Alumni

The Communication Studies department is enormously proud of the accomplishments of our alumni. COMS alumni have gone on to do great things in all walks of life, from academia, to politics, to the business world, the law, and elsewhere. One of our goals is to use the departmental web site to stay in touch with alumni from all across the country. In order to accomplish that aim, we will post updates about alumni accomplishments and also provide a link to our alumni newsletter.

However, in order to keep in touch with departmental alumni, we need to hear from you. Consequently, we ask you to stay in touch with the department by filling out the alumni information form. We will use the information you provide to update your contact information (this information will not be shared with anyone else) and gather material for our annual department newsletter, which comes out in November, prior to our national convention.

The Communication Studies Department encourages and welcomes donations. If you would like to give to support the Department, please click on the link below.

 

News

John Waite Bowers has been honored by both the University of Iowa and the University of Colorado, Boulder. Both universities have established annual awards for graduate students, titled the “John Waite Bowers Award for Academic Excellence.”  These awards are a testament to Dr. Bowers influence on graduate students at both schools and also the excellence of his own academic career. 

Ben Voth has accepted a position as Director of Forensics at Southern Methodist University.  Dr. Voth was formerly in the same position at Miami of Ohio.  Dr.  Voth also has been selected as a member of the executive advisory board at Wiley College in Texas.  Wiley College is the home of “The Great Debaters” and another member of the board is Denzel Washington, the star of the movie about their debating accomplishments. 

Mary Hoffman has accepted a position as Chair of the department at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire.  Dr. Hoffman previously served as the Director of Graduate Studies at Texas State University.

Jayhawk Alumni (1980) Professor Charles R. Conrad of Texas A & M University received the Donald H. Ecryod Award for Outstanding Teaching in Higher Education at the National Communication Association Convention in Miami in November, 2004. The award citation included the following: Dr Conrad "is an exceptional teacher in every way. Through his intellectual insights, sense of humor, and personal attention to student needs, Dr. Conrad raises awareness of the subtleties of organizational communication and teaches undergraduates and graduates to be critical thinkers about the institutions in which they will work." The Jayhawks are very proud of Charlie! Two recent Jayhawk grads just published an essay in Communication Research Reports. Ulla Bunz and Scott Campbell, published an essay titled "Politeness accommodation in electronic mail," in a recent issue.

Visit the KU Alumni website.