The event, which runs from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., will include professional panels, a creative hackathon, networking, food, and more. For more information, please visit sandagesymposium.com. RSVP information will be available in early August.
9:30-10 a.m.—Registration
10-10:45 a.m.
Welcome and Keynote
“Advertising as the Invited Guest Who Took Over the Party”
Keynote Speaker: Judy Ungar Franks, Former Agency Executive, Professor at Northwestern University, and Author of Media from Chaos to Clarity and Back Again
10:45 a.m.-12 p.m.
“Where Advertising Goes Next”
Panelists from left to right: Jessica Jorsch (BS ’07, ADV), Global Digital Performance Media Lead, Mars; Helen Katz (MS ’86, ADV; PhD ’88, ICR), Executive Vice President, Research, Publicis Media; Mike Kelly (BA ’79, LAS), CEO and Co-founder of Kelly Newman Advisor; Ashley McGowan (BS ’07, ADV), Head of Marketing, Audience & Growth, Meta; Greg Morrison (BS ’07, ADV), Co-founder, MXML Creative
“From Classroom to Industry: Exploring the Possibilities of Advertising”
Panelists from left to right: Lacey Gilbert (MS ’11, ADV), Senior Vice President, Strategy Director, Leo Burnett; Adam Hamilton (BS ’11, ADV; MBA ’19) Director, Brand Communications, McDonald’s; Amy Restko (BA ’13, LAS; MS ’14, ADV), Vice President, Engagement Strategy, AbelsonTaylor Group; Bill Rouse (BA ’96, LAS), Senior Vice President, Advertising Sales, Sony Pictures Entertainment; Rachelle Pierre-Lott (BA ’03, LAS), Director II, Enterprise Digital
Several faculty and staff members from the College of Media led workshops for high-school-aged youth in Illinois during Illini Summer Academies, held June 21-25, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
(Photo of Media attendees by Lark Runkle, youth photographer)
Illini Summer Academies, which is presented by Illinois 4-H, the youth development program of University of Illinois Extension, partners with various departments and colleges across campus every summer to give high school students an opportunity to experience college life and explore a career of their choice.
Twelve students from across Illinois registered for the College of Media program, which marked the college’s first year of participation in the 4-H Summer Academies.
“As the coordinator for the program as well as one of its instructors, I think it went great,” said Jason P. Chambers, professor in the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising and associate dean for access and engagement.
“I think that the program helped build student awareness about the majors available in the college and the types of jobs they can get with an education in the College of Media.”
Chambers led the workshop “Exploring Public Service Advertising,” which gave students an overview of the ad industry, including discussions about the different types of advertising, tools, and approaches used to attract an audience.
(Photo of broadcast workshop by Disha Rai, youth photographer)
Students developed a public service advertising campaign on a topic of their choice, such as excess phone usage among teens, distracted driving, and voting.
“I think the big things that students get from these workshops are [learning] that there is an entire industry that works to produce all the advertising that they see [and] that it takes a lot of time and work to create an average advertisement, let alone one that really engages an audience and gets them to pay attention,” Chambers said.
Marisa Peacock, senior lecturer in the Sandage Department of Advertising, led “Create, Connect, and Think: Discovering Your Voice on Social Media,” where students explored how social media shapes identity, creativity, and communication.
Peacock said the workshop was designed to connect participants with college life and future careers, encourage collaboration and peer learning, and build students’ confidence and agency as creators, innovators, and problem-solvers—not just consumers of information.
“It was really fun, and I was impressed by the thoughtful responses from students and admired their understanding of how technology, creativity, and problem-solving can be applied to real-world challenges and future opportunities,” Peacock said.
Other Media faculty and staff who participated in Illini Summer Academies were Angela Aguayo, associate professor in the Department of Media & Cinema Studies; Daniel Almanza, assistant director of Media Career Services; Ken Erdey, instructor and technical coordinator for broadcast operations in the Department of Journalism; and Mike Yao, professor in the Sandage Department of Advertising and director of the Institute of Communications Research. Cassie Arner, executive senior associate director of athletics, sport administration at Illinois Athletics, helped organize a workshop that focused on sports media.
