To the editor of the Butler Collegian:

Donald Perin interviewed me for the Oct. 25 edition of the Collegian about a project that I have been working on for over a year: a “web radio station,” as part of the newly formed College of Communications Media Group.

I am greatly disappointed with the tone of his article and the assumption that faculty won’t incorporate student ideas in launching the Internet radio stream.

It’s unfortunate that this article could have been used to better inform the students about this project and turned into yet another negative “students vs. faculty” piece.

I appreciate that, to some, this may be the first that they have heard of this endeavor, despite the fact that it was mentioned in the Collegian (April 4, 2012) and discussed as a future opportunity with this year’s freshman Recording Industries Studies class during Welcome Week.

The idea for this stream came from the CCOM Board of Visitors, many of whom are former classmates of mine who share my desire to give current CCOM students an experience like we had in running WAJC but without the hassles of maintaining a true radio frequency that can not be simply turned off or pre-programmed during summer or semester breaks.

Much of my professional background is in radio.

I worked at several commercial and public radio stations for more than 20 years both on air and behind the scenes.

I was the last music director for Butler University’s FM station, WAJC, and did the last air shift on 104.5 when the station signed off for the last time in 1993.

That experience and my current position are why Ken Creech, whom I recommended Mr. Perin interview for his piece, asked me to work with IT to lay the technical groundwork for this project.

Up until now, there has been no student involvement simply because there has been nothing for students to get excited about or involved in.

Much of the work has been stop-and-go as Information Technology and I have spent a lot of time researching and developing what will work within the university network and still be manageable by students and myself.

All that has happened until now has been designing the infrastructure, researching music-licensing requirements and choosing the software and hardware that will run the “station.”

It is my intent to include students in all aspects of the programming, format and promotion of this outlet.

There is an untapped bounty of high-quality student work from RIS classes and projects, and the stream will mean more opportunity for those works to find a greater audience.

The technical groundwork and testing will be completed this fall, and then, as I told Mr. Perin in our interview, there will be a call-out for all students that want to be involved.

Nothing is cast in stone or has been pre-decided by any faculty member, including myself.

I am looking forward to working with a positive and enthusiastic group of students on this project because this will require a lot of work.

The music format will be up to students, but this stream will publicly represent CCOM and Butler University and needs to do so in a positive light, which other university-related outlets should strive to do as well.

—Mark Harris
Technical Services Coordinator, College of Communication

The dean of the College of Communication said internships will still be a part of the student experience, despite last year’s internship coordinator’s position cut.

“There never was a question that internships would go away or that there would even be a diminishing of an internship program in the College of Communication,” CCOM Dean Gary Edgerton said.

CCOM lost its internship coordinator at the end of the spring 2012 academic semester.

Ed Kanis, an instructor in the strategic communication program of CCOM, worked as the first point of contact for CCOM students looking for internships.

The loss of the internship coordinator position worried CCOM students, who depend on real-world experience of internships for their future careers.

“I was a little worried because I still feel like I need guidance in that area,” Shelby Long, senior communication studies major, said.

During her time at Butler, Long has worked a marketing internship at Huntington Bank and a news reporting internship with WISH-TV in Indianapolis.

She discovered both opportunities through Kanis.

“I feel like I’ve gotten a taste of the real world,” Long said.  “It’s encouraged me to look for further opportunities for networking.  I made a lot of good connections through my internships.”

In response to student concerns, Gary Edgerton, dean of CCOM, said he understands the value of internships.

“Communication and its various specialty areas lend themselves to internships,” Edgerton said.

Nancy Whitmore, director of the journalism program, said in an email that internships would now be handled by the program directors of the six program areas in CCOM.

These areas are communication sciences and disorders; creative media and entertainment; journalism; media, rhetoric and culture; organizational communication and leadership; and strategic communications.

This is similar to how the internship program ran prior to June 2010.

“Whatever helps students get into the real world through internships is good,” Long said.  “I’m glad the directors are helping.”

From increasing the number of local and regional internships to looking at possible international opportunities, the college is hoping to expand internship opportunities for CCOM students in the near future.

The college is currently working to solicit ideas and make plans for an improved format to the internship program for the spring semester.

Last year, 59 CCOM students had internships.  Edgerton hopes to see that number eventually hit 100 per year.

“The number of internships that are relevant for communication students is really vast,” Edgerton said.  “We hope to make all those opportunities available to our students.”

