This information was collected for the September 2026 edition of the CCIM (Some)TIMES. Read the newsletter via email and/or Canvas Community!
The new academic year is already off to a busy start! Before we get too carried away, though, let’s reflect on some of the amazing achievements CCIM has made throughout recent months!
ALUMNI NEWS
- Department of Telecommunications ’86 graduate Sandra Chapman Taylor recently received the Distinguished Alumni Award. This award recognizes someone who exemplifies excellence, leadership, and has a lasting impact on the communities and people they serve. Chapman Taylor has won numerous awards for her investigative journalism, including being inducted into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame. She is now the founder and president of Prince Media Group which specializes in content development and production along with other communication services. Chapman Taylor has made it a point to stay connected to Ball State and act as a mentor for students.
- Beth Olson, a ’94 graduate from Ball State’s Department of Telecommunications, received the Benny Award. Olson is committed to mentoring students, giving back to Ball State, and serving her community. She volunteers her time as a leader for organizations like Joy’s House, the Global Orphan Organization, Make A Wish Foundation, and many more to serve those in need. Olson’s dedication to helping others and to paying forward the opportunities she gained from Ball State exemplifies what the Benny Award is all about.
- Anna Park, who graduated with her master’s degree from the Department of Communication Studies in 2022, received the Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) Award. Park currently is a HR Consultant with Purple Ink, serves as the Chair of the Beneficence Committee on the Young Alumni Council, holds leadership roles with the East Central Indiana Human Resources Association and SHRM Indiana State Conference, and serves as a foster parent in Delaware County. With all of these accomplishments and her dedication, Park demonstrates what it means to be a recipient of the Alumni GOLD Award.
- 2019 alumnus of the Department of Media’s Sports Link program Quinton Zielke was awarded the Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) award. Zielke has found great success in sports media production, creating award-winning content for numerous premier live sports properties. Zielke continues connecting with Ball State students and offers mentorship and guidance to aspiring media professionals. His achievements and commitment to serving his community represent a GOLD Award recipient.
STUDENT NEWS
- Ball State’s Chapter of Public Relations Student Society of America has been awarded the PRSSA National Star Chapter Award. This award is given to PRSSA chapters that provide opportunities for students to achieve their goals through hands-on projects and industry networking.
- The Agency at Cardinal Media is a finalist in four categories for the CMA Pinnacle Awards! These include:
- Ad Campaign: 8twelve Coalition Built to Thrive — Staff
- Magazine Spread: Cardinal Field Guide, Joining an Organization — Nariyah Mendez and Timothy Nscholson
- Special Section Cover: Cardinal Coupon Book — Piper Stewart
- Video Advertisement: Housing Fair Commercial — James White
- Student-lead media has 7 finalists in the 2026 College Media Association Pinnacle Awards!
- Editorial Illustration: “OUTSPOKEN” — Brenden Rowan, Ball State Daily News
- Feature Story: “A New Normal” — Trinity Rea, Ball State Daily News
- Magazine Spread: “Community beneath the waves” — Brenden Rowan, Ball Bearings Magazine
- Newspaper Spread: “Welcome to CharlieTown” — Brenden Rowan, Ball State Daily News
- Profile Story: “Anchored by Purpose” — Trinity Rea, Ball State Daily News
- Sports Feature: “Cards Kick Cancer: The story behind the Ball State specialists’ cause” — Elijah Poe, Ball State Daily News
- Video Newscast: “NewsLink Indiana | November 24, 2025” — NewsLink Indiana staff
- At the 2026 NATAS Central Great Lakes Regional Emmy® Awards event in Cleveland, Sports Link student Nate Locker earned a Regional Emmy® Award! Locker’s award was for his work “Every Step — The Annika Klaus Story” in the Sports Story — Short Form or Long Form Content category. He was also nominated in the Photographer — News or Sports category for “Cinematography Reel.”
Jude Kieffer, left, Ashlynne Owens, center, and Josh Bobay, right.
- Ball State Spors Link students Jude Kieffer, Jordan Klimes, Ashlynne Owens, and Nate Locker were also nominated for at 2026 Regional Emmy® Awards for their production “Together (2025).” Their project was nominated in the Sports Program — Post Produced or Edited category.