Faculty and graduate students from the College of Media co-presented various topics of research at the 76th annual International Communication Association Conference—the largest academic conference for communication scholars—on June 4-8, 2026, in Cape Town, South Africa. The ICA aims to advance the scholarly study of human communication by encouraging and facilitating excellence in academic research worldwide.
This year’s conference theme addressed “Communication and Inequalities in Context.” College of Media presenters included faculty in the Institute of Communications Research and the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising; graduate students in the MS advertising program; and doctoral students in the Institute of Communications Research PhD program.
College of Media research presenters and presentations are listed below in bold.
Pre-Conference: A Causal Inference Institute in Communication Studies Organizers
Shuning Lu, U of Maryland, College Park, USA
Ewa Maslowska, Associate Professor, Advertising
Harsh Taneja, Associate Professor, Advertising
When Communication Makes the Difference: From Signals to Relational Dynamics Human-Machine Communication “Reconsidering Gender: A Computational Examination of Conversational Dynamics between Human and Gendered AI”
Weizi Liu, Texas Christian U, USA
Haocan Sun, Beijing Normal U, CHINA
Mike Yao, Professor, Advertising
Human-Machine Care: Well-Being and Vulnerability Human-Machine Communication “Emotionally Vulnerable Subtype of Internet Gaming Disorder: Measuring and Exploring the Pathology of Problematic Generative AI Use”
Di Wu, Beijing Normal U, CHINA
Haocan Sun, Beijing Normal U, CHINA
Weizi Liu, Texas Christian U, USA
Guoming Yu, Beijing Normal U, CHINA
Mike Yao, Professor, Advertising
Top Papers in Human-Machine Communication Human-Machine Communication “Ontological Reflexivity in Human–AI Communication Research: Toward an Integration Approach Based on Theory-Ontology Alignment”
Mike Yao, Professor, Advertising
Jiyeon Chang, Student, ICR
Weizi Liu, Texas Christian U, USA
Persuasion and Consumer Behavior Information Systems “The Brand Transparency Paradox: Consumer Reactions to Explicit Mentions of Artificial Intelligence”
Viviana Zambrano Rodriguez, U of South Carolina, USA
Louvins Pierre, Assistant Professor, Advertising
“Exploring How Attitudes toward AI and Disclosure Influence Purchase Intention of AI-Integrated Products through Hedonic, Social, and Epistemic Value”
Louvins Pierre, Assistant Professor, Advertising
Viviana C. Zambrano Rodriguez, U of South Carolina, USA
Yanbo Li, Student, ICR
AI in News Production and Consumption Information Systems “Audience Perceptions of AI Newscasters: Social Presence, Trust, and Emotional Responses”
Haochen Ji, Student, ICR
Jiayi Wang, Student, MS Advertising
Kevin Wise, Professor, Advertising
Xiaoyu Xu, State U of New York at Cortland, USA
AI Taking Over: Promises and Pitfalls of AI Use in Research, Journalism, and Society Computational Methods “When Machines Start Writing: Assessing the Impact of Generative AI on Journalism Labor Markets”
Sakshi Bhalla, Student, ICR
Jennifer Henrichsen, Washington State U, USA
Benjamin Toff, U of Minnesota, USA
Cognitive and Emotional Processing Information Systems “Algorithmic Temporality and Parasocial Connection: How Feed Chronology and Gaze Shape Influencer Perception”
Veranika Paltaratskaya, Student, ICR
Alice Ji, Student, ICR
Kevin Wise, Professor, Advertising
Editorial Board Meeting: Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (JCMC)
Chair: Mike Yao, Professor, Advertising
MIAU-steerable AI: Trust, Adoption, Dependency, and Behavioral Regulation in Generative Tech Ecosystems Communication and Technology “Social Media Exit and Platform Loyalty: Generational Differences in Platform Abandonment”
Margaret Yee Man Ng, Associate Professor, Journalism
Ewa Maslowska, Associate Professor, Advertising
