Current Initiatives
The communication arts and sciences are changing in response to pressures inside and outside universities, and in the last two years the School has developed a strategic plan that will guide its response to new challenges. Some of these are: (1) rapid advances in the life sciences, which has dramatically influenced the research direction of the field of communication sciences and disorders; (2) spread of networked information technologies and digital media, which is changing the subject matter of communication studies and as well as our methods of education and creative expression across the communication arts and sciences; (3) growing interdisciplinary interest in cultural studies within the arts and humanities; and (4) the increasing globalization of cultural and economic activity, which demands greater aggressiveness in hiring international artists and scholars and in identifying researchers who take a comparative or transnational approach to communication, media, and performance studies.
At the same time, the faculty, students, and alumni are ever more appreciative of the special achievements and heritage of the School, particularly its comprehensive range of programs, its grounding in the liberal arts, and its commitment to improving human performance and relationships.
The new mission statement highlights our determination to improve the means through which we achieve communication with our fellows as well as our ability to use those means for human ends. We are committed to building the basic and applied sciences of communication; developing theory and critical perspectives on communicative performances; creating new technologies for communication and new modes of artistic expression; and helping students to be more effective in their work, at home, and in civic life by applying principles of communication.
Six initiatives, which are listed below, are reshaping the School and its programs.
- Improve undergraduate programs.
New funding from the University has allowed us to expand the faculty, creating many more opportunities for students take classes and interact with faculty outside the classroom. We have added three new advisers. New investments in co-curricular and extracurricular programs have provided students with important professional practice and socialization, as the new School internship program. - Improve doctoral programs.
Four new cross-disciplinary doctoral programs are providing students with broader, deeper, and more flexible training. New fellowships, described later in this report, are helping us to attract stronger students and support their studies. - Expand professional programs.
We have built on Northwestern's success in professional training to create highly successful professional training programs in speech and hearing clinical practice, managerial communication, strategic technology management, theatre, and media arts. We are planning new programs in Arts Management, Teaching Acting, and Audiology, as well as new non-degree courses for professional education. - Improve facilities.
To expand opportunities for students and attract the best students and faculty, we must have adequate labs, studios, and specialized classrooms. In the last two years, we have carried out a School-wide renovation and expansion of lab and studio facilities. - Improve administration and school services.
New services for faculty and students include a Communications Office, a Distributed Education Office, and an IT/Web Services Group. - Improve the image, culture, and visibility of the School.
A change in the name of the School (from School of Speech to School of Communication) has been accompanied by a comprehensive redesign of all the School's communications, including print materials and website.
