MCD Teaching and Service Awards

MCD Teaching Award Recipient – Allison Eden, Ph.D. 

MCD Service Award Recipient – Laramie Taylor, Ph.D. 

MCD Top Paper Award – Bradley J. Bond, Ph.D. (not pictured)

Top Student Papers

Peyton John Bonine: “Whiteness as Supreme, Homosexuals as Sinful: Terri Joe’s Satirical TikTok Fantasy of Christian Womanhood”

Keely Diebold: “Exploring the Effects of Individuals’ Perceived Prototypicality Within a Fandom”

Jessica L. Gehrke: “#ReclaimMLK and #IHaveaDream: Remembering King’s Dream on Twitter”

Xiaoya Fu: “Myth and Reflection: “Authenticity” of Visual Communication and Its Regulation”

Hyeonchang Gim: “Improving Attitudes toward Asians through a Foreign Film with Dubbing (vs. Subtitling): From the Perspective of Communication Accommodation and the Fluency Principle

Dr. Cassandra Alexopoulos received her PhD in Communication from the University of California Davis in 2017. She is currently Associate Professor in the Communication Department at the University of Massachusetts Boston. As a media and relational communication researcher, she is interested in the factors that influence romantic and sexual decision-making, exploring the conditions under which entertainment media (e.g., television) and new media (e.g., dating apps) can influence people’s sexual attitudes, perceptions, and intentions. She has been a member of NCA since 2014, has served on the MCD Nominating Committee, and is excited by the opportunity to continue contributing to this wonderful organization!

Christopher Josey Ph.D. (University of Illinois) is a Faculty Fellow for Undergraduate Research, Director of Honors Programs and Undergraduate Research, and Associate Teaching Professor at the University of Missouri.  My research and teaching examine the intersection of mediated portrayals of marginalized groups in news.  My research lab is currently bringing light to the prosocial impact of social identity focused news sites through a longitudinal content analysis, surveys, and experiments.  We also are conducting interviews with the editors and writers of these sites to better understand their practices.  We hope to develop a framework of practices based upon our data to improve portrayals across the greater news landscape. I have been a member, presenter, and reviewer for the MCD since beginning graduate school.  I welcome the opportunity to serve the MCD as secretary elect.

Shai (pronounced: “shy”) is a PhD student in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. She is a Florida native, and takes an intersectional feminist and ecological approach to investigate systemic social injustice. Shai notes mass communication as offering a mesospheric opportunity for social movements to engage in transformative justice. Her work examines how the macro level (laws/ systems/ ideology & hegemonic norms) interacts with the micro level (ideas of “self” and “others”/ interpersonal interactions/ experiences with violence) to reinforce and recreate harmful social systems. Shai builds on radical black feminist traditions, and carries forward their ideas about solutions to complex social problems. In her doctoral work, Shai investigates racial and gender-based violence, and the consciousness raising potential of edutainment media, social media, and AI. She focuses on sexual violence specifically as a window into a personal and complex social problem that is worth re-examining for root causes and true solutions.

My name is Debora D. Pérez Torres, I am an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the California State University, San Bernardino. My research focuses on emotion, stress and coping, social identity, and media effects, particularly in the context of minority populations, namely Latinos. My research has been published in peer-reviewed journals including Journal of Applied Communication Research, Health Communication, and Media Psychology. I teach strategic communication, media effects, quantitative research methods, risk communication, health communication, and emotion.

I have been a member of the Mass Communication Division since 2013, presenting my work as well as serving as reviewer, chair, and respondent for panels. I look forward to using my expertise and experience in mass communication and its effects on diverse populations to guide and support our division. I am eager to serve our division in my role as Second Vice Chair-Elect of the Research Committee.

John J. Brooks, Ph.D. (2023, Northwestern University) is a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Communication at the University at Buffalo. As the outgoing Graduate Student Representative for the Mass Communication Division, he is grateful to have had the opportunity to serve the division for the past two years and looks forward to further service by helping to identify and nominate candidates who will advance our mission. John’s research primarily pertains to mass communication at the intersection of health and politics—in particular, it centers the depiction of socially important (and often divisive) issues in mass media and the potential for mediated storytelling to communicate across social, political and affective divides. In addition to research, John is an enthusiastic educator: He previously received the Northwestern University School of Communication’s “Outstanding Graduate Instructor Award” for his courses, A History of Mass Media Influence and Entertainment-Education & Social Change. John values the Mass Communication Division as his academic home at NCA, and he would be honored to serve as the Vice-Chair Elect of the Nominating Committee.