Computational Methods Research Escalator Computational Methods “When AI Imagines Consumers: A Computational Analysis of Representational Bias in Generative AI Brand Imagery”
Haochen Ji, Student, ICR
Co-Constructing Trust in HMC Human-Machine Communication “Revisiting Trust in the Era of Generative AI: Factorial Structure and Latent Profiles”
Haocan Sun, Beijing Normal U, CHINA
Weizi Liu, Texas Christian U, USA
Di Wu, Beijing Normal U, CHINA
Guoming Yu, Beijing Normal U, CHINA
Mike Yao, Professor, Advertising
Growing up with AI: Children’s and Adolescents’ Understanding, Trust, and Risk Children, Adolescents, and Media “Children and AI Mind Attribution: Reasoning and Learning with ChatGPT through Social Learning Theory”
Boram Cho, Student, MS Advertising
Jiyeon Chang, Student, ICR
Michelle Nelson, Professor, Advertising
Top Papers Session Information Systems “Following the News: Polarization and the Networked Structure of Attention”
Sakshi Bhalla, Student, ICR
Perception, Trust, and Bias of Artificial Intelligence Information Systems “Emotional and Social Drivers of Artificial Intelligence Pessimism Aversion: Extending the Appraisal Tendency Framework to AI Environments”
Heng Zhang, Chongqing U, CHINA
Nansong Zhou, Student, ICR
Jer Shyuan Ng, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, AUSTRALIA
Shiyi Zhang, Chongqing U, CHINA
Masculinities, Femininities in Digital Communication Feminist Scholarship “Masculine Anxiety and the Making of Racialized Nationalism in China: A Qualitative Investigation Into Sunxiaochuan Bar”
Nini Zhou, Student, ICR
JungHwan Yang, U of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA
Veteran producer and executive Stephen Feder’s (BS ’02, media studies) career ranges from working alongside both independent and major studios spanning television, film, and global franchises, with a recent move up to senior vice president of production at Disney Live Action.
Feder’s impressive career achievements, along with his continued engagement with the college, have earned him the 2026 College of Media Distinguished Alumni Award.
“Stephen Feder has had an illustrative career and has been closely connected to the College of Media, from sharing advice with students at Media Career Night panels to inspiring graduates at our Media Convocation ceremony to participating as a film guest at Roger Ebert’s Film Festival,” said Dean Tracy Sulkin. “He is most deserving of this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award.”
In his new role, Feder will bring his breadth of experience to Disney’s live action film slate.
“I really feel very lucky and very happy to be here. The mentality of Disney is to create experiences for audiences and ultimately to make them feel good when they go into a theater. Just knowing that I get to be a part of that culture is such a blessing, especially at this time in my life,” said Feder, who has a young son.
Feder has always appreciated film, theater, and the arts, even participating in the Illini Union Board musicals when he attended Illinois. But he realized early on his greatest contribution to the field was in supporting and understanding how the creative process works.
“I really have dedicated much of my life, whether it’s being a producer on a particular project or an executive who oversees a slate of projects, to really championing and creating an environment for the artist to succeed in,” he said.
Feder began his career in Chicago, after earning his master’s degree at the London School of Economics. His first job was working as a producer on the Jerry Springer Show, a popular 1990s tabloid-style, daytime talk show known for its altercations between guests. Despite the raucous environment, Feder said he learned about the power of telling a story.
I really have dedicated much of my life, whether it’s being a producer on a particular project or an executive who oversees a slate of projects, to really championing and creating an environment for the artist to succeed in.
