MCM February 2025 Residency Recap
Last month the MCM learning community gathered on a beautiful cold and snowy McMaster University campus for Winter 2025 Residency. The week was filled with learning, networking, and the incredible beauty and uncertainty of a Canadian winter. The MCM students came together to learn and share in the exciting and inspiring environment of an MCM residency; We constantly hear that each residency reinforces the program’s life-changing impact.
Our first-year students wrapped up their courses in Financial Reporting and Management Accounting with Professor Adam Prokop and Organizational Public Relations with Dr. Terry Flynn, APR, FCPRS. Students in Dr. Flynn’s class presented the findings from their first graduate research study conducted during the term. It was exciting and reaffirming that the students now see themselves as researchers and scholars. Second-year students engaged in a challenging real-time assignment using the knowledge and generative AI skills they gained in the course to develop a search ads strategy and creative for a fictional brand in Digital and Social Media Strategy and Management with Professor Martin Waxman. In Data Science and Analytics for Communications Management with Dr. Alex Sévigny, APR, students learned about the increasing importance of data for communicators and marketers: as a basic business literacy and as a new way of expressing creative messaging through data visualizations and data-driven storytelling. Many of the students started projects that may well become the basis for their capstone research projects this summer.
Despite a significant weather event declared by the City of Hamilton, students and guests were able to traverse the difficult road conditions and made it to the winter residency gala. Students enjoyed a wonderful meal and insightful conversation during our Saturday night dinner at the historic LIUNA Station in downtown Hamilton. Our keynote speaker, MCM alumna Tammy Quigley, MBA, MCM, CHE – Vice President, Cancer, Renal, Mental Health & Patient Flow, London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), had a fireside chat with Dr. Terry Flynn on leading communications in today’s complex and chaotic world.
Our first-year students started their second term by diving into Financial Management with Professor Josie Cassano Rizzuti, MCM, APR. This course highlights corporate financial strategies and emerging financial technologies, blending traditional finance principles with cutting-edge topics like blockchain and cryptocurrency. A guest lecture by Jacob Robinson, an expert in fintech regulations, emphasized the critical balance between innovation and trust, reinforcing the importance of transparent financial communications. This session showcased how strategic communication is pivotal in navigating the complexities of modern financial landscapes. Students had a great week of in-depth discussion about all forms of research and how it impacts communications and public relations programs, led by professor Professor Dave Scholz, MA, APR. These courses were supported by dedicated tutorial assistants and MCM alumni Kevin Flother and Danielle Cowen, respectively.
Our second-year students engaged in deep discussions about strategic management with Professor Mark John Stewart, MBA, ICD.D, and teaching assistant Merissa King, MCM. The residency experience for this capstone management course included a guest lecture on the development and execution of strategy at Hamilton Health Sciences from Ted Scott, Vice President Innovation and Partnerships, as well as an intensive strategy simulation exercise highlighting the complexity of managing strategy under time constraints. Complementing strategic management, students also intensively dove into deep discussions and deliberations with Dr. Terry Flynn, APR, FCPRS and teaching assistant Amanda Richardson in Applied Ethics in Communications Management.
Our MCM Masterclass featured a conversation on governance with Professor Mark John Stewart, MBA, ICD.D and Brenda Sweeny, APR, FCPRS, who offered expert insights on how communicators can drive social outcomes and develop their professional skill sets by serving as directors on the boards of nonprofit organizations. They discussed the roles and responsibilities of directors, principles of good governance, how to identify and seek board opportunities, and bring a strategic communications lens to the work of boards.
A residency highlight was the in-person capstone defense of Anne Locke, who presented her research on responsible AI, on developing frameworks for considering ethical issues in the deployment of AI systems within organizations.
Social events and healthy meals fostered a sense of community and camaraderie among students, faculty, and alumni, reinforcing the MCM’s core values of lifelong learning, collaboration and collegiality, and professional growth. On Wednesday, we held our traditional ‘alla prossima’ pub night at the Phoenix Bar and Grill on McMaster campus.
In the meantime, we applaud the achievements of our community and are grateful for the hard work of everyone involved in making this residency a success. We wish continued success to our whole MCM community: students, faculty, staff and alumni – we can’t wait to see what the next residency brings!
