This information was collected for the January 2026 edition of the CCIM (Some)TIMES. Read the newsletter via email and/or Canvas Community! 

Over these past few months CCIM has been busy with energy, innovation, and creativity! Opportunities brought students, faculty, and professionals together.  

Now that 2026 has begun, we want to take some time to reflect on a few of the wonderful things that have happened within the college recently.  

ALUMNI NEWS

Headshot of Casey Smith
  • Casey Smith is a School of Journalism and Strategic Communication Alumna, SJSC part-time instructor, and serves on the SJSC Alumni Society Executive Board.
    • Smith and Rusch were announced as Pulitzer Prize Finalists for “Right to Remain Secret.”
    • Smith and Katey Rusch won the Polk Award for Justice Reporting for “Right to Remain Secret.”
A headshot of CICS alumnus Daniel Ahengua on the left and a headshot of CICS Assistant Professor Faisal Kalota on the right.
  • Center for Information and Communication Sciences alumnus, Daniel Ahengua, and Dr. Faisal Kalota, were awarded for their achievement in presenting their research paper at the Society of Advancement of Management (SAM) international Business Conference 2025. Their paper is titled, “Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for Fraud Detection and Prevention in the U.S. Small Businesses: Issues and Recommendations.” 

STUDENT NEWS

CICS Student Research Team at the SAM International Business Conference 2025.
  • Center for Information and Communications Sciences Student Research Team was accepted for presentation at the Society for Advancement Management (SAM) International Business Conference with “The Intersection of AI and Civic Engagement: Digital Platforms for Inclusive Participation.”
  • The Ball State Debate Team traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to compete at the 6th Annual Vanderbilt British Parliamentary (BP) Debate Tournament. Three Ball State teams advanced to Novice Semifinals: Brayden Hall and Quentin Brizendine, Logan Braunschweig and Caleb Trinoskey, and Sophia Warden and Zach Williams. Among the top 4 Novice Teams, Braunschweig and Trinoskey, and Warden and Williams competed.
  • The following Center for Information and Communication Sciences students presented their research projects at the Student Symposium and Oral Presentation Day during CHIRPS Week. 
    • Abtin Karimi Malek Abadi – “Understanding Explainability in recommended systems: user insights and perspectives” 
    • Frema Boamah, Nikitha Manjunath, and Gran Witty – “Implications of AI on Project Management” 
    • Jack Cataldo, Jaylan Gordon-White, Benjamin Kwasi Gyamfi, Kwadwo Nyarko Graham – “Assessing the usability, challenges, and potential areas of improvement of Canvas Learning Management System for college students” 
Headshot of Frema Boamah.
  • Frema Boamah earned several recognitions at the BSU Oral Presentation Day and Poster Presentation Day during CHIRPS Week. 
    • Nomination for Graduate Student Employee of the Year 
    • Certificate of Achievement for significant academic accomplishments at the graduate level 
    • Certificate for Participation in Oral Presentation Day 
    • Certificate for Participation in Poster Presentation Day
  • Emma Deaton, journalism major, received a Gilman Scholarship. The Gilman Scholarship is a nationally competitive study abroad scholarship sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. 
  • William Privett, CICS graduate student, was nominated and selected to be part of the Cisco Live conference at San Diego on June 4-12, 2025. This conference drives thousands of Cisco customers, partners, and IT and communication professionals from around the world. 
  • The Ball State Debate Team participated in the third Yaatly Online Debate League tournament of the 2024/25 academic year. Students competed in British Parliamentary (BP) style debating. Of the 70 novice speakers designated Novice across all teams in this tournament, Ball State earned 5 of the top 10 placements: 
    • Logan Braunschweig ranked as the top Novice Speaker of the entire tournament 
    • Brayden Hall ranked 2nd 
    • Caleb Trinoskey ranked 3rd 
    • Quentin Brizendine ranked 5th 
    • Sophia Worden and Zach Williams tied for 6th 
  • Two Ball State debate teams advanced to Novice Semifinals: 
    • Sophia Warden and Zach Williams 
    • Taylor Huffman and Morgan Zacek 

CCIM UNIT NEWS

Dr. Luis Orozco poses for a photo with students from the Ghanaian Student Association at a LinkedIn workshop.
  • Center for Information and Communication Sciences Assistant Professor Dr. Luis Orozco facilitated a workshop for the Ghanaian Student Association (GSA), focusing on best practices for optimizing LinkedIn profiles and strategies for effective professional networking. 
  • Center for Information and Communication Sciences Assistant Professor Firoz Khan was accepted to Scientific Reports publication for the journal “Linear regressive weighted Gaussian kernel liquid neural network for brain tumor disease prediction using time series data.”
  • Center for Information and Communication Sciences Assistant Professor Dr. Luis Orozco presented “Building Professional Competencies Through Virtual Posters: Insights from a Graduate Course in ICS” at the 2025 Teaching and Technology Summit hosted by Ball State University. 
Marcy Meyer holding a giant check for the Spring 2025 Provost Immersive Learning Pilot Grant.
  • Associate professor in Communication Studies, Marcy Meyer, received the Spring 2025 Provost Immersive Learning Pilot Grant for proposal “Health Communications in a Nonprofit Organization: Ending Mental Illness (NAMI),” in Delaware County, IN. 
  • Ball State Sports Link welcomed alumnus, 40-year industry expert, and multi-award-winning cinematographer Kaline Schounce to its staff in Spring 2025. He taught a course in Sports Cinematography in the first part of the semester, followed by a class on Industry Techniques & Freelancing in the second part. Read more about Schounce’s time with Ball State Sports Link here.  

