Commtracks

Communication studies is an academic field that deals with processes of human communication, commonly defined as the shar-ing of symbols to create meaning. The discipline encompasses a range of topics, from face-to-face conversation to mass media outlets such as television broadcasting. Communication studies also examines how messages are interpreted through the political, cultural, economic, and social dimensions of their contexts. Communication is institutionalized under many different names at differ-ent universities, including “communication”, “communication studies”, “speech communication”, “rhetorical studies”, “communications science”, “media studies”, “communication arts”, “mass communication”, “media ecology,” and “communication and media sci-ence.” Communication studies integrates aspects of both social sciences and the humanities. As a social science, the discipline often overlaps with sociology, psychology, anthropology, biology, political science, economics, and public policy, among others. From a humanities perspective, communication is concerned with rhetoric and persuasion (traditional graduate programs in communication studies trace their history to the rhetoricians of Ancient Greece). The field applies to outside disciplines as well, including engineer-ing, architecture, mathematics, and information science. In the United States, the National Communication Association (NCA) rec-ognizes nine distinct but often overlapping sub-disciplines within the broader communication discipline: techology, critical-cultural, health, intercultural, interpersonal-small group, mass communication, organizational, political, and rhetorical. Students take courses in these subject areas. Other programs and courses often integrated in communication programs include journalism, film criticism, theatre, public relations, political science (e.g., political campaign strategies, public speaking, effects of media on elections), as well as radio, television and film production. More recently, computer-mediated communication and the implications of new media for communication have drawn new research and courses. Graduates of formal communication programs take many different ca-reer paths, including university professors, marketing researchers, media editors and designers, journalists, human resources man-agers, corporate trainers, public relations practitioners, and media managers and consultants in a variety of fields. Communication studies is an academic field that deals with processes of human communication, commonly defined as the sharing of symbols to create meaning. The discipline encompasses a range of topics, from face-to-face conversation to mass media outlets such as tele-vision broadcasting. Communication studies also examines how messages are interpreted through the political, cultural, economic, and social dimensions of their contexts.Communication is institutionalized under many different names at different universities, in-cluding “communication”, “communication studies”, “speech communication”, “rhetorical studies”, “communications science”, “media studies”, “communication arts”, “mass communication”, “media ecology,” and “communication and media science.” Communication studies integrates aspects of both social sciences and the humanities. As a social science, the discipline often overlaps with sociol-ogy, psychology, anthropology, biology, political science, economics, and public policy, among others. From a humanities perspec-tive, communication is concerned with rhetoric and persuasion (traditional graduate programs in communication studies trace their history to the rhetoricians of Ancient Greece). The field applies to outside disciplines as well, including engineering, architecture, mathematics, and information science. In the United States, the National Communication Association (NCA) recognizes nine distinct but often overlapping sub-disciplines within the broader communication discipline: techology, critical-cultural, health, intercultural, interpersonal-small group, mass communication, organizational, political, and rhetorical. Students take courses in these subject areas. Other programs and courses often integrated in communication programs include journalism, film criticism, theatre, public relations, political science (e.g., political campaign strategies, public speaking, effects of media on elections), as well as radio, tele-vision and film production. More recently, computer-mediated communication and the implications of new media for communication have drawn new research and courses. Graduates of formal communication programs take many different career paths, including university professors, marketing researchers, media editors and designers, journalists, human resources managers, corporate train-ers, public relations practitioners, and media managers and consultants in a variety of fields. Communication studies is an academic field that deals with processes of human communication, commonly defined as the sharing of symbols to create meaning. The disci-pline encompasses a range of topics, from face-to-face conversation to mass media outlets such as television broadcastinAssocia-tion (NCA) recognizes nine distinct but often overlapping sub-disciplines within the broader communication discipline.researchers, media editors and designers, journapective, communication is concerned with rhetoric and persuasion (traditional graduate pro-grams in communication studies trace their history to the rhetoricians of Ancient Greece). The field applies to outside disciplines as well, including engineering, architecture, mathematics, and information science. In the United States, the National Communication Association (NCA) recognizes nine distinct but often overlapping sub-disciplines within the broader communication discipline: te-chology, critical-cultural, health, intercultural, interpersonal-small group, mass communication, organizational, political, and rhetori-

A PUBLICATION BY THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS AT SIMMONS COLLEGE

COMMTRACKSthen

nownow

then

The Evolution of the Communications Department2012

READERSWelcomeThe faculty in the Communications Department has done its job. They have nurtured our ability to be independent thinkers, to be knowledge-able in all areas of communications, and to be assertive.

However, sometimes too many independent thinkers can’t think together. It’s like the cliché goes: too many cooks spoil the broth. Although we think this soup turned out just fine, the process itself was definitely a learning experience. At times there was disagreement and frustration, but in the end it was the idea of the magazine that got us through and brought us together.

This year's issue of CommTracks has been especially exciting to produce. It seems very fitting after receiving such a prestigious honor as the Rex Mix Award, to look back on what brought the Communications Department at Simmons such great success.

This issue included tremendous research (we would like to thank the Simmons archives for all their help), revisions, and changes in ideas.

We hope this issue sheds light on the journey of the Communica-tions Department from its origins to where we are today. What we all learned is that skills, trends, and information change so quickly in the field, but are still relevant to the mission of the department and the way it trains future communicators.

It has been an incredible learning experience and an honor to work on such a successful publication. Enjoy!

