TMU 7(8) -- June 29, 2010

Reilly joins international trip. Associate Professor Hugh Reilly joined colleague Chris Allen and International Communication students for the 11th annual London trip in early May (photo courtesy Matt Lafrentz). The students began the trip with a tour of London's historic Fleet Street where the newspaper industry was born. They had the opportunity to visit many of London's most famous media companies like Weber-Shandwick, The Telegraph newspaper, Publicis Advertising Agency, Schwawk, the Press Complaints Commission and were even treated to an authentic middle eastern meal when they visited the Islam Channel. The highlight of the tour may have been the trip to the BBC where they were taken on an extensive tour of this international media giant, by its employees.

Allen and Reilly led a group of 12 students to Dublin on a free weekend. The group toured Dublin's many sights and enjoyed a bus tour through the Wicklow Mountains to Glendalough. Glendalough is an ancient monastic settlement,nestled in a mountain valley next to two pristine lakes. It dates back to the 8th century and features St. Kevin's Church, a well preserved round tower and a terrific cemetery with tombstones more than a thousand years old.

A cloud of ash from the Icelandic Volcano delayed our return to London by a day. The students seemed to enjoy the extra day in Dublin and used the time to visit the city. Some even visited a small fishing village on the Irish sea.

This year's trip also included visits to famous sights like Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, The Tower of London and Piccadilly Circus. The group took day trips to Warwick Castle, Stratford-On-Avon, Oxford and even Cambridge where they has a chance to go punting on the river. They enjoyed a spooky walking tour that recreated Jack the Ripper's murder spree and then ended the tour in grand fashion with an authentic medieval banquet.

UNO Run 'N Munch. MaverickPR, the UNO chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), sponsored by the School of Communication, is taking part in the Child Hunger Ends Here Neighborhood Rally campaign sponsored by ConAgra Foods. This national campaign encourages groups to plan and hold neighborhood events throughout the summer. All money and food items stay in the Omaha community (photo courtesy Kelsie Olson). The neighborhood event, the “UNO Run ‘N’ Munch,” was held Sunday, June 27. The event consisted of a run/walk, a cookout, and fun activities for children. MaverickPR targeted families in the community to participate in the run/walk and stay for activities in the Pep Bowl on the UNO campus. Activities included face painting, 3-legged races, and UNO athletes sharing exercises with children. MaverickPR served hot dogs, popcorn, soda and of course Crunch ‘N’ Munch.

One in four children in America face hunger throughout the year. That’s 16.7 million children, according to the ConAgra Foods Foundation. And some of those hungry children are right here in Omaha.

UNO PRSSA is nationally recognized for its community and university service on such issues as child hunger, intimate partner violence, eating disorders, binge drinking prevention and organ donation. In 2009 MaverickPR earned the highest honor for PRSSA: the F.H. Teahan National Award for Outstanding Chapter among 284 chapters.

Meanwhile, a team from UNO PRSSA will present a chapter development session at the National PRSSA Conference in Washington DC Oct. 15, the sixth year in a row for such an honor. The presentation, titled, "Six Degrees of SePRSSAtion: Your Link to Success," will demonstrate to members how making human connections can lead to a series of positive outcomes for future PR practitioners. The team has many recent wonderful examples to share. Recent alumna Cassie Prestia, PRSSA president in 2009-2010, was just hired by Joan Lukas at Leslie, Kline Lukas & Associates as an account executive.

Technical Communication approval. An undergraduate certificate in Technical Communication was among several UNO items receiving approval at the June 11 University of Nebraska Regents meeting in Lincoln. A report item now goes to the Coordinating Commission, said Associate Vice Chancellor Deborah Smith-Howell.

Bethsaida photos. Students are learning the intricacies of archeological photography this summer with a new course offering in Israel. For the first time, UNO is offering the workshop course at the Bethsaida Excavations site. "Among the finds is a rare gold coin of the Emperor Antoninus Pius dating from 138 CE," UNO Professor Rami Arav said. Weekly reports from the dig are available.

Excellence in action. Associate Professor Teresa Lamsam has published a new article: http://www.ojrrp.org/ Lamsam will be on leave in 2010-11 while serving as a visiting professor at Kansas University. *** Assistant Professor Ana Cruz has been recommended to serve on the University-Wide Committee for the Advancement of Teaching (UCAT). The UNO Faculty Senate approved the resolution at its May 12 meeting. Cruz will serve a three-year appointment and replaces Matthew Harden from the Department of Music. Harden chaired the committee. *** Assistant Professor Lynnette G. Leonard attended the Service Learning Bright Futures Workshop recently and met some great K-12 teachers. Leonard explored some ideas for new partnerships between the School of Communication and middle school students. Leonard also recently announced that Benson High School is joining the North Omaha Media Alliance (NOMA) for its third year in the Fall. The project pairs UNO broadcasting students with high school students in creating media projects. *** UNO has again been selected to participate in the international program that offers top students a meeting with Omaha billionaire Warren Buffett. School of Communication Director Jeremy Lipschultz for the fourth year will guide a group of 20 communication and business students on the opportunity of a lifetime. The students participate in a two-hour question and answer session followed by lunch with Buffett. The day also features private tours of the Nebraska Furniture Mart and Borsheim's.

Photo gallery. School of Communication Director Jeremy Lipschultz participated in the fourth annual New Media Academic Summit in New York in June. Edelman PR President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Edelman emphasized the need to clearly keep separate news and public relations.

Upcoming events.

July
5 - Holiday

August
14 - Part-time faculty meeting, graduate student orientation and Fall reception, TBA