New Hires

The department will welcome three new colleagues in Fall 2009:

• Janis Page, currently an assistant professor at the University of Florida, in Public Relations and Rhetorical Advocacy
• Torsten Reimer, currently an assistant professor at the University of Maryland, in Organizational Communication
• Xiumei Zhu, who is completing her Ph.D. in organizational behavior at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, in Organizational Communication

Fast Track on YouTube Fast Track and Fast Track te Informa, the department's student-produced news magazine shows, now have a YouTube channel! Alumni and friends are welcome to subscribe to get notifications when new episodes are added. Fast Track te Informa, the Spanish language TV newsmagazine created this year through the efforts of faculty and students from the Communication and Spanish departments in conjunction with  members of the Lafayette Hispanic community, continues to grow. In addition to different disciplines, the program has native speakers involved from Argentina, Dominica, Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Panama, and Brazil.

Department visitors

The department welcomed numerous visitors and visiting scholars this semester. Many were part of the "First Wednesday" series that highlights colleagues' research on the first Wednesday of each month. Among the visitors this semester:

• Will Miller, formerly of Nick at Nite, psychotherapist, monthly contributor to the "Bob and Tom Show" presented on "Communication, community and technology."
• Michael S. Kochin, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Tel Aviv University, presented "The Superhero Next Door: Democratic Leadership and the Duality of Character."
• Linn Van Dyne, Professor in the Eli Broad College of Business, Michigan State University, discussed her co-edited Handbook of Cultural Intelligence.
• Brad Dancer, B.A., 1995, Communication, Senior Vice President for Research and Digital Media, National Geographic Channel, had coffee and conversation with students and faculty.
• Carl Barnowski, B.A., 1993, Communication, Owner/President, Infinity Capital Management, had coffee and conversation with students and faculty.

Visiting scholars in our department this semester:

• Hua Zhou, Harbin Institute of Technology (China)
• Rong Fu, Communication University of China
• Yali Yang, Northwest China Agricultural University - Harbin
• Arthur Liu, Communication University of China
• Cheongyi Park, Inha University - Korea
• Bhunnisa Wisassinthu, Khon Kaen University - Thailand