Stephen Feder
Senior Vice President of Production at Disney Live Action
After a year, he moved on to Towers Productions in Chicago as a series producer on the NBC docu-comedy series Sports Action Team, which was a comedy show shot like a documentary, before he decided to try his luck in Los Angeles.
He got his break after connecting with actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen on the making of Brüno, which became a pivotal moment in Feder’s career trajectory. The experience introduced him to people who became his network as he built his career.
“A lot of other opportunities led from that particular one, which is kind of how it works. Once you get going you start to build this network of people and advocates,” Feder said.
Feder has managed to excel on a variety of film projects with success across independent and large-scale motion picture companies.
Feder was a founding member of Annapurna Pictures, overseeing development and production on acclaimed projects like Richard Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some!!, Wong Kar-Wai’s The Grandmaster, and Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers.
From 2016 to 2019, he served as vice president of film development at Lucasfilm, managing production for films like Solo: A Star Wars Story. Following his post at Lucasfilm, Feder joined Rian Johnson’s T-Street Productions team, along with producer Kiri Hart, known for her work on the Star Wars franchise. Feder and Hart also launched a new production label Counterculture, producing projects like Rock Springs, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2026.
Feder was executive producer on Kumaré, which received the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature at the South by Southwest Film Festival in 2011. Two years later, the film was shown at Ebertfest, which was a great honor for Feder who always admired Roger Ebert and recognized the impact Ebert had on his career.
“His love of movies permeated society, and his spirited way that he would talk about [movies], and the conviction of his opinions around movies is really what drove me to [realize] that a single story could spark such a debate. That alone opened my mind to how important that medium is,” he said.
Feder, who served as the alumni speaker at the college’s 2022 convocation, believes his education at the College of Media laid a foundation for him to understand the power of a story, whether that’s in the form of an ad, an article, or a film.
“I think there’s elements of ethics that you learn, like how you need to understand that the words that you’re putting out into the world matter, how they’re going to be interpreted. It’s not only understanding your audience but understanding the power behind the story that you’re telling,” he said.
“Film is a very powerful medium because it can reach so many people, if you’re so lucky.”
Karina Anglada (BS ’10, journalism; MS ’12, iSchool) has leveraged her broadcast journalism degree to tell compelling stories about iconic professional sports teams, earning nine Regional EMMY® Awards over a five-year period as a media producer and editor for the Golden State Warriors.
After transitioning from sports to the tech industry, Anglada now helps others shape their narratives as a senior strategic development manager for video at Adobe.
“I made the jump to the tech world and that’s been an incredible career opportunity for me,” she said. “Now I get to meet with customers across the globe who are using Adobe software to help tell their company’s and their brand’s stories.” Her portfolio includes customers across media and entertainment brands, news and sports broadcasting, and marketing, advertising, and content teams for corporate and enterprise organizations.
Anglada’s career trajectory, along with her dedication to the College of Media, led to her being named the 2026 College of Media Emerging Leader Award recipient.
“The College of Media is pleased to honor Karina Anglada as this year’s Emerging Leader Alumni Award winner,” said Dean Tracy Sulkin. “Her eagerness to share her technical and creative knowledge, her award-winning career in sports media and digital media, and her engagement with Illinois overall make her an exemplary recipient.”
Anglada, who grew up in Chicago and now lives in Georgia, never expected to build a career in the tech industry. In hindsight, she recognizes how well her journalism education prepared her for the transition.
Working on a global team with colleagues across Australia, Europe, and Latin America, Anglada supports customers using Adobe Video, while also gathering feedback that helps shape new implementations and inform product strategy. She frequently presents at large events, showcasing the software’s capabilities.
Anglada likens her presentations to being “on-air” talent—requiring her to be engaging, understand audience needs, and translate complex ideas into clear, accessible language.
“I feel like I did that in my journalism classes. You take these stories that have a lot of information, and you condense them down into bite-sized pieces so that people can understand them,” she said. “Looking back, it’s like I was built for this [job] because I had so much of the foundation [already]. A lot of things apply from my degree that I still take with me every day.”