— The 2012 CommTracks Team

COMMTRACKSREADERS...Department of

Communications Chair Editor-in-Chief

James Corcoran

•EDITORIAL•

Editor Megan Winslow

Writers Maria Costigan

Tammy Ford Lyndsey Nadeau Megan Winslow

Copy Editors Maria Costigan Kathryn Mitchell Lyndsey Nadeau

Faculty Editors Ellen Grabiner Alissa Miller Andy Porter

•ART•

Graphic Designers Carol GuzowskiKathryn Mitchell

Photography / Illustration Carol Guzowski Kathryn Mitchell

Design Consultants Judith Aronson Ellen Grabiner

•PRODUCTION•

Ad Manager / Public Relations Dana Robie

Project Manager Tammy Ford

Printer Universal/Wilde

2 • Then & Now • 2012

TABLE OF2012 ISSUE 7

CONTENTSCONTENTSTABLE OF

COMMTRACKS

Letter From Bob White

The Communications Department Timeline

Dorothy Williams

Faculty ProfilesBob White James Corcoran Joan Abrams

Survival of the Fittest

The TracksIntegrated Media Writing Public Relations / Marketing Communications Graphic Design

Faculty & Staff

Rex Mix Award

It's the Ideas That Matter

Films That Speak

Curriculum Change

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4 • Then & Now • 2012

Being an essay introducing this issue and thereupon musings regarding the Historical Times of the Simmons Department of Communications by the alleged most senior professor in residence in terms of servitude. Being of sound mind and body. (Ahem.)

A loaf of bread cost 25 cents. A gallon of gas cost 36 cents. A teacher at Simmons College for a year cost $10,000. Twenty words for each year would be 800 words, and well over the length of this piece. Four hundred women had arrived as freshmen the year I arrived as a member of the Department of Publication. It was about 40 years old back then. The Department. A scion of the English Department. You hold in your hand the pages of a magazine. You may read, if you care, many wonderful stories told by my colleagues and friends of their time and remem-brances of the Department.

James Patrick Corcoran, in his role as Esteemed Chair of the Department of Communications, (That’s me!) charged me to provide you, dear reader, with something of the past. For an issue that features much of the life and times that we in the Department have shared.

Jim and I sat in my office watching the sunset the night before the windows of the entire Lefavour Hall building were covered in plywood. It was the night before construction and renovation would begin. “I’m going to miss this,” I said. We both had our feet up on the round table in the center of the room. There were ceiling-to-floor windows on two sides facing the great outdoors. I imagine we both had a glass in hand. (We

did. It was blended. Neat. Yours.) He reassured me. Well, he tried. Living and working inside the building shell for what looked like several months wouldn’t be so bad. (I was wrong.) And the new place would be beautiful. He was sure. (I was right.)

The History of the Department is much the Herstory, in the feminist parlance of the day. She published the alumnae magazine, The Simmons Review. She doesn’t anymore. She fostered the growth of photography and its wonderful teachers. Not anymore. But. All designers had to go to the Museum School for art classes until the classes grew here. All advertising and public relations majors had to study in other depart-ments until those classes grew in Communications.

She had a Christmas party with punch for the grown-ups that packed a PUNCH, you may believe. And it was all right to have parties and every department had one with homemade this and that and everything and the cooks and the bakers brought their wares to all the Department parties because that is how it was done. Back then.

She (Don’t lose track now, you know, “She” the Department) dragged me to airports and flew me to conferences, and sent me on strange journeys in search of artifacts from the exploding world of communications. Once a hologram. And once for big tin cans filled with episodes of Star Trek 16mm film!

You see, she is the place where we dream. She has given us memories. We have fought for her. We fought to keep The Simmons Review, and we lost. We fought for office space and our Master’s program.

LETTER FROM PROFESSORBOB WHITEAt Simmons College since 1971

Note: Normally we ask our Department Chair, James Corcoran, to write this letter. However, as this issue highlights the history and achieve-ments of the Communications Department, Professor Corcoran thought it would be better for Professor White to share his thoughts. No one has been with the department longer or knows its history better. We have also included Professor Corcoran's comments (highlighted in blue) which function as a sort of conversation with Professor White’s letter.

Can’t win them all. We fought to keep our best profe ssors, and we lost. (Not every time. Judith and Ellen are still here.)

But we have won so often. Just look at the por-traits of our successful alumnae on the Wall of Honor. All women leaving the Department have their stories. Some bring them back. Have you ever been to Reunion? Jim and I were guests of a 20th reunion class last spring. Lucky to escape with our lives. Almost got smiled to death. (Almost?) So much joy.

Gather information. Research. Dig some more. Catch an idea. Capture it. Love it until it is yours. Give it form. For the page or for the screen or for the nanobursts yet to come. Know your audience. Some-times NO your audience brazenly. Ready. Aim. (Ray Bradbury wrote an essay about writing and about the Zen Archers who knew the target so well that they could close their eyes and still hit the bull’s eye). Communicate. That is what she has taught you to do. (As well as to find the answer to Marhall McLuhan’s question: “Does a fish know when it is wet?”)

I remember showing a movie in class, and while I spoke up in front of the class there was a clatter and clunk from the back of the classroom, and a metal cartwheel reel of film came rolling at me trailing a tail of sprocketed plastic all surely of which had fallen off the projector as it played. So it goes. (And so it continues. Herstory.)

Jim and I sat in my office watching the sunset the night before the windows of the entire Lefavour Hall building were covered in plywood. It was the night before construction and renovation would begin.

Self portrait by Bob White

COMMTRACKS

CommunicationsDepartment

The School of Journal-ism was founded within The School of English. This school trained women for book, magazine, and newspaper writing along with editing, public rela-tions, and graphic arts.

A concentration is established for journalistic writing and editorial work. Name was changed

from the School of English to the School of Publication.

Dorothy Williams becomes the Department Chair and Bob White begins teaching.

The “Printshop” class begins, allowing students to have a hands-on experience with printing techniques.

The Department of Publication changes its name to Department of Communications.

The Prince Alumnae News and FenWays combine with the Simmons Review to make a single magazine.

An advertising course is offered and some instruction in radio.

19331944

1952

19711951

1972

19481940

COMMTRACKS

6 • Then & Now • 2012

The first Broadcast Journalism course is offered.

