AU News

Anderson University student teams were recognized with Palmetto Awards in December from the South Carolina Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators for their work over the previous year. Representing AU at the awards luncheon were, from left to right, Associate Professor of Communication Robert Reeves, communication majors Isabella Ellis and Madilyn McCown; and Skylar Bruner, a political science major with a minor in public relations. 

Media Communication Students from the Anderson University College of Arts and Sciences recently received two awards in this year’s Mercury Awards competition through the South Carolina Public Relations Society of America chapter. 

The annual Mercury Awards competition recognized the best public relations campaigns and tactics during 2023. 

A student team received a student Mercury Award of Excellence for its work promoting the Out of the Darkness Suicide Prevention Campus Walk in April 2023. The campaign helped Thrive Wellness Center, the campus health and counseling center at Anderson University, engage students and the community on the issue of suicide prevention in collaboration with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The Out of the Darkness Campus Walk campaign was implemented by four senior public relations students taking the Conducting Strategic Public Relations Campaigns (COM 460) course during the spring of 2023: Morgan Lane, Cooper Reynolds, Abigail Sisco and Kinnidy Thoreson. 

AU students also received a Silver Wings Award of Merit for research they conducted to assist the Anderson University Office of Marketing and Communications. The students, who were part of the University’s Public Relations Research and Evaluation (COM 360) course, conducted a semester-long research project during the fall 2023 semester to provide a better understanding of students’ use of social media, especially as it relates to the university’s social media platforms. 

Public Relations Research and Evaluation (COM 360) students receiving this award were Jennifer Ames, Annalee Armour, Emily Cannon, Nadia Castillo, Easton Gowan, Matthew McCall, Braelyn Moore, Megan Selman, Leah Shearer, Caroline Tabor and Ryleigh Wallace. 

Both student teams had also earlier received Palmetto Awards from the South Carolina Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) for these same projects. 

Also, Editing and Layout (COM 342) students received an IABC Palmetto Award for the 2023 editions of Synthesis magazine: 

The Summer 2023 issue was produced by students Joshua Acree, Emma Brightman, Abigail Fowler, Zack Freeman, Micah Furtick, Easton Gowan, Joey Heckel, Lauren Jackson, Nicholas Burge, Cooper Reynolds, Ashley Strange and Kinnidy Thoreson during Spring 2023 semester. 

The Winter 2023 issue was produced by students Emma Bechtold, Zoe Dubiski-Pitts, Dylan Johnson, Sam Norris, Jaycie Smith, Micah Tassy, Serena Thompson, McKenzie Upton and Lucy Wells during the Fall 2023 semester.