Department of Communication Arts and Sciences at Penn State

05/14/2026

On May 13, doctoral candidate Mike Delayo successfully defended his dissertation! The project, “America’s Datafied Pastime: Rhetoric, Baseball, and the Culture of Quantification,” features chapters on the public discourse of MLB commissioners about gambling and baseball, the eventual incorporation of data from the Negro Baseball Leagues into official MLB record books, and the role of quant-tech in player development. A version of chapter 1 was recently published in the journal Communication and Sport, and another version appeared in The Conversation one week into the MLB season: https://theconversation.com/mlb-doubles-down-on-gambling-with-new-polymarket-deal-279176

Dr. Delayo was co-advised by Prof. Debbie Hawhee and Dr. Michele Kennerly, with Dr. Rosa Eberly, Dr. Michael Steudeman, and Dr. Michelle Sikes rounding out the committee (and headed for home!)

05/12/2026

Faculty and friends of Cheyenne Zaremba wish to congratulate her on graduating from Penn State University this weekend. Dr. Zaremba, along with her advisor, Dr. Rosa Eberly, attended Sunday’s Graduate School Commencement, where she was “hooded” by Dr. Eberly. We have enjoyed having Cheyenne in our department as a graduate student and look forward to what she will accomplish as an Assistant Professor of English and Public Speaking Course Coordinator at Holy Family University in Philadelphia.

Good luck, Dr. Zaremba, as you begin your new post this fall, and congratulations

05/11/2026

Picking up from last week, CAS wants to recognize the remaining undergraduate students who won department-level awards this spring. These awards are made possible through generous donations from individuals and families. A list of past awardees is available on the CAS Website. Today, we are honoring:

Jia Arora - Clayton H. Schug Forensic Award
Carolyn Newman - Michael Hodes Scholarship
Haylee Maya - Clayton H. Schug Forensic Award
Jayden Meincke-Stoltzfus - Richard B. Gregg Memorial Award for Scholarly Excellence
Yanru Wang - Adma Hammam Shibley Memorial Scholarship

05/05/2026

As Penn State wraps up the academic year, we want to take today and tomorrow to honor those undergraduate students who won department-level awards this spring. These awards are made possible through generous donations from individuals and families. A list of past awardees is available on the CAS Website. Today, we are honoring (in alphabetical order):

Olivia Barnes - Pechter Family Scholarship and the CAS Community Leadership Award
Xiaohan Deng - Dr. Nancy J. Metzger Award
Molly Donohue - Harold J. “Pat” O’Brien Memorial Award
Jansen Hoffard - Harold J. “Pat” O’Brien Memorial Award
Alexis Mikulcik - Dr. Nancy J. Metzger Award
Mariya Petroski - Pechter Family Scholarship and the Dr. Nancy J. Metzger Award
Sara Tashkandi - Harold J. “Pat” O’Brien Memorial Award

04/27/2026

CAS is pleased to announce the two student marshals who will represent the department at the Spring University Park and the World Campus commencements.

Ava Gianna Nociforo is graduating with Bachelor of Arts Degrees in Communication Arts and Sciences and in Advertising/Public Relations. After graduation, she plans to attend law school with hopes of becoming a sports and entertainment attorney with an emphasis on intellectual property and NIL (Name, image, and likeness). More information about Ava, along with descriptions of all the College of Liberal Arts 2026 student marshals, is available in this April 2, 2026, news story.

Tara Goodyear is graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational and Professional Communication from CAS’s World Campus curriculum. Tara currently works as a cross-channel quality and interaction excellence manager for Comcast, where she has applied her studies to her daily work, enhancing her performance and academic engagement. After graduating, she plans to continue growing her career with Comcast while exploring graduate school opportunities.

Link: https://www.psu.edu/news/liberal-arts/story/college-liberal-arts-announces-spring-2026-student-marshals

04/24/2026

Today, the Communication Arts & Sciences Department celebrates the accomplishments of its alumni, students, and faculty at its annual awards ceremony in the Hintz Family Alumni Center. Next week, our social media will feature the many students who will win awards today, but, right now, we want to tell you about the three alumni we will recognize.

