Marquette to host Catholic Higher Education communication conference

‘The Power to Transform the World’ theme of July 19-21 conference

MILWAUKEE – More than 85 faculty who teach media and communication at Catholic colleges and universities nationwide will discuss their work in light of the tradition, mission, and identity of their institutions at a conference at Marquette University co-sponsored by the Pontifical Council on Social Communications. The event will be held July 19 - July 21 with the theme “The Power to Transform the World.”

Each day will have a special focus, including reflection on identity, ethics and the future. Keynote speakers highlighting each day will be Dr. Janie Harden Fritz from Duquesne University, Dr. Clifford G. Christians from the University of Illinois and Dr. John Pauly from Marquette University. The conference also includes panels and paper sessions so participants can discuss work on different campuses.

This U.S. conference is a follow-up to an international meeting hosted by the Pontifical Council in Rome in 2008.

“In the university, as in the Church, we encounter a digital generation, that is children and young adults immersed from infancy in modern media,” said William Thorn, chair of the Department of Journalism in Marquette’s J. William and Mary Diederich College of Communication and the director of the conference. “This conference offers scholars and teachers an opportunity to discuss the implications of this generation in the context of media and communication programs.”

There is no charge for attending the conference, and limited accommodations are available on campus. More information and a full schedule are available online.

Selected sessions include:

Rebranding the Catholic Church
H. Buford Barr, Marketing Department, Santa Clara University

Vices and Virtues: The Role of Ethics in Advertising and Public Relations Education
Dr. Yolanda Cal, School of Mass Communication, Loyola University New Orleans

Change the Word—Change the World
Dr. Gilda Parrella, School of Communication, Loyola University Chicago

Guerilla Tactics for Teaching Ethics
Dr. Kevin L. Hutchinson, Communication Department, St. Norbert College

Changing the World One Student at a Time: The Transformative Power of Social Media as a Tool in the Development of Freshman Students’ Mind-Body-Spirit Connection
Dr. Roxanne Beard, Business Department, Ohio Dominican University

Adrift in the media sea: Now where do we go? Anyone got a map?
Dr Eugene Gan, Department of Communication Arts, Franciscan University of Steubenville

Free Samples: Hip Hop, Fair Use and Digital Downloading in the Media Literacy Classroom
Joseph Christopher Schaub, Communication Department, College of Notre Dame of Maryland

Teaching About the Media & the Priest Sex-Abuse Scandal
Rev. Michael A. Russo, Communication Department, Saint Mary’s College of California

Backpack Journalism Abroad
Dr. William Thorn, Department of Journalism, Marquette University
Dr. Steve Byers, Department of Journalism, Marquette University

Why We Argue About Community: Social Communication and/in New Worlds
Dr. Gordon Coonfield, Department of Communication, Villanova University

Members of the media who are interested in attending the conference should contact Andrew Brodzeller in the Office of Marketing and Communication at (414) 288-0286 or andrew.brodzeller@marquette.edu.