The Master of Communications Management program begins.

The course “Globalization on a Shoestring” is trademarked.

The first “The Show! The Party!,” which has since become “CommWorks!” is created to showcase student work.

Room 505 in the Communications Department is outfitted as a microcomputer laboratory. 505 Magazine is later created.

1975

2012

1980

2000

1987

Simmons College Radio launches.

2008

The Communications Department receives the Rex Mix Award.Wall of Honor is

installed and CommTracks starts.

20112006

TIMELINE

COMMTRACKS

Tammy Ford

WILLIAMSDorothyWILLIAMS

8 • Then & Now • 2012

There has always been a long-standing tradition of excellence in the Communications Department. The chairs of the department have consistently strived to make the curriculum relevant to the growth of the department and the changing technology in the field. This has kept students engaged and marketable.

Although the department has evolved from its inception, the idea of a converged curriculum was there, waiting for the right person to lead or ask the right questions. Celebrating the ideas coming from the department was paramount. That is where our story begins.

Dorothy Williams created a gold standard, which current department faculty strives to uphold. It is her passion and dedication to the convergence of all forms of communication theory and practice that the department still emulates. Williams passed away in 1996, but her ideas and innovation are still celebrated today and consequently she has earned a place on the Communications Department’s Wall of Honor.

The Wall of Honor features successful alumnae of Simmons College and Williams met the criteria. She was a graduate of The School of English in 1941. In 1967, she received her Masters of Public Communications from Boston University. A polio survior, she relied on braces to assist with her movement. It never stopped her from pursuing her ideas. She was driven.

Williams started working for Simmons as a part-time instructor in 1946. By the next year, she was a full time instructor and she became the managing editor of The Simmons Review, which is currently the alumnae magazine. She used the magazine as a laboratory for students to learn the art of publishing. Her passion for the integration of disciplines began here. The Simmons Review won more than 160 awards for innovative and advanced publishing techniques under Williams’ twenty-year leadership. She be-lieved that students brought a freshness of attitude to the publications.

Williams spent years teaching, speaking at conferences, and studying new advancements in the field. She won award after award for innovation and technique in the publishing arts. Wwas also passionate about and involved with many societies and commissions, such as the Corporation of Edito-rial Projects for Education, the Labor Press Association and the American Alumni Association.

New deparTmeNT Chair

In 1971, R.F. Bosworth, the department chair, retired and Williams’ colleagues named her chair of the department. It was a new chair – the Department of Publication had become the Department of Communications.

“Successful communication programs require unity,” said Williams in an interview with The Janus, the school's newspa-per, in 1976. “We have attempted over the years to bring the program out of the solely printed word and into the new media, while at the same time keeping the printed word in its proper place in media. Our program was set up with mul-tiple options. Simmons graduates are generalists with sound specific knowledge and an overview of the total field.”

Her vision was to blend theory and practice within the specializations of the communications field. She wanted to “Take all the skills [students] learned and finally put them to work.”

As generalists with specific knowledge, students from Simmons are able to adapt and grow with the changing field of communications.

An interview with Professor Bob White, who was a budding professor under Williams’ leadership, explains how social she was. He calls her Dot, and explains that she would handle requests by saying, “We should all discuss this after hours at a gathering.”

She expected a lot from her professors, although she would not chastise them for omitting some aspects of their classes. In a conversation with White, he reconstructed his encounter with Williams at the beginning of his career. White describes how eloquent her words were in an encouraging and nonthreatening demeanor. He says she did it in a way that was gracious.

White also recalls how her approach to instruction was all-inclusive, but with a sense of each individual instructor’s uniqueness and specialization. “Make the class your own,” she would say. She was a champion for the faculty; she saw

the potential they brought to the disciplines.She was also a strong woman. If there were things she did

not like or agree with, she would fight in the most respectful way, according to White.

In an interview with The Janus in 1976, she said, “The Alumnae Association asked me to give up The Review as a class but to continue as managing editor. Under such an arrangement, the college and the alumnae would begin to control the content of the publication. I could not continue to work with The Review under such circumstances.”

Williams celebrated the fact that the department was all about ideas before technology. Williams knew that technol-ogy would change. She was interested in ideas and how to create a state that expressed those ideas in a way that spoke to the student.

Williams created The Job Book –one of her brilliant moves that gained national coverage –with the incep-tion of the Simmons Press. It was set up with pictures and resumes –sent to interviewers, internship partners and job prospects. All the seniors got a page to create a resume and portfolio.

White says that having a printing press in the depart-ment contributed to the richness of the learning environment. Before computers, students would have to set the type and to print their own books. It was a practice to highlight stu-dents’ talents in an integrated forum.

a more expaNsive deparTmeNT

Williams always looked for the department to be more expansive. Under her leadership, the department grew and became more popular every year. Students earned a Liberal Arts and Professional Studies degree that included course work and practical experience.

White says Williams, in her leadership role, strived to include others.

Each fall, two volunteer students attended the faculty meetings. This form of inclusion kept the students as an inte- gral part of the development of the department and the student. The students would offer suggestions to the faculty, or ask questions of the department.

In March of 1977, Williams slipped on some ice and was hospitalized. She retired shortly after the accident. Alden Poole replaced her as the acting department chair.

White’s best memory of Williams is what makes her so special. Both White and Williams were alums of Boston University. In academic ceremonies, he would rent his academic regalia to wear in the processions. When Williams retired, she gave him her personal hood. He fondly recalls this as having “a piece of her.” •

She was a champion for the faculty; she saw the potential they brought to the disciplines.

COMMTRACKS

WhITEBob MEGAN WINSLOW

With a long white beard, a wooden cane in hand, and round frames sitting on the bridge of his nose, Bob White is often said to bear a strong resem-blance to Albus Dumbledore from the “Harry Potter” series. He is a legendary figure in the Communications Department at Simmons.

