Department of Communication

Faculty: Associate Professor Tripp, Chair; Professor Bachman; Professor Emeritus Kennedy; Associate Professor Emeritus Giancola; Associate Professors Boulton, Capouya, Davis, Eschenfelder, Hillier, McAlister, Neely; Assistant Professors Firestone, Franz, Gómez-Vásquez, Li, Menzies, Neely, Tham, Wheeler; Instructional Faculty Kudva, Palmer.

The Communication Department teaches students to be critically engaged leaders in the practice and study of communication, capable of innovative problem-solving and community-building.  The department prepare students to be future media professionals, communication scholars, and lifelong learners who value diversity and inclusive civil discourse.  Situating their pursuits in historical, political, and cultural contexts, students learn rigorous research, critical analysis, technological proficiency, skilled writing, and effective media authoring.

The goals of the Department of Communication are to: 1) educate students to become critical thinkers and humane communicators capable of using traditional and emerging technologies effectively, 2) innovate programs of study and methods of instruction within the department and in partnership with others across the University in response to the continually changing theories, technologies and practices of communication, 3) advance communication as an interdisciplinary field that enriches the scholarly, critical and creative life of students, faculty and the greater community, 4) ensure, by regular evaluation, that the department’s programs, as well as any University programs with which the department is affiliated, remain relevant to the field of communication and the mission of the department, and 5) contribute to the intellectual life of the University and encourage students and faculty to share scholarly and creative activities with the University and greater community.

There are three majors within the department: communication, advertising and public relations, and journalism. The Department of Communication also participates in the film and media arts major and the new media production interdisciplinary major.