The Hispanic Marketing Communication Center has the honor to welcome Dr. Summer Harlow as an affiliate faculty to our program. Dr. Harlow earned her Ph. D. in Journalism from The University of Texas at Austin. Since her arrival at FSU in the fall of 2014, Dr. Harlow has engaged in research focusing on the role of technology and the role of alternative media in social change and social justice; essentially Dr. Harlow is investigating the role that the media play in activism. Dr. Harlow has presented her research at many international academic conferences, such as the International Communication Association conference held in Puerto Rico this year, the World Association of Public Opinion Research in Argentina, and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference in San Francisco, where she won the prestigious 2015 Nafziger-White Salwen Dissertation Award. At the AEJMC International Regional conference in Chile in October, Dr. Harlow won the overall conference top paper award.

Currently, Dr. Harlow is teaching “Social Media Campaigns,” a course that focuses on analyzing the role of social media in activism, social movements, nonprofit groups, and politics. The course is divided into theoretical approaches and the application of concepts learned in class. Dr. Harlow aids in the broadening of students’ worldview by including multicultural and global readings in her course, an objective highly regarded by the Center. At the same time, students will be encouraged by Dr. Harlow to engage in as many academic and professional activities as possible, or to study abroad.

Some fun facts about Dr. Harlow include the following:

– Favorite foods: breakfast tacos and bean and cheese pupusas.

– Her passions for journalism and travel were cemented at the age of 14 after an impromptu decision to shadow a journalist in Mexico.

– Her favorite U.S. city is Austin, Texas (but she wishes she still lived in Latin America). – She is also enthusiastically devoted to the American rock band, Dave Matthews Band.

Florida State University is ranked as an elite, research-oriented public institution, a prestigious reputation that is upheld thanks to faculty like Dr. Summer Harlow.

-by Laicelis Haro