Department of Communication Arts and Sciences at Penn State

The academic year may be over, but Communication Arts and Sciences is celebrating Associate Professor Joshua Barnett this summer. Dr. Barnett was recently named the Harry and Elissa Sichi Early Career Professor in the College of the Liberal Arts. This professorship will provide Dr. Barnett with research funding and the title of Sichi Early Career Professor from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029. Made possible by a generous gift from the 1959 alum Harry Sichi and his spouse, Elissa Sichi, this professorship recognizes Dr. Barnett's accomplishments and sets the stage for future success.

Speaking of future success, we also want to let folks know that Dr. Barnett will edit a new book series from Michigan State Press on “Ecological Rhetorics.” Information about this series is available on the Michigan State University Press website and from the linked announcement. If you are a rhetoric scholar or working in an adjacent field with a manuscript on ecology, environmentalism, sustainability, and/or more-than-human rhetorics, you may want to take a look at this series. If this is an area that interests you, be sure to keep an eye on this new book series for its forthcoming titles.

Link: https://msupress.org/blog/2026/04/10/ecological-rhetorics-a-new-book-series-from-msu-press/

Photograph by Michigan State Press.

CAS and CAMS associate professor Michele Kennerly has received a Research in Democracy grant from Penn State's McCourtney Institute of Democracy for her project entitled, "Lucy and Nina After Haymarket." The grant supports Kennerly's early-stage work on the public lives and afterlives of Lucy Gonzalez Parsons and Nina Van Zandt Spies after the ex*****on of their husbands, two of the so-called Haymarket martyrs. To consider what those two women faced as they negotiated their intimate proximity to one of the most (in)famous labor events in the history of the United States is to wrestle with how a capitalist democracy handles those it injures to protect itself.

On May 13, doctoral candidate Mike Delayo successfully defended his dissertation! The project, “America’s Datafied Pastime: Rhetoric, Baseball, and the Culture of Quantification,” features chapters on the public discourse of MLB commissioners about gambling and baseball, the eventual incorporation of data from the Negro Baseball Leagues into official MLB record books, and the role of quant-tech in player development. A version of chapter 1 was recently published in the journal Communication and Sport, and another version appeared in The Conversation one week into the MLB season: https://theconversation.com/mlb-doubles-down-on-gambling-with-new-polymarket-deal-279176

Dr. Delayo was co-advised by Prof. Debbie Hawhee and Dr. Michele Kennerly, with Dr. Rosa Eberly, Dr. Michael Steudeman, and Dr. Michelle Sikes rounding out the committee (and headed for home!)

Faculty and friends of Cheyenne Zaremba wish to congratulate her on graduating from Penn State University this weekend. Dr. Zaremba, along with her advisor, Dr. Rosa Eberly, attended Sunday’s Graduate School Commencement, where she was “hooded” by Dr. Eberly. We have enjoyed having Cheyenne in our department as a graduate student and look forward to what she will accomplish as an Assistant Professor of English and Public Speaking Course Coordinator at Holy Family University in Philadelphia.

Good luck, Dr. Zaremba, as you begin your new post this fall, and congratulations

Picking up from last week, CAS wants to recognize the remaining undergraduate students who won department-level awards this spring. These awards are made possible through generous donations from individuals and families. A list of past awardees is available on the CAS Website. Today, we are honoring:

Jia Arora - Clayton H. Schug Forensic Award
Carolyn Newman - Michael Hodes Scholarship
Haylee Maya - Clayton H. Schug Forensic Award
Jayden Meincke-Stoltzfus - Richard B. Gregg Memorial Award for Scholarly Excellence
Yanru Wang - Adma Hammam Shibley Memorial Scholarship

As Penn State wraps up the academic year, we want to take today and tomorrow to honor those undergraduate students who won department-level awards this spring. These awards are made possible through generous donations from individuals and families. A list of past awardees is available on the CAS Website. Today, we are honoring (in alphabetical order):

Olivia Barnes - Pechter Family Scholarship and the CAS Community Leadership Award
Xiaohan Deng - Dr. Nancy J. Metzger Award
Molly Donohue - Harold J. “Pat” O’Brien Memorial Award
Jansen Hoffard - Harold J. “Pat” O’Brien Memorial Award
Alexis Mikulcik - Dr. Nancy J. Metzger Award
Mariya Petroski - Pechter Family Scholarship and the Dr. Nancy J. Metzger Award
Sara Tashkandi - Harold J. “Pat” O’Brien Memorial Award

CAS is pleased to announce the two student marshals who will represent the department at the Spring University Park and the World Campus commencements.

