Pittsburg State Department of Communication

05/18/2026

Congratulations to Garrett Hughes, who successfully defended his Master's thesis: "Rhetorical Frames in Daily Fantasy Sports Promotion: Referral-Code Creators and Official Advertisers." Great work, Garrett!

05/18/2026

We are incredibly proud to announce that Lauren Shepard has officially completed her Master of Arts in Communication, graduating with Honors! Lauren successfully defended her thesis, “Adapting Genderlect Styles: Toward a Genderlect Spectrum Model (GSM).”
We can’t wait to see the amazing things you’ll continue to achieve! 🥳👏

05/14/2026

During our annual awards celebration, Dr. Kristen Livingston was awarded the 2026 Faculty of the Year by the seniors! We couldn’t agree more that’s she an outstanding teacher, mentor, and cheerleader! We’re lucky to call her our very own! Please help us congratulate her!

05/12/2026

Please join us in congratulating Mariah Laman on the successful completion of the Master of Arts in Communication degree and graduating w/ honors! Mariah successfully defended her applied graduate project--- “Reducing Uncertainty for New Transfer Students: Improving Institutional Communication of Transfer Resources” -- a timely study focusing on improving communication and support for transfer students navigating higher education.

05/11/2026

We’re celebrating that Hailey Goodrich successfully defended her graduate applied project, “Closing the Gap in Crawford County: Enhancing Collaboration Through Interorganizational Communication.” Hailey also recently accepted a position as the Community Resource Manager at Mosaic. Congratulations, Hailey!

05/07/2026

Congratulations to Jada Ortiz on successfully defending her Master’s thesis, “Religiously Online: A Digital Media Communication Audit of a Midwestern Church According to the Frameworks of Uses and Gratifications Theory and Affordance.” We celebrate this accomplishment and are excited to share that Jada has been fully funded into the Ph.D. program at the University of Oklahoma! We wish her continued success as she begins this next chapter of her teaching and academic journey.

04/22/2026

⚔️ HEAR YE, HEAR YE! ⚔️

The Department of Communication formally summons our esteemed students and valued guests to the most anticipated gathering of the year! Join us for a night of celebration at the Tournament of Tidings: Communication Banquet 2026.

We are gathering to celebrate our "Rulers of the Realm" and the legendary achievements of our "Champions"—our hardworking students and the mentors who support them. From "Knighthood Presentations" to "Graduating Senior Huzzahs," it will be a night for the history books!

THE DETAILS OF THE REALM
📅 DATE: May 5th, 2026
📍 THE KEEP: Crimson and Gold Ballroom
🏛️ THE ESTATE: Overman Student Center
🎺 GATHERING: Doors open at 5:30 PM
⚔️ PROCEEDINGS: Festivities begin at 6:00 PM
⏳ DURATION: The proceedings will continue until the very last huzzah! There will be small bites and refreshments.

For more information, please direct your carrier pigeons (or emails) to Dr. Kristen Livingston at [email protected].

04/17/2026

Last week our Media Production students attended the Kansas Association of Broadcaster's Broadcasting Seminar and Awards Ceremony. See our winners in the story below.

Eight Pittsburg State University Media Production students swept this year’s Kansas Association of Broadcaster’s competition, bringing home eight awards in seven categories.

04/15/2026

Today, our strategic communication and multimedia journalism students teamed up with the Irene Ransom Bradley School of Nursing for a high-stakes disaster training simulation.

Stepping into the roles of "community" representatives, our students practiced real-time information sharing and stakeholder communication under pressure. These cross-departmental exercises provide the invaluable "real-world" experience needed to lead with composure when it matters most.

A huge thank you to Dr. Kristi Frisbee for the invitation! We’re already looking forward to next year.

Pictured: Andrew Rosewicz, Kaylee Dillow, Julian Johnson, Wes Reed, Justice Bright, Cami Lewis, and Maggie Flannery.
Not Pictured: Graduate Teaching Assistant Lauren Shepard

04/15/2026

Congratulations to our 2026 Graduate Research Colloquium winners in Communication! Your hard work, scholarship, and dedication make the Department of Communication proud. We look forward to seeing the continued impact of your research.