Issue  Spring  2013      

USING COMMUNICATION TO CREATE A MORE CIVIL AND HUMANE WORLD

Dr. Stephen John Hartnett is the Chair of the Department of Communication at CU-Denver

A Perfect Partnership The University of Colorado Denver Department of Communication is thrilled to play a leading role in the International College at Beijing. By putting Chinese and American students in the same classrooms, we hope to model intercultural communication and transnational friendship. By discussing communication in a global context, we hope our faculty, staff, and students can learn to approach communication in a sensitive manner that recognizes how our understandings are both culturally specific and internationally applicable. And so we ask the hard questions: What are human rights? What is economic development? How can governments, individual citizens, community groups, and

international organizations best interact for the common good? And how are these questions influenced by class, gender, race, nationality, and religion? By asking such important questions, and focusing on the communication dynamics of how we interact while answering them, the Department of Communication hopes its students are building the skills necessary to become civic leaders in local, national, and international venues. We are particularly thrilled to announce that, due to the hard work of Associate Chair Patrick Dodge and Instructor Jared Woolly, the Department has launched a new state-of-the-art media laboratory. This new working space is equipped with fancy computers capable of handling our students' needs for 21st century media production and editing, online collaborating, and interactive and web-based learning projects. By implementing this new media lab, the Department hopes to empower our students to enter the marketplace equipped with the technology and media skills necessary to achieve success and creativity.

And so we invite you to enjoy this newsletter as we celebrate the achievements of our students, our faculty, and our community from the 2012-2013 academic year!

Denver’s Best Study in Beijing Each semester, students from CU-Denver travel to Beijing for a study abroad experience at ICB. The 2012-2013 academic year saw 16 Denver students study in China, including three communication majors.

Students Work with Global Firm In the spring term, Chinese and American students teamed up with international firm Oglvy PR to create a public relations plan for Chengdu, China. Story on page 3.

Greetings from the Chair by  Stephen  John  Hartnett  

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FACULTY PROFILE

Dr. Patrick S-W Dodge

• Has taught at ICB since 2007 • Specializes in Intercultural

Communication • Recently appointed as CU

Denver’s Office of International Affairs China Operations Coordinator

Dr. Dodge leads ICB’s Department of Communication in close cooperation and coordination with Denver department chair Dr. Stephen Hartnett. Professor Dodge played an important role in restarting the ICB communication program in 2007, and since then has taught almost every communication course ICB has offered. Dr. Dodge has advised dozens of student internships over the years. In addition, Dr. Dodge has been active at conferences and is well-published, including an upcoming collaboration with CU Denver’s Dr. Lisa Keränen

ICB Communication students filled a lecture hall for Communication Days 2013. Story on page 4.

Change is a constant in Beijing, whether it is the changing topography in the modernization of the city or the addition of the new Media Lab at ICB where Communication students can learn

practical skills to produce mediated forms of communication. Another constant is that the Communication program at the International College Beijing continues to grow both in the size and scope. In the past 5 years the COMM department at ICB has expanded from an incoming class of 20 students to over 100 majors annually. Since the inception of our Communication minor just three semesters ago, we have also continually grown to now cater to our 20+ minors. Additionally, this past year has been a great one bringing three of our first Communication majors from Denver to study abroad in Beijing. Our Narratives of New China Maymester class continues to be a wonderful opportunity for students wanting to study abroad during the summer. The diversity of American perspectives these students have brought to the classroom has added a crucial international element to our teaching practices and discussions about the U.S.-Chinese relationship in the present and future. We’ve also branched out to make connections in Beijing’s greater community with the implementation of an Internship Program that has connected over 40 students to for-credit internships over the past year and a half. Students now have opportunities to take advantage of our collaborations with China Open, Weber Shandwick, Eleutian

Technology, iCan International Education Center, and Cycle China, to name a few.

With student excursions to the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, and the Summer Palace we’ve been able to provide students the opportunity to experience life in Beijing and beyond in contemporary China with trips to Shanghai, Xi’an, and Anyang and Taihang Gorge.

Classroom connections, from our new Media lab to the real world through our Internship Program and excursions around and beyond Beijing have given students the opportunity to experience life in contemporary China in a unique and educational way. In this setting and environment students are able to develop the skills and tools they will use to create the global world of the future they want to live in. Providing the learning context where students can thrive has ultimately strengthened the educational partnership between UCD and ICB as co-leaders moving together into the future to help shape the global world we live in.

