Kelly | College of Media

Historic gift from Richard and Leslie Frank totals $10.5M for College of Media

September 17, 2024

With their latest $2.5 million donation, Richard and Leslie Frank increased their historic gift to the College of Media to upgrade classrooms on the lower level of Gregory Hall.

The new funding will enable a substantial renovation of the lower level of Gregory Hall, with the creation of a new hybrid, flexible, or hyflex, classroom as the centerpiece.

The new multipurpose classroom, which will be constructed in the space that currently houses two smaller classrooms and an office, will boast features that all three departments in the College of Media will be able to take advantage of—such as advertising brand consultations, journalism press conferences, and media and cinema studies production—and enable hybrid teaching and conferencing.

“Because we believe in the fundamental impact that media has on our society, we want to continue to invest in our future media leaders at the University of Illinois,” said Rich Frank. “We’re excited to establish a new state-of-the-art space that will support the excellence of the College of Media, and we hope to inspire other donors to make gifts that leave a lasting impact on the college.”

The gift will also renovate the lower level, featuring a more modern design such as new flooring, painted walls throughout the entire hallway, including the east and west wings, and digital signage. Substantial work in that part of Gregory Hall has not occurred since the 1990s. The project details are underway; work will begin in summer 2025.

The College of Media is deeply thankful to Richard and Leslie Frank for their generous investments that not only have expanded opportunities for our current students and faculty but will continue to facilitate an enriched experience for those to come.

Tracy Sulkin

Dean of the College of Media

“This new gift will create a showpiece in Gregory Hall,” said Dean Tracy Sulkin. “The College of Media is deeply thankful to Richard and Leslie Frank for their generous investments that not only have expanded opportunities for our current students and faculty but will continue to facilitate an enriched experience for those to come.”

The Franks’ original gift of $7.5 million in 2020 is the largest gift ever made to the College of Media. That gift enabled the creation of the Frank Newsroom at Richmond Studio, the college’s broadcast teaching facility, and endowed the Richard and Leslie Frank Center for Leadership and Innovation in Media.

Having each experienced professional success in media and entertainment, the Franks are committed to creating a positive impact in media for generations.

Rich Frank, who received his bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Illinois, began his career at the advertising agency BBDO in New York City before moving to Los Angeles to work as a Sales Manager at KTLA. He then served as President of Chris-Craft Broadcasting. In 1977 he became President of Paramount Television Group, overseeing the creation and production of such shows as Taxi, Family Ties, and Cheers as well as the creation of the groundbreaking entertainment news show, Entertainment Tonight. In 1985 he became President of Disney Studios. Under his leadership, the studio created iconic sitcoms such as The Golden Girls and Home Improvement, and films including Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, and The Lion King. He also oversaw the launch of the Disney Channel. Rich served three terms as President of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. In 2007, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences recognized him with the prestigious Syd Cassyd Founder’s Award. In 2011, Rich received an honorary doctorate from the American Film Institute where he is currently a Vice Chairman on the AFI’s Board of Directors. Rich previously served on the board of the Motion Picture Association of America. His archival interview with the Television Academy provides a fascinating historical perspective of the evolution of modern television: https://bit.ly/3iQvS7s.

Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Leslie Frank began her career in Canada before crossing the border to work in some of the largest television markets in the United States. She spent more than 25 years covering many major stories including the 9/11 attacks, where she reported live from ground zero in New York City, as well as from the scene of the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and inside the courtroom at the Michael Jackson trial. Leslie spent the last nine years of her TV news career reporting and anchoring at the number one rated station, KABC in Los Angeles, where she covered politics, crime, weather calamities, as well as interviewing some of the biggest stars in Hollywood on the red carpet. Prior to Los Angeles, Leslie was the main anchor at KCPQ in Seattle, where she took the 10 pm newscast to number one in its time slot and clinched an Emmy for outstanding news anchor. In 2024, she joined the board of directors of Treasury Wine Estates Ltd.

Leslie and Richard are former owners of Frank Family Vineyards, a highly acclaimed luxury wine business based in the Napa Valley, California, that was acquired by Treasury Wine Estates in 2021.

Under the leadership of its inaugural director, Colleen King, clinical assistant professor of journalism, the Frank Center has brought media industry leaders to campus for free and public events including Steve Kornacki, Brian Williams, and on December 3, NBC News chief political analyst Chuck Todd. The Frank Center has also held virtual Q&As with Kara Swisher, Michael Steele, and Dan Balz. See recordings of these conversations with the Frank Center.