A lot of things apply from my degree that I still take with me every day.
Karina Anglada
Senior Strategic Development Manager for Video at Adobe
Anglada said her journalism classes, as well as her internship at Fighting Illini Productions, were a catalyst for her future in sports media. The hands-on experience allowed her to put into practice what she learned in the classroom, whether it was shooting, editing, directing, live video production, or post-production work, for a variety of Illinois sports including football, women’s basketball, wrestling, and volleyball.
“I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was the beginning of my career kind of taking off,” she said.
Following graduation, Anglada worked as a producer and editor for the Detroit Pistons, and then at Auburn University where she worked as assistant director of video services.
In 2017, she moved to California to take a job as a producer and editor for the Golden State Warriors. Most of her job focused on post-production editing for video boards, social media, and documentary-style television shows that aired on the regional sports network.
One of her favorite projects—and one that garnered her a Regional EMMY® Award—was a video she helped produce featuring Vice President Kamala Harris, who is from the Warriors’ former home city of Oakland, California, and a young African American girl who shares the same hometown. The video’s underlying theme centers around the widespread impact Harris had on Black female youth while making history as the 49th vice president of the U.S.
“To have that honor bestowed on our team, and to have my skill set and my craft of editing be recognized by my peers was an incredible, incredible thing,” she said.
As an alum, Anglada has stayed engaged with the College of Media, participating in alumni panels, serving as a keynote speaker at University of Illinois Web Conference in 2023, and mentoring Media students.
In addition to offering advice about the current industry, Anglada emphasizes the opportunities a journalism education can offer.
“There are the standard jobs, like on-air talent, producer, director, newsroom-type-focused careers. But there are so many other fields that you can go into with a journalism degree, and I’m a testament to that. I worked for three different sports organizations, and now I’m in tech,” she said.
Anglada speaks often at professional events about the use of AI in today’s media landscape and can appreciate both the power and challenges it presents.
Advertising faculty with appointments in the Institute of Communications Research, doctoral students in ICR, graduate students in advertising, and ICR alumni participated in the 2026 annual conference of the American Academy of Advertising, held March 26-29 in Austin, Texas.
Through presentations and panels, they discussed research and ideas related to teaching AI and advertising, ethics, and more. Advertising Professor Chang-Dae Ham serves as the 2026-27 president-elect of AAA and will become AAA’s president next year.
Below is a list of the Illinois participants and their research.
Special Topic Sessions
“Navigating Advertising Academic Leadership During a Time of Change: An Inside Look at Administration Roles in the Age of A.I., Program Changes, and Industry Upheaval”
Speakers: Huan Chen (University of Florida), Joe Phua (Southern Methodist University), Shu-Chuan (Kelly) Chu (DePaul University), Matthew S Eastin (University of Texas at Austin Professor and Head Michelle Nelson, Soojung Kim (University of North Dakota), Fuyuan Shen (Pennsylvania State University), Tom Reichert (University of South Carolina), Heidi Hennick-Kaminski (Michigan State University), Harsha Gangadharbatia (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
“Teaching Privacy in the Age of AI: Preparing Ethical Advertising Professionals”
Speakers: Kristen Sussman (Texas State University), Faren Karimkhan (Syracuse University), Daniela Molta (Syracuse University), Associate Professor Ewa Maslowska, Carina Alderete (Accenture)
Panels
“Foundational Framework in Virtual Influencer Marketing: Bridging Operational Control and Narrative Archetypes in Virtual Influencer Design”
“Peripheral Cues in a Democracy? Using the Elaboration Likelihood Model to Examine Information Cues and Negativity in Millions of Political TV Advertisements”
“Measuring AI-Advertising Aversion: An Initial Scale Development and Empirical Assessment of Its Relationship with AI Anxiety”
Speakers: Assistant Professor Louvins Pierre, Viviana Carolina Zambrano Rodriguez (University of South Carolina), MS advertising student Jiayi (Joy) Wang
“From Black Box to Glass Box: The Moderating Role of AI Literacy on the Political Matching Effect”
Students from all majors in the College of Media will participate in the annual University of Illinois Undergraduate Research Week, held April 26-May 2.
