Turn what you learn into television that matters

Ithaca College's major strategic initiative for this year is to promote integrated learning across disciplines. You may have heard of this as the IC2 (I.C. squared) project -- Ithaca College - Integrated Curriculum. Six projects proposed by faculty and students were chosen for funding by the president this year, and one of them is IC Studio.

The project is open to all students regardless of major -- who will work together to create television and web content on a topic that they choose.

Informational meeting: Wednesday October 7 6PM Park Auditorium. Be there.

New Doc Studies & Production degree - only one on the East Coast!

Over the years, we've had many students interested in documentaries -- and many alums involved in this area. Now the Park School is the only undergraduate program in the East to offer this degree.

It's also our first undergraduate degree that's not based in any one department -- it includes courses from TV-R, CPMA, and Journalism -- and it prepares students for the many emerging roles in this area including

• producers and directors
• cinematographers and film and video editors
• news reporters and writers
• researchers and grant writers
• digital designers and programmers
• curators, advocates, and activists

Many thanks to Professors Loop, Zimmermann, Crane, and Scott for their visionary work in bringing this curriculum to life.

ICTV and WICB-FM collaborate in landmark event

For those of you who have been following this blog, you'll know that one of my themes for this year -- and for the Park School -- is INNOVATION. ICTV and WICB-FM recently created a 'first'. ICTV videotaped a performance of the band Hubcap while it went out live on radio.

As Kelsy Franklin, Assistant Producer of the TV show Panorama said:

"This is why Park is the best school of communications--
students have the opportunity to
break new ground for the college."

Enter by Oct 2 to win cultural exchange trip to France

Another great Park School perk: Twenty students will be selected to receive free tuition, housing, and food for two weeks of museum tours, media visits and lectures, and cultural events in Dijon and Paris this May.





Here's the scoop: The Park School has a partnership with the Burgundy Business School in Dijon, France. Under the terms of the agreement, a Burgundy student receives tuition assistance to study in the Park School's Masters Program in Communications; in exchange, a group of 20 Park students is invited to visit Dijon and Paris for two weeks at the end of May – all expenses paid -- except for airfare and whatever you want to spend on extra food and travel.

If you're selected to go, you'll be required to enroll in a one-credit mini-course this spring taught by Professor Janice Levy. The course will help you prepare so the you can make this most out of this opportunity, and will be held at a time that won't conflict with your other classes.

The trip leaves New York the Monday following graduation. The length of the trip is approximately 2 weeks and is supervised by Professor Janice Levy. Final dates and details TBA. Everybody is required to fly together from New York City to Paris. You will be responsible for paying your own round-trip airfare and for getting yourself to the New York airport. We work with a travel agent to get a good deal on the airfare. Typically, most people also fly back together -- but it's possible for you to stay on in Europe on your own afterward, at your own expense.

The Burgundy Business School will be responsible for all other expenses They will pick you up at the airport in Paris, and take care of you for two whole weeks -- including lodging, food, transportation, and a full itinerary of events and activities. The schedule will include museum tours, day trips to Paris and surrounding towns, media visits, lectures and social events with international students studying at Burgundy. The schedule also will include free time to explore Dijon, and surrounding areas OR travel to other European cities. Your expenses on that kind of wider European excursion would be your responsibility, but your expenses if you stay in Dijon will be covered by the school.

The trip will be offered as a learning experience that DOES NOT require you to enroll for academic credit. We are doing everything we can to keep the costs as low as possible, and we are sensitive to the fact that many students cannot afford to buy a summer-school credit.

You MUST be a full-time Park MAJOR during the Spring 2010 semester to be eligible. There will be forms in the rack OUTSIDE the Dean's office on the third floor of Park on September 22. Stop by, fill out the form, sign it, and hand it in to the Dean's Office receptionist. One submission per student ONLY. Students who submit multiple forms will be disqualified We'll be accepting forms until noon Friday October 2. No exceptions.

If you're studying abroad or in LA, you can email Gwen Benners in the Dean's Office, (gbenners@ithaca.edu) expressing your interest and providing her your name, address in Ithaca, telephone number, and class. That will "count" as your submission (we'll transfer the info to the form and put it in the box with the rest of the applications). ALL students currently on campus in Ithaca must submit the paper form to the dean's office. If you're sick, you live downtown and can't make it to campus, you're working an internship and can't get to the dean's office, ask a friend to fill out the form for you.

On Friday, October 2, we'll review the forms, make sure we have all the information we need on each form, put them all in a box, and select 20 forms – lottery-style. Five slots are reserved for our Dean's Hosts as a special thank-you for their extraordinary service.

By applying, you're committing to the trip, so please don't apply unless you're sure you can go. We'll announce the winners by email on Monday October 5. As they say in French: "Bonne chance!"

Vote for WICB and VIC

Both our radio stations are in the running for the mtv-U Woodie Award  
for Best College Radio Station.

Thanks to amazing support last year, WICB won the first-ever Woodie  
Award. The award—a big chunk of wood with a wedge & sledgehammer—is  
on display in the window outside the radio newsroom. The win was a  
huge morale boost for the entire radio operation, and naturally, we'd  
like to repeat.

Please visit the link below, and vote early and often.
http://radiowoodie.ratemyprofessors.com/state/new-york/

Free film tickets - THE COVE Friday Sept 25

Bring your current student ID (college, graduate and high school), be one of the first 50 students to show up at Cinemapolis no later than 6:30 on Friday September 25, and score a FREE ticket to the Ithaca premiere of THE COVE, the 2009 Sundance Audience Award winning film about dolphins, slaughter and suspense. Screening starts at 7 p.m. at Cinemapolis downtown on Green Street.

