Ohio University School of Communication Studies faculty and students will present an impressive number of scholarly papers and panel sessions – a total of 141 – at the 2009 National Communication Association convention November 12-15 in Chicago.

Six additional presentations will be made by faculty, students, and staff from the school of Media Arts and Studies as well as one each from the School of Nursing, the Southeast Asian Studies program, the Interdisciplinary Arts program, the School of Human and Consumer Sciences, and the WOUB Center for Public Media.

Three papers from the School of Communication Studies were selected for top honors:

• A paper co-authored by Doctoral Student Joe Mazer, Associate Professor Scott Titsworth, and Undergraduate Student Rachel Kessinger won Top Four Paper in the Basic Course Division for their exploration of how "ego involvement" in choosing speech topics affects student preparation and student grades in the Public Speaking classroom.

• Doctoral Student Valerie Schrader received a Top Four Paper award from the Public Address Division for her essay comparing the rhetorical strategies used by Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton to respond to national tragedies.

• Professor Austin Babrow and Doctoral Student Laura Russell's paper "Risk in the Making: Narrative, Problematic Integration, and the Social Construction of 'Risk'" was named the Top Paper in the Communication as Social Construction division.

Reflecting on her prize-winning experience with Dr. Babrow, Russell said, "Our collaborative effort in developing this study provided a great opportunity for us to learn and grow as scholars together. It's exciting to see how our work progressed to becoming such a meaningful study for us both"

Ms. Russell is not alone in this assessment.  Associate Professor Benjamin Bates said that the selection of so many papers by faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students "shows national recognition of the School of Communication Studies' commitment to promote excellence at all levels of education."

To view the entire program online, visit http://www.natcom.org/index.asp?bid=11032.