The Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching recognizes sustained excellence and innovative approaches in undergraduate teaching and contributions beyond classroom instruction that have an overall positive impact on undergraduate student learning. Amanda Mabry-Flynn, assistant professor of advertising, was one of this year’s recipients.
Mabry-Flynn teaches brand and advertising strategy using culturally relevant examples and collaborative activities. According to her nominator, her flexibility, empathy, and organization have positively impacted students’ learning and lives, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mabry-Flynn studies representation in advertising imagery, especially related to ethics and effects, with discussions of identity and intersectionality. She recognizes that students entering the advertising industry must understand and reflect on decisions about who is targeted and who is not—and the ways in which advertising portrayals affect individuals and society.
Kirby Cook (MS ’21, advertising), a doctoral student at the Institute of Communications Research in the College of Media, won third place and a $200 award in the annual Image of Research competition, a multidisciplinary event celebrating the diversity and breadth of student research at UIUC. The graduate student edition of the competition is organized by the Scholarly Commons of the University Library and the Graduate College.
Cook won for her image “The Identity Conflict: Lifelong Journey of a Korean Adoptee.”
“Art and qualitative research come together in this depiction of a lifelong identity journey for Korean adoptees,” Cook wrote in her description. “Beyond the boundaries of prescribed methods, data collection, and formulaic approaches, this collage represents the abstract complexities of research and what lies beyond charts and tables. How does one capture the essence of an individual’s personal history; their pain, their future? While my research focuses primarily on material items belonging to Korean adoptees and their meanings, I recognize that there is more behind their stories.”
University of Illinois Advertising Professors Michelle Nelson (center) and Chang-Dae Ham (right), along with Professor Eric Haley from the University of Tennessee (left) won two "Best Paper" awards at the AAA conference for their collaborative research.
At the American Academy of Advertising annual conference held March 24–27 in St. Petersburg, Florida, faculty from the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising and students from the Institute of Communications Research presented papers, served on panels, and won awards. Sela Sar, professor of advertising and director of the Institute of Communications Research, was elected president of AAA.
Associate Professor Chang-Dae Ham and Professor Michelle Nelson, along with Professor Eric Haley (University of Tennessee), received two “Best Paper” awards for their research in political advertising literacy:
Journal of Current lssues & Research in Advertising Best Article
Nelson, M. R., Ham, C. D., & Haley, E., “What do we know about political advertising? Not much! Political persuasion knowledge and advertising skepticism in the United States.”
Journal of lnteractive Advertising Best Article
Nelson, Michelle R., Chang Dae Ham, Eric Haley, and Un Chae Chung (ICR student) (2021), “How Political Interest and Gender Influence Persuasion Knowledge, Political Information Seeking, and Support for Regulation of Political Advertising in Social Media,” 21(3), 225-242.
Faculty and students also received honors for their reviewing:
Journal of Advertising Outstanding Reviewers
Michelle Nelson
Journal of Advertising Outstanding Student Reviewers
Xiaohan (Catherine) Hu(ICR student)
Presentations by faculty and students included:
“How Parental Mediation and Media Use Relate to Persuasion Knowledge. Knowledge of Influencer Tactics, and Ad Skepticism Among Adolescents in U.S. Black Immigrant Families,” co-presented by Michelle Nelson, among others
“Car Sharing Services: How Political Ideology Makes It Successful across Cultures,” co-presented by WooJin Kim(ICR student), among others
“Which Facts Matter: How Can We Build Advertising Literacy about Contemporary Political Advertising?”, co-presented by Michelle Nelson, Chang-Dae Ham, and Eric Haley (Tennessee)
“What is and How to Teach Computational Advertising: Gaining Insight from Computer Science and Marketing Communication Educators and Ad Practitioners,” co-presented by Ewa Maslowska, assistant professor, among others
“The Effects of Advertising on Consumer Well-Being,” co-presented by Michelle Nelson, among others
“Incidental Experience of Regulatory Fit, Nonfit, and Processing Style: Consumers’ Processing Mechanism of Online Behavioral Advertising (OBA), co-presented by Chang-Dae Ham and WooJin Kim
“The Spillover Effect of Robot Service Failure on Service Firms,” co-presented by WooJin Kim, among others
“Computational Research and Measurement Innovations: Affective Computing and Emotion AI in the Future Advertising Research,” co-presented by Ewa Maslowska, among others
Sela Sar, professor of advertising and director of the Institute of Communications Research, has been elected president of the American Academy of Advertising for 2022-2023. He was sworn in at the AAA annual conference in March.
