The Center for Communication, Culture, and Change

Annual report for 2016-17

Infrastructure

Center renovations. Renovations planning, construction, and installation work spanned January through September. The new Center space will serve as both a meeting and research space, with furniture and technology able to support a wide variety of projects initiated by SoC faculty. We had an Open House to unveil the results in early September.

Pilot funding: We funded two 4C pilot proposals in 2016: (1) Alberto Cairo/Fan Yang on testing the persuasive influence of interactive data visualizations, and (2) Jyotika Ramaprasad/Ed Talavera on creating a film-based intervention to reduce discrimination by health care professionals against Roma patients in Macedonia.

We used a newly vetted system (SlideRoom) for reviewing and managing grant proposals and funded projects, but discovered additional difficulties as we implemented the system. We may need to continue the search for a good system next year. My goal is to find a system that will allow us to easily manage the application, review, administration, and reporting processes (that is also not expensive) to allow for a greater accountability for grantees and a greater sense of continuity for administrators (since I will not serve in this role forever!) and rotating committee members.

Personnel

Visiting Knight Chair. This year, we spent a considerable amount of time proactively identifying excellent candidates for the Visiting Knight Chair position. Alberto Cairo served as my primary point person for qualifying the “best” people in data visualization; Ellis and I worked together to try to identify award-winning journalists doing multimedia work, particularly focused on the environment. We actively solicited applications from about 20 people and I spent a good bit of time on the phone providing additional information about the position. We had 8 applications. Sam, Alberto, and I interviewed everyone via Skype in June. We made offers to the following people:

  • David Abel for Fall 2016 (environmental journalism)
  • Anna Barry-Jester for Spring 2017 (data visualization)
  • Lindsay Grace for Fall 2017 (tentative, interactive media)
  • Liz Miller for Spring 2018 (environmental journalism)
  • Kat Cizek (environmental/experimental filmmaker 2018-2019).

We are in the process of identifying, interviewing, and hiring a good data visualization person for the future. Alberto has been approaching some of his “favorite people” to get indications of interest. I will vet all names on his list and oversee the formal application and interview process.

I am also in the process of trying to gather resources that will be needed for all newly hired VKCs so we can save time/energy each semester on common issues such as housing.

The VKC for Fall 2016, David Abel, has been actively engaged with JMM and CIM faculty and students. They are completing a film project titled, “Gladesmen: The Last of the Sawgrass Cowboys.” Because of the scope of the project, it will not be completed at the end of the fall 2016 semester and will continue into the spring, with no additional funding attached. He will have an extension on the amount of time permitted to expend project funds until early March and he will continue to have access to his office in 1020.

Staff administrative support. In August, Ellis Rua abruptly left his position. After interviewing four candidates, I hired a temp, Greta West in early October. Tonya had the position posted and I interviewed eight people, bringing four of them back for second interviews. Nell Malone, who has extensive experience facilitating multidisciplinary research teams and managing large grant projects (including budgets and reporting requirements) is scheduled to start in March of 2017.

Events

4C open house: In early September, we hosted a catered event so that faculty, staff, and students could see the newly renovated 4C space. We had a great turnout from faculty within and outside of the School, including some people from the medical campus.

Sponsored speakers/colloquia. We had Marco Yzer (U Minnesota) give a talk on social influence in the spring. Patrick Vargas (U Illinois) delivered a talk on memory and social influence in the fall. Both talks cut across multiple areas of SoC (as intended) and were very well-attended by faculty and doctoral students.

4C Collaborative Projects

The 4C has been maintaining partnerships with several organizations. These collaborations have resulted in several “flagship projects” that are being facilitated by the Center. These include:

Conservancy of Southwest Florida: This partnership is continuing to grow and evolve. Juliana Fernandes’s undergraduate advertising did an excellent job creating a multimedia campaign targeting millennials. Other faculty members who are working actively with the Conservancy are Michelle Seelig, Alberto Cairo, Erin Brown, Candace Barbot, and VKC David Abel.

Firefighters Cancer Prevention Project: Funded through a second $1M grant by the state of Florida to the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, the sub-project designed to expand, implement, and evaluate a cancer communication intervention is led by Tyler Harrison. Doctoral students Fan Yang and David Anderson also serve on this research team.

Por Nuestras Calles: We are still in a holding pattern with the final contract negotiations to implement the training and dissemination for this serious game (developed by Jessica Wendorf, Lien Tran, and Maria Elena Villar) to addresses the commercial sexual exploitation of children in Colombia. $375K in funding from federal sources in Colombia has been secured to evaluate the impact of the game on national outcomes.

COMPAS/Cancer Communication Lab: Nick Carcioppolo has decided to discontinue work with the COMPAS lab. However, significant collaborations on individual projects with SCCC and MSOM faculty continue.

Goals for the 4C

  • Expand membership: We have several faculty members outside of SoC who have submitted applications for 4C membership. My goal is to conduct more outreach and solicit additional membership from faculty in relevant disciplines across campus.
  • Current advisory board members (who help to make funding decisions) have been in service for two years. I would like to consider rotating off current advisory board members, but I would like to invite only tenured faculty to serve on this board because of potential “political” issues if untenured faculty are on a committee that denies, for example, an influential Full professor funding.
  • Identify, recruit, and interview Visiting Knight Chair candidates 18-24 months in advance of the term of appointment. I would like to strongly favor candidates who (1) can spend an entire year and (2) be in residence at UM for their term of appointment. The resources that are required to onboard a new employee are not insignificant. Additionally, the scope of a “great” project is likely to require a full academic year to complete. Also, this will allow us to have some predictability in course offerings and will allow us to adequately promote the presence of our VKCs.