Update June 2, 2026: The team of journalism students who presented “They Want to Go Home: Ghana’s Kayayei” received an Outstanding Poster Presentation Award.
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At the Undergraduate Research Symposium, the signature event held on Thursday, April 30, at the Illini Union, students across campus will present their research.
Below is a list of Media student presentations as well as acknowledgements of Media graduate students and faculty who have mentored students presenting at Undergraduate Research Week.
Queering the Dorm: Tracing Allen Hall’s LGBTQ History Through Oral History Jenny Lin, Senior, Journalism (Research Mentor: Siobhan Somerville, Gender & Women’s Studies)
Analyzing Intersectional Discrimination
Film Study on How 1990s Western-centric Narratives Impact the Representation of Chinese Characters Yidan Hu, Sophomore, Media & Cinema Studies (Research Mentor: Carrie Wilson-Brown, Media & Cinema Studies and Advertising)
Poster Presentations
Social Science & Human Behavior
An Analysis of Marketing Strategies and Best Practices in Agritourism Businesses Hailey Kotowski, Senior, Advertising (Research Mentor: Renata Endres, Recreation, Sport & Tourism)
Learning & Human Development
From Screen to Shopping Cart: Consumer Responses to “As-Seen-In” Shoppable Ads in Streaming Television Abby Wilson, Junior, Advertising (Research Mentor: Michelle Nelson, Advertising)
BTW 250 Ideas Expo
Identifying a Refined Mission for the Union Courtyard Café Katie Fedorski, Sophomore, Undeclared, EXP George Lefebvre, Sophomore, Environmental Social Sciences, ACES Case Rosenfeld, Freshman, Business Undeclared, BUS Ally Szarek, Sophomore, Advertising
Effect of Lithium Salt Concentration on Ion Motion in PEO-Based Polymer Electrolytes
Yueming Gong, Sophomore, Media & Cinema Studies (Research Mentors: Varun Nelavoy, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering & Christy Landes, Chemistry)
Data & Information
An EEG-Based Computational Pipeline for Affective Measurement of Consumer Sentiment Alexia Rendon, Senior, Computer Science + Advertising Ocean Ng, Sophomore, Computer Science, ENG Aditi Cherukuri, Sophomore, Brain & Cognitive Science, LAS Zaynab Ahmad, Junior, Neuroscience, LAS Bilal Arif, Freshman, Computer Science, ENG (Research Mentor: Marisa Peacock, Advertising)
Nature, Life & Environment
Genetic Disorders in Domestic Cats: Inheritance Patterns and Ethical Breeding Implications Ziyi Wang, Sophomore, Advertising Taoran LI, Freshman, Comparative & World Literature, LAS (Research Mentor: Alicia Schneider, Animal Sciences)
Social Issues & Policy
They Want to Go Home: Ghana’s Kayayei—Outstanding Poster Presentation Award Adelyn Mui, Senior, Journalism Prayse Odomes, Senior, Journalism Samuel Rink, Junior, Journalism Samuel Yohnka, Junior, Journalism Kaitlyn Devitt, Senior, Journalism (Research Mentors: Alison Davis, Journalism & Charles “Stretch” Ledford, Journalism)
Social Science & Human Behavior
Algorithmic Temporality and Parasocial Connection in Influencers Cody Drake, Junior, Advertising (Research Mentor: Veranika Paltaratskaya, Institute of Communications Research)
Food Systems
Bridging Research and Public Understanding: Inclusive Digital Engagement for Agrifood and Climate Data Ektarit Nophaket, Sophomore, Computer Science + Advertising Christina Chen, Senior, Advertising Zhuoyi Wu, Senior, Advertising (Research Mentor: Marisa Peacock, Advertising)
Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program 2026 Cohort
The Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program offers undergrads with little or no research experience the opportunity to work with graduate students and post-doctoral scholars on their research projects, explore the culture and process of research, and build on their existing abilities within a community of scholars. Running each Spring semester, the program consists of a one-on-one research experience with their research mentor, and the Introduction to Research course, designed to complement the research mentoring experience, orienting undergraduate mentees to broader topics in the research process.