Ava Gianna Nociforo is graduating with Bachelor of Arts Degrees in Communication Arts and Sciences and in Advertising/Public Relations. After graduation, she plans to attend law school with hopes of becoming a sports and entertainment attorney with an emphasis on intellectual property and NIL (Name, image, and likeness). More information about Ava, along with descriptions of all the College of Liberal Arts 2026 student marshals, is available in this April 2, 2026, news story.

Tara Goodyear is graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational and Professional Communication from CAS’s World Campus curriculum. Tara currently works as a cross-channel quality and interaction excellence manager for Comcast, where she has applied her studies to her daily work, enhancing her performance and academic engagement. After graduating, she plans to continue growing her career with Comcast while exploring graduate school opportunities.

Link: https://www.psu.edu/news/liberal-arts/story/college-liberal-arts-announces-spring-2026-student-marshals

Today, the Communication Arts & Sciences Department celebrates the accomplishments of its alumni, students, and faculty at its annual awards ceremony in the Hintz Family Alumni Center. Next week, our social media will feature the many students who will win awards today, but, right now, we want to tell you about the three alumni we will recognize.

Dr. Lindsey S. Aloia is an associate dean of international education and professor at the University of Arkansas. An interpersonal communication scholar, she will be honored with the Outstanding Academic Alumni Award. Angela B. Rayn, Esq. is an attorney, writer, and advocate working at the intersection of child welfare law, maternal health, and healthcare accountability. Today, she will be honored with the Outstanding Early-Career Alumni Award. Takkeem Leon Morgan is the Senior Director of Communications at Prevent Child Abuse America, where he leads their national communications strategy. Prevent Child Abuse America is the premier child and family advocacy organization in the country. CAS is honored to have such esteemed alumni and is excited to recognize all of our awardees this afternoon.

On Wednesday, April 22, 2026, the College of the Liberal Arts at Penn State holds its annual awards luncheon. At this event, several faculty and a graduate student will be recognized with College-level awards. Mandy Goodwin is the recipient of the college’s Outstanding Teaching Professor Award, based on the quality and strength of her recent promotion dossier. Joshua Barnett is the recipient of the college’s Outstanding Associate Professor Award, based on the quality and strength of his recent promotion and tenure dossier. Katya Haskins will receive the Class of 1993 Distinction in the Humanities Award, recognizing her most recent book publication and ongoing research. Sergio Peña is the recipient of the Denise Haunani Solomon Outstanding Teaching Award for Graduate Students for Sergio’s remarkable record of undergraduate instruction.

The Communication Arts & Sciences Department is fortunate to benefit from these remarkable scholars and educators. Please convey hearty congratulations to each of them.

At a luncheon this afternoon, Lynsey Medd, a doctoral student in CAS, received the Harold F. Martin Graduate Assistant Outstanding Teaching Award from the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School at Penn State. Lynsey has taught six different classes for the department, including effective speech, interpersonal communication, communication and technology, research methods, communication theory, and an introduction to human communication. Lynsey is valued by both her students and her faculty colleagues, and she has presented her experiences and insights about instruction at the National Communication Association annual conference. Students praise Lynsey for being relevant, engaging, considerate, knowledgeable, attentive, inclusive, and supportive. In addition to her instruction, Lynsey's research focuses on mindfulness and interpersonal communication. She is interested in fostering mindfulness as a way people can use communication to heal themselves and others.

Check it out here: https://www.psu.edu/news/fox-graduate-school/story/forty-two-graduate-students-receive-university-awards