Michigan State University will hold the second annual “Minorities in Communication Arts and Sciences Midwest Conference” on Nov. 16 and 17.

The conference consists of various workshops, paper presentations and interaction between employers, graduate schools and students. The second day will be for one-on-one interviews.

Attendants of the conference will have the opportunity to meet with successful minorities in the communication business to discuss this year’s workshop topics of entrepreneurial spirit, the real world and the radio and records industries.

Among the top firms attending the conference are Ameritech Inc.; AT&T; the Chicago Tribune; Ross Roy Advertising; WNWO-TV; and Hart, Michigan and Eunice Trotter, publisher of the Indianapolis Recorder.

Also attending are Jose Lopez, editor of the El Renacimento in Lansing; Mattie Moss Clark, mother and manager of the famous Clark Sisters; Otis Buchanan, talk show host on WBBM radio in Chicago; Cathy Brown, assignment editor for WCAU-TV in Philidelphia; and Nancy Waters, owner of WXCT-FM.

In addition, six researchers from throughout the Midwest will present topics such as the FCC’s enforcement of equal opportunity laws and the role of “slaves” in American printing and local news reporting.

The conference is directed by MSU administrators Dr. Lawrence Redd, assistant to the dean for Minority Affairs in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences, and Bill Dexter, assistant director of Career Development and Placement Services, who coordinates employer participation.

There is a fee of $15 for students and $75 per employer table, these prices include workshop materials and lunch fee.

Dexter said “the conference is directed toward minorities, but anyone can attend. The speakers are people who have worked with the program in the past and who are considered experts in the field.”

Redd said last year’s conference attracted over 200 students from colleges in Michigan, Illinois, Ohio and Indiana.

“This year we are expecting the attendance to double, bringing between 450 and 500 students and 40 to 50 employers,” Dexter said.