Long said she would like to see this growth in the future even though she graduates in December.

“It’s hard to tell the future because I graduate early, but I just hope that if I were to come back, maybe in May, I’d see growth in that area,” Long said. “Students can be assured that the internship program has continued,” Edgerton said.  “It is still strong and healthy.  In the future it will grow to become more ambitious.  That’s what we’re working toward.”

It is a great mark of success for the College of Business at Butler University that it was ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek the 48th best overall business school in the nation, the 12th best in academic quality and the second best in internships.

Perhaps the other colleges would fare as well if they received the same support.

Last week’s edition of The Collegian headlined the COB’s achievement, but it also featured the announcement that the College of Communication is losing its current internship coordinator.

The favoritism has been made clear.

Students in COB are each assigned a career mentor when they are freshmen and an internship coordinator around junior year.

No wonder the college is doing so well if every student receives such individualized attention.

On the other hand, the program directors of CCOM’s six programs are now responsible for seeing that CCOM students find internships along with all of the directors’ other responsibilities.

CCOM is Butler’s newest college; it has not had much time to prove what it can achieve.

Interim Provost Kathryn Morris was quoted in last week’s edition of The Collegian saying that since the issue was about a specific college, the administrators within the college should address it.

However, on the provost’s webpage on butler.edu, the “Academic Initiatives” page reads, “At Butler University we are committed to providing intellectual, cultural, athletic and artistic opportunities and leadership in Indianapolis and the surrounding areas.”

This issue is not just a problem CCOM needs to face.

This is about Butler students getting experience in the professions they are studying.

This is about real life experiences and hands on opportunities.

Gary Beaulieu, director of Internship and Career Services, said that even though CCOM students might have to go look for internships, those students are highly sought after for internships, and the programs out there are outstanding.

Beaulieu also said that networking is the best tool any student can utilize when looking for an internship.

And with social media sites like LinkedIn out there, networking has never been easier for students looking for work.

I do not believe that CCOM will be able to be compared to COB’s success on a national scale when the college says it cannot afford to have an internship coordinator.

However, the temporary loss of CCOM’s internship coordinator does not mean that CCOM students will be running around Fairbanks Center in chaos.

Internships will be found, students will continue to succeed and life will go on.

This story is part of a series evaluating the internship coordinator position in the College of Communication.

Part One | Internships in the spotlight—CCOM position cut

Part Two | Students, Alum Petition CCOM

Part Three | Internship Coordinator’s Contract to Expire

Part Four | Coordinator Seeks Legal Counsel

Jill McCarter | News Editor | jmccarte@butler.edu

Butler University’s College of Communication will not fund the internship coordinator position next year.

Program directors will be responsible for overseeing the students in each of the college’s six programs.

“Internship coordination will revert back to the way that we’ve been doing it since 1975,” CCOM Interim Dean Bill Neher said.

Under the current curriculum, an internship is required of all journalism and strategic communication majors and is recommended for students in the creative media and entertainment program.

The internship coordinator currently oversees these internship experiences of more than 60 creative media and entertainment, journalism and strategic communication students.

The internship program was created more than 20 years ago by Mary Ellen Weitekamp.

Weitekamp worked as a full-time employee of the university for more than 20 years before retiring in July 2009.

Before the college’s creation in 2010, the internship program was housed in the Eugene S. Pulliam School of Journalism.

“In these fields, you can’t get a job without an internship,” Weitekamp said. “And for businesses, you can’t get an intern if you don’t know who to go through. We worked to make sure all the pieces fit.”

As the current internship coordinator, Ed Kanis conducts interviews with interns and with the providers twice each semester and evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the internship and the students, assesses possible sites and maintains a database of the past internship providers.

“I do everything in my power to make sure that students have someone to talk to if a problem comes up,” Kanis said. “It’s important to have someone on your side during an internship.”

Providing students with an opportunity to land the internships they need to successfully land a job is the primary concern for some program directors impacted by the decision to cut the program.

“If an internship site sees that another school’s system is easy to navigate and that there is one person to make sure they can get an intern, they’re going to say, ‘Forget Butler, let’s get an intern from Ball State,’” Nancy Whitmore, journalism program director, said. “We’ll go by the wayside.”

The faculty and staff of the journalism program are on the same page, Whitmore said, and they understand that internships are a critical part of a student’s résumé.

