with the FROST Percussion Sextet in Japan, and was a guest lecturer and performer at the international music conference LeRock & L’Amour held at the Universite Paul-Valery in Montpellier, France.

At NSU, she has taught courses in composition, music production, and percussion. In addition, she directed the Mako Band, NSU Pep Band, and managed NSU Mako Records.

Mock-Injury Workshop Connects Theatre, Healthcare

During the Winter 2021 semester, B.A. in Theatre Technical Director and Adjunct Faculty Member Alexandra “Calypso” Hernandez taught an interdisciplinary workshop for students in THEA 2500: Healthcare Theatre, offered through the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, that brought together elements of medicine, theatre and humanity. The workshop offered students the opportunity to learn the art of moulage – the use of makeup to create mock injuries such as bruises, scars, and other skin abrasions for use in the training of healthcare professionals.

“The moulage workshop is not only fun and interactive but it integrates arts and sciences helping the college accomplish its mission,” said Bill Adams, professor and program director for the music and theatre programs.

Moulage provides a realistic instructional environment for students studying to become standardized patients (SP) in healthcare simulations. Students in the workshop learned how to provide essential feedback to the healthcare student rather than needing to imagine the pathology being examined in the simulation. This innovative approach using applied theatre is foundational in current healthcare training methodologies. Student standardized patients develop empathy for the patients they portray, and healthcare students benefit from the analytical focus on critical thinking skills observable in simulations.

For more information about THEA 2500: Healthcare Theatre and other courses offered through the B.A. in Theatre program, click here.

NSU Undergraduates Take on Chocolate Bark Challenge

During the Winter 2021 semester, eight undergraduate students from the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and the H.Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship were selected to participate in a special topics communications course partnering with Hoffman’s Chocolates and the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation. The eight-week online course, offered through the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts, gave students the opportunity to work closely with leadership, chocolatiers, and marketing and design professionals from Hoffman’s Chocolates and the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation and develop a new chocolate bark product.

Now in its third year, the special topics course partnering with Hoffman’s Chocolates took on a new challenge by also partnering with the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation to design a new chocolate bark and marketing campaign focused on conservation of Florida’s coastal and Everglades ecosystems. Selected students represented a variety of majors — Art + Design, Communication, Marine Biology and Marketing — and worked in two teams to develop their chocolate bark products, packaging and marketing campaigns featuring paintings by Guy Harvey.

“I’m especially proud of this year’s cohort of dedicated, ambitious students,” said Miriam Ahmed, Ph.D., assistant professor of graphic design for the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts, who taught the course. “They weren’t afraid to push beyond their comfort zones, and they pursued avenues for achieving the tougher goal of centering sustainability within their communication strategies, marketing, and product packaging.”

An advantage of the course’s online format, Ahmed said, was that it allowed students the chance to collaborate remotely with team members from the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation who are located in the Cayman Islands.

On April 20, the student teams pitched their proposed flavor profiles to leadership and representatives from Hoffman’s Chocolates, the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, NSU and its Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts. During the final presentation, students showcased “Spiced Paradise” featuring a spiced-ginger rum and dark chocolate bark and “Citrus Coast” featuring a Key Lime Bay white chocolate bark. Both flavors were selected for upcoming production by Hoffman’s Chocolates.

The flavors will be paired with the 2020 Orange Blossom chocolate bark developed by students from last year’s special topics course. The product’s launch was postponed because of COVID-19, and the bark is now set to launch this summer along with this year’s winner.

“Hoffman’s and the GHOF were excellent partners, providing students with exciting interdisciplinary experiential learning opportunities,” said Shanti Bruce, Ph.D., chair and professor for the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts.

For more information about the special topics course and its “Battle of the Barks,” click here.

Halmos Faculty’s Book Prepares Future Professors

Writing faculty in the Halmos College of and Arts and Sciences are demystifying the professoriate and bringing to light the invisible, behind-the-scenes work done by new faculty with their new book “Stories of Becoming.”Authors Claire Lutkewitte, Ph.D., Juliette Kitchens, Ph.D., and Molly Scanlon, Ph.D., associate professors of writing for the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts, are providing graduate students — and those who train them — with specific strategies for preparing for a career in the professoriate using findings from a multiyear, nationwide study of new faculty in the field of rhetoric and composition.

“We wanted to provide future colleagues with a text offering the kinds of insight we had wanted as we transitioned into the profession — a text informed by the various, and often wildly diverse, experiences of those who had most recently gone through it,” Kitchens said. “What we found inspired us to recommend strategies that we hope future colleagues will find helpful.”

Through the use of stories, the authors also share their collaborative research processes of conducting a nationwide survey, qualitative interviews, and textual analysis of professional documents.

The book, published by Utah State University Press, will be released this fall.

Prepurchase a copy now!

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