Pizza & Politics

It began as many college traditions do—with a group of students and faculty, a common passion, and of course, pizza. This is how the Department of Communication Studies founded Pizza & Politics (P&P), a series of weekly meetings that starts with discussing current events and ends with sharing a slice.

Originating in 1986, P&P has drawn regulars from the Emerson community and beyond. Every Tuesday, students, faculty members, trustees, professionals, alumni and more meet at 12:00 pm, to analyze a selected topic.

“[Pizza & Politics] is one of the few spaces where people disagree, but they also respect each other,” says Dr. Gregory Payne, chair and associate professor of Communication Studies, who had a piece of that first pie in 1986. “So that’s what is exciting because, as the Department of Communication Studies, it’s good, especially in such divisive times, to foster communication.”

Rosarito Public Diplomacy Workshop

The Rediscover Rosarito public diplomacy project began as a crisis communication approach to address the negative image of Mexico in the wake of President Calderon's war on drugs. It was initiated by Dr. J. Gregory Payne of Emerson College in Boston, a long-time visitor to the Baja, businessman Hugo Torres, who at the time was mayor of Rosarito, and Ron Raposa, a public relations expert with global experience. Since its inception, this grassroots global effort has been a positive force in bringing back tourists, business, and promoting Rosarito as a tourist site as well as a rich area for educational collaboration.

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Saudi American Exchange

Dr. Payne is the co-founder of the Saudi American Exchange, the first grass roots, people to people public diplomacy effort in the wake of 9/11, honored at the inaugural Clinton Global Initiative and the Middle East Public Relations Association.

The Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA) is the region’s leading body for public relations and communication professionals and students.

Olympics

The Olympics games since the beginning in Ancient Greece represents the essence of public diplomacy and building bridges among cultures globally. Since 1984, Dr. Payne has organized trips to the Olympic Games around the world so the students can appreciate the power of sports diplomacy.

Dr. Payne’s first Olympic was 1984 when he was working as a speechwriter at Mayor Bradley’s office in Los Angeles, California. Mayor Bradley was a major architect along with Peter Ueberroth in the 84’ games, the first in history where it welcomed private sponsorships - which alleviated the tax burdens of cities who hosted the games (Montreal).

Dr. Payne realized at the time that the Olympics was much more than athletic competition. Even though the games should be free of politics according to their origins, politics has made it’s way into the modern day Olympic spectacle.

For example, in 1980, then President Jimmy Carter, announced that the United States would boycott the Moscow Olympics in retaliation of USSR invasion in Afghanistan. In 1984, Moscow reciprocated by not sending athletes to the LA Olympics. Yet, the 1984 games had an historic political artifact - The Peoples Republic of China attended their first Olympics with standing ovations from the crowd from the moment they entered in the Colosseum.

Other games attended:

1992 Barcelona, 1996 Atlanta, 2000 Sydney, 2009 Athens, 2012 London, & 1998 Japan.

(Picture on the right: Emerson’s first Olympic trip - 1992 Barcelona Olympic)

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Celebrity Spectacle

  • Princess Diana Conferences

  • A trilogy of conferences:

    • Boston (October 31, 1997)

    • Paris (January 23, 1998)

    • London (August 27, 1998)

State Department Trips

An essential part of public diplomacy and building bridges between cultures is emersion into that culture. An avid traveler since birth, this section includes levant memorabilia, pictures, articles, & publications related to Dr. Payne’s invited participation in various U.S. state department trips and projects as well as, agencies, NGO’s, & global government projects that center around the idea of public diplomacy theme.

Invited participation includes:

  • Soviet Union

  • Uzbekistan

  • Azerbaijan

  • Turkmenistan

  • Jordan

  • United Arab Emirates

  • Saudi Arabia

  • Indonesia

  • Mexico

  • Japan

  • Iceland

  • Spain

  • England

  • Turkey

  • Greece

  • Chile

  • Cina

  • Australia

  • Argentina

  • Canada

  • Equador

  • Germany

  • Italy

  • Lebanon

  • Israel

  • Bahrain

  • India

  • Nepal

  • New Zealand

  • South Korea

  • South Africa

  • Finland

  • Sweden

  • Norway

  • Ireland

  • Denmark

  • Austria

  • Hungary

  • Columbia

  • Panama

  • Costa Rica

  • Puerto Rico

  • Saint John

  • Bahamas

  • Sint Maarten

  • Trinidad & Tobago

TBA

Kennedy History

Bradley History

Rendon Group Projects

Bird Street

ABS & Health Communication