“If the internship program as it stands now goes away, the journalism program will pick up the pieces and start over because the students need it,” Whitmore said. “It would be such a significant burden.”

Kenneth Creech, the creative media and entertainment program director, said the internship coordinator position has been valuable for students in the program.

“We talk about knowledge in action all the time in this college, and this is not encouraging that ideal,” Creech said.

Students in the strategic communication program are required to complete an internship, and Mark Rademacher, an assistant professor, said that students are seeing the value of the internships and are completing two or three before they graduate.

“However the dean decides to structure how it’s done is completely up to the dean, but I think that employers have seen that Butler’s program is so wonderful that they will continue to use our students either way,” Rademacher said.

When Weitekamp held the position, she was also working as an administrative assistant. Her position was funded through the school of journalism.

The position has been funded by the provost for the past three years and not from the college’s fund, Neher said. Neher refused to comment on where Weitekamp’s salary went when she retired.

Interim Provost Kathryn Morris declined to comment, saying that since the issue was about a specific college, the administrators within the college should address it.

Whitmore said that it was her understanding that Morris told Neher to discuss the matter on a collegewide level. Both Whitmore and Creech said that the college has not met to discuss the position’s future.

“I don’t know what discussion we could have,” Neher said.

Neher said that the internship experience for the students would be identical with or without the position.

Senior public relations major Emily Elliott credits the opportunity for her experience at Conrad Indianapolis, Danica Racing and the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association to Kanis and the guidance he’s provided.

“If the administration took the time to realize that this is what is best for students, I have a feeling people would be talking about it,” Elliott said. “But no one seems to have realized that.”

Those at the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association, an internship site for many Butler students, think the decision to not fund the position is not in the best interest of students or internship sites.

“Internships are really like training runs for a marathon career,” said Chris Gahl, ICVA vice president of marketing and communications. “It doesn’t seem like that value is realized by everyone at the university.”

The internship experience would most certainly not be the same if Kanis didn’t keep the position, said Bob Schultz, the vice president of Borshoff, a popular internship site for students.

“What you would lose is Butler’s calling card,” Schultz said. “Right now, you have something that sets the university apart from every other school in Indiana, and you are running the risk of losing that.”

For a short-staffed faculty like Butler University’s, the hiring of a person with a doctorate degree is a good idea.

Unless it’s to be an aide to President Jim Danko.

The level of qualification for the hiring is ironic because the university is dropping its internship coordinator in the College of Communication.

This seems to come at a time when CCOM is becoming more popular on campus.

Yet, the university is losing qualified teachers and struggling to foot the bill for some programs, like the core.

On a broader scale the school could hire more well-qualified professors instead of hiring more administrative personnel.

I have interned as a secretary for a boys and girls club.

The work wasn’t easy but compared to the office of the president; it had less responsibilities.

With that said, I feel confident that someone with a bachelor’s or even a master’s degree could handle the responsibilities of executive assistant to the Board of Trustees.

From my experiences, organizational skills are the most important for any administrative assistant.

Certainly anyone with a lot or a little education can be extremely organized.

The most important thing college teaches a student is the ability to prioritize, yet our school hasn’t learned this.

I am sure the person Butler hired is well-rounded and everything they looked for in a candidate, but my issue is that we should put someone with that background in a classroom to educate students.

We should not put them behind a desk, where their skills will be under-utilized. Butler’s administration has this continual problem of wrongly prioritizing important resources.

If Butler wants to employ more people with doctorates, they should do so.

Employ those doctors as teachers.

Administrative assistants and advisors play vital roles.

But without educators, the university ceases to exist.

Published April 10, 2012

OUR POINT THIS WEEK: Hiring unnecessary staff while vital positions are being cut is not the way to help Butler students succeed | VOTE: 27-0-4

A core curriculum program  $400,000 in the red. Four percent increases in tuition.

Recent controversies whirling around campus seem to be following the tone of money, money, money.

Despite all of these fiscal mishaps and concerns, Butler University’s administration stands unfazed with its hands on its wallet. Butler President Jim Danko will be hiring three “advising staff” for the sole purpose of “mitigating student concerns.”

While these three overqualified individuals fill up space in the administrative offices, several committed, necessary faculty and staff are being undervalued.

From faculty put on constant one-year contracts—deservedly or not—to the elimination of the College of Communication’s internship coordinator, people on campus directly involved in “student concerns” are being removed while Danko stuffs his office with unnecessary positions.