- Earlier this year, Ball State Sports Link students received 7 Student Production Awards from the NATAS Central Great Lakes organization. These recipients included:
- Interview/Discussion: “Ball State Sports Link: Slice of the Game” — AJ Swiatek and Ryan Stojetz
- Magazine Program: “Ball State Sports Link: SL Featured (December 2025)” — Matthew Gillie, Sam Klug, and Dylan Budd
- Sports Story: “Ball State Sports Link: Hungry To Win (Malcolm Slater)” — Will Chiaruttini and Keegan McClure
- Sports Program: “Ball State Sports Link: Prematch Report (BYU)” — Madeline Howell, Daniel Sullivan, AJ Swiatek, Zander Woods, and Brayden Carroll
- Live Sporting Event/Game: “Ball State Sports Link: MBB vs. Louisiana on ESPN+” — Daniel Sullivan, Brian Short, AJ Swiatek, and Sam Klug
- Promotional Video: “Ball State Sports Link: 2025 Baseball Intro” — Jackson DiVincenzo and Caden Vincent
- Talent — News or Sports: “Ball State Sports Link: Dylan Budd” — Dylan Budd
- To kick off the academic year, students and student organizations across the college attended CCIM’s Superparty! From eating pizza and Kona Ice to playing games and networking, attendees had a blast. Watch the recap video here: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Vja2Brcrk_Y. For an audio described version of this video, click the following link: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hrejZSeuBhc.
- BSU Tonight recently filmed their 25th anniversary episode! Alumni returned, holding a Q&A panel to answer current students’ questions. Students and alumni also collaborated to film the episode. See more here: https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd2Bkden6q9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&stkn=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D
COLLEGE & UNIT NEWS
- The CCIM Student Success and Outreach office has moved! Now located in the Ball Communication Building room 210, this space has a student lounge area, plenty of room to study, and direct access to CCIM’s advisors and Assistant Director of Student Success. The center is meant to welcome students and create an environment for workshops and events! See the new office here: https://youtube.com/shorts/l8zl6ee-6X4?si=l5JQv7xV3-H-KwaP For an audio described version of this video, click the following link: https://youtu.be/eDtm7DNeUOQ?si=pH6L8ThYIGkAmE_m
- Throughout the beginning of this semester, alumnus Ben Vu worked with students in the Ball State Department of Media as an Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball Visiting Expert in Residence for Media. We can’t thank him enough for all the time he has spent inspiring students and sharing his expert knowledge, especially on the topics of gaming and app development, artificial intelligence, and perseverance through challenges. Read more about his time here at this link: https://www.bsu.edu/news/press-center/archives/2026/09/ball-state-alumnus-and-game-designer-ben-vu-returns-as-visiting-expert-in-residence
- From the School of Journalism and Strategic Communication, Dr. Adam Kuban’s Journalism 322 class is gaining hands-on experience. Students in Dr. Kuban’s class are reporting on a variety of local high school sports teams to put their skills into practice. From volleyball to football, students will continue covering these teams throughout the semester and creating real portfolio pieces!
FACULTY AND STAFF NEWS
- Just before the Fall 2026 semester began, CCIM faculty and staff gathered for the Fall Opening Convocation and departmental meetings to receive recognition and awards! Read more about the recipients in this blog: https://blogs.bsu.edu/ccim/2026/08/27/2026-ccim-faculty-awards/
- From the School of Journalism and Strategic Communication, Dr. Sungwon Chung, Dr. YoungAh Lee, and Dr. Johnny Sparks published a collaborative research article in Volume 93, Issue 3 of Communication Monographs in August 2026. The study examines how people process and respond to corporate social advocacy messages, focusing on the roles of identity and sociopolitical context in shaping audience engagement. The research contributes to understanding how individuals’ existing perspectives influence their attention to, processing of, and responses to organizations’ communication about social issues.
