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J. Cathy Rogers, Ph.D.Associate Professor, Mass Communication |
Personal sketch
Since Dr. Rogers joined the Loyola faculty in 1990, her work with students in a prestigious national public relations competition has placed the School of Mass Communication in the national spotlight. Of Loyola’s 13-year participation in the Bateman Case Study Competition sponsored by the Public Relations Student Society of America, Dr. Rogers’ students have earned national recognition every year. Four of those years, her teams placed first in the competition. She earned her Ph.D. in Journalism and Mass Communication from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University where she also earned a certificate from the Contemporary History Institute. Dr. Rogers spent part of summer 2007 as a Visiting Professor at The Advertising Council, sponsored by the Advertising Education Foundation.
Teaching and learning
As the public relations sequence head, Dr. Rogers has taught Public Relations, Writing for Public Relations, Public Relations Cases and Campaigns and Advanced Public Relations Campaigns. She prefers to involve students in discussion and to connect students with application of theory by exposing them to professional communicators who guest lecture. She also teaches Media and Gender, an upper-level course about role of media in the construction of gender and race.
Dr. Rogers' class projects focus on nonprofits in the Greater New Orleans area in part because the service learning helps instill civic engagement as well as strategic, resourceful communication skills. Her teaching has been recognized by a College Excellence in Teaching Award.
Dr. Rogers’ role as faculty advisor for the Public Relations Student Society at Loyola for almost 20 years has resulted in strong, positive relationships with communication professionals in the Greater New Orleans area and elsewhere. These relationships enhance her teaching and provide hands-on learning opportunities for students.
Dr. Rogers' service as a faculty advisor has been recognized with a Spirit of Loyola award from the Division of Student Affairs and twice by the New Orleans chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.
Research interests
Dr. Rogers’ research interests include political communication on the local and national level, with a focus on women in political leadership positions. She also has researched methods and strategies of past PRSSA Bateman winners to determine the value of the national competition to student learning.
Publications and Paper Presentations
"James Gillespie Birney, the Revival Spirit, and The Philanthropist." American Journalism 17 (2000) 31-52.
J. Cathy Rogers, Ph.D. with Vanessa Murphree, “’A Hell of a Shock:’ When a Jesuit University Faces a Presidential Sex Allegation.” Public Relations Quarterly, Fall 2004, volume 49, issue 3, pp. 34-40.
“More than a ‘Bunch of Girls’ and a ‘Tea Party’: Public Relations Empowers a State Commission for Women,” refereed paper presented to the Commission on the Status of Women at the annual national conference, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, August 2006.
“Value Assessment of PRSSA Bateman Case Study Competition,” refereed paper presented to the Public Relations Division at the annual national conference, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, August 2004. Top Paper Award.