Even worse, when approached about the elimination of CCOM’s internship coordinator, Interim Provost Kathryn Morris said it was simply a CCOM problem.

The problem is that some CCOM majors require an internship in order to earn their degree, not to mention that internships guarantee an increased likelihood of scoring a job after graduation.

The provost’s job is to oversee the university and ensure that students recieve the best education possible, and that includes involving herself in the grimy issues of the individual colleges.

By writing off the administration-mandated termination of a position that greatly benefits students as a college problem, the administration makes itself appear callous to the concerns students have about their education.

This administrative tendency to appear and act out-of-touch affects more than just CCOM. It stretches campus wide.

This becomes especially clear when looking 15 years back, during a financial crisis. Despite the severity of the situation, the administration found ways to retain and fund crucial positions, including the internship coordinator.

Students, staff and other community members have voiced their worries about widespread issues including parking, hiked tuition, financial aid and underfunded classes and programs.

But the administration has not proposed a long-lasting solution or, rather, not prioritized its spending in a way that reflects student concerns.

Instead of finding ways to work with the current budget to fund the core or save some vital positions, Danko’s administration has taken money from the same “underfunded” system to pay for three positions.

Instead of making pay equitable or expanding swamped departments, money is spent on installing fireplaces in Atherton and purchasing a Charger for the Butler University Police Department.

Instead of concrete, honest solutions and outlooks on Butler’s multitude of issues, we have more evasive answers and mixed messages about Butler being a “community of care.”

Enough politicking.  Enough unclear goals and innovation funds.

Butler administrators, if they really believe we live in a community of care, should prioritize spending to improve the very reason for their existence: the students and their educations.

Butler University’s student media organizations will merge as part of an expanded, multi-platform enterprise set for launch this fall, College of Communication faculty announced.

New ventures include an internet radio station, increased television coverage through Collegian TV and enhanced output in commercial videos from Deep Blue Productions.

The media group, which has yet to be named, will be independently run.  All positions will be paid, and students from all colleges will be eligible to apply.

The aim, creators said, is to prepare students for successful careers in media while simultaneously improving campus news and entertainment.

“When students have the tools and the freedom, they do some fantastic things,” said Nancy Whitmore, an associate professor in CCOM and Eugene S. Pulliam School of Journalism director.

Whitmore, along with professor Kenneth Creech, first conceived the idea of an upgraded, umbrella structure nearly two years ago when CCOM formed.

“It’s the right move,” Creech said.  “We felt what was missing was that component that allows students all across the college to really draw on the talents of one another.”

Content will be produced in cooperative fashion and labeled with a common brand and packaging.

Whitmore said the media group will help CCOM recruit and give students an edge in the job market.

Shelby Seibring, a sophomore journalism and strategic communication major who works on “The Butler Beat,” a weekly news show, said she is excited by the media group.

“It’s nice if you can integrate writing and TV, because a bunch of broadcasting is going online,” Seibring said. “It’ll be nice to get experience in both.”

Craig Pinkus, a member of the CCOM Board of Visitors that advised Whitmore and Creech, said the move ends historical isolation between student media and makes the college more attractive to prospective students.

“Kids in high school are going to be highly dependent on steering,” Pinkus said. “Communicating this integrated approach should mean a lot to counselors.”

Interim CCOM Dean Bill Neher approved the proposal last spring.  Then-Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jamie Comstock and Vice President for University Advancement Mark Helmus signed off in October.

Comstock suggested that the university create the radio station. Butler once had a traditional station, WAJC, which folded in the 1990s.

Creech said the new station will be based online to follow modern trends. CCOM purchased equipment to allow streaming of sporting events and perhaps performing arts shows.

Butler also used to maintain a television station, WTBU, in the former department of radio and television that existed within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

“Those were great venues for the students,” Creech said. “We hear from graduates how valuable those experiences really were.  It’s that ‘learning while doing’ that we felt was just not where it ought to be.”

The college is set to invest in new equipment, new cameras and a television adviser to renew its commitment to TV, Whitmore
said.

IndyBlue Records and Publishing, an existing student group, also will receive a shot in the arm under the new enterprise and will produce records for people in the greater Butler community.

Whitmore said the undertakings will teach students things they can’t learn in a classroom.

