Additional information is required to verify the appropriateness of academic credential for some faculty members.        

Com 231 – Christine Bates, John Paul Black, Annie Fuller, Jeremy Kryn, Kimberly Turnage

The course provides instruction and experience in preparation and delivery of speeches within a public setting and group discussion. Emphasis is placed on research, preparation, delivery, and evaluation of informative, persuasive, and special occasion public speaking. Upon completion, students should be able to prepare and deliver well-organized speeches and participate in group discussion with appropriate audiovisual support.

Course Objectives: Present speeches based on credible research and with effective visual aids within the appropriate time limit while improving delivery skills.

Course Outline:

I. Part One

II. Part Two

Course Requirements:

Rationale for Qualification

All instructors teaching COM 231, Public Speaking, agree the course requires a combination of academic preparation, skills, and experience to offer the learner a foundational and practical learning opportunity. The College further explains faculty competence for COM 231 instructors by providing a link to an article by Gina Iberri-Shea, professor in the department of English & Fine Arts at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado. The article entitled “Using Public Speaking Tasks in English Language Teaching” supports the fact that using public speaking tasks in English language teaching is advantageous.

Prior to the 1997-1998 Lenoir Community College Catalog, Public Speaking was an English course with an ENG prefix (ENG 204 Public Speaking). The ENG 204 was then transitioned to COM 231 with similar course descriptions (ENG 204, 1996-1997, COM 231, 1997-1998, COM 231, 2013-2014)

Christine Bates

Mrs. Bates possesses a Master of Arts in English [concentration in Technical and Professional Communication (TPC)]. East Carolina University describes the TPC graduate program’s goal as follows:  to “provide advanced preparation for students seeking careers in technical and professional communication and a variety of related fields requiring communication expertise…. students from a variety of academic backgrounds develop the knowledge and skills to thrive as communicators in industry, academe, and the public sector.” Relevant completed coursework includes ENG 5780 Advanced Writing for Business and Industry; ENG 6730 Issues in Technical Communication; ENG 5770 Advanced Editing; and ENG 6765 Special Topics in Technical and Professional Communication. She has more than 11 years of higher education teaching experience including three years' experience teaching Writing for Business and Industry at East Carolina University (a major focus of the coursework is identifying audience and purpose). While working for Pitt County Memorial Hospital, Mrs. Bates worked on marketing campaigns where her responsibilities included created and delivered presentations to clients on various healthcare topics. In addition, she served four years as co-editor of Recent and Relevant: Technical Communication.

John Paul Black

Over the past 25 years, Dr. Black has served as a college instructor as well as a corporate trainer, utilizing both traditional and distance learning environments.

At the graduate level, Dr. Black made a conscious choice to pursue a Master of Arts in Education degree in English Linguistics in order to teach in Latin America. The goal of his academic preparation was to help English as a Foreign Language instructors improve the clarity of their speech and work on specific issues of phonetics in their pronunciation. In addition, it was important for him to help students focus on the relationship between writing correctly and the meaning that words purvey, not only in a grammatical sense but also culturally and emotionally.

Dr. Black states the experience of teaching phonetics and linguistic morphology gave him a greater appreciation for many of the foundational concepts covered in COM 231 such as intonation, stress, word selection, audience analysis, cultural norms, tone, and body language. Beyond his academic preparation, he served as a Microsoft Certified Trainer and Sales Specialist, delivering presentations and client engagements internationally.

This experience in the private sector with real-world applications of communications skills has assisted him in developing learning scenarios for students that are based on actual situations where subtle changes to a presentation can have a tremendous impact on the outcome of a business interaction, cross cultural communication, or the opportunity to influence an audience.

Finally, Dr. Black pursued and completed a Doctorate of Higher Education Leadership with a concentration in Instructional Design. This program focused on research, analysis, and application in traditional and technology-based learning environments. The use of instructional tools, presentation aids, and careful analysis of the audience and topic were key concepts throughout the program. The experience of researching topics and developing well-planned written and oral presentations has served him well in preparing COM 231 students to develop sound practices in their introductory experiences in public speaking.

Annie Fuller

Mrs. Fuller possesses a Master of Arts in English (concentration in Technical and Professional Communication). Relevant coursework includes research methods in technical and professional communication, ethical issues in professional communication, teaching professional communication and issues in technical communication.

Mrs. Fuller also possesses an undergraduate minor in Communication (major Spanish - which allows her to communicate with a broader audience). She has over 10 years of experience teaching English, which incorporates many of the same topics and strategies as public speaking. For example, she has taught the use of visual aids, linguistics skills, use of rhetoric, and comfort level of the speaker to culminate into a well-prepared and effective speech delivery for various topics. These topics are consistent with traditional introductory speech classes that have been offered in college and university English classes for decades. In addition, she has worked as a staff development specialist for East Carolina University where she taught, as well as facilitated, various public speaking sessions and seminars. She had the pleasure to create the speeches for Chancellor Steve Ballard, as well as other administrators, on numerous occasions where he was the keynote speaker for award ceremonies and campus events that she coordinated.

Mrs. Fuller communicated to a wide range of audiences and situations in oral and written form. At Greenville Utilities Commission, she worked as a Communications Technician where she created written publications for the employee newsletter and other customer publications. Her role also involved verbally communicating the company’s vision to its employees and customers. She supported the public information officer in the development and delivery of public speeches.

In all of the aforementioned jobs, knowing her audience and focusing on their needs to deliver an effective message was crucial, which is synonymous with the goals of a COM 231 Public Speaking.

Jeremy Kryn – is no longer employed by the College.

Kimberly Turnage

Dr. Turnage has over 27 years of teaching experience, 17 years of experience teaching public speaking at two- and four-year colleges. In 2008, she received a Readers Theatre Certification from the London Workshop held by the University of Southern Maine (50 plus hours). She also has more than 25 years’ experience in public speaking forums (conferences, seminars, academic and administrative presentations, community events) and has served as a judge for numerous public speaking contests throughout the last 20 years.

As a graduate student, Dr. Turnage’s courses required the skills listed in the COM 231 outcomes. For example, any time she wrote an essay, she had to consider the audience and topic selection. Almost all of her writing required finding, using, and documenting outside source material. For the vast majority of her graduate courses, she was required to present, using visual aids, to the rest of the class; therefore, she had to consider what it takes to plan, prepare, and deliver a speech.

Kristin Voytek - is no longer employed by the College.

College Response to On-site Visit

Dr. John Paul Black nor Annie Fuller are listed on the spring 2014 schedule to teach COM 231. The position vacancy was posted. Current adjunct instructor, Jill Hernandez has accepted the full time position as Communications Instructor.  Her signed contract is provided as evidence of employment. She will begin her full time position on August 13, 2014. The fall 2014 schedule (Internet and Traditional) is provided as evidence of appropriately credentialed and qualified faculty to teach COM 231 and other Communication courses.