A clock sits on a shelf in his office. “That thing up there, the clock, that’s the alumni service award that I got several years back,” said White. “It was out of the blue that somebody else said ‘Let us recognize people who have served the college’.”

White is strongly attached to alumni and remem-bered by many, if not all, of the 4,000 students he has taught in the last 40 years at Simmons. “The changes in the department are reflected by what they do and have done,” said White.

He has been the one faculty member to see the Communications Department evolve from its origins.

White was hired to teach Communications Media, which to this day is a favorite class of both communi-cations and non-communications majors.

He started teaching the class after taking over for Dorothy Williams, who had just become the chair of the department.

“When I was interviewed by Dorothy, I was so jazzed about what was being taught, I told her I honest- ly wish I had studied here,” said White.

“The course was Dorothy’s course, her baby. I was hired in August and I had to start in September, so I followed her syllabus and curriculum,” said White.

In the last week of the semester, this “wonderful woman,” as White described her, took him aside to see what he had and had not covered in her course.

“And in her graciousness, she discovered that I had been terrible at her class. So, she did two things,” said White.

The first was asking if she could teach the course for the remainder of the semester. The second was to tell him to do more of what he wanted with the course. She suggested he do a film project and cut back on some of the theory.

White was championed by Williams to teach in a style that suited him and to do something that would allow him to reach out more effectively to his students.

Over the years, Communications Media has become a theatrical presentation, and White said somewhere along the way he got better at teaching the class. The response he has received from alumni confirms that. From being featured in blog postings to being stopped on the street, White gets “curiously wonderful feedback from the alumni from years past.”

White is rooted in the Communications Department at Simmons and so are his beliefs about communica-tions as a whole. “The meaning of Communications Media is the message. It’s the medium, it’s the presentation, and if someone sat down and said ‘Well, what’s it mean? What’s it all about? What are you learning?’ There shouldn’t be any answers, it should be a mystery. You then have to solve the mystery,” said White.

He believes that at Simmons, the Communications Department has always been and will always be the place where ideas are expressed, no matter what changes may take place in the world of communica-tions. “It’s still taking an idea and expressing it in words, whether they are spoken or illustrated. That, we will always have.” •

It’s the medium, it’s the presentation, and if someone sat down and said “Well, what’s it mean? What’s it all about?’’ There shouldn’t be any answers, it should be a mystery.

Then & Now • 2012 • 11

ThE EVOLUTION OF BOB WhITE

1973 1974 1977

1981 1986 1990 1993

2005 2008 2012

Although Bob White claims to be ‘‘just like everybody else,’’ he is not. Not only does he look different, with his long hair and flowing beard that covers most of his face, but according to many students, he is more than just a professor. He is someone a student can feel comfortable with, just sit-ting down and talking about the new heavy metal bands or recent movie releases.

—Microcosm, 1993

CORCORANJamesMEGAN WINSLOW

From the time he started at Simmons, James Corcoran, current Communications Department chair, has played a prominent role in the growth of the department. Through-out the years, his consistency and determination have given students the means to succeed.

During their first year at a new institution surrounded by unfamiliar faces, most faculty members would not have the courage to march into the president’s office and ask that changes be made in the department. Corcoran came to Simmons in 1986, and with little hesitation, he did just that.

At this time, the communications lab consisted of 15 manual typewriters. “They were basically museum pieces that had keys that stuck together more often than they struck the paper and ribbons that were mostly in tat-ters,” he said.

Describing himself as “young and dumb,” Corcoran went to the president’s office with a stack of illegible papers and said that they were not doing their students any favors by teaching them to work on those typewriters.

When the chair of the department found out what Corcoran had done, she told him his time as a college instructor was going to be short if he continued to do things like that.

Over the summer he received a phone call from the chair saying she wished to speak with him. “I assumed that was it, and I was going to be on to my newspaper career a lot sooner than I anticipated,” he said.

“Instead, we walked into the writing lab and there on the table were 15 new computers and she said, ‘Well here are your toys.’”

In his quarter of a century at Simmons, Corcoran has witnessed a lot of changes, from the development of the radio station and newspaper, to extensive changes in course offerings.

One thing that has stayed the same over the years is Corcoran’s view of the mission of the department, which is to teach students to write well, think critically, speak articulately, and be visually literate. Although commu-nications tools are always changing, it is the student’s ability to communicate and know how to use this media effectively that lead to career success.

“So much of what we still talk about here is the foun-dation of good communication; how to write well, how to speak, how to look at something and make it look amazing in terms of design,” said Corcoran. “Those skills are still being taught and it’s to help students understand that sometimes being away from the computer using your mind is actually better.”

Another aspect of the department that Corcoran has seen change is the elimination of silos. Journalism, public relations, and design are converging and these silos are overlapping. “It gives the students a different way to look at things and think outside the box,” said Corcoran.

“It’s tough to break those silos because people have vest-ed interests, but in a department this size, we’ve been able to be a little more flexible. Preparing students to think critically is not a silo.”

The department has come a long way since the old typewriters. Corcoran maintains, “I still think computers are important, but the computer is only as good as the person who is using it.” •

So much of what we still talk about here is the foundation of good communication; how to write well, how to speak, how to look at something and make it amazing in terms of design.

CorCoran

COMMTRACKS

Then & Now • 2012 • 15

COMMTRACKS

ABRAMS

Many students in the Communications Department look up to Joan Abrams for her sense of style. She is a trend-setter for her ideas in fashion and more importantly, for her work and teaching in public relations.

Abrams has not only taught at Simmons for the past 14 years, but she also attended Simmons for both her undergraduate and graduate degrees.

