April 16, 2010
Four Oklahoma Baptist University communications majors wrote papers accepted to the University of Oklahoma Sooner Communication Conference March 26-27. Kate Berry, Kaylee Lonsinger, Marissa Moseley-Edwards and Amanda Teape presented their papers during the conference on the Norman campus. The theme for the conference was "Communication Across the Lifespan: Relationships, Contexts and Culture."
The Sooner Conference is one of the most respected regional communication conferences in the country, according to Dr. Vickie Shamp Ellis, OBU associate professor of communications arts, who supervised the students' research.
The OBU students completed the research process and analyzed their results in a paper for the Communication Arts Information Gathering and Research course taught in the fall 2009 semester by Ellis. Barry, a senior from Electric City, Wash., presented a paper titled "Striving for hope: The message of hope reflected in the David Berger National Memorial." Lonsinger, a junior from Ponca City, Okla., presented "One shot, two points, one team: An analysis of NBA Corporate Communication Success Strategies." Moseley-Edwards, a senior from Choctaw, Okla., presented "Excavating the memories of the Tulsa Race Riots: The process of rebuilding the 'Black Wall Street.'" Teape, a senior from Keller, Texas, presented "Herding new Bison: OBU recruiting practices."
Ellis said submissions could include competitive research papers (including theory and position papers), case studies, panel proposals, round table proposals or abstracts for works in progress. Scholarship on any topic relevant to human communication within various areas of the discipline was welcomed.
The featured speaker for the conference was Dr. Jon Nussbaum, professor of communication arts and sciences and human development and family studies at Penn State University. He is the past president of the International Communication Association, former editor of the "Journal of Communication," a Fulbright Research Fellow in the United Kingdom, a fellow of the International Communication Association and a fellow within the Adult Development and Aging Division of the American Psychological Association. Nussbaum has published 13 books and more than 80 journal articles and book chapters studying communication behaviors and patterns across the life span including research on family, friendship and professional relationships with well and frail older adults.
More information about the conference can be found online at www.ou.edu/deptcomm/sooner.