“As hard as we try and as close as we get, we can’t replicate running a newsroom, a budget, selling advertising, taking criticism, taking praise, handling manipulations,” she said. “The stakes are always so much higher when you really publish rather than hand in a paper for a class.”

Seibring said that will look good on a résumé.

“When you’re in an interview, you can say you have all those experiences,” she said.

Plans for professional workshops are included in the media group’s formation.

“Curriculum revisions are slow,” Whitmore said. “Media changes quickly.”

Creech said the organization is self-financing because all the components either charge for output or sell advertising.

“We’re hoping we can make a substantial amount that will defray most of the costs,” Whitmore
said.

The official name has been withheld, Whitmore said, in order to use the rights for fundraising.

INSIDE THE NEW
MEDIA GROUP

-The Butler Collegian
Print, Web & CollegianTV
-Deep Blue Productions
-IndyBlue Records and Publishing
-Internet Radio Station (New)

Although many people fear change, Gary Edgerton, the new College of Communication dean, brings change that I can believe in.

Edgerton comes from Old Dominion and brings many things to the table that could take CCOM to the next level.

His experience is the first thing that jumps out at me.

According to his website, Edgerton has published 10 books and more than 75 essays and was co-editor of the “Journal of Popular Film and Television.”

As impressive as this is, I expect Edgerton to bring even more.

Interim CCOM Dean William Neher said one of the reasons Edgerton was interested in coming here was because “he sees a great deal of potential.”

With a school newspaper that is nationally recognized and an academic environment that is competitive, the potential is tremendous.

The advancement of student organized media outlets should be one of Edgerton’s top priorities.

He should use his experience to take our programs to the next level.

With that said he should offer advice from a distance because one of the greatest parts about our media productions is that they are student-run.

As a journalism student I want to see the new dean expand the school beyond Midwest recognition.

Coming with a diverse background and from a school on the East Coast, Edgerton should use his resources to make Butler CCOM graduates known all over the country.

I enjoy being in a major where the education constantly improves each year.

I want to see Edgerton continue this upward trend of excellence and take CCOM to the next level.

In a more immediate time frame, I expect Edgerton to make CCOM even more competitive with other colleges on campus.

Using cross-collaboration initiatives and growing and expanding upon majors will help diversify and improve the quality of CCOM majors.

Fifty percent of jobs today have a significant communication aspect, Edgerton said.

The cross-collaboration initiatives will not only improve the curriculum but also better prepare students for the real world.

When people talk about the top colleges on campus, CCOM should be one of the first that people think of.

I want to see Edgerton capitalize on all of the potential and resources so that CCOM can reach a new level.

In the past two years, Butler University has seen many changes in its top leadership.

We’ve seen a change in the presidency, the deans of the Jordan College of Fine Arts and Liberal Arts and Sciences and the beginning of a search for a dean of the new College of Communication.

Most recently came the announcement that Jamie Comstock asked to step down from her role as provost and vice president for academic affairs at the end of the fall semester.

Comstock said in an interview with The Collegian that in the last five years she has seen a change of over 30 percent in the make-up of Butler’s faculty.

It all feels like a lot of change for an institution as close-knit as Butler.

Students, faculty and staff express the legitimate concern that it is difficult for an institution to sustain its spirit and traditions with all of this shuffling of the upper leadership.

Any change is sure to cause a readjustment period, but we at The Butler Collegian believe that change can and will empower and revitalize the university to adapt to the larger, ever-changing world.

It is clear in the current economy that open minds and new approaches to old problems are necessary. The new wave of administrators offer an excellent example to students of what Butler students should become, forces of change and problem solving.

All administrators need to listen to their students and respect the values of the community, but nothing prevents new deans, presidents and provosts from doing this just as well as those already holding the positions.

And some entrenched administrators, regardless of their personal achievement or merit, become divisive figures.

Perhaps because Butler is a small school, changes in the administration seem like a bigger matter than at larger institutions.

In many ways, the small campus forms a community that might be easily disrupted by any changes.

When administrative changes happen, the productive learning environment is distracted by a community of curious, intelligent individuals who are eager to speculate about the future of their beloved institution.

This speculation and curiosity is almost always misplaced as fear of what is to come.

With two top administrative positions still open and more changes on the way, it is fair to say that students, faculty and staff do not know what entirely to expect in the spring 2012 semester.

But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

In President Jim Danko’s short time at Butler, he already has shown remarkable support for the university’s core spirit while also bringing fresh eyes to old obstacles.

