Edelman CCCA hosts 2025 Showcase & Recognition Day

On April 26, students, faculty, families and friends celebrated a year of hard work and achievement in the Ric Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts.

The annual Showcase & Recognition Day event recognized work by students in all the college’s programs: art, biomedical art & visualization, communication studies, health & science communication, journalism, new media, public relations & advertising, radio, television & film, sports communication & media, and writing.

Longtime Dean Sanford “Sandy” Tweedie shared both his pride in the students honored for great achievements throughout the year as well as the news that, after 31 years with Rowan University, including the last nine as dean, he will be stepping down this summer.

His announcement came during a time of change for the Edelman CCCA, which will soon realign with  the College of Humanities & Social Sciences and the College of Performing Arts.  Some departments will become part of Rowan’s new College of the Arts, while others will reside in a newly named college focused on communication, humanities and social sciences.

“The names might change,” Tweedie said, “but the heart of what we do—our storytelling, creativity, and impact—will always be here.”

The program included the college’s Medallion awards ceremony, which recognized student excellence across academic fields, and a segment on scholarship awards.

For 2024-25, the college awarded more than $400,000 in scholarships, a number that is expected to grow in the coming year. Also recognized was the incoming cohort of Edelman Scholars, high-achieving students whose college education, along with a $17,000 award for timely graduation, will be paid for by alumni Ric ’80 and Jean Edelman ’81.

Other notable awards included the Anne Marie Bottazzi Scholarship for Leadership and Academics, the Flying First Scholarship for first-generation students, and dozens of department-specific honors.

This year’s Student Showcase featured exhibits representing a wide range of scholarly and creative work produced throughout the year including:

• “ID,” an experimental short film that expires themes of gender identity and expression (New Media)
• “The Rhetorical Evolution of California's Marijuana Policy” (Health & Science Communication)
• "Web Archives and Historicizing Rhetorics of Science, Technology, and Medicine: Pragmatic and Ethical Considerations" (Health & Science Communication)
• A Social Media Strategy for Homeward Bound, a nonprofit pet adoption center (Communication Studies)
• A Social Media Strategy for the Food Bank of New Jersey (Communication Studies)
• Feline Health Check: A Guide to Common Health Issues in Cats (Biomedical Art & Visualization)
• Serpent Health Check: A Guide to Common Health Issues in Snakes (Biomedical Art & Visualization)
• Projects from PRSSA, The Whit, the Center for Sports Communication & Social Impact and RU Joking?