Baylor Journalism, Public Relations, & New Media Chair’s Note

Greetings, friends of the Baylor JPR&NM Family:
I bring you the 2024 Chair’s Note with great pleasure. I have much to share as our faculty, staff and students have been busy doing extraordinary things. Here are some of the highlights:

Baylor Alum Named 2024-25 Radford Scholar
In April, alumna Claire St. Amant visited our department as a Radford Scholar to offer a preview of a course that she will teach in the fall. St. Amant hosts the true-crime podcast and authorizes the upcoming memoir Killer Story, released in 2025 by BenBella Books. St. Amant developed and produced stories for CBS News and is credited with over 20 episodes of 48 Hours. She has covered an assassination attempt on a judge in Austin, a serial killer in South Carolina, and a murder-for-hire sting on two doctors in Houston. She was part of the breaking news team nominated for an Emmy in 2016 for "Bringing a Nation Together," a special report on the Dallas Police shooting.

2024 Alumna Named Alumna of The Year

In other alumni news, the Baylor Journalism, Public Relations, & New Media (JPR&NM) department is proud to announce that Tiffanie Blackmon-Jones, B.A. ’05, was honored as the Alumna of the Year at the annual student awards ceremony in April. Each year, the department selects an alumnus/alumna who shows professionalism, integrity, and high levels of achievement. This year’s recipient, Blackmon-Jones, has displayed those qualities as a public relations professional and chief communications officer for the DeSoto Independent School District since 2017. Blackmon-Jones, who graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism, was a three-time letter member of the Baylor women’s basketball team and a Lariat staff writer while in school. She said her time in the JPR&NM department prepared her for a career of success in communication.

Baylor JPR&NM Homecoming 2023
Andrea Kosar, a Baylor JPR&NM alumna and president/CEO of the Centex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, was this year’s homecoming speaker. The homecoming theme, “You can always come home again: The importance of community,” focused on her career journey. As a Baylor University graduate in public relations and education, Kosar gained experience in marketing and public relations working in local media. At KXXV-Channel 25, she created a weekly segment, Positively Central Texas, telling stories of Waco’s organizations and businesses doing good in the community.

2023-24 Baylor JPR&NM Alumni Kudos
In other alum news, Baylor Journalism alum Russell Rankin is the new director of marketing and communications for the Hankamer School of Business. Rankin is a Baylor JPR&NM adjunct faculty member and the former director of public relations for the Methodist Children’s Home.  

Baylor journalism alumna Alison McMillon, has been named the Dallas market lead at Weber Shandwick, a global, earned-first strategic communication and consulting agency. In her new role, McMillon amplifies opportunities for clients and staff. Specifically, she shapes agency growth in areas centered around Weber Shandwick’s people, accounts, and the office to pursue excellence in education, professionalism, and success in a positive, graceful work climate.

Matt Kyle received the Texas Managing Editors' Star Investigative Report of the Year award for his reporting for the Waco Tribune-Herald on the Chi Alpha sex abuse scandal. He also received an honorable mention in deadline writing and was part of a Tribune-Herald team that won several awards.

BizCom Associates, named the top franchise PR agency by Global Franchise for 2023, announced in April it has acquired franchise marketing and lead-generation firm Brand J (formerly Brand Journalists). BizCom CEO Scott White co-founded BizCom in 1999 with COO Monica Feid, a Baylor JPR&NM alumna recently elected advisory board treasurer. BizCom and Brand J are ranked annually in Entrepreneur Magazine's list of top franchise suppliers. Together, they represent more than four decades of franchise PR and marketing experience, having worked with many of the most well-known and high-profile names in franchising.

Advisory Board Convenes in 2024 
In April, we welcomed the Baylor JPR&NM advisory board members to campus for a full slate of activities, including an AI presentation by lecturer Matthew Brammer, a dinner at the Baylor Club, and a state-of-the-department presentation. During the two-day meeting, Drs. Marlene Neill and Rosalynn Vasquez collected feedback during a focus group to assess how we might improve our department and better prepare our students for the workforce. The board, which includes 18 members, elected officers for the first term, which will last three years, with the possibility of a second. Officers are Chris Talley, president; Ed Wyatt, vice president; Selena Mejia, secretary; Monica Feid, treasurer; and Lewis Moore, chaplain. 