You can find out more about ICB at: http://www.ucdenver.edu

and

http://icbe.cau.edu.cn/

The ICB Scholarship Ceremony featured many Communication Majors.

Exciting Times at ICB by  Patrick  S-­‐W  Dodge  

ICB’s  Communication  department  is  enjoying  unprecedented  success.    The  2012-­‐2013  academic  year  saw  growth  and  great  excitement  in  the  program.  

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Chinese and American Students Join Forces on PR

Campaign

Garrett Haskell explains the rationale for his group’s masculine-themed culinary tour proposal for the City of Chengdu.

China is known for many things, perhaps none moreso than being the world's only native home to the Giant Panda. So naturally, ICB Communication students found a way to incorporate these cuddly creatures into class this Spring semester.

Led by CU Denver Assistant Professor of Communication Dr. Hamilton Bean, students in Advanced Public Relations class were tasked with creating a complete and professional public relations campaign for the city of Chengdu, home of the pandas. Students worked with public relations professionals from international firm Ogilvy PR as part of a unique and ongoing collaboration between CU Denver and the firm.

“[Dr. Bean] brought us into this real Chengdu case by combining nine PR strategic planning steps,” said student Tian Yiwei. “Also, this is the first time for me to do a case with collaboration with American students.”

The class members, a combination of Chinese ICB students and study abroad students from Denver, discovered that

cross-culture problem solving and creativity can pose challenges. In addition, students learned to combine good empirical research practices with creative messaging strategies to maximize impact of the campaign and accomplish Chengdu's objectives. And as ICB students do so often, they delivered.

“Some of the students' ideas were as diverse and creative as you might expect from experienced professionals,” Bean – known by his students as DouDou – said. “The proposals showcased a wide range of strategies and tactics, from a Wall Street flash mob to an advertising campaign centered on Panda reproduction!”

Using courses to combine theoretical concepts with real-world practices and applications remains a goal among ICB's communication faculty. Working with Ogilvy PR, students applied theory to practice for one of China's most important cities in Chengdu and most important ambassadors – the panda.

FACULTY PROFILE

Dr.  Hamilton  Bean  

• CU  Denver  professor  • Visits  ICB  to  teach  Public  Relations  every  year  • Formerly  lived  in  Japan  

Professor  Bean  is  affectionately  known  to  ICB  students  as  豆豆  (DouDou).    Since  joining  the  CU  Denver  Communication  Faculty,  Dr.  Bean  has  visited  China  numerous  times  to  teach  PR  classes  at  ICB.  He  also  leads  the  CU  Denver  Maymester  course  Narratives  of  the  New  China  in  which  American  students  visit  Beijing  and  study  how  China  represents  itself  to  the  world.    Dr.  Bean  is  a  highly  respected  scholar  in  the  area  of  organizational  discourse  and  national  security.    Professor  Bean  has  several  upcoming  publications  and  is  currently  involved  in  a  study  of  communication  and  emergency  preparedness.      

 

ICB  Communication  and  Narratives  of  the  New  China  banquet  2012.  

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Public Relations is a powerful and important part of communication study and practice. Advances in technology and considerable study of human factors have led to an increased understanding of and reliance on public relations and good communication practices within organizations of all kinds. One April evening, ICB's communication students, faculty, and guests packed a lecture hall to hear from one of China's leading practitioners of public relations and communication.

On the evening of April 9, over one-hundred ICB students, faculty, and guests gathered for a lecture by Lydia Lee, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategist for international public relations company Weber Shandwick. Lee's lecture, titled "Five Things that Changed the World of Communications: From a Public Relations Perspective,” presented attendees with the histories and applications of concepts ranging from the role of CEOs in image strategy to how television altered the speed at which information is shared.

The event, coordinated by ICB communication professors Patrick Dodge and Hamilton Bean with the assistance of ICB alumnus Dave Fox, complemented the CU-Denver communication department's annual “Communication Days,” series of lectures and a celebration of all things communication.

“Our faculty features prominent scholars from across the world with a wide variety of experiences. But it is always great to hear from practitioners of the art of communication,” said Dodge. “Our communication students, as well as those from all across ICB, benefited from Lydia's years of experience with PR here in China.”

