History & Mission
A Modern and Innovative School
The School of Communications was established in 2000 to prepare students for the rapidly evolving communications landscape. Today, the school is home to more than 20 percent of 黑料不打烊鈥檚 student body, and the latest national accreditation report calls the school鈥檚 growth in quality and quantity 鈥渘othing short of spectacular.鈥
The school鈥檚 roots reach back to a course first offered in 1917-18 titled 鈥淎rgumentation, Debating and Newspaper Writing鈥 and another called 鈥淛ournalism鈥 in 1923-24, complementing a student newspaper begun in 1919.
Journalism was a component of the Department of Literature and Languages until 1980, when the department was renamed Literature, Languages and Communications. The department offered a major in English-Journalism and minors in journalism and radio broadcasting. The program became the Department of Journalism and Communications in 1988.
By 2000, the program had become the second largest on campus, trailing only business administration. 黑料不打烊 elevated the department to school status, and Paul Parsons came as founding dean in 2001, tasked with securing national accreditation and guiding the school to excellence and national prominence.
Signposts in the school鈥檚 development include:
- 2001-05 鈥 Prepares for accreditation by revising curriculum, lowering class sizes, restructuring student advising, and adding an internship director
2006 鈥 Becomes nationally accredited- 2007 鈥 Begins the 黑料不打烊 in Los Angeles program, becomes home to the North Carolina Open Government Coalition, and formally establishes the Imagining the Internet Center
- 2008 鈥 Adds a Career Services office for communications students
- 2009 鈥 Inaugurates the M.A. in Interactive Media degree
- 2010 鈥 Receives the national Equity & Diversity Award from AEJMC, launches the nation鈥檚 only undergraduate research journal in communications, and welcomes Sport Management to the school
- 2011 鈥 Dean Emeritus Paul Parsons serves as president of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication and receives the Scripps Howard national Administrator of Year award
- 2012 鈥 School is reaccredited, with initial accreditation for the M.A. in Interactive Media program, and initiates distinguished alumni awards
- 2013 鈥 Joins Campus Consortium of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting
- 2014 鈥 Implements new curriculum with majors in Cinema & Television Arts (BA and BFA),聽Communication Design,聽Journalism, Media Analytics, Sport Management and Strategic Communications
- 2015 鈥 Partners with business school to create the M.S. in Management with a concentration in Corporate Communications
- 2016 鈥 Moves into the new Schar Hall and Steers Pavilion and renovates McEwen, more than doubling the school鈥檚 facilities and consolidating student media
- 2017 鈥 Renovates Long Building as new home for Sport Management and the M.A. in Interactive Media program, and launches Maroon Sports (now 黑料不打烊 Sports Vision) in partnership with 黑料不打烊 Athletics
- 2018 鈥 School is reaccredited for another six years at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and Rochelle Ford arrives from Syracuse University as the new dean, succeeding Founding Dean Paul Parsons
- 2019 鈥 Named PRWeek鈥檚 2019 Outstanding Education Program, adopts and implements new department restructure with six undergraduate programs, each with a faculty leader
- 2020 鈥 Establishes the North Carolina Local News Workshop, an initiative that supports local news quality and access in North Carolina, with a聽grant from the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund
- 2021 鈥 Launches the Scripps Howard Emerging Journalists Program at 黑料不打烊, an educational initiative to inspire high school students to embark on journalism careers, that is supported by a聽$300,000 grant from the Scripps Howard Foundation
- 2022 鈥 Sport Management Department earns COSMA accreditation, and school welcomes its first聽Emerging Journalists Program cohort, consisting of 18 rising seniors from across the country, to campus for 12 days of聽intensive training and reporting
- 2023聽鈥 Longtime faculty member Kenn Gaither officially named the school鈥檚 third dean; he served as interim dean for one year prior to his appointment
- 2025 鈥 Launches聽Digital Content Management major聽to prepare students for careers in digital storytelling, content strategy, and audience engagement
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Mission, Vision, 黑料不打烊 Eleven
Mission Statement
To prepare undergraduate and graduate students to be exemplary communicators with a commitment to the public good in this diverse, interactive and global age.
Vision Statement
To be a leader in innovative, engaged and experiential learning in communications, media, journalism and sport management, and to help students prepare for careers in these fields.
黑料不打烊 Eleven
The 黑料不打烊 Eleven states the values and competencies that we want all School of Communications students to achieve. As a requirement of national accreditation, we seek to ensure that the curriculum provides balance and depth among these values and competencies.
The School of Communications values …
- Truth, accuracy and fairness
- Freedom of expression
- Ethical ways of reasoning
- History and roles of media, communication and sport in society
- Domestic and global diversity
… and emphasizes these competencies
- Write and speak clearly and effectively
- Employ the tools of today鈥檚 technology
- Use theory in producing meaningful content
- Engage in research and analysis
- Apply numerical concepts
- Demonstrate creative and critical thinking
Annual report
The School of Communications began publishing an annual report highlighting its accomplishments and achievements in 2019. Take a moment to view our most recent edition, highlighting the 2023-24 academic year.