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Journalism alum Mike Carpenter writes book about Illinois basketball

Mike Carpenter (BS ’09, journalism) has written a book about the last 30+ years of Illinois basketball, The 200 Level: An Illinois Fighting Illini Basketball Fan’s Journey, which will be released on October 3.

The book is a mix of personal narrative and sports journalism, charting the ups and downs of the program while reflecting on Carpenter’s own personal experiences as a fan.

Carpenter was a sports talk broadcaster and podcaster for ESPN 93.5 from 2011 through 2019. He’s hosted his own podcast on Illini sports, The 200 Level, for the past five years.

Learn more.

Media faculty and TAs make list of teachers ranked as excellent

September 4, 2024

Congratulations to all the College of Media faculty and teaching assistants who were ranked as excellent by their students!

This list is based on Instructor and Course Evaluation System questionnaire forms completed by students during the Spring 2024 semester. Only those instructors who distributed ICES forms at least once during this time period and who released their data for publication are included in the list. View the complete list.

Note: * denotes that the instructor ratings were outstanding.

ADVERTISING

ANDREW GLEASON – ADV 490

STEVE HALL – ADV 150

TERRY KASDAN – ADV 409

EWA MASLOWSKA – ADV 594

SHACHAR MERON – ADV 250

MICHELLE NELSON – ADV 582

*MARISA PEACOCK – ADV 290, ADV 498

*ALLISON VANCE – ADV 350

CARRIE WILSON-BROWN – ADV 393

KEVIN WISE – ADV 588

*MIKE YAO – ADV 461

JOURNALISM

*CHRISTOPHER BALL – JOUR 430, JOUR 451

STEPHANIE CRAFT – JOUR 205

*ALISON DAVIS – JOUR 215, JOUR 340

COLLEEN KING – JOUR 313

VINCE LARA-CINISOMO – JOUR 220

CHARLES “STRETCH” LEDFORD – JOUR 335

*CAROL LOMBARDI – JOUR 220

MARGARET NG – JOUR 425

MEDIA & CINEMA STUDIES

ANGELA AGUAYO – MACS 391

VICTOR FONT – MACS 480

JONATHAN KNIPP – MACS 282

SUSAN MUIRHEAD – MACS 372

M. QUINONES-RIVERA – MACS 375

STRATEGIC BRAND COMMUNICATION

EWA MASLOWSKA – SBC 505

RICH PIECZYNSKI – SBC 504

TEACHING ASSISTANTS

K. COOK – ADV 284

X. DONG– ADV 250

W. DU – ADV 150

*N. FAISAL – ADV 250

M. FUKADA – ADV 284

*Y. LEE – ADV 360

A. LIU – ADV 150

*M. LYERLA – ADV 150

*S. PARK – ADV 360

Z. RANDOLPH – ADV 284

*J. CINTRON – MACS 100

Y. GAO – MACS 101

*Y. KANG – MACS 101

J. OH – MACS 100

*J. ZHANG – MACS 260

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Institute of Communications Research welcomes 2024 cohort of doctoral students

August 26, 2024

The Institute of Communications Research is excited to announce our newest cohort! Please learn more about the students’ research interests below and join us in welcoming them to the University of Illinois College of Media community this fall. For more information, see full ICR student profiles.

Haochen Ji earned her master’s degree in communication from Northwestern University and her bachelor’s degree in public relations from Boston University. Her primary academic interests focus on the impact of emerging technologies on communication, aiming to promote human-centered technology designs and proactively shaping positive digital communication. She is passionate about exploring how technologies like AI, video games, and interactive media influence people’s online behaviors and psychological well-being. She is also highly interested in utilizing mixed methods, especially computational approaches, to investigate specific problems.

Yujin (Floria) Lee earned her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in advertising from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her interests include virtual reality, artificial intelligence, social media marketing, celebrity endorsement, media usage, and cultural analysis.

Gustavo Nery earned a bachelor’s in journalism from the University of Fortaleza and a master’s in theatre studies from Illinois State University. Gustavo has professional experience as a film critic, reporter, and editor for books, magazines, and newspapers. His main area of research is television, film, theatre, and media studies. Interests include coming-of-age and teen cinema, queer cinema, Brazilian cinema, film theory and criticism, popular music, theater professional recordings, film biopics, and narrative theory.

Gillian Paxton is a researcher with interests in media literacy, scholastic journalism, visual communication, and education. She has actively blogged about media, including reviews and analysis, since she was in high school.

