Back to School 2025
By: Michelle Amazeen
With the crispness of fall settling in and the start of a new semester, I hope all Communication Research Center (CRC) fellows are re-energized and entering this semester with renewed enthusiasm for their important work. Many of us have continued advancing our research and sharing insights throughout the summer. The College of Communication (COM) was proudly represented at the International Communication Association conference in Denver, Colorado (see photo), as well as the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in San Francisco, California.
I’m delighted to announce that, as of July 1, the CRC has welcomed six new fellows who bring diverse expertise to our community. Joining us are Dr. Joshua Baldwin and Dr. Joan DiMicco from Emerging Media Studies; Dr. Xiaoya Jiang, specializing in Media Science; Dr. Susanna Lee and Dr. Jing Yang in Advertising; and Dr. Morgan Weiland focusing on Media Law & Policy. I’m excited to learn from their fresh perspectives.
All COM faculty, staff, and students are warmly invited to attend the CRC’s Open House on Thursday, September 18, from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. Co-hosted with COM’s Center for Media Innovation for Social Impact (MISI), the event will feature refreshments, demonstrations of our biometric technologies, and wonderful opportunities to network with your colleagues in the College. Please join us for an engaging and informal afternoon!
Our CRC fall programming is shaping up with an outstanding lineup of presentations as part of the Colloquium Series Please mark your calendars for these talks by COM researchers:
- Wednesday, September 24 – 3:30 pm: Dr Michael Elasmar, “An AI-Assisted Methodology for Quantifying Measurement Error of Social Media Text Posts”
- Thursday, October 9 – 3:30 pm: Dr. Katy Coduto & Prof. Margaret Wallace, “Friending Artificial Intelligence: How People Bond with ChatGPT Over Time”
- Wednesday, November 12 – 3:30 pm: Dr. AnneMarie McClain, “Adapting and Dreaming: How Supportive Families of LGBTQ+ Kids Respond to Today’s Media Representation”
Additionally, as part of our Dr. Melvin L. DeFleur Distinguished Lecture Series, we will welcome Dr. Brooke Erin Duffy, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at Cornell University. Join us on Wednesday, November 19 at 3:30 pm for her talk, “The Visibility Bind: Platform Labor, Precarity, and Resistance in the Creator Economy.” We look forward to an insightful and stimulating discussion.
Our monthly Work-in-Progress (WIP) meetings resumed on September 4. These sessions offer a fantastic opportunity to forge connections within our research community and engage in scholarly discussions with COM faculty. WIP meetings will be held on the first Thursday of each month at 3:30 pm in the CRC room B04E throughout the semester. We encourage you to participate!
We will also continue offering research training for faculty and students on key technologies such as Meltwater and iMotions software. CRC Lab and Research Manager Amanda King is available this fall to conduct workshops introducing students to biometric research methods. If you’re interested in organizing a session, please reach out to them at ajk90@bu.edu.
To build on the thought leadership of our faculty fellows, the CRC is resuming its Media & Technology Public Opinion Poll with national polling firm, Ipsos. Since its inception in January 2022, CRC fellows have explored public attitudes on topics including media trust, artificial intelligence, climate change, social media censorship, dating apps, media literacy, deepfakes, and more. You can review all the press releases here, and fellows may access raw data from past polls here (password protected). Interested in fielding a poll related to your research? Find details and submit your interest here.
Lastly, The COMversation podcast returns for its second season, hosted by Dr. Charlotte Howell. Designed to make communication research accessible to the public, the podcast connects academic insights with current events. Be sure to tune in!
Wishing you all a productive and inspiring fall semester. I look forward to seeing you around campus—and especially at the CRC!