Communication Studies

Newspapers play a critical role in a democracy. Nancy Newhoff, editor of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, will discuss the Courier's focus, how news is selected and trends affecting newspapers. Free and open to the public. Sponsored by the UNI American Democracy Project.

The Forensics team will  host an open house during homecoming. All forensics alumni are invited to visit the current squad room for snacks and refreshments, as well as a chance to reconnect with past and present team members. 

Mike Bobeldyk, associate director of Maucker Union, will lead an interactive workshop on the use of team-building exercises for organizations. Sponsored by the Leadership Studies Program. Free and open to the public.

Suzanne Freedman, educational psychology and foundations, will speak on "9/11 and the Power of Forgiveness: An Opportunity to Learn and Reflect". Sponsored by UNI American Democracy Project and the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost.

Michael Blackwell, director of the Center for Multicultural Education, will lead a discussion of the different perspectives on the movie and book "The Help." Participants need not have read the book or seen the movie. Free and open to the public. Sponsored by the UNI American Democracy Project and University Book & Supply.

The UNI Forensics Team will be hosting its annual all-events high school tournament. This event will host competition in debate (Student Congress, Lincoln Douglas, Public Forum, and Policy), and individual speech events. Schools representing 13 Iowa high schools will compete during this two day tournament. 

This is a highly competitive regional high school tournament on a neutral site for teams not only from Iowa, but surrounding states as well. The tournament will include all debate events (policy, LD, public forum, Congress), and a variety of individual events including: dramatic interpretation, duo interpretation, extemporaneous speaking, humorous interpretation, original oratory and prose/poetry interpretation.

Robert Decker will facilitate this workshop. Participants should complete the StrengthsFinder Inventory available online or in the book StrengthsFinder 2.0 (code in book gives access to the inventory) and bring entire report of the results to the workshop. Free and open to the public.

The UNI Public Relations Student Society of America will host an ethics panel, which will discuss ethics in their workplaces and answer questions. Panelists include: Nola Aigner, UNI and PRSSA alumnae, who works for the Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health; Janine Whipps, co-owner of Morgan&Myers public relations firm; Mark Ryan, business professor at Hawkeye Community College and previous general manager with Waterloo Industries; and Joe Shannahan, partner at LS2 Group in West Des Moines. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. with the panel discussion beginning at 7 p.m. Open to the campus community and public free of charge. For more information email stessmac@uni.edu.

Coleen Rowley, former FBI agent and whistleblower, will speak on "The Constitution and Civil Liberties: Reducing Terrorism Without Reducing Civil Liberties". Rowley was one of the three women selected as TIME "Persons of the Year" in 2002 for her work in exposing government failures in preventing the 9/11 attacks. Parking is available in the Multimodal Transportation Center. Rowley's appearance is sponsored by UNI's American Democracy Project and the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost. Reception follows program.