COMM Shined at the 2026 AEJMC Conference!

AEJMC's 109th Annual Conference was held in New Orleans, Louisiana

The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)'s 109th Annual Conference, "Jazz & Jambalaya: Nurturing Harmony and Health in Higher Education" was held in New Orleans, Louisiana, from August 5-8.  

Our department shined with paper presentations and by earning many prestigious awards. 

Awards and Recognitions:

• Eason Award, Zirong Li, University of Maryland 
  “Do LLMs Make Health Misinformation Actionable? How Stance Certainty in Misbelief-Driven Inquiries Shapes AI Corrective Fidelity and Operational Compliance." The Eason Award is a student research prize given by the Communicating Science, Health, Environment and Risk (ComSHER) Division of AEJMC.

• 2026 AEJMC Presidential Award, Elizabeth Toth, University of Maryland
  Given to dedicated and long-serving AEJMC members by the current AEJMC president. The award recognizes distinguished service to journalism and mass communication education. 
• 2026 Senior Scholar Projects, Sun Young Lee, University of Maryland 
  “AI Disclosure in Journalism: How Disclosure Wording and Editorial Oversight Influence Trust and Engagement,” Sungwon Chung, Ball State and Sun Young Lee, University of Maryland
• Third Place Faculty Paper Award, Esther Son, Jiyoun Kim, Yuxiao Zhang, and Shilin Xia, University of Maryland
  “More Than Numbers: How Social Media Metrics Shape Persuasive Message Processing” 

• AEJMC & MCSD Diversity and Inclusion Career Development Fellow, Tania Nachrin, University of Maryland 
• Third Place Student Paper Award, Communication Technology Division, Seyeon Park, University of Maryland 
  "AI-Generated Art as Communication Technology: How Loneliness, Mind Perception, and Aesthetic Judgment Relate to State Anxiety,”  Wooseung Park, Sogang University, and Seyeon Park, University of Maryland

• Outstanding Woman in Journalism and Mass Communication Award from the Commission on the Status of Women, Sahar Khamis, University of Maryland 
  This award recognizes a woman who has represented women well through personal excellence and high standards in journalism and mass communication education.

Research Presentations: 

• “Advancing Non-Western Theorization of Social Media–Mediated Crisis Communication: Insights from a Mixed-Methods Review in China,” Junzhen Li and Yang Cheng, North Carolina State, and Taufiq Ahmad, University of Maryland
• “'We’re Starting at Ground Zero Again': A Feminist Socio-Ecological Analysis of the Impact of Politics on Communication Scholars,” Jennifer Vardeman, Houston, Linda Aldoory, American, and Elizabeth Toth, University of Maryland
• “Who Shared It and Why They Shared Matter: Exploring the Mechanisms of Partisan Selective Verification Behavior,”  Shuning Lu and Yan Qu, University of Maryland
• “Speaking Up or Acting Together? Dual Pathways to Advocacy in Corporate Political Advocacy,” Sun Young Lee, University of Maryland, and Duli Shi, New Mexico State
• Public Relations Division, “Corporate Social Advocacy, DEI & Legitimacy,” Discussant, Yan Qu, University of Maryland 
• “Beyond Top-Down Communication: How Employees’ CSR Information Networks Drive Collective CSR Engagement,” Katie Kim, Tennessee, and Yan Qu, University of Maryland

• “Political Paracrisis, Agenda-setting, and Unsupervised Machine-Learning: Narrating Stalemates through eWOM in Electing Mr. Speaker on X,” Nana Kwame Osei Fordjour, University of Maryland

• “Long COVID Narratives on TikTok: Patient Experiences and Illness Sensemaking,” Tania Nachrin and Seyeon Park, University of Maryland
• “The Art of Persuasion: An Exploration of Rhetoric and Narrative in YouTube Videos Advocating Alternative Fibroid Treatment(s),” Tameka Shelford, University of Maryland
• “A Digital Jambalaya of Resistance: Online Conversations after the #SexforGrades Documentary and the Push for Healthier Higher Education in Ghana,” Felicity Dogbatse and Sahar Khamis, University of Maryland
• “Climate Justice Beliefs as a Gateway: Linking Expert Consensus to Policy Support and Public Action,” Misa Park, ChenChen Wang, Courtnee Connon and Becca Beets, University of Maryland

• Communicating Science, Health, Environment and Risk Division, Business Session, Members’ Meeting, Moderating/Presiding, Kang Namkoong, University of Maryland
• Public Relations Division, “AI Transparency, Trust & Strategic Communication,” Discussant, Sun Young Lee, University of Maryland
• Political Communication Division, Top Refereed Student Research Paper Session, Moderating/Presiding, Anani Yao Kuwornu, University of Maryland
• Political Communication Division, Top Refereed Research Paper Session, Moderating/Presiding, Nana Kwame Osei Fordjour, University of Maryland
   

Congrats to all on a wonderful conference!