Sar served as president-elect for the past year, and served as vice president of AAA in 2019. He has been an active member since joining in 2004, having served on the research, award, and publication committees.
For advertising scholars, AAA is the home base for academic growth, knowledge generation, global insight, networking, and the shared mission of educating the next generation of advertising scholars.
With over 600 members, AAA is the oldest and the largest academic association dedicated to advertising research in the U.S. The University of Illinois has a history of leaders in AAA. Michelle Nelson, professor of advertising, is a past president of AAA, as are several alumni from the College of Media’s Institute of Communications Research.
Update 4/13/2022: Comedian and actorGilbert Gottfried was originally scheduled to be one of the headlining guests at Ebertfest, accompanying the documentary Gilbert.Because of Gottfried’s death on April 12, Ebertfest will be dedicating its 22nd annual event in his honor.
The 22nd Annual Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, co-founded and hosted by Chaz Ebert and also known as Ebertfest, announced additional actors and musicians who will appear as guests, as well as a bonus film, at this year’s festival, to be held April 20-23 at The Virginia Theatre.
Actors Thora Birch and Betsy Sodaro join a large group of filmmakers already announced for this year’s festival.
Acting since age 4, Birch’s credits include iconic roles in movies such as Ghost World, which is featured in this year’s Ebertfest; American Beauty, Now and Then, and Hocus Pocus. Birch has won SAG Awards and multiple Young Artist Awards, and has been nominated for Golden Globe, Emmy, and BAFTA awards.
Sodaro achieved stardom in the 2015 TV series Clipped and in the small screen’s Disjointed from 2017-18, among many other roles in her career. An actor in the Ebertfest film Golden Arm, Sodaro joins other guests from the movie including actor Olivia Stambouliah; writers Ann Marie Allison and Jenna Milly; and producer Brigid Brakefield.
The movie Soy Cubana will be followed by a musical performance from a band of current and former University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Latin Jazz Combo musicians, featuring guest vocalist Stephanie Woods Machado and musical director Tito Carrillo. The band will perform rhythms inspired by the movie’s Afro-Cuban music.
An additional special guest attending Ebertfest this year is executive producer Chris Kelly. Associated with acclaimed independent films including Jiro Dreams of Sushi, Olive, and Once Upon a Time in Queens, Kelly also is a co-owner of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. He will moderate the discussion after the screening of the movie Gilbert, about Gilbert Gottfried, which highlights the everyday life of the highly influential and incomparable comedian.
A short movie, Lifeline, and a 13th feature-length film will be included in the schedule this year, instead of panel discussions. The Phantom of the Open tells the remarkable true story of Maurice Flitcroft, a crane operator and optimistic dreamer who, with the support of his family and friends, managed to gain entry to the 1976 British Open qualifier despite never playing a round of golf before.
Passes to see all 13 films cost $200, including all processing fees. Four passes purchased together are $700. Also available are a small number of University of Illinois student passes priced at $150 each. Passes and individual movie tickets–$20 for the general public or $15 for U of I students—may be purchased through the festival website or at the Virginia Theatre box office, 203 W. Park Ave., Champaign, 217-356-9063. Updates will be posted on the festival website.
Roger Ebert’s Film Festival is a special event of Chaz Ebert and the College of Media at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. For additional information, visit http://www.ebertfest.com.
Two faculty from the College of Media have been appointed by Dean Tracy Sulkin to associate dean positions starting August 16.