He’s working to tackle tough administrative, financial and structural concerns, all of which require the collaboration of the entire university community.

Danko and several other administrators have thus far made communication with students, faculty and organizations as transparent as possible.

At a certain point, the university community should accept that change is usually a good thing, and that the administrators at this institution were hired for a reason: to make changes—some of which may make some waves in a community of intelligent academics and students and always ready to turn the inquisitive and critical eye to any situation.

All of the changes in the administration may be exactly what Butler needs to grow into its next era—hopefully an era of possibilities and new financial and leadership opportunities that catapult Butler to the top of those ranking lists that we all love to hate.

The legacy of any administrator can be positive or negative.

In the last five years, Butler has seen a lot of growth in both class size and national attention, especially from back-to-back NCAA men’s basketball championship appearances.

A lot of that attention has been positive, such as the academic achievement of students and the previously mentioned basketball teams.

However, the university has also faced controversies such as the case of Butler University v. John Doe aka Soodo Nym, and increased scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights in the form of a Title IX compliance review.

No one can predict the future, and even the best institutions are bound to face challenges.

But as long as the top level of the university’s leadership works to both preserve Butler’s core values and grow the community in new ways, The Collegian welcomes the leadership changes.

Gary Edgerton

How do you see yourself working with other deans and colleges?

I hope very well. Communication is the kind of discipline that really lends itself to a lot of collaboration with the other colleges. 50 percent of the jobs today have a significant communication component. People with communication background are working in Fortune 500 companies doing corporate communication or working in government. The potential is enormous for cross-collaboration initiatives.

 What do you see as the balance between professional skill and academics in the College of Communication?

There should be a strong mixture of the two. I think that theory needs practice and practice needs theory. Applying it in some way whether that has to do with public speaking or interpersonal communication or journalism or television production, it’s important for any communication student to learn these skills and refine those skills. On the other hand, if that is all the student has, they tend to be limited in terms of what they can do. It’s not that what they were learning didn’t help them get to a place, but it isn’t a straight logical line necessarily. Having a broad base communication education prepares you for lots of different jobs.

How would you unify such a diverse college?

I don’t think any dean who is coming in can do it alone. It would be a mixture of working with the associate dean and directors of the six programs and with individual faculty members to create an idea of what this college should be, so people aren’t thinking in terms of their individual programs, but the benefit of the broader college. The success of that broader college will bring success on the local level with programs as well.

What is your vision for the College of Communication?

I think whenever one comes up with a vision, one should talk with and really work in collaboration with the faculty here. Part of it is that whoever comes in as dean will need to formulate a vision in his or her initial time here, in the same way President Danko took 100 days to that. What’s important too in this day and age is digital communication. The technologies that we’re dealing with now and we have in our pockets—the technologies we’re going to have five years from now are either going to be accelerated versions of those or brand new technologies that people are just inventing now. It’s important to recognize the importance of the digital dimension, and to try to find ways to make that grow and integrate it in all the programs.

What do you see as the role of adjuncts?

I’ve only been here 48 hours, so I don’t know what Butler’s position on that, so I don’t want to really comment on that.

Glenda Balas

How do you see your role with other deans?

I met most of them this morning. I was extremely impressed by all of them. I really appreciated the way they extended themselves. I even shared my ideas for collaboration. I think it would be a really great opportunity. As a group they seem collaborative and I think it would be a positive relationship.

How do you strike a balance between professionalism and academics?

They’ve got to be integrated and they both have to be important to the students. As a professor I try to integrate some sort of experiential learning in all of my classes. I think educated has to be integrated and there needs to be activities and design so they impact each other positively.

What do you see your role in integrating CCOM?

I don’t think the separation exists in a progressive newsroom. I think there are a whole range of competencies that people need to perform to be successful. I think at the college level we need to look critically at ways to engage students.

What are the roles of adjuncts in the College of Communication?

I think working professionals have a place in the classroom. If we can bring them into our program and have students learn from them, I think that’s a bonus for everybody.

What would you bring to the college as dean?

I think I bring an academic and professional background to the college. I think my interactive style is useful because I am a problem solver. I look for creative solutions, that is one of my strengths. And I’m not afraid to bring other people into the project. I am a collaborator. I think I have depth and breadth in the communication field.

*This is an excerpt of The Collegian’s conversation with the candidates.