Dhiman Chattopadhyay (Ph.D. Bowling Green State University) is Associate Professor, Department of Communication, Journalism & Media at Shippensburg University, PA. He is also Director of Ethnic Studies at Ship. A former journalist with 20 years’ experience as a reporter and editor/managing editor at some of India’s largest media groups, he teaches courses in Diversity & Media, News Reporting, Lifestyle Journalism, Issues in Communication Management, and Global Strategic Communication, at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Dhiman’s two core areas of research are (a) mass communication & social change and (b) marginalized students and communication factors affecting their campus belongingness. His first book “Indian Journalism and the Impact of Social Media” was published by Palgrave-Macmillan in 2022 as part of their Journalism in the Global South series. His upcoming book, an edited volume (with contributors from 11 nations) titled: “Global Journalism in Comparative Perspectives: Case Studies” is currently in press (Routledge, Feb.2024). In 2021, NCA’s APAC & Division recognized him as one of the two “Emerging Scholars”  from North America, for his contribution to IDEA-focused research. His grant-funded work on factors affecting college students’ campus belongingness has been published in peer-reviewed journals. Dhiman is keen to expand the reach of the MCD to a wider range of institutions within North America, and also spread the word among his academic colleagues and contacts across South Asia.

Hello! My name is Leah Dajches, and I am a postdoctoral scholar in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at the Pennsylvania State University. As a member of the Mass Communication Division of the National Communication Association, I request your vote as the Vice Chair-Elect of the Nominating Committee. Broadly, my research examines popular culture and media as accessible, everyday contexts for empowering vulnerable populations (e.g., adolescents) and marginalized communities (e.g., LGBTQ+, BIPOC). I identify forms of communication-related empowerment that demonstrate how individuals can engage with popular media in beneficial ways. My interest in communication-related empowerment not only describes my research, but my approach to service as well. I am passionate about our field and this opportunity to help provide representation for the diverse perspectives, identities, and research within our division through the election process. Over the past six years, I’ve actively engaged in numerous service opportunities at NCA (e.g., volunteer, reviewer) and I’ve held leadership positions in varying capacities (e.g., Grad Student Organization President, Research Mentor). Because of these experiences, I am well-suited for this position, and I am enthusiastic to become even more involved in our division and to work closely with our members.

I am Max Erdemandi – a fourth-year dual Ph.D./M.S. candidate in Communication Science & Social Cognition, and Quantitative Methodology, Measurement and Statistics at the University of Maryland. As your nominee for the graduate student representative in the Mass Communication division, I bring a wealth of teaching and research experience in mass communication, coupled with on-campus service experience as a student body representative and student government officer. Coming from a first-gen, low-income, queer and immigrant background, I am committed to ensuring that un- and underrepresented students find a welcoming space within our community. A former Top Student Paper award recipient in our division, which I consider my intellectual home within NCA, I have been actively involved by presenting numerous papers, serving as a reviewer and panel chair, and attending business meetings. The personal relationships I have built within our division have immensely shaped my own scholarly identity and research focusing on the role of mass media in extreme belief systems and improving psychometric practices in our field. I am excited about the opportunity to deepen my service to our vibrant community by engaging and representing the interests of my fellow graduate students.

Nancy Molina-Rogers is a graduate student in the Department of Communication. She received her B.A. in Global Studies and Spanish from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2013, and earned a M.A. in Communication Studies from California State University, Northridge in 2016. Her academic and research interests include Media communication and exploring how portrayals of women on television impact perceptions of identity in children, adolescents, and adults.

Greetings everyone. My name is Q. McElroy, and I am honored to be considered for a role with the NCA Mass Communication Division.

I am a graduate student at Brenau University and expect to earn my MA in Communication and Media Studies next Spring. I received my journalism degree from the University of Georgia and am actively applying to doctoral programs. My current research interests focus on the interplay between mass media and culture, with an emphasis on representation and media effects. I also am interested in the hegemonic contexts of gender and race across different media sectors.

I am a faculty associate at Arizona State University, where I taught an online undergraduate course this Fall. I also lead training and development seminars for media professionals through the Poynter Media Institute. Before entering academia, I spent 15+ years as a digital media leader and strategist with Cox Media Group.

I am confident that my experience and background make me a strong candidate for this role, and I am committed to fulfilling the required duties.

Please feel free to review my LinkedIn profile (https://www.linkedin.com/in/qmcelroy/) for additional information, or just to connect.

Thank you for your consideration,

Q. McElroy

It was my pleasure to attend legislative assembly as the Chair and Immediate Past Chair of the Mass Communication Division during the last two years. I appreciated the opportunity to learn more about NCA’s operations, represent our interests, and report back to you. Thank you for considering me for Legislative Assembly Representative.