Long-time Kennedy aide headlines 22nd Communication Week

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
University News Service
February 16, 2010

Melody Miller, former special aide to Jackie Kennedy, New York Senator Robert Kennedy and Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, along with Bob Mann, Texas State faculty member and former press secretary to Senator Ted Kennedy, will open the Department of Communication Studies at Texas State University-San Marcos 22nd annual Communication Week on Feb. 22.

This special spotlight event will focus on the Kennedy communication legacy and will occur at 11 a.m. in the Centennial Hall Teaching Theatre. Communication Week runs Feb. 22-26 and includes 18 lectures, workshops and presentations that are free and open to the public.

“We are very excited to have Melody Miller speak to our students. Her personal knowledge of the Kennedy family as well as her wealth of experience as a communicator, speech writer and Kennedy spokesperson will make political communication come alive for our students” said Steven Beebe, chair of the Department of Communication Studies at Texas State. “This outstanding program, along with all of the Communication Week events, gives our students and the community an opportunity to focus on the power and importance of human communication in our lives.”

Another spotlight event features Peter Bay, artistic director and conductor of the Austin Symphony Orchestra along with two distinguished music professors, Ian Davidson and Gordon Jones, discussing the topic “Communicating Stories without Words: Music As Narrative,” also Feb. 22 at 3:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall in the Music Building.

Author and distinguished educator, Charles Stewart, professor emeritus of communication, Purdue University, will present the Thursday, Feb. 26 convocation address, “Communication, Ethics and the Career Search” at 3:30 p.m. in Centennial Hall room GO1. The outstanding communication studies alumni award will be presented at the convocation to Erik Timmerman, a well-known scholar and educator who teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Timmerman will present a lecture “Communication and Technology for the 21st Century” earlier in the day at 2 p.m. in Centennial Hall room 103.

Also featured on this year’s Communication Week is Joel Heck, professor and author of the book Irrigating Desserts, C. S. Lewis on Education, who will present a lecture “The Making of A Rhetorician: The Education of C. S. Lewis” at 12:30 p.m. Feb. 26 in Centennial Hall room GO2.

Other guest speakers and topics for the week include Elizabeth Buchta, Texas State University career services recruiting coordinator, “Facebook to LinkedIn: How to Understand and Use Professional Netiquette”; Cal Downs, professor and international communication consultant, University of Kansas, “Assessing Organizational Communication”; LGBTQ student panel discussion, “Communicating Marginalized Identities”; John Darling, distinguished professor of business, University of Texas-San Antonio, “Leading with Your Thoughts: Self Communication as the Key to Leadership”; Ryanne Janca, recruiting supervisor and Karen Duncan, training manager, Enterprise Holdings, “From Candidate to Employee—How to Make Your Best Impression in the Work World”; Heather Hayes, doctoral student, University of Minnesota, “Prophets of Rage: An Investigation of the Race Representation in the Gangsta Rap Movement”; Panel discussion, “Exploring Family Communication During Difficult Times.”

For a complete schedule of events, visit www.commstudies.txstate.edu/news.html. Some events have limited seating capacity. Anyone interested in bringing students from off-campus to the spotlight events should contact the Communication Week Committee c/o Steven Beebe at (512) 245-2165 or via email at sb03@txstate.edu.