In early 1998, Abrams was having lunch with an old professor who introduced her to Jim Corcoran, the chair of the department. He offered her a teaching position. “I had always wanted to teach, but really didn’t know how to go about it,” said Abrams.

“I spent the first semester huddled in a very little dis-organized office, not really knowing anybody,” she said. “After a semester, Jim came to me and said ‘How would you like to be a proportional faculty member, meaning you’re on a contract and you teach somewhere between four to five courses in an entire year.’ And I said ‘Sure,’ but I had no idea what that meant,” said Abrams. “I’ve never left.”

Abrams graduated from Simmons with a bachelor’s degree in 1971 and spent time working in public re-lations and nonprofit organizations (which she contin-ues to do today) before beginning her teaching career. Because of this outside experience, Abrams has brought a real-world view into her classes at Simmons.

“I’ve been able to introduce the students to a lot of the things that I do, so they have opportunities to do those things themselves,” said Abrams. “I’m making sure we appreciate that our students are instantly useful and desirable in the job market. They are not afraid to take on any technical challenge or management challenge.”

Over the years Abrams has seen significant changes in the Communications Department, from developing a close-knit faculty group, to playing a more significant

JoanMEGAN WINSLOW

role in the Simmons community. “I’ve noticed a lot more camaraderie and collegiality among the people who teach here,” said Abrams. ”Also, the Communications Department has become a more respected group. Within Simmons, we have many more opportunities to work with our colleagues to a much greater degree than when I first came here.”

The Communications Department is one of the larg-est undergraduate departments at Simmons and Abrams believes it is going to continue to be one of the largest. “I think we’re going to enhance our reputation in the Boston and New York areas where our students are invariably sought after for jobs,” she said.

For the last 12 years, Abrams has been the faculty head of the Public Relations Student Society of America. “It has helped students network, gain professional skills, and of course communication skills,” said Abrams.

“We’ve had the opportunity to travel around the United States to various national meetings, and we’ve estab-lished an annual trip to New York City to visit agencies. It’s been a successful pre-professional organization at Simmons that continues.”

Abrams feels the department will integrate technology more than ever before and be on the cutting edge of media convergence and innovation since receiving the prestigious Rex Mix Award in the fall of 2011. “We are going to see ourselves on the national front as we continue to innovate,” she said.

Abrams has contributed significantly to the department with her experience. She has loved every one of her jobs, but teaching is something she had always wanted to do. “I love it, I truly love it. Even though I have to commute 65 miles a day one way to get here, because the school is so great it’s worth it.” •

I’m making sure we appreciate that our students are instantly useful and desirable in the job market. They are not afraid to take on any challenges.

Then & Now • 2012 • 13

AbrAms

ALUMNI IN THE WORKPLACELyNdsey Nadeau

Joanne markow wakes up bright and early before work every morning to fit in some training time at the Boston Figure Skating Club. “Figure skating and sports in gen-eral are a big part of my life,” said Markow. “I’m a huge advocate of working hard and playing hard, which applies not only to sports but also my work.”

While at Simmons, Markow took advantage of many opportunities, including an internship at the Museum of Fine Arts. She landed her first job at Houghton Mifflin after reaching out to an alumna. There, she was part of a team that helped transform the organization from a textbook-based company into one of the top three vi-able players in the college-level publishing market.

During the day, Markow is Chief Operating Officer at Six Red Marbles, a multi-million dollar business known throughout the country as one of the most innovative and progressive educational learning companies in the United States. She is responsible for leading the organization and inspiring staff members. Since she joined in 2008, the company has expanded tenfold. Originally a small Cambridge-based company, Six Red Marbles has six offices and has increased its staff to more than 100.

One of Markow’s major responsibilities at Six Red Marbles is constantly moving to a more forward-thinking culture. Right now, the company is looking into “natural learning” inspired by Native African tribes.

theFITTESTtheSurvival of

“There's a lot more we need to do to change the way schools and publishers operate, but I'm very proud to have been part of a movement to do things differently for students.”

Markow compares the progressive thinking of Six Red Marbles to Simmons’ history of innovative forward- thinking. When she applied to Simmons, she says that the Communications program was unsurpassed. It even had Macintosh computers –a unique concept at the time.

“We hear about these 21st Century skills, but in a way, Simmons taught you how to do that even before that theory came out.”

As editor-in-chief of the Simmons News, (now The Simmons Voice) Markow coaxed and trained the editors to convert the newspaper from a traditional hands-on layout into a digital enterprise in 1992. No longer did they have to stay up all night laying out pages manually with a penknife.

The broad Simmons College communications program, passionate professors, and comprehensive internship program helped her prepare for her career, steering her in the right direction. With a dual degree in art history and communications, and a master’s degree in anthropology from Harvard, she is able to integrate her knowledge and mobilize others “toward a cultural shift of thinking and learning differently.”

She says she owes Simmons for helping her develop her leadership skills. “Every minute you are there is a way to further your career.” •

Joan

ne M

arko

w ’

94

COMMTRACKS

maggie Knowles-podhouser says she wrote her first “book” in elementary school. “Most little girls wanted to be princesses; I wanted to be a writer,” she said. “I still think it is the greatest job in the world.”

Knowles-Podhouser is currently a columnist in Maine for the Portland Daily Sun, writes vegetarian reviews for Examiner.com, and has a parenting blog called “Sexy Naptime” featuring hilarious tales of her 3-year-old son. What’s more, she recently started a company with Chef Elizabeth Fraser called “Kids Gone Raw,” which teaches kids how to live better through eating natural foods.

Knowles-Podhouser acknowledges that Simmons stands apart from other colleges by giving students invaluable real-life experience through its internship program. During an internship at Jerome Press Publications, she wrote theatre and dining reviews for Playbill magazine, and later helped market cookbooks for Harvard Common Press. Both these internships gave her the confidence to succeed as a professional writer.

