Five faculty members and two doctoral students are the recipients of funding through the Newhouse School’s internal grants program. The program, administered by the Office of Research and Creative Activity under the leadership of Senior Associate Dean Regina Luttrell, establishes a foundation for a dynamic research and creative culture. It not only creates a vibrant learning environment for students and faculty, but also contributes to advancements in media and communication fields with broader impacts.
By prioritizing a direct and impactful approach, the program emphasizes Newhouse’s commitment to cultivating a robust culture in innovation and advancing knowledge across the public communications landscape.
Lauren Bavis, faculty fellow, magazine, news and digital journalism
Erika Schneider, assistant professor, public relations
Title: Both Sides of the Podium: A Media Briefing Workshop for PR and Journalism Students
Erika Schneider and Lauren Bavis will develop a workshop to facilitate students’ skills in hosting and participating in media briefings, an essential part of the public relations and journalism professions. The workshop will involve conversations with experienced media professionals and a hands-on learning workshop in which public relations students serve as mock executives during crisis scenarios and journalism students serve as breaking news reporters covering the crisis for broadcast and text platforms. This workshop will demonstrate the intersection of PR and journalism and how these events serve as an example of collaboration and relationship building.
Arien Rozelle, assistant teaching professor, public relations
Title: Communicate, Agitate, Motivate: The Role of PR in the Fight for Women’s Rights
Through proposed strategic partnerships with the National Susan B. Anthony House and Museum (Rochester, NY), the Matilda Joslyn Gage Center (Fayetteville, NY) and the Women’s Rights Hall of Fame (Seneca Falls, NY), this project will present a dynamic series of seven lectures across Central and Western New York. This lecture tour, accompanied by a traveling exhibit exploring the critical role of public relations and media in the women’s suffrage movement, will visit our proposed partner sites, who are pivotal locations on the New York Women’s Heritage Trail, as well as colleges/universities in four cities that served as locations for a New York State Women’s Suffrage Association (NYSWSA) convention: Geneva, Utica, Syracuse, Ithaca. Through a combination of lectures in historic suffrage locations, a traveling exhibit of PR and media artifacts, and a curated website with digitized artifacts and a teaching toolkit, this project aims to inspire activism and raise awareness of the historic struggle for women’s suffrage in upstate New York and the vital role of communication throughout the movement.
David Peters, doctoral candidate, mass communications
Title: Virtually Present in the Vastness: VR’s Pathway to Awe and Appreciation
Virtual reality (VR) offers unique opportunities to evoke profound emotional responses by immersing individuals in experiences that transcend everyday reality. This study investigates how spatial presence and perceived vastness in VR environments contribute to the elicitation of awe and enhance media appreciation. Understanding these responses is critical as VR increasingly shapes the way media is experienced, from education to entertainment and beyond. Participants will engage with custom-built virtual reality environments while playing a game that positions them as nature photographers. This immersive experience is designed to examine how VR can create meaningful media interactions and foster emotional engagement. This research aims to provide valuable insights for VR designers and media creators, offering strategies to craft more impactful and emotionally resonant VR experiences. This work underscores VR’s potential as a transformative medium for storytelling, education and entertainment.
Bruce Strong, associate professor, visual communications
Title: Call to Me, Balkans: Impressions of a Place and its People
“Call to Me, Balkans” is a curated photographic exhibit that captures the rich, diverse and interconnected cultures of the Balkans, specifically Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia and Slovenia. This collection of monochromatic images, taken during a four-month journey, reflects Bruce Strong’s exploration of a more intimate documentary style, utilizing only a smartphone to push creative boundaries and test the limits of accessible technology.
The “Call to Me, Balkans” exhibit celebrates the resilience, diversity and beauty of a region heavily impacted by the conflicts of the 1990s following the dissolution of Yugoslavia. By showcasing these photographic impressions in Central New York, especially in Utica where there is a large Bosnian community, we aim to foster dialogue between immigrant communities and the broader population. This project has already received international acclaim, with work from the exhibit awarded by the Sarajevo Photography Festival and featured in China as a solo exhibition at the Pingyao Photo Festival in September 2024. Bringing “Call to Me, Balkans” to New York will help strengthen cultural connections between the Balkan community and the local area, furthering the university’s mission of global diversity and inclusion.
Jason Webb, assistant professor, visual communications
Title: Non-Verbal Communication in VR
This pilot research project is designed to qualitatively evaluate participants’ emotions and interactions in social virtual reality spaces when face, body and eye tracking are used. This project aims to increase presence in VR by assessing how participants communicate nonverbally in VR and whether the uncanny valley causes uneasiness in the avatar’s motion during social VR interactions.
Bixuan Ren, doctoral student, mass communications
Title: Exploring Stakeholder-Based AI Ethics Strategies for PR professionals
With the widespread adoption of AI by PR professionals and the availability of numerous AI tools, it is essential to identify the stakeholders emerging alongside these technologies, including both formal and informal AI regulators. Grounded in principles of fairness, transparency and responsibility, this research examines the ethical implications of AI in shaping relationships with diverse stakeholders. Using semi-structured interviews, the study seeks to offer practical guidelines and theoretical insights to promote the responsible use of AI in public relations.