Photo via Scout archives
Students will get a chance to engage with professionals like Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Charley Steiner and renowned television and radio host Larry King in the field of sports communication.
During the third annual Charley Steiner Symposium on Nov. 7, hosted by the Slane College of Communication and Fine Arts, panels will be available for students to learn about different topics that are prevalent in sports communication.
Of the people attending the symposium, most notable are Steiner, King, UFC fighter Jim Miller, professors of sports communication as well as sports broadcasters.
According Joshua Dickhaus, chair of the planning committee for the symposium, hosting the event each year is a chance for students to hear successful professionals give advice on post-college career endeavors.
“I hope [students who come to the panels] get a better understanding of what our program can do for them, what their professional options are like [and] that our graduates are having success in their fields,” Dickhaus, associate professor of sports communication, said.
Panel topics include a discussion of the Olympics and Paralympics, what opportunities are available to students post-graduation with their degree, the current state of ESPN and more.
According to Steiner, his professional relationships with the panelists is something he was able to offer to the symposium, and the goal for his connections was to bring together people who are less academically focused and more practically focused by having experience in sports communication.
“The guests I invite have been in the trenches,” Steiner said.
As a member of the planning committee and moderator for the first panel, Paul Gullifor said he’s looking forward to seeing the outcome of the symposium for students.
“I’m excited for our students, [and] I’m excited for the [potential] high school students to have the opportunity to have a dialogue with these folks, and that’s hard to create just in the classroom,” Gullifor, professor of communication, said. “This is a real access to people who are the visionaries in this industry.”
For Dickhaus, the symposium is something he said he hopes will continue to grow in the future.
“[The planning committee and I] are hoping with each year, it continues to be more successful,” Dickhaus said. “The second year was so much better than the first, and we’re confident that this year will be better than last.”
According to Steiner, the symposium is something he wishes was available when he was a student at Bradley because of how “pervasive” sports communication has become.
“This is where [sports communication is] now,” Steiner said. “It’s going off in places that are unimaginable.”
Dickhaus said the symposium doesn’t just apply to sports communication majors or communication majors, but to all majors. Because of that, he said he encourages all students to attend the symposium.
“Anybody can come,” Dickhaus said. “We make sure, at each panel, there is a [question and answer] … [Students] can ask specific questions to specific panelists and get answers to those questions.”
To see the different panels and topics that will be at the Charley Steiner Symposium, visit https://www.bradley.edu/academic/departments/communication/steinerschool/symposium/.