FACULTY AND STAFF NEWS

  • Center for Information and Communication Sciences Assistant Professor  Dr. Luis Orozco was presented at the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS-58). 
Dr. Luis Orozco presents at the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences in front of a room of people.
  • Program Manager for Ball State PBS, Heather Hunt, was appointed as Vice Chair of the PBS Traffic Advisory Committee for 2025. Hunt serves as the liaison between PBS and local stations across the Midwest and New England regions. 
Dr. Luis Orozco sits on a Zoom meeting as he is selected as the President of Distance Learning, Teaching Innovation, and Artificial Intelligence Division at ATMAE.
  • Center for Information and Communication Sciences’ Dr. Luis Orozco was nominated and selected as the President of the Distance Learning, Teaching Innovation, and Artificial Intelligence Division at the Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering (ATMAE). 
  • School of Journalism and Strategic Communication Associate Professor, Natalee Seely, received the Excellence in Assessment recognition in the category of Innovation, given annually by the University Assessment Committee. This award recognizes leadership and innovation in measuring student learning outcomes for both the university and SJSC’s accrediting association (ACEJMC). 
  • Center for Information and Communication Sciences Assistant Professor Dr. Faisal Kalota, was nominated by students for his dedication and commitment to the Graduate Faculty Mentor Award. 
Headshot of Dr. Faisal Kalota.
  • Multimedia Journalism and the Center for Emerging Media Design and Development founding director Dr. Jennifer Palilonis was featured as a digital cover story for Pattern Magazine. The article discusses various Center for EMDD projects and the future of innovation on the Ball State campus. 
  • From the Center for Information and Communication Sciences, led by Assistant Professor Hesham Allam, Dr. Chris Davison, Dr. Faisal Kalota, Dr. Edward Lazaros, and Dr. David Hua published “AI-Driven Mental Health Surveillance: Identifying Suicidal Ideation Through Machine Learning Techniques.” In their research, they developed a predictive model that analyzes social media posts to detect signs of distress, including suicidal ideation.  
  • Ball State PBS Program Manager Heather Hunt was part of a panel that presented “Traffic Jam: Creative Ways to Fill a Break Void” at Tech Summit in Atlanta, GA on May 22, 2025. 
  • Professor in the School of Journalism and Strategic Communication, Robin Blom, led a faculty, administrators, and staff development series about positionality in the classroom. This series expanded on Dr. Blom’s edited volume Teaching Race to reach more positionalities and intersectionalities.  
  • Assistant Professor in Communication Studies Dr. Scarlett Hester published the article “Fog, Connection, and Network: Korean American Adoptee Community and the Digital Diaspora.” In this autoethnography, Dr. Hester utilizes her experience as a Korean American adoptee (KAD) to theorize and challenge the meaning of belonging for the KAD community. Through autoethnographic vignettes, Hester explores the possibility of reimagining a digital homeland that views borders as markers of belonging instead of exclusion. Moreover, Hester theorizes what it means to belong in a diaspora community where “homeland” is complicated. 
Cover of
  • From the Department of Media, Associate Professor Betsy Pike and Professor Robert Brookey published a book chapter titled “Abbott Elementary and Paratextual Social Justice” in the book, Communication, Entertainment, and Messages of Social Justice. 
  • Dr. Pike and Dr. Brookey also authored the book chapter “Class is Not Dismissed: Abbott Elementary and Approaches to Inequality” in the book, “Race/Gender/Class/Media Considering Diversity Across Audiences, Content, and Producers.”
  • Associate Dean Weiwu Zhang’s edited book, Emotional Intelligence and Public Relations: EQ is the New IQ, was released by Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group on November 3, 2025. This edited volume presents the first comprehensive collection of cutting-edge research and theoretical and practical insights exploring the pivotal role of EQ across PR practices and education. It covers diverse topics including EQ’s importance in PR roles, internal public relations, listening and mindfulness, leadership, intercultural public relations, work-life blend, crisis communication, health communication, organizational listening, social capital, and diversity initiatives. It delivers valuable insights into why EQ truly is the new IQ in public relations. 

Blog by Amelia Harker (Strategic Communication: Public Relations ’27) & Emma Gsell (Journalism ’25 EMDD ’27)