TMU 7(12) -- September 28, 2010

UNO Forensics lands team first place in Kansas opener. Nebraska's top public speakers from the School of Communication brought home a first place from competition Sept. 25-26 at Hutchinson, Kansas. UNO Forensics had several individual first place finishers. The team recently benefited from two major contributions by faculty members Randy Rose, communication, and Mark Wohar, economics. Their matching donations raised one-fourth of travel funds required for national competition next April and eased the fund-raising burden on student competitors.

UNO Voices Against Violence. "Dare to Speak for Those Who Don't" was the theme for a Sept. 21 event organized by School of Communication public relations students at UNO. There were self defense demonstrations in judo and kickboxing followed by a showing of 2005 film, "North Country." A panel discussion about the "Tough Guise" documentary featured football Coach Pat Behrns, Women's basketball Coach Patty Patton Shearer, Director of Women's Studies Karen Falconer Al-Hindi, and UNO YWCA Advocate Emily Nuygen.

Graduate student is a Rotary Club president. Graduate student Jennifer Goodell is the new president of the Shenandoah, Iowa Rotary Club. "We believe that a healthy Rotary club contributes greatly to a healthy community," Goodell told the Shenandoah Valley News. "Rural Iowa communities are suffering population declines, and our group wants to work to reverse that trend."

Alumni Notes. Alumnus Mike Moran, spokesman for the U.S. Olympic Committee for more than two decades, encouraged current UNO School of Communication students to follow their dreams. Moran spoke to students in two of Hugh Reilly's courses, as well as one of Jeremy Lipschultz's courses. Moran also kicked-off an alumni luncheon series by meeting with students and faculty over pizza in the Reading Room.

Italian Night raises money for national conference travel. The seventh annual La Notte Italiana, PRSSA benefit dinner, Sept. 26 at All Saints Episcopal Church featured food donations from some of Omaha's best restaurants. PRSSA hosted the party. About one dozen students are raising money to travel to Washington, D.C. for the national conference. Last year in San Diego, UNO PRSSA captured top chapter honors of 384 active in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Excellence in action. Associate Professor Chris Allen was interviewed on WHO-TV about broadcasting pioneer Jack Shelley, who died last week at age 98. Allen literally wrote the book on Shelley in his University of Missouri School of Journalism doctoral dissertation. Allen had studied under Shelley at Iowa State University. Shelley was a World War II war correspondent, WHO news director and Iowa State University professor emeritus. He inspired generations of journalism students following a distinguished broadcast career. Shelley, Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite were among an elite group of radio reporters who brought credibility to broadcast news. Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley remembered Shelley's "crisp, clear voice" that "was like listening to something from a higher power." Shelley had earned money during the Depression by working railroad jobs and then graduated from Missouri's journalism program. Allen's interview with Shelley for the dissertation became the historical record that helped craft the published obituary . "You have to remember that in those days, in the 1930s, the vast majority of our audience found radio news something brand new and very exciting," Shelley recalled. "All these people who lived in small towns and on the farms in Iowa had never had anything that brought news to them so quickly." *** Dave Ogden and Kevin Warneke published, "Theoretical considerations in college baseball's relationship with youth select baseball," in the September issue of the Journal of Sport Behavior. It is based upon a national survey of college baseball players. *** Adam Tyma participated in a North Dakota State University podcast Sept. 24 on educational technology, social media and mobile devices in the classroom.

Photo gallery. Karen Dwyer, Jeremy Lipschultz and Dave Ogden teamed Sept. 24-25 for the third consecutive year to offer a communication course for the Certified Public Managers (CPM) program. The Nebraska certification is offered by UNO's Department of Public Administration and is already emerging as a national model program. Dwyer teaches public speaking, Lipschultz teaches social media, and Ogden teaches media relations.

Alumna Deborah Ball Derrick and Wendi Chiarbos Jensen guided faculty
interested in grants and external funding sources for technology projects

Karen Weber helps students sell Italian Night tickets

Matt Tompkins performed as half of Matt and Ben at the Funny Bone

The Omaha Symphony opened the MasterWorks season last weekend

Events. Social media, internet studies, legal issues and emerging challenges are highlighted in UNO's Omaha 10-10-10 conference, which is being held Oct. 9-11.

Join us for Omaha 10-10-10

October

9 - Heartland Regional Emmy Road Show, Thompson Alumni Center, 8 a.m.- 1 p.m. & Goodnights Meetup.com tweetup, 4 p.m.
10 - Omaha 10-10-10 Kick-off Events, CPACS 4 p.m.: Rick Murray, Edelman Chicago & OPC dinner 7:30 p.m.: Kyu Youm, U. of Oregon
11 - Omaha 10-10-10 Panel Discussions, CPACS, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.