Fink Delivers 18th Annual Thompson Lecture
Dr. Edward Fink visited Western Illinois University from Sunday March 30 until Wednesday April 2. Dr. Fink presented the annual
Thompson Lecture, entitled "Why is it Funny? Models of (Especially Jewish) Humor," to a crowd of two hundred and fifty people. This lecture addressed the relationship between cognitive processing, humor and the act of persuasion. He also visited several courses, including Dr. Chung’s Persuasive Campaigns Class (Comm 456), Dr. Jorgensen's Research Methods course (Comm 311), and Dr. Miczo's Health Communication Course (Comm 480). In addition to conducting meetings with the faculty and graduate students, Dr. Fink met with Dr. Roberta Davilla, chair of the Department of Communication, Dr. Paul Kreider, Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication, and Dr. Jack Thomas, the University Provost.
Jennifer Grimm, communication academic advisor, was chosen as the Administrative Employee of the Year. The Council of Administrative Personnel (COAP), in conjunction with the President of Western Illinois University, annually recognizes the outstanding accomplishments made by a member of COAP through the Council of Administrative Personnel Employee of the Year Award. The award was designed to recognize significant contributions made by a member of COAP that go above and beyond the call of duty in serving Western Illinois University. The recipient of the Employee of the Year Award will be presented with a plaque from the President of Western Illinois University at the May 6, 2008 COAP membership meeting with President Goldfarb.
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Phi Kappa Phi Inducts Davilla
Roberta A. Davilla, communication chair and professor, has been a member of the Western faculty since 2005. She was inducted into the WIU Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi in spring 2008. Her latest research has involved researching how couples communicate about personal finances and how children learn about money and its use. Davila has presented papers and has been a panelist and respondent at more than 40 conferences, has authored four and co-authored four instructors' manuals and workbooks, has written several articles for professional journals and authored and co-authored seven book chapters. Davilla's teaching areas include interpersonal and small group communication, family communication, communication theories, qualitative research methods and the basic communication course.
Communication Department Summer Interns: Jenna Dunlap, a junior communication major from Keokuk, IA, was chosen for the American Humanics Next Generation Nonprofit Leaders Program (NextGen), and will receive a $4,500 scholarship to cover living and educational expenses while completing an internship this summer with a nonprofit organization. Dunlap is enrolled in Western's American Humanics interdisciplinary minor, which is housed in the department of recreation, park and tourism administration (RPTA). See more information from University Relations.