Announced in January, Stephanie Craft, currently professor and head of the Department of Journalism, will serve as the College of Media’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
Announced in March, Jason P. Chambers, currently associate professor and associate head of the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising, and Dean’s Fellow for Diversity and Inclusion, will serve as the College of Media’s inaugural Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
“I am pleased to welcome Professors Chambers and Craft to their important new roles, and I look forward to working closely with them,” Sulkin said. “Their strong administrative skills, commitment to the college and our mission, and consultative approach to decision-making make them both excellent additions to the College of Media leadership team.”
Craft, a scholar of news literacy and journalism ethics, joined the Illinois faculty in 2013. She has taught courses such as History of American Journalism, Introduction to Journalism, and Journalism Ethics & Diversity. She has served as head of the Department of Journalism from August 2018 until January 2022. Last summer, the third edition of her book Principles of American Journalism: An Introduction, coauthored with Charles N. Davis, was published.
“I have appreciated the opportunity to help my department colleagues work toward their goals but am now looking forward to the chance the associate dean role offers to take a broader view of the work we do in the college and how it connects to the rest of campus and beyond,” Craft said.
While on sabbatical this semester, Craft has continued her work to create a news literacy scale, and has been developing a summer media literacy workshop for high school teachers along with other faculty in the College of Media and the College of Education. She has also begun a new research project.
“The new project involves delving into the archives of one of the first major journalistic collaborations, called the Arizona Project,” Craft said. “I’m hoping to get a better sense of how the collaboration worked and how it set the stage (or didn’t) for future large-scale projects involving journalists from competing news organizations.
In her new position, Craft will facilitate college-level promotion and tenure processes; mentor Dean’s Fellows; liaise with campus offices on college participation in strategic initiatives; facilitate policy discussions among unit leadership; and coordinate professional development programming for junior and midcareer faculty; among other responsibilities.
“I am eager to work on the college’s professional education initiatives and think about how we can serve a variety of different kinds of students, both on campus and online,” Craft added.
Chambers joined the Sandage Department of Advertising faculty in 2001 and the Institute of Communications Research faculty in 2003. He is a scholar of advertising history, particularly the contributions of African Americans to the industry. He has taught courses including Classic Campaigns, Advertising History, and Multicultural Advertising.
In his new position, Chambers is excited about working with his colleagues “to drive change and link our faculty, staff, and students to all of the opportunities that diversity provides.”
Over the past several years, the College of Media has prioritized expanding its programming in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the projects that Chambers facilitated during his two-year term as Dean’s Fellow for Diversity and Inclusion will continue to be part of his portfolio. The Alumni Mentoring Program, which connects students with accomplished alumni to share perspectives and advice, will continue to grow. The pilot focused on Black students and Black alumni, and then expanded to Latinx students and alumni. Chambers will also continue his involvement in the New Voices Internship Program, which provides opportunities for first-generation students and those from underrepresented groups to work with College of Media faculty and staff on communications projects.
He will also work with colleagues across the college and on campus to coordinate workshops on diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism that are relevant to Media faculty, students, and staff, and will seek ways to further the college’s capacity in this area.
“Leadership at the department, college, and campus levels have put real resources behind diversity initiatives,” Chambers said. “I want to ensure that the College of Media continues to take advantage of all the grants and other funding sources that the campus is making available for diversity-related topics.”
Alumnus Stephen Feder with BB-8 in the Lucasfilm Offices at the Walt Disney Studios.
Stephen Feder (BS ’02, media studies) believes that with a little persistence and dedication to the things they love to learn about, students can accomplish anything.
“I think if people can harness that, there’s no telling how far they can go,” he said.
Feder, a film and television producer at T-Street Productions, will be this year’s alumni speaker for the College of Media Convocation. Because previous ceremonies had been postponed due to the pandemic, the May 2022 convocation will honor graduates from Fall 2019 through Spring 2022.
