UIS School of Communication and Media

UIS Speech and Debate Team hosted their 3rd annual showcase on Monday, highlighting the hard work they've put in this year. Congrats on a successful season!

SCM Alumna Rose Hutches visited campus today with her therapy dogs Lordy, Lordy and Molly to provide some relaxation as students prep for finals. SCM provided some tasty treats to fuel them in the home stretch. Stop by Wednesday and Thursday 12-2 in front of the Union to get some relaxation in yourself!

SCM Alumna Niki Howlett (right), Senior Recruiter for the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology, provided valuable career insight for students at the 2026 Leadership Summit hosted by the UIS chapter of IEEE. Niki spoke of the importance of effective communication and that any major can benefit from taking a communication course. Beth Ribarsky (left) noted, "Niki is a prime example of someone who has capitalized on her degree and its adaptability!"

Join us for the Speech & Debate Showcase to see the amazing work our students have been doing this year!

https://uis.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/1/home/requisition/1230?c=uis

Assistant Professor, Communication and Media Summary:The School of Communication and Media at the University of Illinois Springfield is seeking a tenure-track assistant professor of interpersonal...

Congratulations to Rain Coleman for making the National Novice Team for the Asynchronous Speech Championship! This is a first for any UIS student. We are incredibly proud of the amazing work you've done this year and look forward to your performances next year.

Dr. Ribarsky, Director of the School of Communication and Media, discusses the toxic trend of looksmaxxing:

How a toxic self-improvement trend with a funny name took over your feed A 20-year-old named Clavicular briefly became a mainstream fascination, bringing with him looksmaxxing terminology from the dark recesses of the manosphere.

The 2026 Best of UIS and Beyond Contest is LIVE! Nominate your favorites now and be entered to win fabulous prizes. Head over to The UIS Observer to get started!

https://uisobserver.com/

Update: Donation Match Opportunity! For the next 24 hours, your donations will be matched up to $150.

It's that time of year again! We are drumming up funds to get physical copies of the paper back on campus. Even $5 makes a difference.

The Return of Our Printed Student Newspaper Join me in supporting UIS Day of Giving!

The COM hallway is getting a face-lift through the UIS Art Loan Program. Thanks Director of Visual Arts Brytton Bjorngaard for your expertise!

UIS Speech and Debate Team is making a mark!

At the December 2025 Online Asynchronous Tournament Series, Freshman Rain Coleman took 2nd place out of 25 competitors in Prose Interpretation (screenshot of one of her performances below) and won Top Novice in her event.

The team overall tied for 15th place out of 47 schools!

Congratulations to Rain, the team, and coach Dr. Claire Gordon!

🎉A wholehearted congratulations needs to go out to our newest doctor in the School of Communication and Media – Dr. Tim Bill! He successfully defended his dissertation at the University of Kentucky in December 2025. 🎉

For his dissertation, Dr. Bill examined what it’s like for students in a public speaking class when their presentations happen online instead of in a classroom. It draws on ideas about how people think, behave, and react to their surroundings, and how technology itself affects those experiences. To understand this better, the study used a survey that asked students both open ended questions about their biggest fears and more structured questions about how they view the online setting.

Analysis of his mixed-methods research revealed 13 different types of fears. One of them—fear that a recording might be shared without permission—was specific to online classes. Students also worried about things like being judged critically by their audience, having tech problems, stumbling over their words, or struggling to stay calm and focused. Some fears were unique to virtual presentations, such as unstable Wi Fi, not being able to read the audience’s reactions, concerns about people responding harshly, and not knowing who exactly is watching.

Overall, the study found that anxiety about online public speaking isn’t the same as anxiety in face to face settings. Because of that, instructors may need to adjust how they teach and support students, especially by building stronger connections and community in online courses.