Welcome Dr. Rosalynn Vasquez and Kim Patterson!

In the fall, we welcomed two new faculty members to our department: Rosalynn Vasquez, Ph.D., assistant professor and Kim Patterson, M.S., APR, lecturer. Vasquez is a tenure-track assistant professor who last taught at Boston University. Her research focuses on increasing awareness and understanding of stakeholder experiences and perceptions of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), ethics, and sustainability, particularly among underrepresented or marginalized voices. With 15 years of experience as a PR practitioner in corporate, agency, and nonprofit leadership roles, she enjoys teaching and mentoring students. She teaches PR campaigns, advertising & public relations leadership, and crisis & issues management. Additionally, she serves as a co-faculty adviser for the PRSSA chapter.

Patterson is a Baylor University graduate with degrees in journalism and marketing. In 2018, under her leadership, the MCC Foundation was named a “Charity Champion” for supporting the Men of Color Success Initiative at MCC. Following this recognition, the foundation received a Cooper Foundation grant to support the program further and partially fund its first paid coordinator. Additionally, it established an endowed scholarship for the program’s outstanding participants.

Retirement

Clark Baker, Ph.D., associate professor, retired in May after 30+ years of service. Baker is a documentary and fine art photographer whose work has appeared in books, magazines, online media, and exhibitions over the past 30 years. He taught Media Photography and History of Photography at Baylor and is a former department chair. Baker was honored in ., Italy, 2016 for his photography exhibition at the Florence University for the Arts. Baker's work was presented in an exhibit called "Analog Explorations from Texas and the American South.” He will be missed.

Staff Updates
This fall, Baylor JPR&NM was lucky to welcome Kerry Burkley, Jr., as the office administrative associate. Burkley graduated from our department’s undergraduate advertising and M.A. programs. He brings extensive knowledge in marketing and graphic design to the department. Burkley took over for administrative associate Dennisse Concepcion, who relocated to Florida

Faculty Rack Up Accolades in 2023-24

Dr. Marlene Neill was named a senior research fellow at the Arthur W. Page Center in the fall. In the spring, she led the 2024 Page/Johnson Legacy Scholar Grant call on ethics training in PR, Journalism, Advertising, & Marketing Strategic Communication. Neill was one of eight AEJMC members selected as a 2024-25 Jennifer McGill Fellow for AEJMC's Institute for Diverse Leadership in Journalism and Communication (IDL). Academically, Neill recently published a new book titled Leadership Development in Public Relations.

Vasquez, an assistant professor at Baylor University, was one of 20 new faculty selected to participate in the 2024 Baylor Summer Faculty Institute. Academically, Vasquez was named a 2024-2025 Page/Johnson Legacy Scholar Grant recipient for the project “Examining the role of PR in communicating ethics training and DEI in U.S. Companies.”

Drs. Alec Tefertiller, Rosalynn Vasquez, Mia Moody-Ramirez, and Marlene Neill have journal articles and presented at academic conferences. Moody-Ramirez and Tefertiller garnered top paper awards at academic conferences last year.

Senior Lecturer Sharon Gripp received two awards from national and state organizations: the National Federation of Press Women Communications Award (June 23, 2023) and first place in Writing - Editorial/Opinion 2023 and the Press Women of Texas Communications Award (March 13, 2023) Press Women of Texas First Place Editorial/Opinion Writing.

Gripp was also selected to participate in the 2024 Affordable Course Materials Summer Fellows program cohort, sponsored by Baylor University Libraries. The incentive program encourages Baylor University faculty to reduce their students' educational costs using library content, open educational resources (OER), or other low—or zero-cost materials.