Looking back at his time at the University of Illinois, Feder said he learned a lot about himself both personally and professionally.
“Illinois gave me such incredible opportunities, not just inside the classroom, but outside the classroom,” he said. “That helped shape me as a human and taught me a lot about what my limitations were and the things that I needed to work on.”
He is driven by the people who have helped him get to where he is, especially past professors at the College of Media.
“I think it’s really important to pay homage to how you got somewhere. Understand that it’s because of your own drive, but also because people are willing to help you,” Feder said.
Feder’s love of movies was “cultivated at [the College of Media] just by proximity to the idea of Roger Ebert.” When he was a student, Feder met Ebert, a Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic and Illinois journalism alum who created Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, known as “Ebertfest.” During Ebertfest, Feder had the chance to have lunch with Ebert.
“Our conversation and just his presence, interest, and care in us as students gave us a boost in confidence that our goals were well within our reach,” Feder said. “He probably never understood the impact he had on all of us—but his passion for movies, his intellect, and his success always was a driving force of motivation for me. I miss him.”
About a decade later, Feder’s documentary Kumaré was screened at Ebertfest 2013. Feder was executive producer for the film, featuring a man who impersonates an Indian guru and builds a following. “Kumare seems to establish that a guru can be a complete fraud and nevertheless do a certain amount of good,” Ebert wrote, “because what matters is not the sincerity of the guru but that of his followers.”
Feder said it was a full-circle moment and meant everything to him.
“The fact that he selected it to be part of Ebertfest among the last group of movies he handpicked before passing away is an honor I’ll never forget,” Feder said.
Feder at Annapurna Pictures.
It was his work on Kumaré, which received a SXSW Audience Award, that led to Feder’s time at Annapurna Studios. As senior vice president of production and development, Feder worked on films such as Everybody Wants Some!!, which was also an Ebertfest selection,as well as Where’d You Go, Bernadette, bothdirected by Richard Linklater; Spring Breakers, directed by Harmony Korine; and The Grandmaster, directed by Wong Kar-Wai.
“I had always been inclined to want to tell stories that had a broad reach,” Feder said. Growing up, he was inspired by movies like Back to the Future, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Star Wars—movies that he shares with his kids.
Feder eventually got the chance to work on Star Wars, describing the feeling of walking onto set “a life-affirming moment.”
“It was a reminder of the power of one’s imagination—and how if you could dream it, you could make it a reality,” he said. “I never wanted to hear the word ‘cut’ and still don’t.”
He became vice president of film development at Lucasfilm in 2016, working on Solo: A Star Wars Story and other projects. He served as the Lucasfilm production executive on location/set for filming, and was a member of the Lucasfilm Story Group, which keeps track of the Star Wars canon to assist writers and directors in the development of new stories.
Feder is currently a producer at Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman’s T-Street Productions, responsible for the film Knives Out. He works with his producing partner, Kiri Hart, to help amplify artistic voices.
Feder said the professional relationships that have helped him throughout his career inspires him to pay it forward to the next generation of filmmakers. He has been a panelist at the college’s Media Career Nights to share advice on working in the entertainment industry.
“I’m only here by the grace of other people believing [in me] and I also have to be willing to do the same for others,” he said.
Above all, he recognizes that the industry and the world is forever changed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As streaming makes content more accessible, Feder considered the next challenge that the media industry needs to address.
“We as filmmakers have to be malleable; we can’t firmly entrench ourselves in the past,” Feder said. “We have to think about how we’re going to reach a future generation of moviegoers, and TV goers, and content consumers. It’s our responsibility to innovate ways both to tell stories and also to make them feel new.”
Feder also hopes he can provide some comfort to Media students who are feeling unsure about their futures.
“If you have been able to get through what you’ve done the last few years and come out of it, I think that there’s a lot of promise ahead,” Feder said.
Challenges can be seen as opportunities, he said.
“I understand the world is really scary at the moment and challenging, but it needs us. It needs us to make changes,” Feder said.