Creating an Inclusive IT Learning Space: Understanding Media Literacy and Technology Access for Retired Older Adults Maaike Niekerk, Senior, English, LAS (Research Mentor: Stephanie Craft, Journalism)
The Impermanence Problem: Building Durable Student Advocacy at the University of Illinois Hunter Farnham, Senior, CS + Economics, LAS (Research Mentor: Matthew Ehrlich, Journalism)
Social Science & Human Behavior | 3:45 – 5:00 PM, Ballroom (2nd Floor)
Mindless Scrolling, Cognitive Control, and Psychological Well-Being: Correlational Evidence from a Stroop-Based Study Pushti Vora, Senior, Brain & Cognitive Science, LAS (Research Mentor: Kevin Wise, Advertising)
Members of the campus community are invited to the 2026 Skornia Symposium on Friday, May 1, to explore the challenges public media faces today. The event is free and will be held from 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m., at Collins Studio, Campbell Hall, located at the northeast corner of Main and Goodwin in Urbana.
Rapid shifts in technology, AI, media consumption habits, and funding have challenged media organizations to adapt their approaches to understanding and serving audiences. Academic and industry experts will discuss how public media can best engage with audience research to identify and meet community needs, strengthen audience relationships, and innovate content in ways that honor public media’s mission.
Deutsch is an award-winning audio professional and NPR veteran with 15 years of experience as a project manager, podcast marketer, and audience growth specialist. In her current role, she leads marketing and audience growth strategy for a high-profile portfolio of podcast clients including NHPR’s “Bear Brook” (downloaded 25 million times and praised as one of the “best true crime podcasts” by The Guardian and Paste Magazine) and Magnificent Noise and PRX’s “This Is Dating” (named “one of the best podcasts of 2022” by New York Times and Vulture), as well as PBS, NPR, Netflix,The Boston Globe, Freakonomics Radio, Stanford, Harvard, HubSpot, and more.
Seth Lewis, professor and Shirley Papé Chair in Emerging Media, journalism program director, University of Oregon
Prior to her role at CNTI, Mitchell served as managing director of news and information research at the Pew Research Center. In her 25 years with Pew Research, Mitchell helped launch the journalism research program and served as managing director. She was responsible for the center’s research related to news and information, including how the public accesses, engages with, and creates news, what news organizations are providing, and the evolving role of technology in the flow of news and information.
Patrick Burke (BS ’95, advertising)—the creative mind behind top-rated Super Bowl commercials for Lay’s, Rocket Mortgage, and Jeep—will serve as the alumni speaker at the 2026 College of Media Convocation ceremony.
Pat Burke and actor Bill Murray on the set of the 2020 Jeep “Groundhog Day” Super Bowl commercial.
Now the executive creative director at the Los Angeles–based ad agency Special U.S., Burke most recently oversaw the 2026 Uber Eats Super Bowl campaign, bringing his total number of Super Bowl commercials created to 18.
Although Burke didn’t originally set out to become a leader in Super Bowl advertising, he says he’s grateful for the success and opportunities the path has brought.
“It wasn’t my intention to build my career around the Super Bowl, but that definitely led to [my current job] opportunity and even things like the U of I wanting me to speak at convocation,” he said.