Duo Wang is a researcher and entrepreneur committed to exploring the convergence of mixed reality and generative AI for the next generation of immersive interaction and 3D storytelling. His research interests include virtual/augmented reality (VR/AR), human-AI communication in virtual environments, XR+AI simulation in healthcare, generative AI in immersive media, and human-computer interaction.

Kendra Williams is a researcher with interests in critical cultural studies, Black popular culture, television and film, and race and media representation.

Nansong Zhou is interested in the dynamic interactions between games, technology, and society. His research encompasses the global media industry, China studies, and game studies, focusing on two primary research areas including the formation of the global video game industry and how video games integrate with AI and VR technologies, along with their impacts and potential.

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College of Media welcomes Fall 2024 with faculty promotions, new leadership roles, new faculty

August 23, 2024

This fall, seven faculty in the College of Media have been promoted, two faculty have taken on new leadership roles, and three new faculty have been hired.

In the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising, promotions include Chang-Dae Ham to full professor, Leona Su to associate professor with indefinite tenure, and Dionne Clifton and Marisa Peacock to senior lecturers. Two new assistant professors of advertising, Louvins Pierre and Guolan Yang, joined this fall.

In the Department of Journalism, Margaret Ng has been promoted to associate professor with indefinite tenure. Melita Garza, associate professor and Tom and June Netzel Sleeman Scholar in Business Journalism, will serve as the director of graduate studies. Cassandra L.C. Troy joined as a new assistant professor of journalism.

In the Department of Media & Cinema Studies, promotions include Derek Long to associate professor with indefinite tenure and Victor Font to senior lecturer. Long will also serve as the director of graduate studies for the Institute of Communications Research. Professor Julie Turnock, the inaugural director of the Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies, has returned from sabbatical and will resume the Ebert Center director duties.

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New advertising professor Louvins Pierre centers research on social, psychological consumer factors

August 21, 2024 | Kelly Youngblood

Louvins Pierre can trace his interest in advertising back to childhood.

“As a kid, I often watched advertisements because I found them funny. In hindsight, it may have been my underlying interest in the advertising and how [it was] effective that caused me not to change the channel,” Pierre said. “One ad that comes to mind is Apple’s original iPod commercial with music and dancing silhouettes, which directly influenced me to ask my parents to buy me one for either my birthday or Christmas. Another includes McDonald’s 2005 ad that used humor to communicate when you work hard for your money, you should spend it wisely on their value menu.”

Pierre will bring his long-time advertising interests and expertise to Illinois this fall as an assistant professor in the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising with an appointment in the Institute of Communications Research.

Pierre said the reputation of the Sandage Department of Advertising, and the many prominent scholars within, helped inform his research and drew him to pursue a position at Illinois.

“I am looking forward to working with and learning more about the work of others throughout the College of Media and the university,” he said.

The advertising department is well known nationally and internationally as a major outlet for advertising research. Being in an environment filled with bright and motivated students and faculty will be a truly rewarding opportunity.

Louvins Pierre

Assistant Professor in the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising

This fall, Pierre, who earned a BA in communication at Tuskegee University in Alabama, and an MA and PhD in communication at the University of Connecticut, will be teaching ADV 284: Consumer Insight, a class designed to teach students how to build a brand strategy that puts the desires and needs of the consumers first—a subject with which he’s very familiar.

Pierre’s dissertation examined how consumer evaluations of advertising about two similar, yet different, social issues, “Black Lives Matter” and “Stop AAPI Hate” could vary.

Using both an in-person laboratory experiment with Gen Z consumers—who are believed to highly value brand activism—and a follow-up online experiment with older consumers from the general population, Pierre explored whether consumers evaluate advertising about these social issues differently; what multimedia components of the advertisement affect consumer evaluations; and what internal factors influence consumer evaluations.

One of his key insights included “evidence that when you visually feature people who are adversely affected by the movement, it can improve consumer evaluations of the ad.” He also found that brand authenticity mattered, and ads that facilitated a sense of transportation or immersion were viewed more positively. Learn more about Pierre’s research.

Pierre is equally passionate about the research process and his teaching, and he considers the opportunity to make an impact on students amongst the most fulfilling aspects of a career in academia.

“It is humbling and rewarding to know I helped [former students] gain either some practical experience as a research assistant or conceptual knowledge in the classroom. I look forward to being able to continue these efforts and more with the talented students at Illinois,” he said.