Dr. Lindsey S. Aloia is an associate dean of international education and professor at the University of Arkansas. An interpersonal communication scholar, she will be honored with the Outstanding Academic Alumni Award. Angela B. Rayn, Esq. is an attorney, writer, and advocate working at the intersection of child welfare law, maternal health, and healthcare accountability. Today, she will be honored with the Outstanding Early-Career Alumni Award. Takkeem Leon Morgan is the Senior Director of Communications at Prevent Child Abuse America, where he leads their national communications strategy. Prevent Child Abuse America is the premier child and family advocacy organization in the country. CAS is honored to have such esteemed alumni and is excited to recognize all of our awardees this afternoon.

04/22/2026

On Wednesday, April 22, 2026, the College of the Liberal Arts at Penn State holds its annual awards luncheon. At this event, several faculty and a graduate student will be recognized with College-level awards. Mandy Goodwin is the recipient of the college’s Outstanding Teaching Professor Award, based on the quality and strength of her recent promotion dossier. Joshua Barnett is the recipient of the college’s Outstanding Associate Professor Award, based on the quality and strength of his recent promotion and tenure dossier. Katya Haskins will receive the Class of 1993 Distinction in the Humanities Award, recognizing her most recent book publication and ongoing research. Sergio Peña is the recipient of the Denise Haunani Solomon Outstanding Teaching Award for Graduate Students for Sergio’s remarkable record of undergraduate instruction.

The Communication Arts & Sciences Department is fortunate to benefit from these remarkable scholars and educators. Please convey hearty congratulations to each of them.

04/15/2026

At a luncheon this afternoon, Lynsey Medd, a doctoral student in CAS, received the Harold F. Martin Graduate Assistant Outstanding Teaching Award from the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School at Penn State. Lynsey has taught six different classes for the department, including effective speech, interpersonal communication, communication and technology, research methods, communication theory, and an introduction to human communication. Lynsey is valued by both her students and her faculty colleagues, and she has presented her experiences and insights about instruction at the National Communication Association annual conference. Students praise Lynsey for being relevant, engaging, considerate, knowledgeable, attentive, inclusive, and supportive. In addition to her instruction, Lynsey's research focuses on mindfulness and interpersonal communication. She is interested in fostering mindfulness as a way people can use communication to heal themselves and others.

Check it out here: https://www.psu.edu/news/fox-graduate-school/story/forty-two-graduate-students-receive-university-awards

04/14/2026

The CAS Department is thrilled to share that CAS graduate student Cheyenne Zaremba has won a prestigious Alumni Association Dissertation Award for their innovative research at the intersection of rhetoric, grief, and public culture. Cheyenne's dissertation, "Dying to Live Better: The Rhetorical Work of Funerals," investigates how U.S. funerals, despite being designed as spaces of collective care, often fall short in addressing disenfranchised grief, a form of grief that goes unspoken or unvalidated due to cultural, social, or political barriers.

Dr. Zaremba defended her dissertation in late February and will attend the May commencement, accompanied by her Ph.D. advisor, Dr. Rosa Eberly. In August, Zaremba will begin working at Holy Family University in Philadelphia as Assistant Professor of English and Public Speaking Course Coordinator.

Check out the announcement here: https://www.psu.edu/news/fox-graduate-school/story/forty-two-graduate-students-receive-university-awards

04/14/2026

Recently promoted teaching professor Amanda Goodwin Caporaletti has been named an Outstanding Teaching Professor by the College of the Liberal Arts at Penn State University. This honor was bestowed on Dr. Goodwin Caporaletti based on the strength of her promotion dossier and the combined assessments of the CAS NTT Promotion Committee, the Department Head, the College Promotion Committee, and Dean Lang. Mandy is a graduate of Penn State’s doctoral program, teaches on World Campus, and serves as the Department’s Assistant Department Head. Every semester, she works with Associate Head Erina Farrell and Administrative Assistant Sarah Jones to assign instructors to the course schedule. Please join us in congratulating Mandy Goodwin Caporaletti on this honor. When you do so, don’t forget to thank her for the amazing work she does for all our benefit!

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