“Simmons is magical in that I have never been in an atmosphere that is so unconditionally supportive and challenging at the same time.”

After graduating, Knowles-Podhouser was hired as the art critic for the Boston Phoenix shortly before moving on to become contributing editor for Port City Life magazine in Portland, where she remained for eight years. When the magazine was bought by a larger company, the door opened for her to become a columnist for the Portland Daily Sun. As a columnist, she cherishes the freedom to say whatever she wants –“to the dismay of many!”

Knowles-Podhouser encourages communications students to not let criticism get in the way, especially in a field which requires creative people to put themselves out there in ways other professions don’t require.

“You are on this path because you have gorgeous creative energy flowing through you. Never doubt how special that is. If you trust what the creative side of yourself tells you, there is no chance but to succeed.” •

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elizabeth Comeau was the only student in her sopho-more journalism class who was excited to interview people at Logan Airport on the one-year anniversary of 9/11. Her enthusiasm prompted her professor to help her get an internship at the Boston Globe. That was the start of a successful journalism career

After graduating from Simmons College, Comeau applied to the Poynter Institute, which she describes as a “six-week journalism boot camp.” She then received a yearlong fellowship at Poynter, where she was immersed in journalism.

Comeau then landed a job at a newspaper in Maine, where she said she experienced one of the proudest moments of her career when she covered the tragic story of a 14-year-old boy who murdered a 14-year-old girl. “No one could get in touch with the boy’s parents, so I reached out to them by writing a sympathetic hand-written letter,” said Comeau. “This must have impressed them because they responded and were willing to meet. It was a touching and amazing experience.”

Comeau was used to journalists asking her questions. She was the first IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) baby in the United States. Eventually, the roles were reversed and she started asking the questions.

Today, Comeau is a senior health and wellness produ- cer at Boston.com, where she maintains the website’s extensive Health section, updates the Twitter account @BeWellBoston, and writes her own fitness blog called “Get Moving.”

She needed to be her own advocate and sell the blog to an apprehensive Boston.com.

“You have to push yourself to get yourself out there...you need to sell you.”

At Boston.com, Comeau says she has to be well-versed and “a jack of all trades, a master of none.” She stressed the importance of knowing about current events as a journalist—even sports. Comeau doesn’t buy all the talk that, “Journalism is dying.” She maintains the career is shifting, not disappearing.

Comeau encourages Simmons students to get them-selves out there, pitch ideas, and not to be afraid to take risks.

“The only way you’re going to succeed is to fail.” •

Kristen matta and Studio 5 teammates founded the Communications Department magazine, CommTracks. “Every year, I’m amazed at the work and effort put into CommTracks. It has grown so much and I’m really proud of how far it has come,” she said.

Growing up she was always involved in arts and crafts and took every art class possible in high school. Her school even created additional classes for her. She pursued a degree in art education at Providence College, before deciding it wasn’t what she needed to express herself creatively. She then tranferred to Simmons where she excelled in graphic design.

Transferring to Simmons, she said, was the best deci-sion after being at a college that had students swipe a card for attendance. Matta never felt like a number at Simmons and valued the accessibility and caring nature of the professors, whom she thinks are important to stay in contact with even after graduation.

Matta is now a senior graphic designer at MDG Brand Innovation, a small strategic branding and design agen-cy in Holliston, MA. The agency creates “everything and anything” for the clients’ branding, from logos to com-mercials. On the side, she says she enjoys working on different projects for friends, like wedding invitations or baby announcements.

But, as Matta learned, you don’t have time to be “per-fect” in the real world. “You have a lot of time to work on projects in school, but when you get in the real world, deadlines are deadlines.”

Matta says she started her career at Simmons when a classmate encouraged her to do as many internships as possible. With countless avenues for graphic design students to pursue, Matta says her internships –at Channel 7, Boston Magazine, and Corey McPherson Nash – helped steer her in the right direction, while also giving her valuable experience.

“The coursework at Simmons was real-life scenarios, real-life projects, and real life experience that prepared me for the real world.” •

erica moura she knew she wanted to pursue journal-ism as early as her high school years. But when she interviewed David Muir from ABC World News Tonight, he told her she should get a big picture of the world before honing her journalism skills. Which brought her to Simmons.

Since graduating, Moura has taken his advice and is now at Emerson College learning hands-on technical skills required for broadcast journalism. In her final semester, she is a web intern and videographer for the Boston Herald.

“Newspapers realize they need to catch up with the convergence of media; to start posting videos.”

While she’s proud of the work she does on a daily basis, she says her best experience was being part of the team that founded Simmons College Radio. Now, a two-room studio; not long ago, a desk, a microphone, and a laptop.

When hate crimes popped up on campus, Moura said she decided to use the radio station to respond. After interviewing people on the spot, directing people where they needed to be, and using social media simultane-ously –her dream solidified. When she created an entire show centered around the hate crimes, she knew she was in the right field

Eventually, Moura hopes to teach current-events classes and help young adults read and write the news appropriately. She also wants to “force them to have a little bit of respect for journalists, so we don’t get doors slammed in our faces,” referencing how someone recently ran away from her when he found out she was from the Boston Herald.

Moura says she loved the supportive professors at Simmons, and how they encouraged her to “step it up” when she was being too cautious.

“I have confidence in myself. The same confidence the professors had in me. I am never afraid to cross the line, to push the limit, to ask questions.” •

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FITTESTSurvival oftheFITTESTthe

16 • Then & Now • 2012

Commtracks Magazine ad 8.5”x 5.5” Due Date: 3-1-12 for May 2012 insertion

Ivette Atgueta-Medina, Simmons College, 300 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115 617-548-2359

Debbie Hird Hird Graphic Design 978-281-6313

SIMMONSS I M M O N S C O L L E G E • B O S T O N • M A S S A C H U S E T T S

Executives, ambassadors, entrepreneurs, educators,health care professionals, policy makers, andarchivists—just a handful of the amazing rolesthat Simmons graduates enjoy.