Burke, a three-time commercial Emmy nominee and winner of a Cannes Lions Grand Prix, spent the first 30 years of his career in the Chicago advertising industry working at several different agencies, including DDB Chicago, Ogilvy & Mather, and Highdive Advertising.
While at DDB, Burke helped create two Super Bowl commercials that scored in the top five of the USA Today AdMeter ratings. During his six years at Highdive, he made six commercials that landed in the top-five AdMeter spots.
“It wasn’t my intention to build my career around the Super Bowl, but that definitely led to [my current job] opportunity and even things like the U of I wanting me to speak at convocation.
Pat Burke
Executive Creative Director at Special U.S.
Burke said that collaborating with Murray on the Jeep commercial, a parody of the 1993 film, was the highlight of his career.
“I didn’t think we’d ever get [Murray] because he doesn’t really do advertising or commercials, and doesn’t have an agent, so he’s hard to reach,” Burke said. “Even if you want to get him to [make] a movie there’s a famous process you have to go through where you send your script to a P.O. Box in Charleston, South Carolina, and then you just wait, and you hope that he gets back to you.”
Murray would eventually see the script and agree to do the commercial just a few weeks before the Super Bowl.
A behind-the-scenes peek at the making of the 2020 Rocket Mortgage Super Bowl commercial starring Jason Momoa. Burke is seated in back, second from left.
“As far as celebrity encounters for me, it doesn’t get any better than Bill Murray,” Burke said.
Another career-defining moment for Burke was the 2012 release of the “Skittlespox” commercial, which he crafted for Skittles while working at DDB Chicago.
The commercial sparked some controversy among critics who found the premise odd, and even Burke admits it may have run for too many years. But the ad is still the highest-testing Skittles commercial in brand history and a pop-culture phenomenon inspiring countless online re-creations and Halloween costumes.
For Burke, seeing an idea he’s worked on for months come to fruition is the best part of his job.
“You come up with an idea that you think is amazing, and so often, it doesn’t end up getting made, or if it does, it gets changed—death by a thousand cuts,” Burke said. “If something does make it all the way through and it gets made in a way that you pictured it, seeing all [the work] come to life is definitely the fun part.”
Burke’s return to campus will bring him closer to the western suburbs of Chicago where he grew up. Burke, who described his younger self as a “creative kid,” came to the University of Illinois to study art but then switched his major to advertising.
He credits a class with Peter Sheldon, senior lecturer of advertising, for having a major impact on him and his future career.
“Peter is just a brilliant creative himself and so we all learned a ton from him. He had us all inspired and feeling like we could actually do this for a living,” Burke said. “A bunch of us [in his class] ended up getting jobs and succeeding in the industry, and are still working today, so he’s got a good legacy.”
Burke and actor Jason Momoa.
Burke keeps in touch with Sheldon and has returned to his class over the years to give feedback on student portfolios.
A nature enthusiast who enjoys fly fishing, camping, hiking, and backpacking, Burke has also published many pieces in outdoor magazines like The Drake, a grassroots journal about flyfishing.
Burke also serves on the board of directors for Chicago Voyagers, a non-profit organization serving Chicago’s at-risk youth through trauma-informed outdoor/adventure-therapy programming.
Burke encourages young graduates, especially those entering a creative field like advertising, to focus on simplicity in their work.
“Focus on a simple idea—those are what resonate. Just stick to it and always keep that as your North Star.”
Jillian M. Báez (PhD ’09, communications and media, ICR), Diana Leon-Boys (PhD ’20, communications and media, ICR), and Institute of Communications Research Professor Emerita Angharad N. Valdivia (PhD ’91, communications and media, ICR) edited a collection that draws on the expanding field of girlhood studies to examine the increasing visibility of the event and the figure of the quinceañera herself in pop culture.
The contributors focus on quinceañeras as a trope for English-language media’s treatment of Latina girlhoods and Latinx cultures but also examine how use of the quinceañera charts openness and inclusivity within Latinx culture.