Afterwards, be sure to join us for a special post-screening discussion with Todd Schack, assistant professor of journalism at Ithaca College and Christopher Clark, IP Johnson Director of Cornell University Bioacoustic Research Program.

This premiere screening of THE COVE is cosponsored by the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival, Cinemapolis, and the Finger Lakes Bioneers.

The free ticket giveaway for students is cosponsored by the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival and the Division of Interdisciplinary and International Studies.

Offer expires after 6:30 p.m. on Friday, September 25. Get there early--and get in free! Offer limited to the first 50 students in line.

About The Cove
http://www.thecovethemovie.com

Gold medal for the Ithacan -- once again

Can we fit any more awards in the Ithacan display case?

Way to go, Ithacan staff ! The Ithacan has been named a Gold Medalist for both Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 in the Columbia Scholastic Press Association's annual college newspaper critique.

Each year the CSPA evaluates member papers on overall content, news, depth reporting, features, opinion/editorial, sports, arts/entertainment, editing/headline writing, and design/graphics on the bases of more than 150 specific criteria. This year the newspaper's scores on the critique's 1,000-point scale were 977 for fall and 945 for spring. The CSPA consistently ranks the Ithacan as a gold medalist, its highest category.

Among the judges' comments: "You have an amazing publication.... I've seldom seen a better all-around newspaper. Often you'll find a nice section, good writing or solid design. But you have it all ... Hats off to the staff and adviser of The Ithacan. You are a top college newspaper. The paper is very strong in reporting, news, clear writing and solid graphics.... Keep up the great work."

Love the Twilight Zone? Take a one-credit class

Explore the life and work of one of the most honored writers in television. Rod Serling was a key player in the “Golden Age of Television” (1950’s), creator of The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery, and author of many screenplays (Planet of the Apes, and Seven Days in May). Serling had a profound influence on American television, and you'll get a chance to learn about his struggles over censorship and sponsor control. Winner of six Emmy awards and numerous other accolades, he taught creative writing here in the School of Communications in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.

Students enrolled in this course will get free admission to be expected to attend 4 1/2 hours of THE 2009 ROD SERLING CONFERENCE right here in the Park School on Oct 2-3.

Independent filmmakers will share their work and advice

More on my theme of don't GET a job -- MAKE a job-- and make an IMPACT: Two distinguished role models will be here on campus soon and I really encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity.

Films like Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Bowling for Columbine" have been among the most influential and provocative media pieces of recent years. Filmmakers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal who were producers on these films will be on campus to screen their Oscar-nominated documentary "Trouble the Water" about Hurricane Katrina.

Sponsored by the Park Center for Independent Media, "Trouble the Water" will be screened on Tuesday, Sept. 15, at 7:30 p.m. in Emerson Suites, Phillips Hall. It will be followed by a question-and-answer session with Lessin and Deal. On Wednesday, Sept. 16, they will show excerpts from their works and discuss the “Agonies/Ecstasies of Independent Filmmaking” at 7 p.m. in Park Auditorium.

creating your own jobs- happening here and now

In my recent welcome address to new Park School students a few weeks back, I told them not to expect to GET a job when they graduated. After the gasps had subsided-- I told them they'd need to be prepared to MAKE their own jobs. Applause. Sighs of relief. And smiles when it hit them that they were empowered to create their own vision of being a 'communications professional'.

It's been my pleasure to see how this entrepreneurial and creative spirit manifests itself, even before graduation.

Scott Pollack, a senior IMC major, and recent Park graduate, Mike Spreter, created their own website guide to music in Western NY. They honed their skills in web design and creation, promotions, writing, and reporting in their classes -- and then leveraged these to create their own opportunities to cover some of the hottest indie stars. All of this just in the past three months!

Their site is skipster.us Check it out. And then start thinking about your talents, your passions, the experiences you want to have, and the messages you want to share with the world.

FREE - valuable cross-cultural leadership training

Park students: When (and I do say "when" and not "if"!) you've risen your career and you've been identified as a high-potential executive, you may be given the opportunity to go to an expensive training course in cross-cultural leadership. OR - you may decide at some point that you'll need to invest in this kind of training yourself in order to move up the ladder.

How about a jump-start? IC's Office of Student Engagement and Multicultural Affairs is offering a 2.5 day retreat October 9-11. If you're selected, you'll learn to identify your personal values and cross cultural leadership goals, constructively collaborate with others, serve as positive social change agents, and highlight these important leadership skills in your resume, portfolio, and job or internship interviews. AND -- it's FREE. It's what will set you apart from thousands of other talented communicators, and what will enable you to effectively lead diverse teams and production crews.

Submit your application by September 24.
http://www.ithaca.edu/sacl/osema/leadership/cclr

Vote for our alumni by Friday Sept 4

Two Park School alumni (IMC, '08), Alyssa Gardina and Colin Alsheimer, had a proposal accepted by the South by Southwest Interactive Conference to present on the topic of citizen journalism to some of the most influential people in the interactive and marketing industries. Panels are being selected by a public vote, and voting closes this Friday.

Alyssa and Colin have had the incredible opportunity to maintain a blog and social media presence as citizen journalists in Dallas, and they would like to share their expertise and knowledge with others.

To vote, just register on the SXSW website and cast your "Thumbs Up" here: http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/2982.

For more information on their topic, watch their short video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3QtzY7k__A