• • •

Our faculty are highly respected practitioners in theirrespective fields. Our students participate in work with theirprofessors, or in internships and field placements at someof Boston’s most prestigious companies and organizations.

For over 100 years, Simmons has helped students distinguishthemselves in all walks of life. Maximize the return on youreducational investment at Simmons College.

Our many academic paths and offerings include:Undergraduate Studies, Graduate Studies in Education,Behavior Analysis & Liberal Arts, Archives Management,Master of Social Work, Master of Social Work/UrbanLeadership, Nursing, Nutrition, Physical Therapy, MBA,Entrepreneurship, Health Care Administration,Communications

Learning for life’s work.TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING

Contact us: www.s immons.edu • 617 .521 .2000

EllenGRABINER...Ellen

Members of the Department of Communications at Simmons wish to congratulate Ellen Grabiner on her tenure and promotion and the publication of her new book, I See You: The Shifting Paradigms of James Cameron's Avatar.

We love you Ellen!

Integrated Media

Writing

PR / MarComm

Graphic Design

COMMTRACKS

TheTRACKS

20 • Then & Now • 2012

MEDIAIntegratedMEDIA

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Describe your experience in the Communications Department in three words:

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Three thumbs up. – Samantha DeCotes

Challenged every day. – Stephanie Magalhaes

Good times, bro. – Katrina Martinez

Invigorating, sensible & collaborative. – Yao Wen

I'm never underestimated. – Lyndsey Nadeau

COMMTRACKS

WRITING

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Just keep writing. – Maria Costigan

Write. Edit. Write. – Tammy Ford

Edit. Write. EDIT! – Megan Winslow

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Enlightening, educational & exciting. – Denise Benson

Ideas come alive. – Emma Bisogno

Stressful, but awesome. – Lindsey Bourcier

Inspiring, innovative & exciting. – Mary Delaney

Inspiring, cutting-edge & life-changing. – Meghan Doherty

Vibrant, thought-provoking & encouraging. – Molly Hall

See, imagine & create. – Bianca Harris

Life-long wisdom. – Jacqueline Hernandez

Engaging, educational & fun. – Stephanie Hunt

Ended too soon. – Melissa Palardy

First-rate learning experience. – Morgan Powell

Informative, inspiring, & hands-on. – Dana Robie

Iman Richards

Innovative, challenging & exceptional – Erin Sullivan

Informative, forward-thinking & exceptional. – Marcy Slack

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Competent, creative & chaotic. – Connie Chan

Insightful, motivating & rewarding. – Carol Guzowski

The best food. – Abby Kallgren

Enthralling, engaging & crazed. – Sarah Marchessault

Excited about [my] future! – Meaghan Maurice

I miss Judith . . . – Kathryn Mitchell

Then & Now • 2012 • 25

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Typography Poster – Abby Kallgren

Logotype – Sarah Marchessault

CD Cover – Carol Guzowski

Stamps – Connie Chan

Type Self-Portrait – Kathryn Mitchell

Stamps – Meaghan Maurice

Wood Types!

Leslie Usherwood, designer of the typeface, ITC Usherwood.

Early DaysThe wood type market in the United States was a booming business in the early 1800s. Not only were the foundries producing wood type for use by American companies, but vast amounts of type were shipped overseas as well. The Industrial Revolution in Europe had stripped the land of the trees best suited for making wood type. These same trees were plentiful in the US, especially on the East Coast where most wood type factories were based. Early styles of wood type were styled after old ‘modern’ typefaces like Bodoni and Didot. Until the 1800s, most public announcements were designed like book pages. “Whether announcing lost cattle, a circus, or a town meeting, they were printed in a format that echoed the symmetrical and polite arrangements of title pages, in [type-faces] that were essentially the same as those used in books, but lager”. The introduction of wood type radically changed these conservatively styled notices and lead the way to a new age in advertising.

NowaDaysToday, there are no more factories producing wood type full time for use in commercial printing. The Hamilton Manufacturing Company was one of the last to close its doors in 1985, which coinciden-tally coincided with the introduction of the Macintosh computer.Although wood type in the physical sense is no longer in production, it ironically lives on in this computer

age. In 1994, Adobe released its third set of wood type that included the faces Pepperwood, Rosewood and Zebrawood. All three faces were designed from examples found in wood type specimen books and old posters. With their distinct Wild West feel and old time charm, these three computer faces and a myriad of others help to ensure the longevity of wood type.

latEr DaysWhile the trees from which wood type was cut are long gone, it lives on. Old blocks of type sit dusty on collector’s shelves, behind glass in museums, and in cases at places like the Hamilton Wood Type Museum, waiting for eager students to once again press them into paper. It lives on in the wood types created by Adobe and others, allowing enthusiasts and curious students the opportunity to create with it once again and delve into its rich colorful

A c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 1 2 3 6 7 8 9 ! $ & ;

“The trees may be long dead, but wood type lives on.”

An old time example of wood type used in a circus poster.

•Example of a letter-pressed 30 line Gothic X Condensed ‘B’ made by the Hamilton Manufacturing Company

Leslie Usherwood, was type designer in the ‘70s. He was born in England in 1932 and attended an art school in Kent, England. After graduation he spent many years working as a lettering artist. His first typeface, Melure was created in 1965 for a company in New York. Three years later Usherwood would open his own business, Typsettra, in Toronto, Canada where he offered such things as brochures and vvadvertising typography.On top of his successful business in Toronto, Usherwood continued to create typefaces. He created a typeface to be called Saxony, which was reminiscent of old wood type and in a similar style to the Adobe wood typefaces. It was his last font. Created in 1983, Usherwood died after its creation, but before its public release. It was decided that the original name should be changed to Usherwood in his honor.