- Associate professor and associate Director in the School of Journalism and Strategic Communication, Dr. Sungwon Chung and professor and director of the School of Journalism and Strategic Communication, Dr. Johnny Sparks published a collaborative research article in Atlantic Journal of Communication in August 2026. The study examines how media format and message valence shape responses to environmental corporate social responsibility messages. Findings showed that immersive 360° video enhanced different aspects of brand memory depending on whether message content was pleasant or unpleasant, while no significant effects emerged for perceived message effectiveness or electronic word-of-mouth intentions.
- Assistant Professor in Center for Information and Communication Sciences Hesham Allam published “Explainable AI for Multi-Class Supply Chain Delivery Prediction,” online on September 3, 2026, in the Journal of Computer Information Systems. The study develops an explainable AI framework using 155,488 shipment records and 41 operational variables to predict multiple classes of delivery delays. It compares several machine-learning approaches and demonstrates the importance of explainability, class imbalance, and model stability when developing AI systems for supply-chain decision-making. Read the publication here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08874417.2026.2723097
- Dr. Hesham Allam also published in Sustainable Operations and Computers in July 2026. The study published examines how AI, agentic systems, and robotics are changing ESG governance, corporate greenwashing, and investor trust. Using agent-based modeling, the research demonstrates that isolated oversight mechanisms have limitations and that coordinated AI-enabled auditing, robotics, and regulatory oversight can provide a more effective approach to maintaining market credibility and reducing greenwashing. Read the research article here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666412726000127
- Assisting teaching professor of the Department of Media Jessica Vitkin’s short film, Hard Work, had its world premiere at the legendary Roxie Theater in San Francisco this summer. The short film, which was completed in March 2026, has been making the film festival rounds with screenings scheduled at festivals in Seattle, North Carolina, Detroit, Nazareth and Detroit. Hard Work follows a one-night stand that takes a surreal turn – exploring the dichotomy between societal acceptance and private consumption of pornography, and the treatment of those who make a living working in the industry.
- Professor in Communication Studies, Dr. Marcy Meyer‘s article, “High-Impact Undergraduate Research Metaphors” was published in the Journal of Experiential Learning and Teaching in Higher Education in the June 2026 edition.
- Dr. Marcy Meyer and Kaitlyn Helmer published their book chapter, “From “I am not a creative person” to “maybe I am a little artistic”: Experiential learning, collaborative research, and arts-informed pedagogy in the neoliberal academy” in the edited book, “Implementing Transformative Student-Centered Pedagogies in the Neoliberal Academy: Constraints and Opportunities.”
- Dr. Marcy Meyer was also selected to be a High Impact Practices Ambassador in recognition of her exceptional commitment and significant contributions to high impact practices at Ball State University.
- Dr. Adam Kuban, professor in the School of Journalism and Strategic Communication, has been named Teacher of the Year by the Scripps Howard Fund as part of the 73rd Scripps Howard Journalism Awards. This award recognized Dr. Kuban’s dedication to immersive learning opportunities that involve the community and his meaningful mentorship of students. Read more here: https://www.bsu.edu/news/press-center/archives/2026/05/ball-state-faculty-member-adam-kuban-receives-national-journalism-teaching-award
- In September 2026, Dr. Joe Misiweicz, former professor and chairperson for the Department of Media, was inducted into the Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame. Dr. Misiweicz has not only left a lasting impact on Ball State’s Department of Media but also the broadcasting industry as a whole. As a Hall of Fame inductee, Dr. Misiweicz is honored for his contributions to broadcast education in Indiana.
- After the Spring 2026 semester, Dr. Wes Gehring, George and Francis Ball Distinguished Professor of Media retired from the Department of Media after 48 years. Dr. Gehring shaped curriculum, mentored students, and continues writing books with his expertise in media and film studies. Find details about his upcoming retirement reception here: https://commcenter.bsu.edu/message/retirement-reception-for-wes-gehring-1
- At the 2026 NATAS Central Great Lakes Regional Emmy® Awards event in Cleveland, senior lecturer in the Department of Media Chris Flook earned his 9th Regional Emmy® Award! This award was for his work, “It’s A Wonderful Life Title Sequence: IPR Holiday Drama” which was in the Graphic Arts — Visual Effects, Motion Effects, Compositing category.
Blog by Amelia Harker (Strategic Communication: Public Relations ’27)
Main image by Emma Gsell (Journalism ’25 EMDD ’27)