Pierre says his teaching objectives are to guide students to understand the “why” behind advertising before showing them how they may apply concepts, and he aims to make the classroom experience interactive and relevant.

He also encourages students to share their interests and career goals, which helps him to make adjustments to lectures and classroom activities to meet students’ needs.

At Illinois, Pierre will continue his research on how brands influence consumer decision-making through advertising, with a focus on the social and psychological consumer factors.

Some of his potential projects include studying how consumer attitudes and knowledge about new technologies that more precisely target them (AI, algorithms, machine learning, etc.) relate to their consumption decision-making.

For now, he’s most looking forward to working with fellow thought leaders in the Sandage Department of Advertising, as well as the students.

“The advertising department is well known nationally and internationally as a major outlet for advertising research,” Pierre said. “Being in an environment filled with bright and motivated students and faculty will be a truly rewarding opportunity.”

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New journalism professor Cassandra L.C. Troy examines role of solutions journalism to address environmental issues

August 21, 2024 | Kelly Youngblood

Growing up, Cassandra L.C. Troy was encouraged to be environmentally aware, especially by her grandmother and mother who taught her to care for the planet. But it wasn’t until she worked at a university sustainability office that she considered a career in environmental communications.

“In that role, I got a taste of how varied environmental issues are, how complex it is to communicate about different environmental issues,” Troy said. “[What’s] really interesting to me is making that relevant to large portions of the public.”

Troy will be teaching environmental journalism at the College of Media this fall as an assistant professor of journalism with an appointment in the Institute of Communications Research.

She’s excited to connect with students interested in environmental topics and to continue her research on solutions journalism to raise public awareness and engagement on environmental issues.

Troy said solutions journalism takes the approach to reporting that solutions to problems are newsworthy, rather than just the problems themselves.

Illinois is a place that is committed to research, not just generally, but research related to environmental topics. The institutional commitment to examining climate change from an interdisciplinary perspective is really encouraging.

Cassandra L.C. Troy

Assistant Professor of Journalism

“In the minds of solutions journalists, in addition to giving the public information on serious complex issues, you also want to talk to them about solutions that are working, or maybe that could work, to address those problems,” she said.

Troy, who is passionate about the impacts of climate change, added that “environmental challenges are so pressing, and they do impact everyone. You don’t have to just be altruistic and really into nature to care about the environment. We all should want to care about clear air or clean water, and what’s happening in the world around us.”

Troy’s position is part of an interdisciplinary faculty “cluster” on climate impacts, risks, and inequality that was approved as part of the Provost Office’s Strategic Hiring Initiative. The other participating units, in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, include the Department of Climate, Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences; Department of Earth Science & Environmental Change; and the Department of Geography & Geographic Information Science.

“Illinois is a place that is committed to research, not just generally, but research related to environmental topics. The institutional commitment to examining climate change from an interdisciplinary perspective is really encouraging,” she said.

Troy earned undergraduate degrees in communication arts and foreign language from Virginia Commonwealth University and initially planned to pursue a career in visual communications and graphic design.

But in her first job after graduation, she was introduced to a broad range of communication work including branding, social media, and content management, which inspired her to get a master’s degree in communication from Purdue University.

During her time in graduate school, Troy loved the research process and realized much of her interest lies behind the why of messaging.

“As I reflected on the direction that I wanted my career to take, I wanted to have the time and space to determine the questions that I wanted to ask, and the time and space to evaluate how different communication strategies were working, which is not always something you have the luxury of doing in a workplace,” Troy said. “You cannot stop and evaluate every single piece of messaging that you put out there and so that is what motivated me to apply to a PhD program versus just continuing in the industry.”

Troy went on to earn a PhD in mass communications from Pennsylvania State University. Her dissertation, “The potential of solutions journalism for climate risk mitigation: A mixed methods investigation,” examined the role of solutions journalism in climate risk mitigation from the perspective of journalists and the general public.

Using both a quantitative and qualitative perspective, Troy studied how to design media messages that support positive results for people and the planet, especially when it comes to climate change. Learn more about Troy’s research.

Through writing about environmental topics in class, Troy’s students will gain an understanding of the unique challenges associated with environmental communication.

“Similar to science journalism, you’ve got the scientifically complex topics and some of the topics are going to be politically polarized. Members of the public might be encountering disinformation or misinformation in relation to these topics and so you have to be really thoughtful in how you cover these issues,” she said.

