At the 6th Annual Communication Department Awards Ceremony Saturday at Wright State University's Berry Room, over $6,000 in donated scholarship monies were awarded to communication studies and mass communication majors. More than 120 attendees made the event the largest held to date.
Ms. Sandy Sloan Collins was awarded the 2014 Communication Department Outstanding Alumna Award. She was celebrated for her multimedia expertise, organizational leadership and for her philanthropy. "The Annual Communication Department Outstanding Alumni is selected as a role model for our students. He or she exemplifies the Communication Department's motto of striving for excellence to make the world a better place," said Communication Department Chair and Professor Dr. Melissa Spirek. "Ms. Collins is recognized in the industry for her leadership and her service to others is impressive."
The Mr. and Mrs. Travis Greenwood Achievement Award was presented to Mr. Ryan Ballman who is a mass communication senior. This annual Achievement Award is earned by the Communication Department's outstanding senior who in 2013 completed an internship with the United States Department of Defense.
The 2014 Greenwood Achievement Awardee's original scholarship will be cited in Communication Department Professor and Mass Communication Head Dr. Elliot Gaines' most current semiotic publication to appear fall 2014. Mr. Ballman also received a Communication Department Scholar Award for earning a gpa over 3.75/4.0.
The Greenwood Achievement Award is donated by Mr. and Mrs. Travis Greenwood. Mr. Greenwood won the 2009 Communication Department Outstanding Alumnus Award and the 2010 College of Liberal Arts Outstanding Alumnus Award and this Greentree Group CEO is fondly called "Mr. G." in the ethics and career class completed by the Communication Department's seniors.
The communication studies faculty selected the outstanding senior for communication studies majors, whereas the mass communication faculty selected the outstanding senior for the mass communication majors. Each of these exceptional scholars who make positive contributions to the organizational climate were awarded Spicer-Blake scholarships. Dr. Karin Spicer taught in the WSU Communication Department and is an Emeritus professor. Mr. Edward Blake is Dr. Spicer's husband and senior partner at Miller Valentine Group.
The 2014 Spicer-Blake Communication Studies Senior Scholar was awarded to Ms. Olivia Woodruff. The faculty noted Ms. Woodruff's dedication to blending her expertise in communication studies and marketing as a unique approach that has already produced success with her career. Her second award was the Communication Department Scholar Certificate for earning a gpa over 3.75/4.0.
The 2014 Spicer-Blake Mass Communication Senior Scholar was awarded to Honors Scholar Ms. Chelsea Rowland who shared her honors research on the YMCA's social media campaign. Ms. Rowland also received a Communication Department Scholar Award for earning a gpa over 3.75/4.0 in addition to other awards.
Mr. Ronnie Moreland was the first recipient of the Communication Department Chair's Award. Mr. Moreland's work in bridging communication theory to practice for social justice is why his scholarship stood out from the crowd. Excellence in education and equity in access are two themes that repeatedly emerge in this scholar's work.
Three Communication Department Outstanding Role Models attended Saturday's ceremony that was organized and hosted by students: the 2009 Communication Department Outstanding Alumnus Mr. Travis Greenwood, the 2013 Communication Department Alumnus Dr. Robert Leonard and the 2014 Communication Department Alumna Ms. Sandy Sloan Collins. During the ceremony, all three handed out WSU Rowdy Raider lapel pins to the graduating seniors.
