Department of Communication, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Congratulations to our outstanding Communication students and faculty! 🎉

The UL Lafayette Department of Communication was proud to celebrate the many achievements of our students and faculty at the College of Liberal Arts Celebration of Academic Excellence.

This semester, we recognized the incredible success of our Speech & Debate Team, who earned dozens of national awards this year under the leadership of Dr. Masey Hammonds. We also celebrated several of our Master’s graduates, including Goodness Okhumode, who will begin her doctoral studies at Purdue University this fall.

The department was also proud to recognize Dr. Lauren Auverset van Gerwen and Dr. Stephenson Waters for earning promotion to Associate Professor.

We are so proud of the hard work, talent, and dedication represented across our department. Congratulations to all who were honored!

Dr. Phillip Madison’s CMCN 449: Strategic Communication Campaigns students brought the energy this semester!

Students presented their final campaign pitches this morning to this semester’s client, Lafayette Strong Muay Thai, a locally owned business serving the Lafayette community.

Working in teams, students developed strategic campaign concepts designed to support the client’s communication goals, strengthen audience engagement, and highlight the unique identity of Lafayette Strong Muay Thai. Their presentations reflected a semester of research, planning, creative problem-solving, and professional client work.

We are proud to see our students applying classroom knowledge in meaningful, real-world ways — and grateful to local partners like Lafayette Strong Muay Thai for helping make these experiences possible!

Hello, Friends in Lafayette! Please help our UL Speech & Debate Team! If you get a pizza from 🥰 Deano's Pizza 😍 on this coming Tuesday, just say, "I support the UL Speech & Debate Team." That's it! Simple and Sweet!
# UL Speech and Debate Team

Tonight we celebrated! Please join us in congratulating our Oustanding Graduates, Scholarship Recipients and Departmental Award Honorees.

Join us tonight at 6:00pm for a Live Streaming of our 2026 Honors Ceremony.

Big congrats to journalism student Kayla Woods-Crane for landing an interview with author Rick Bragg ahead of this weekend’s Books Along the Teche Literary Festival in New Iberia.

Bragg, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of 12 books—including Ava’s Man and All Over but the Shoutin’—is the 2026 Great Southern Writer and is widely regarded as one of the South’s greatest storytellers.

Kayla’s feature is published in The Current, a local nonprofit news organization.

Great work, Kayla!

Rick Bragg, globe-trotting reporter, heads to New Iberia After reporting from around the world, Bragg’s next stop is the Books Along the Teche Literary Festival in New Iberia.

All scholarship applications are due tomorrow, March 25, 2026.

Direct Link to Application: https://forms.gle/WXCVGA31HD4P8Zja8

Congratulations, Dr. Hammons!

Louisiana NSDA presented Dr. Hammons with the Alumni Achievement of the Year Award for 2026. As an alumni of Comeaux High and the Louisiana NSDA (formerly NFL) Dr. Hammons has participated in the community for 24 years as a competitor, coach, judge, and most recently a Belonging and Inclusion Advocate.

The 2026-27 Scholarship Application is only open for a few more days. All applications will be due on March 25, 2026.

Direct Link to Application: https://forms.gle/WXCVGA31HD4P8Zja