Helping her students embrace challenges is just one of Troy’s teaching philosophies. She also aims to cultivate curiosity and prepare students for success beyond the classroom.

“My ideal scenario is that everyone can take away at least one thing that’s going to be really valuable when you are given a task in a future professional environment,” she said.

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New advertising professor Guolan Yang focuses on effects of digital persuasive messaging

August 21, 2024 | Kelly Youngblood

Guolan Yang has studied and cited works authored by professors in the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising since she was a doctoral student. So when she got the opportunity to meet those esteemed scholars in person at advertising conferences, Yang was further drawn to pursue a career at Illinois.

“Visiting the campus felt like a culmination of those years of study,” she said. “Many faculty members here share research interests similar to mine, which excited me about the prospect of collaboration.”

Yang said she’s eager to contribute to the distinguished and dynamic team at the College of Media this fall as an assistant professor in advertising with an appointment in the Institute of Communications Research.

She will be teaching “Introduction to Public Relations,” which covers a variety of topics such as the role of ethics in public relations as well as theories that guide research and practice.

Yang said her research takes a psychological perspective, investigating the effects of digital persuasive messages that do not look like traditional advertising, such as sponsored influencer content and in-feed native ads on people’s perceptions, beliefs, emotions, and behaviors.

I like seeing students finally grasp a difficult concept and watching their confidence soar as a result.

Guolan Yang

Assistant Professor in the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising

Previously, Yang was an assistant professor in the Department of Communication, Journalism, and Public Relations at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, where she taught courses in advertising and public relations.

Her dissertation, titled “Advertising Recognition and Persuasion in the Context of Sponsored Influence Content: Effect of Disclosure Prominence, Message Involvement, and Persuasion Knowledge” investigated how sponsorship disclosures affect consumer understanding of sponsored influencer posts on Instagram, taking individual and situational factors into account.

Yang said her findings demonstrated that prominent disclosures are helpful to increase advertising recognition when people are low in advertising knowledge or less motivated to process the message.

“These findings offer recommendations on what practitioners could do to ensure advertising transparency and provide regulatory agencies with insights on how to improve their disclosure guidelines,” Yang said.

Her research also examined how messaging strategies such as storytelling and humor can be consolidated with innovative features of digital technologies to enhance the effectiveness of persuasive communication. One of her studies investigated how brands could use funny memes to increase audience engagement and sharing intention on social media. See some of her published work.

Yang said she’s excited to meet her students and cultivate their interest in the fundamentals of today’s advertising and public relations profession.

“I enjoy sharing with my students the most recent knowledge and skills in advertising and public relations,” she said. “I like seeing students finally grasp a difficult concept and watching their confidence soar as a result.”

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Advertising alum Amy Restko promoted to director of engagement strategy at AbelsonTaylor Group

Amy Restko (BA ’13, LAS; MS ’14, advertising) was promoted to group director of engagement strategy at AbelsonTaylor Group, a leading health and wellness advertising agency located in Chicago, in recognition of her success in developing winning brand strategies for clients and delivering customer experiences that drive behavioral change.

“Amy’s experience and leadership will continue to elevate our capabilities in delivering customer experiences that truly drive behavior change,” said Lynnette Hunter, executive vice president and director of client services. “She excels at bringing the voices of patients, healthcare providers, and other target audiences to life while developing winning brand strategies that meet audiences along their healthcare journeys.”

Restko joined AbelsonTaylor Group in 2016 and served as an account planner before her promotion to planning director in 2022.

She was recently selected as one of 20 Clio Health Innovators of 2024. The Clios were founded in 1959 to celebrate creative excellence in advertising.

Legacy of late journalism alum James Urbanski recognized with honorary street name

The City of Tampa recently recognized the legacy of the late James Urbanski (BS ’50, journalism), who worked with the Tampa Tribune for over three decades, with an honorary street in his namesake near the site of the former newspaper building.

Urbanski, who passed away on April 16, 2021, at the age of 93, served as president and general manager at the Tampa Tribune.

A lifetime civic leader, Urbanski also served as CEO of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, director of the Straz Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, director of the Museum of Science and Industry, president of the Florida State Fair Authority, president of the United Way of Greater Tampa Bay, and director of the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA.

Urbanski was also the recipient of the Boy Scouts of America Silver Beaver Award and 1989 Civitan Tampa’s Citizen of the Year Award. He was an avid booster of making Tampa “America’s Next Great City.”

Read more from Fox 13 News Tampa Bay and Tampa.gov.