The 22nd annual Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, co-founded and hosted by Chaz Ebert and also known as “Ebertfest,” has announced its full slate of films for the April 20-23 event. The list announced today includes an appearance by comedian Gilbert Gottfried to discuss his film Gilbert; another movie that introduces us to women arm-wrestlers; and an appearance by a pair of filmmakers to discuss the topic of identity.
The festival also announced the itinerary for opening night.
With Oscar-winning directors, comedians, and musicians, augmented by many independent movie gems, this year’s lineup takes the festival back to the roots established by late co-founder Roger Ebert, an Urbana native and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign journalism alumnus who gained a wide following as a film critic until his death in 2013.
“We will present films that will make you laugh, and make you cry, and some filled with so much music you will want to dance,” Chaz Ebert said. “But, most of all, we will enjoy being back together, in person, to celebrate cinema in a joyous way on the big screen as a community.”
The festival had previously announced Oscar-winning or nominated films and directors like Guillermo del Toro (Nightmare Alley in black and white), Ramin Bahrani (The White Tiger), Terry Zwigoff (Ghost World), Azazel Jacobs (French Exit), and the late Alfred Hitchcock (The 39 Steps). Ebertfest is adding other films that did not get the audiences they deserved because the theaters were closed during the pandemic.
“Some of the small theaters that showed independent and art movies, including the Art Theater in Champaign, which was one of Roger’s favorite cinemas, will never open again,” Chaz Ebert said. “So, we have carefully curated a selection of independent films, especially chosen for our Ebertfest family of movie lovers, to come to our big screen at the beautifully renovated movie palace, the Virginia Theatre.”
The “overlooked” films of this year’s Ebertfest include Gottfried’s appearance to discuss his film, which gives an intimate look behind the scenes in the life of a comedian. The festival also will welcome Krisha Fairchild to discuss her movie Krisha, which is about life, alcoholism, and recovery, but mostly about family. Golden Arm is a movie that brings a slice of life, both comic and dramatic, from a world not many know about—women arm wrestlers. The festival will award many of Golden Arms cast and crew the coveted Golden Thumb. Ebertfest will also discuss the nature of identity with Jason Delane Lee and Yvonne Huff Lee after the paired showing of their short film Lifeline and a second film that they executive-produced, the BAFTA-nominated and Spirit Awards-winning film Passing, directed by Rebecca Hall.
The opening night fare will include diverse voices starting with alt-country artist Clem Snide performing the song “Roger Ebert.” Also slated for April 20 is the Oscar-winning documentary Summer of Soul, followed by acclaimed jazz and torch singer Tammy McCann performing with Champaign’s own Aplustrodamus and Ther’Up.Y (pronounced “Therapy”). The band’s leader emphasizes the therapeutic nature music has for us, especially in these perilous times.
Other scheduled musically related films and events include Soy Cubana, by Jeremy and Robin Ungar, about the “Vocal Vidas”—Cuban singers considered national treasures.
Renee Baker and her 10-piece orchestra will be back by popular demand to accompany and interpret the silent film Siren of the Tropics. The film stars the late Josephine Baker, who in 2021 made history, 46 years after her death, by becoming the first American—and the first Black woman—inducted into the Pantheon in Paris, which is a monument reserved for French national heroes. Born in St. Louis, Baker became a French citizen in 1937. She is buried in Monaco. Previous inductees include Voltaire, Victor Hugo, and Marie Curie. Her induction ceremony was presided over by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Ebertfest has taken extra precautions, going beyond local measures to make audiences feel comfortable. The festival is introducing reserved ticketing for the first time to reduce capacity and provide ample spacing between groups. And the Virginia Theatre has installed a new state-of-the-art ventilation system.
The festival will announce additional filmmaker guests in the coming weeks.