Career Services recognized Baylor JPR&NM and Dr. Cassy Burleson for their commitment to job placements, which hover around 90%. Burleson emphasizes our students' professional development through internship site visits, portfolio reviews, and post-graduation job placements. Because of Burleson’s efforts, the Career Center recognized our department with this beautiful medallion.

Baylor JPR&NM Makes Mark in Community 
In September, our department partnered with The Waco Central (TX) Links, Incorporated, and Texas ACE (Afterschool Centers on Education) to launch the ACE Baylor Links Digital Media Program. The initiative focuses on career awareness, digital media, critical thinking, team building, and socialization skills. Led by Moody-Ramirez and Tina Cole, it meets virtually one day a week. Vasquez led a career talk activity for students during the ACE Baylor Links Digital Media Program to expose them to different career paths. Other activities included field trips, backpack journalism, photography, and coding. Office staff, faculty, the Baylor Office of Community Engagement, and members of the Baylor student chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists have helped make this program successful.
This fall, LEAD participants visited Baylor Journalism, Public Relations, & New Media to learn more about job opportunities in the media industry. LEAD, sponsored by the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce, encourages students to graduate and pursue higher education. Rachel Martinez, director of leadership development for the Greater Waco Chamber, said many LEAD students are first-generation high school graduates whose success in LEAD impacts them personally and change their employment trajectory for years to come.

Baylor JPRNM faculty, staff, and students enjoyed talking to high school students from the Waco Central Texas chapter of Jack and Jill of America. During the visit, students ate at Penland cafeteria, toured the campus and visited Baylor JPR&NM.

JPR&NM Students Enjoy Unique Learning Opportunities 
Baylor JPR&NM exposes students to  unique learning opportunities. It is not every day that students get to see the Planter’s Nut mobile, but our students learned more about its origin on Jan. 22 when three guest speakers visited campus.

In another unique learning opportunity, Kenneth Prabhakar, Lariat photo editor and fall 2023 graduate; Michael Aguilar, Roundup photo editor; George Schroeder, LTVN executive producer, and Caleb Wheeler, Lariat staff writer, had the rare opportunity to enter the Bear Pit to take photos to prepare content for three student media outlets in the fall.

NABJ-Baylor Attends AI Workshop
NABJ-Baylor members gained valuable insights from participating in the 2024 “Controlling the Narrative: The Intersection of AI, PR Measurement & Storytelling Media Institute,” presented by the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Media-Related Task Force. The "Impact of AI on Media, Journalists, and Audiences" panel discussion shed light on contemporary challenges for media professionals and educators.

Neil Foote, CEO of Foote Communications, reflected on historical fears of technological advancements and stressed the importance of fostering trust in the digital era. Moderator Leona Allen Ford, Deputy Publisher of The Dallas Morning News, recounted an incident involving Sports Illustrated's use of stories authored by fictional reporters, prompting intensified scrutiny on the authenticity of AI-generated content. Attendees also learned about ethical ways to use AI in reporting and writing news articles.

NABJ members were able to attend this event thanks to the generous support of alums through our department's Excellence Fund. NABJ hosted several meetings throughout the semester to expose students to different careers and to offer networking opportunities. Guest speakers included Claire St. Amant, Kennedy Dendy, Dallas Cowboys social media manager and Jasmine Lotts television reporter/weekend anchor.

In the spring, the national organization and Region III welcomed NABJ-Baylor as an affiliate chapter.

PRSSA-Baylor Gains Co-Faculty Advisors

Baylor’s PRSSA chapter offered opportunities for students to network with PR leaders both in and outside of the Waco community. Events included career roundtables, industry guest speakers, and collaborations with Waco’s PRSA Central Texas Chapter. Members of the Baylor chapter of PRSSA offered a speed networking roundtable with Patterson and PRSSA co-advisers, Neill and Vasquez. They shared their expertise and answered questions about the public relations field, their career journey and agency work. 
 

With Baylor Love,
Mia Moody, Ph.D. 
Baylor Journalism, Public Relations & New Media
Professor & Chair