Department of Communication Media Journalism and Film Archives

Paws to the Polls wins MSEED grant

July 20, 2026 by Lynn M. Lansdown

Missouri State University’s Paws to the Polls (PAWS) student organization has been awarded an Experiential Education for Student Development (MSEED) grant from the university’s strategic planning funding.

PAWS will use the MSEED grant during the Fall 2026 semester to conduct research on civic engagement and community involvement at Missouri State. Although the project will occur mostly on the university’s Springfield campus, other off-campus sites include the Greene County Election Center and area high schools. The group also plans to work with Leadership Springfield and the Neighborhood Advisory Council (NAC). NAC oversees all neighborhood associations in Springfield.

With the grant, PAWS will coordinate focus groups, surveys, workshops, a voting fair, voter education materials distribution and voter registration events. Later this fall, the students will compile and analyze the data they collect from these efforts.

Between 15-25 PAWS members and other students will participate in the program, according to Dr. Suzanne Walker-Pacheco, faculty advisor to the group. Additionally, another 120-150 student volunteers will eventually participate in the broader program. In all, Walker-Pacheco estimates, the project will reach anywhere from 3,000-6,000 students.

Communication alumnus Luke Thomas enjoys growing San Antonio Spurs brand

June 2, 2026 by Lynn M. Lansdown

To hear Missouri State University alumnus Luke Thomas describe it, his job with the San Antonio Spurs professional basketball franchise isn’t just a marketing job. It is “storytelling in a physical space.”

“Every detail, from the environment to the messaging to the way a fan interacts with a moment, is communicating something,” Thomas said. “My job is to make sure that message is intentional, cohesive and something people actually want to be a part of.”

Thomas’ job title is Experiential Marketing Manager, Strategic Growth for Spurs Sports and Entertainment. He joined the organization in early 2026. His responsibilities include planning large-scale fan activations, community events and other activities that “connect the Spurs to new and existing audiences,” he said.

“In Austin, this work comes to life across a series of tentpole moments throughout the year,” Thomas said. These include Spurs Week Austin, SXSW, Austin City Limits, Formula 1, and the Spurs International Half Marathon. The activities are designed to grow the Spurs’ brand in Austin and expand its presence globally, especially in Europe and Mexico.

“We just did an event in Paris for the playoffs,” Thomas cited as an example of the Spurs’ global marketing campaigns. “We will be back in July, and then we are playing games in Paris and Manchester, England, in January.”

Before his current position with the Spurs, Thomas worked at Walt Disney World in Park Planning and Integration. In that role, he managed large-scale operational and event logistics at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Environmental Communication class highlights university’s public affairs mission

May 18, 2026 by Lynn M. Lansdown

When communication majors began enrolling for Spring 2026 classes, they encountered a new offering: Environmental Communication. Structured as a second block online class, this was the first time Environmental Communication had been offered as part of the communication studies curricula.

The course is another choice within the fully online option of the communication studies program, according to Senior Instructor Jay Howard. Its purpose is to help students understand the role of communication in negotiating the relationship between people and the environment.

Howard, who teaches in the Department of Communication, Media, Journalism and Film, created the class as a special topics course. He was thrilled when 29 students enrolled, a number just a bit over the class limit.

Most of the students were upper level communications majors, Howard said. “But we did have people from other majors as well find their way into the class, which I was happy to see. And if I get to teach the class again, I’d love to continue to expand and have people enrolled from all across the university.”

Consumers of environmental messaging

Throughout the course, Howard stressed to students how all members of a society are “consumers” of environmental communication. While not everyone will become a public official or climate activist, he noted, people engage in and consume environmental communication daily.

“We need to be able to critically evaluate [this communication] and have some tools for knowing whether the messaging coming at us is accurate or not,” Howard said. “See what they’re trying to get us to do, and why, and whose agenda is being served.”

Because environmental issues tend to affect entire communities and societies, not just individuals, the topic itself can have a wide reach and impact.

“It’s big, it crosses boundaries, has all kinds of stakeholders that all have to cooperate,” Howard said. “There’s a collective action problem. And when you’re trying to coordinate action, you have to use communication.”

Dr. Erin Wehrman featured in Mind’s Eye

May 5, 2026 by Strategic Communication

Congratulations to Dr. Erin Wehrman, associate professor in the department of communication, media, journalism and film at Missouri State University, on her feature in Mind’s Eye magazine.

As an expert in family and interpersonal communication, Wehrman studies how communication can help people adjust to life after losing a spouse, focusing on the role it plays in shaping relationships and identity.

Research feature story now online

The Mind’s Eye story featuring Wehrman’s research is now published online.

Excerpt:

“I don’t even know who I am anymore.”

This sentiment is often expressed by people who are grieving the loss of a spouse.

“Identity is complex,” said Dr. Erin Wehrman, associate professor in the department of communication, media, journalism and film at Missouri State University. “We don’t have just one singular identity.”

External factors, such as the people we interact with and the places we go, combine with internal factors, such as our personal experiences and our physiology, help to construct a self-identity.

Relationships play a big role in building and maintaining that identity.

Read the full story

Missouri State faculty present interdisciplinary panel on history of Route 66

May 5, 2026 by Lynn M. Lansdown

Four Missouri State University faculty members presented a research panel on Route 66 and its history April 22, 2026, in Strong Hall on the Springfield campus.

The panel event coincided with the roadway’s 100th anniversary.

“African American Lived Experiences: Unheard Stories of Route 66,” was a collaborative effort by the panelists to highlight how African American travelers experienced the famed scenic route.

Associate Professor Lyle Q. Foster of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Gerontology organized the event. Joining him were Assistant Professor Leonard Horton III of the Department of Communication, Media, Journalism and Film; Associate Professor Judith Martinez of the Department of Languages, Cultures and Religions; and Associate Professor Ximena Uribe-Zarain of the School of Special Education, Leadership and Professional Studies.

The researchers have been working on the project since September 2025.

Interdisciplinary approach highlights multiple views

As an interdisciplinary group, the panelists found that their varied academic backgrounds blended nicely, Foster noted. “Since the team brings together perspectives from sociology, communication, languages and cultures, and education, that mix of viewpoints really shaped how we interpreted what we found,” he said.

Each panelist drew heavily from oral history interviews conducted in 2014 and 2015 as part of the Greater Springfield Route 66 Oral History Project at Missouri State.

“These interviews are publicly available through the Missouri State University Libraries YouTube channel,” Foster said. “Anyone can go listen to them.”

Other resource material included the Negro Motorist Green Book, historical records and existing scholarship on race and mobility in America. During the session, the panelists also premiered a mini documentary, “Reflections on the Route.”

“The film highlights the stories of local Springfieldians who traveled Route 66 during the Jim Crow era and used the Green Book directory as a guide to find safe places to eat and spend the night,” Foster explained.