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Dr. Daniel Schill to Join Communication Studies Faculty Fall 2013

The School of Communication Studies is pleased to announce that Dan Schill (Ph.D., University of Kansas) is joining the faculty in the fall as an associate professor of communication studies and as a member of the graduate faculty.  Dr. Schill was most recently an assistant professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, where he taught courses in political advocacy, media and politics, social media, telecommunications policy and law, and research methods. This coming fall he will be teaching Introduction to Advocacy Studies in our master’s program.

His research is centered on communication, politics, technology, and the mass media. His book Presidential Campaigning and Social Media (co-edited with John Allen Hendricks, Oxford University Press, 2013) is the first of its kind to study comprehensively the techniques, functions and effects of social media in presidential campaigning. His first book, Stagecraft and Statecraft: Advance and Media Events in Political Communication (Lexington Books, 2009), pulled back the curtain and explained the strategies and tactics of the visual speechwriters and advance staff who plan and manage political events. Dr. Schill’s research has appeared in American Behavioral Scientist, PS: Political Science & Politics, Review of Communication, Real Time Response Measurement in the Social Sciences, and Techno-Politics and Presidential Campaigning.

In addition to his academic research, Dr. Schill conducts research for media outlets with frequent collaborator Dr. Rita Kirk. Since 2008, he has organized and moderated on-air dial focus groups for CNN and provided real-time analysis of debates, speeches, and political ads. His focus groups are prominently featured on CNN during coverage of major communication events, including presidential debates, conventions, and major speeches. His research and analysis has also appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, ABC News, Chronicle of Higher Education, Dallas Morning News, The American Prospect, and other local and regional media outlets. Dr. Schill is also an expert in telecommunications and Internet policy and spent the 2009-2010 academic year working on these issues in Washington, D.C. for the United States Senate as an American Political Science Association Congressional fellow.

-Melissa Aleman

 

 

 

Announcements


- Review of applications for our MA program in Communication and Advocacy will begin February 15. For more information on the application process or to apply now, go to: http://macommstudiesjmu.com/apply/

- Nominations for the Alumni Award are due Feb. 15, 4:00 p.m. For submission information, please click on the Alumni Affairs button on the left.

Message from Our Director

Click on the link below for Dr. Sharon Mazzarella's personal message to the SCOM Community. 

A picture of Sharon Mazzarella, Academic Unit Head of Communication Studies

Dr. Sharon Mazzarella

SCOM in a Nutshell

The School of Communication Studies promotes an academic environment in which students, faculty and staff develop innovative communication practices and facilitate constructive dialogue in the classroom and community to inspire responsible citizenship in a diverse world.

We are committed to the teaching of communication theory and criticism, the development of communication and advocacy skills, the research of communication processes and practices, and the application of generated knowledge about human communication toward the betterment of self and community.