Local Resident Gets Work Accepted by Ohio Communications Association

ASHLAND, OH (08/23/2012)(readMedia)-- Cleveland resident, Ashley VanGilder, who is a senior Strategic Communications major at Ashland University, has had some of her work accepted for the 76th annual conference of the Ohio Communications Association. VanGilder's work was, along with 3 other students, presenting a poster of their group public relations campaign developed for the Ashland YMCA.

Dr. Theodore Avtgis, Ashland University professor and chair of the Department of Communication Studies and the professor who helped these students get their work selected, explained the assignment in which the students created their work.

"This research was conducted as part of their final assignments for the Introduction to Public Relations course that I taught in the spring of 2012," Avtgis said. "Each student in the class was required to do two Public Relations campaigns, one group campaign for the Ashland YMCA and one individual campaign for a health issue that they deemed valuable to the public interest. One of the papers that was accepted for presentation was from an Interpersonal Communication course taught by Dr. Deleasa Randall-Griffiths."

Professor Avtgis also explained the process of having the students' research accepted for the Ohio Communications Association, which is set for Oct. 5 and 6 at Kent State University.

"The students were given the opportunity, if I deemed it worthy, to submit their projects and papers to the Ohio Communication Association," he said. "The submissions underwent the review process just as any research would for a conference.

"I was extremely pleased and proud of our students as the number of students presenting research from the Department of Communication Studies at Ashland University is second only to Kent State in terms of the amount of research that was submitted, and Kent State not only had undergraduates but also masters and doctoral students submitting as well."

VanGilder is a 2009 graduate of John Marshall High School, and is the daughter of David and Judy VanGilder.

Ashland University, ranked in the top 200 colleges and universities in U.S. News and World Report's National Universities category for 2012, is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students.

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