The Ric Edelman College of Communication and Creative Arts hosted the first Fall Research Showcase on Saturday, Dec. 4, at 2 p.m. in the Eynon Ballroom of the student center. 

The event was free but students needed to register ahead of time. Students and faculty, alike, were given the opportunity to present their research. Some students presented research that they did during their classes, while others presented work that they were passionate about. The majors represented were writing arts, communication studies,  public relations and advertising, health science and art. 

There were over 100 people presenting 44 projects in a variety of formats, such as posters and exhibits.

Since this is the first time Ric Edelman CCCA hosted the showcase, they wanted to do so in a way that would set the standard for showcases in the future.

“This is the first time for Ric Edelman CCCA to host this event with three objectives: to increase awareness of professional activity among members of CCCA, to promote the opportunity for future interdisciplinary collaboration and to develop a research friendly environment as a community,” Seoyong Hong, an associate professor, said. 

Alexia Reigada and Erica Gerold, from the Department of Public Relations & Advertising, took a deep dive into this topic with their research project titled “How has Ben and Jerry’s issue advocacy and brand reputation been shaped through social media?” They presented their findings on a poster board and included pie charts of people’s answers to their research questions. This project won an award for Best Presentation.

There were three other projects that had the honor of earning the award for Best Presentation. 

The first was “Celebrity Endorsement in Advertisement” by Alaina Guzman, Ciara Mondel, Kelly Van Fossen and Lea Hornback, which discussed how celebrities influence the world of advertising.

The second “Emergent Sonification, the Anthropocene, and the Sublime Affectations of Computational (Un) Predictability” by Brandon Simon, from the Communication Studies department, combined scientific research and communications.

The third was “Concentrations of Chromium and Other Forgotten Things” presented by Emily Baker and her students from the Art department, who shared interesting studies about the way chromium impacts the body.

There were many other research projects presented at the showcase, ranging from how advertising works to exploring how Chipotle regained consumer trust after the foodborne illness outbreaks in 2016. Among the art projects at the showcase, there were a variety of sculptures, cartoons and glass arts. 

The Radio, Television and Film Department made an appearance at the showcase with a TV show pitch by Christine Anlage and a work in progress documentary titled “Without Arrows” by Jonathan Olshefski.

This year’s showcase certainly showed all the accomplishments within the Ric Edelman College.

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