Warming to Winter Weather
It snowed in Columbia. And I missed it. I was in Denver for the annual ALISE (Association for Library and Information Science Education) conference. The snow glistened on the caps of the nearby Front Range of the Rockies, but it was 68 degrees in Denver in mid-January, while Columbia was flaked in for about ten minutes.
Our own Sam Hastings was in charge of the program for the Deans and Directors meeting and drafted me (I went willingly) for a panel discussing some of the hard issues facing LIS schools. On the one hand, the financial turmoil and budget woes are nearly everyone’s problem. On the other, this is the time to be in LIS with the opportunities in the knowledge economy. (More from Dr. Hastings about ALISE later in this e-blast.)
An article I saw the other day said today’s hot jobs are in health care, education and information. Good timing for our collaboration with the Arnold School of Public Health to have launched a graduate certificate in health communication. Both of our schools--SLIS and SJMC--are partners with the folks in public health. We had planned to have our first students this coming fall, but we’ve gotten a head start.
I was at the gym the other day when a young woman working out on the elliptical trainer next to me asked, “Aren’t you the dean?” Sweaty and dripping, I met our first health comm grad student!
We’re all getting our exercise these days, one way or another. Check out below what senior broadcast major Cory Burkarth will be doing on ESPNU on Tuesday night.
And Professor Bonnie Drewniany had her ad refs out in force for Ad Bowl VI during Sunday’s Super Bowl. The results are in.
No matter what Punxsatawney Phil says, spring is on its way.
Student Spotlights
Cory Burkarth’s Network Debut
USC’s men’s basketball team travels to Gainesville for Tuesday night’s SEC matchup against the Florida Gators. Senior broadcast major Cory Burkarth explains why he’ll be there, too:
“I’ll be joining ESPN’s Rob Stone as the first ever college student to be on the broadcast team for the entire length of the broadcast. ESPN will be airing a traditional format of our game with Brad Nessler and Jimmy Dykes calling the action, and ESPN-U will show the game from the above-the-rim cameras and Rob and I will cover a lot of topics such as the campuses of each school, mascots, famous alumni, and many other areas. This is the first time ESPN has ever done this type of broadcast with a student as a full-time member of the broadcast team.”
Game time on ESPN-U is 9 pm on Tuesday, February 3rd. Check your local cable listings. The name to remember is Cory Burkarth.
College News
Bud Light Voted Best Super Bowl Commercial;
DDB Chicago Claims Fourth “Cocky” Award
The University of South Carolina declares the Bud Light Conan O’Brien ad the Best Super Bowl Commercial of 2009. Students and faculty rated each commercial on three criteria: likability, persuasiveness and brand identity. The Conan O’Brien commercial received the highest overall score, making it the fourth time that DDB Chicago and Bud Light have won USC’s annual Ad Bowl Poll.
Professor Bonnie Drewniany had this to say about the winning commercial: “Conan O’Brien’s self-deprecating sense of humor resonates with students. The humorous Bud Light commercial starring the popular TV host has a few twists. First, Conan is duped into doing an ad he thinks will only air in Sweden. As it turns out, the commercial airs on the big screen in Times Square. The commercial within a commercial is hilarious because it makes fun of celebrities who’ll sell out to make a few bucks. What many in the audience may not know is Conan O’Brien didn’t take payment for the ad. Anheuser-Busch made a donation to the Fresh Air Fund on his behalf.”
Advertising alumnus John Baker ’01 and the DDB team that created the commercial have been invited to tell the behind the scenes story during I-Comm week on Thursday, April 2nd, when they receive the prized Cocky statuette.
Voters in our online poll registered a different opinion. To find out, go to: http://www.jour.sc.edu/news/isite/09superbowl/.
ALISE Report
As promised, SLIS director Dr. Sam Hastings’ report from ALISE:
We were a big hit at the ALISE conference in Denver. Our doctoral
students presented three posters for the Works-in-Progress session
and I received several comments about how advanced they are for being
second year Ph.D. students. We knew that! Also our faculty presented
several sessions including:
• Feili Tu, library
and information science, “Can Master‚s Level Students
in LIS Programs Provide Effective Virtual Reference Services (VRS)? A
Report of a LIS Education Program and ASERL Collaborative Initiative”
• Feili Tu, library
and information science, “How a Simulated Library in the Second
Life World Enhances Library and Information Science (LIS) Education: An
LIS Education Program Study”
• Ron Brown and Feili
Tu, “Evaluating the Use of Second Life by Libraries and Other
Information Environments”
• Donna Shannon, “Meeting
the Student Learning Outcomes Requirements for NCATE and ALA Accreditation”
• S. K. Hastings and
Charles Bierbauer, “State of the Schools” for the Council
of Deans and Directors.
Cocky’s Reading Express
It’s too late for this year’s Oscar nominations, but the Cocky’s Reading Express™ video will have its premiere showing on Monday, Feb. 9th. Watch for more on the Russell House event on the college Web site, www.sc.edu/cmcis, about this important outreach in the cause of promoting children’s literacy in South Carolina.