When the Department of Communication was first established in 1981, things looked a little different.
Back then, it was called Media Systems and Management, and it graduated just one student in its inaugural class.
But as a result of the hard work by department founder Edwin J. Abar, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, the department expanded into the buzzing unit it is today.
The department keeps Dr. Abar’s memory alive though the Edwin J. Abar-Kiwanis Communication Scholarship.
Celebrating its 35th anniversary, the Communication Department is livelier than ever before. There were 97 communication students who graduated in the 2015-2016 academic year, and the department averages between 275 and 300 total majors annually.
Students have the choice between four predetermined concentrations: journalism, public and corporate communication, media arts and analysis, communication and culture, or their own customized path of study.
Susan Leggett, Ph.D., former chair of the Communication Department, and newly named Dean of Faculty, says there are two
qualities that successful students share: earnestness and adventurousness. “Students are willing to engage with each other in the classroom and trust that there’s a reason for learning what they’re learning,” she says.
Dr. Leggett says one of the biggest misconceptions about the department is confusing communication as a discipline with communication as a set of technologies. “In reality, the curriculum addresses communication processes as a whole,” Dr. Leggett says, and that includes issues concerning human communication, identity, and conflict management.
Alumni are employed in a variety of different career paths, including multimedia production, events management, operational
organization, public relations, and fundraising. “A degree in communication right now is crucial for anyone who cares about creating a humane and vibrant world,” Dr. Leggett says.
The most recent change in the department is the naming of Madeleine Cahill as the acting chair of the department. Professor Cahill’s appointment was effective Aug. 29. What’s remained steady in its 35 years is the faculty’s dedication. “What hasn’t changed is the extraordinary commitment of the professors to the students,” says adjunct professor and alumna Suzanne Boniface ’92.
