Beam accepts position at Washington State U.

Congratulations to Michael Beam on accepting a position as an Assistant Professor in Digital media in the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University. Michael has been actively involved in COPS for several years, and we will miss him, but he is joining a fine faculty where I'm sure he will do great things.

Geidner heading to University of Tennessee

Please join me in congratulating Nick Geidner on accepting a tenure-track assistant professor position within the School of Journalism & Electronic Media at the University of Tennessee. Nick has been a member of COPS since joining the OSU PhD program in 2007. Nick and his wife, Shelby, will be heading down to Knoxville this summer after Nick wraps up the last stages of his doctoral program. He will be missed within our School of Communication, but we are very pleased that he will begin the next stage of his career in a fine program. With this being stated, we hold some reservations about his becoming affiliated with the SEC, especially given Ohio State's recent track record in football when coming up against opponents from that conference. Nick, we hold out much hope that you will remain true to the scarlet & gray within the sea of orange you are about to become enveloped within. Congrats on accepting the UT position! It is a fitting end to what has been a most exciting year.

Other News re: our Recent Graduates: Lindsay Hoffman

Last night on CNN U.S. Senate candidates Coons and O'Donnell (the latter in the national news spotlight in recent weeks) debated each other in an event hosted in part by the University of Delaware Center for Political Communication. Aside from being my BA/MA alma mater, I was happy to see this because my former PhD advisee, Lindsay Hoffman, is now a faculty member at the University of Delaware and is involved in the Center as Coordinator of Research in Politics and Technology. We're all very proud of what Lindsay has accomplished since leaving COPS, and I wanted to give her a shout out!

Terrific Blog Post

I have to share this terrific blog post from former COP (and current U of Wyoming Cowboy) Kristen Landreville. It's a great -- and honest -- portrait of what it's like going through a PhD program like ours. http://klandreville.wordpress.com/2010/10/13/whoot-whoot/

Myiah Hutchens Wins "Promising Professors" Competition

Please join me in congratulating COPS' own Myiah Hutchens for winning the Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication's Mass Communication & Society division's "Promising Professors" competition. She will receive her Promising Professor award at this August's annual meeting. Myiah will take her new title with her as she begins her assistant professor position at Texas Tech in late August. Congrats Myiah!

Myiah Hutchens Accepts Faculty Position at Texas Tech

Congratulations to COPS member Myiah Hutchens, who just yesterday decided to accept an assistant professor position at Texas Tech University! This is a terrific position at a doctoral-granting institution that has really been "on-the-move" in recent years and making very solid hires. Way to go Myiah!

Recent COPS Alumnus Heather LaMarre Inaugural AEJMC Scholar

Congratulations to Heather LaMarre (Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota; PhD, OSU, 2009) for being among the inaugural recipients of the AEJMC Scholars Program. LaMarre's project, "Citizen Journalism and Social Media in the 2010 Election: A Multi-Method Approach to Understanding Emerging Trends and Innovations in Mass Communication Campaigns" has been funded with $2500 through the program.

Congratulations to COPS Alum Fei "Chris" Shen

After defending his dissertation proposal about this time last year, Chris Shen submitted a revised theory paper based upon it to Communication Theory. After some revisions, the manuscript was accepted and is now published. Congratulations, Chris! The manuscript is:

Shen, F. (2009). An economic theory of political communication effects: How the economy conditions political learning. Communication Theory, 19(4).

Recent COPS Graduates Publish Lead Article in JOBEM

Recent OSU Ph.D. graduates and COPS members Lindsay Hoffman and Tiffany Thomson have the lead article in the current issue of Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. Their article, based on data gathered as part of the Kids Voting Central Ohio research project, is titled "The Effect of Television Viewing on Adolescents' Civic Participation: Political Efficacy as a Mediating Mechanism."

LaMarre Accepts University of Minnesota Position

Heather LaMarre, OSU School of Communication doctoral candidate and long-time COPS member, has accepted a tenure-track assistant professor position in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota. The position will begin on August 1, 2009 and Heather will be missed when she and her family make their way to the Twin Cities. However, there is much friendship and scholarship to share between now and then. Congrats, Heather!