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Conference Focuses on Communication’s Foundational Role in the Future

Published Friday, March 4th, 2022

The conference will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 26 in Gardner Hall.

Wayne State College hosts the Flat Water States Undergraduate Communication Research Conference from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 26, in Gardner Hall. This event is free and open to the public. The conference is sponsored by Lambda Pi Eta, the National Communication Association’s honor society.

The conference theme is "Focus on the Future: New Beginnings, Strong Foundations." WSC alum Erin Slattery delivers the keynote address at 9 a.m. in Gardner Hall Auditorium. Slattery majored in communication studies at WSC and is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Iowa. She shares her research on health communication and graduate school experiences.

Presentations and student panels follow the keynote address at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. A faculty panel ends the day at 2:30 p.m. Before the conference, students from WSC and Nebraska Wesleyan University submitted research projects for review. Topics cover interpersonal communication, social media, mass communication, organizational communication, intercultural communication, political communication, communication ethics, environmental communication, family communication, rhetorical criticism, media criticism, theatre arts, and the scholarship of teaching and learning.

The conference offers students opportunities to secure professional feedback and interaction with leading communication scholars. Faculty panel members include Dr. Allyn Lueders, WSC associate professor of communication arts, Dr. Liz Viall, WSC assistant professor of communication arts, and Dr. Sean Ahern, WSC assistant professor of communication arts.

WSC students presenting research projects at the conference include: Audrey Worthing of Ogallala, Neb.; Jessie Brandl of Stanton, Neb.; Clare Hornung of Raymond, Neb.; Allie Jaixen of Platte Center, Neb.; Lesley Luna-Duran, of Neligh, Neb.; Geo Ascencio of South Sioux City, Neb.; Mark Albers of Waukee, Iowa; Whitney Winter of Sutton, Neb.; Agnes Kurtzhals of Coleridge, Neb.; Jackson Kelley of Lincoln, Neb.; and Jaci Torres of Wayne, Neb.

For more information, contact Dr. Allyn Lueders at 402-375-7025 or [email protected].