Lee's talk emphasized not just technological advances in the sphere of communication and public relations, but also interpersonal and inter-cultural concepts that have real effect on promotion and perception of brands and organizations. Her countdown list included the Internet, the impact of brands and CEOs, the effects of globalization, how non-governmental organizations have changed how people perceive companies, and of course, television.

“Communication goes far beyond the latest smart phones and Internet advancements,”

Dodge continued. “Technology enhances human interaction; it doesn't replace it. Lydia's lecture emphasized that point to our students.”

The entire lecture can be found through the ICB Department of Communication's Sina-Weibo account, as well as the University of Colorado Denver Department of Communication Facebook page.

 

Lee  speaking  to  ICB  students  about  how  PR  and  Communication  affect  the  world  

 

Following  the  talk,  students  had  the  opportunity  to  ask  Lee  follow-­‐up  questions.  

ICB VISITS SHANGHAI

Americans in Shanghai In March, students from CU Denver studying at ICB traveled to Shanghai. Led by Dr. Dodge, the students spent the weekend exploring Shanghai and discovering the differences between China’s largest city and their temporary home of Beijing.

Communication major Selene Rodriguez poses with Lam Huynh at The Bund in Shanghai.

Communication major Jamaal Graves does not let a little bit of rain bother him during his visit to The Bund in Shanghai in March.

Chinese PR Professional Gives Talk to ICB Communication Students  

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FACULTY PROFILE

Dr. Supriya Karudapuram

• Finishing first year at ICB • Serves on task force for the

internationalization of National Communication Association

• Currently studying the impact of globalization on present-day Beijing.

Dr. Karudapuram is finishing her first year as a member of the faculty at ICB. In addition to serving as an honors thesis advisor, Professor Karudapuram has taught a number of classes this year, including Diversity, Communication and Change, and Asian American Culture and Communication. She has quickly become a very popular professor to both students and colleagues alike.

 “Lights,  camera,  action!”  

Those  three  words  were  uttered  countless  times  this  semester  by  students  in  ICB's  TV  Production  class.    Using  brand  new  Mac  Pro  computers,  Final  Cut  editing  software,  and  Canon  high-­‐definition  cameras  provided  by  UCD's  College  of  Liberal  Arts  and  Sciences,  these  twenty-­‐six  students  exercised  their  creativity  in  the  creation  of  several  video  projects  during  the  semester.  

“We  are  fortunate  to  have  all  of  this  great  equipment,”  instructor  Jared  Woolly  said.    “But  nothing  replaces  creativity  and  enthusiasm.    I  have  been  constantly  amazed  by  the  students'  ideas  and  creativity  when  producing  videos  on  even  the  simplest  of  subjects.”  

During  the  course  of  the  term,  students  created  simple  music  videos  highlighting  their  favorite  spots  in  Beijing,  television  advertisements  for  real  products,  and  a  final  short  film  entirely  conceived,  written,  shot,  acted,  and  edited  by  them.    The  class  even  included  a  video  scavenger  hunt.  

“The  great  thing  about  a  class  like  this  is  that  we  can't  do  it  right  by  just  sitting  in  the  classroom,”  Woolly  said.    “So  one  day,  I  gave  them  a  list  of  things  around  campus,  a  camera  for  every  group,  and  30  minutes  to  go  shoot  video  of  as  many  as  they  could.    Some  of  the  creative  ways  they  found  to  compete  in  the  hunt  made  for  one  of  the  most  fun  class  sessions  of  the  semester!”  

This  course  was  not  all  fun  and  games,  however.    Students  learned  concepts  related  to  messaging  and  storytelling  using  the  unique  medium  of  video.    In  a  time  when  the  Internet  is  full  of  poorly  conceived  and  badly  

produced  videos,  these  students  learned  how  to  use  time-­‐tested  video  and  film  concepts  to  make  their  work  stand  out  and  be  memorable.    In  the  span  of  one  semester,  students  went  from  amateurs  to  content  producers  capable  of  creating  professional-­‐level  productions.  

Although  the  ICB  Communication  Major  does  not  offer  an  emphasis  in  television  or  journalism,  this  course  offers  students  the  basic  concepts  and  skills  sets  to  take  video  production  knowledge  in  to  jobs  in  public  relations,  marketing,  and  other  communication-­‐related  fields.  

 

 

 

Student Filmmakers Create Art  

Students  work  on  their  media  production  skills  during  a  class  activity.  

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