Ebertfest will be held at the Virginia Theatre in downtown Champaign, with related talks and panel discussions at the Hyatt Place in Champaign and at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Passes are available for $200, including all processing fees. Four passes purchased together are $700. Also available are a small number of University of Illinois student passes priced at $150 each. Individual movie tickets will be available April 1 at $20 for the general public or $15 for University of Illinois students. Passes and tickets may be purchased through the festival website or at the Virginia Theatre box office, 203 W. Park Ave., Champaign, 217-356-9063. Updates will be posted on the festival website. Depending on available seating, tickets for individual movies may be available April 1.
Roger Ebert’s Film Festival is a special event of Chaz Ebert and the College of Media at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. For additional information, visit http://www.ebertfest.com.
Editor’s note: Anyone interested in supporting the event as a festival sponsor may contact Andy Hall, the festival’s project coordinator, at amhall2@illinois.edu.
Media alumni Bradley Smith, Rosie Powers, and Isabel Morales were panelists at the Media Career Night that discussed working for nonprofits.
Media Career Nights, a college initiative borne out of necessity during the pandemic, has become a successful continuing model for connecting students with alumni from across the nation. Now in its second year, this virtual series has been an innovative and effective way to facilitate panel discussions focused on careers in specific media industries.
Three Media Career Nights were scheduled this semester on careers in entertainment media, especially in Hollywood, in nonprofits, and in media and law. Past panels addressed sports media, politics and public life, science communication, crisis communications, and more.
“Students have enjoyed getting advice from professionals and hearing about panelists’ career paths,” said Daniel Almanza, assistant director of Media Career Services. “Students are also interested in knowing the types of organizations, internships, and other things alumni did while they were students here at Illinois.”
Alumni at the entertainment and Hollywood panel included Stephen Feder (BS ’02, media studies), producer at T-Street Productions; Emma Miller (BS ’08, media studies), senior vice president of scripted development and programming at AMC Networks; and Mike Vainisi (BS ’08, journalism), head of original content at ATTN:.
Students asked the panelists about recommended locations to begin entertainment careers, how to gain experience through summer internships, and how to connect with people in the industry. Panelists also provided advice on how to break into the entertainment industry and navigate the job market after college.
“Every experience that you have is part of the narrative you’re going to create, which is what you’ll use to help sell yourself for potential opportunities,” Feder said.
Alumni at the Media Career Night panel on nonprofits included Isabel Morales (BS ’13, journalism), media relations manager at The Nature Conservancy; Rosie Powers (BS ’12, journalism), strategist at Mission Minded; and Bradley Smith (BS ’18, advertising), program development manager at Children’s Miracle Network.
The panelists addressed what influenced them to work in the nonprofit industry, the resources they used during their time at UIUC, and the importance of resumes and portfolios.
“Our alumni panelists value events like these where they can give back and connect with current students,” Almanza said. “They also enjoy sharing their advice, their story, and are happy to discuss other topics to help students as they prepare for a successful career post-graduation.”
The final Media Career Night this semester, on media and law, will take place on April 12. The alumni panelists include Renee Cogdell Lewis (BS ’90, journalism), legal and HR consultant, private investigator, mediator, and coach at MFR Law Group PLLC; Aura L. Lichtenberg (BS ’06, journalism), partner and divorce and family law attorney at Berger Schatz; David E. McCraw (BS ’76, journalism), lead newsroom lawyer at The New York Times; and Todd Stern (BS ’85, advertising), entertainment attorney and shareholder at the law firm of Weintraub Tobin. Students can register here.
Past Media Career Night panels have been recorded and can be viewed online.
“We are grateful to our Media alumni for their generosity with their time and for their sincere interest in helping our students prepare to be the next generation of leaders,” said Dean Tracy Sulkin.
This spring, students in MACS 480: Advanced Filmmaking are producing a live action short film called “The Goji Project,” written and directed by advertising senior Lincoln Rogers. Watch the final video.
The class, led by Victor Font, lecturer in media and cinema studies, built a dorm room set at Illinois Public Media in March and began filming just before spring break.
Students work on pre-lighting while others work on set decoration at the studio.
In February, students held auditions for the film in the new production studio in the basement of Gregory Hall.