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JOAN ABRAMS

Communications and accom- panying technolgies are moving and changing sooo quickly, it is difficult to predict where we will be in 5 years, let alone 10. But I'm still optimistic, look-ing forward to having one of those communicators that the Star Trek folks had on their uniforms. You give it a tap and say, “Kirk, here!” I want to be able to do that. “Grabiner, here.”

Los Angeles, 2019. I have been there. Many times. It is the world of Blade Runner. I will live in the underground. Carry an antique imagination weapon. Converse with dol-phins. Save frugally for tita-nium joint and organ replace-ment surgeries. Surf in the data stream. And be known as communicator.

I think the next 5–10 years are going to continue to be revolu-tionary times in media. We're seeing a convergence of hard-ware as well as content and delivery systems. New media means new ideas that will be experimented with and devel-oped. The most exciting thing for me is realizing that many of the jobs our communications graduates will work at haven't even been invented yet.

There are two realms: the communications of the past and the communications of the future. But, they are re-ally the same because the ba-sic tools of communication will not change–the mechanics and the ideas. No matter how so-phisticated we get in the digi-tal world, people still need to communicate with good words, good sentences, good paragraphs and good ideas presented in the proper way.

Public Relations Executive is often cited as one of the 10 most stressful jobs. I don't think that the pressure will ease over the next 5–10 years but the great news is that this pro-fession is growing at a rapid pace. It seems that every public individual or organi-zation realize that they need the expertise of smart, social network savvy, technology lit-erate public relations people who write and think clearly and analyze effectively.

ELLEN GRABINER

SID BERGER

BOB WHITE

LEN MAILLOUX

The field of Web Design moves so quickly it is hard to pre-dict where it will go in the next year, let alone in five to 10 years. This rapid rate of change and growth is one of the most exciting aspects of the field. I believe we can expect to be working on new and challenging design prob-lems, designing for a variety of mobile devices and tradi-tional desktop computers.

In the area of public relations and marketing communica-tions, I see greater reliance on social media to connect peo-ple to ideas and products. As our cynicism about traditional advertising continues to grow, new forms of advertising that mimic word of mouth will be-come ubiquitous on social me-dia sites. I fear a brave new world in which even our per-sonal relationships are up for sale.

ALISSA MILLER

MARLENE FINE

FacultySTAFF&FacultySTAFFWhere do you see the communications field going in the next 5—10 years?

COMMTRACKS

Then & Now • 2012 • 27

I'm confident the field of com-munications will transform in the next 5–10 years due to the innovative, smart, and for-ward-thinking students of this department.

No matter what else, there will always be a need for concise, accurate information present-ed in an effective and engag-ing manner. If you can do that, you can do anything.

The GUI (graphic user inter-face) that we have all used for years will be different. It already has changed. Desk-tops, folders, and files will be replaced by something more universal, something probably related to touch.

Our digital culture is chang-ing rapidly each year. This means that as communicators, there will be more pressure on the industry to be well versed in communications technologies in order to produce content for mobile devices, platforms and social media. With the avail-ability of media production this democratization of media may lead to a more open system concerning copyright.

Intended audiences for all communications will continue to exert more control over mes-saging. I also believe there will be more demand for com-munications people who have broad tactical skills and who can think strategically in ap-plying those tactical skills.

We'll still be talking with one another –the question is how? The integration of the aural and visual will be almost to-tal, the cacophony will have peaked, and we'll be focusing on screens and filters to help us limit the quantity of infor-mation coming at us. Those who communicate simply and clearly will be in constant de-mand. Those who add to the noise will be a dime a dozen.

Our Globalization on a Shoe-string, course meeting “virtu-ally,” the students, separated by oceans and thousands of miles, projecting themselves into each other's classroom, thanks to 3D imaging and scanning. Wow.

JUDITH ARONSON

DAN CONNELL

MJ CRAIGGABRIELA ANTUNES

ANDREW PORTER

JUDITH RICHLAND

JAMES CORCORAN

ThE

REX MIXAWARDTammy Ford

COMMTRACKS

Then & Now • 2012 • 29

James Corcoran, Communications Department chair, understands this, as do the faculty, staff, and students.

At the Mix party, Corcoran discussed the de-partment’s success. He said earning the award was not an individual honor, but was due to the hard work of the department and all who sup-port it. He specifically thanked Professor Marlene Fine, who spearheaded the application process and Alissa Miller and MJ Craig, who designed a website showcasing student work.

Corcoran, who traveled to New Orleans to receive the award, said that NCA was impressed by the interactive, student-centered, creative approach to communications that honored the past and addressed the future.

With many positive remarks while accepting the award, Corcoran said the experience was both humbling and exhilarating. He also said how great it was to be around people who understood what we were trying to do at Simmons. •

Alissa Miller, multimedia labs and classrooms manager, James Corcoran, depatment chair & MJ Craig, assistant lab manager

CommTracks won First Class Distinction from the Associated Collegiate Press. Simmons College Radio was awarded a platinum microphone from the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System and stu-dents Cristina Aiello and Katie Vasconcelos took home two national finalist awards for their show “CK Our Way.” The National Communications Associa-tion presented the Rex Mix Award to the Communications Department at Simmons College, topping off a year filled with recognition. The prestigious award recognizes programs with a strong curriculum, broad student engagement, and enrichment opportunities.

The department celebrated the Rex Mix Award with current students, alumni, faculty and staff at a party in December.

According to the NCA review committee's com-ments, they were impressed with the program’s 21st century approach to preparing students for today's careers in communications. Professor

it has been a year of awards and honorsfor the simmons Communications department...

30 • Then & Now • 2012

While evolutionary changes have allowed the Communications Department at Simmons College to expand, at its heart it remains fueled by the same power by which it was created: the fuel of ideas, the oil of inspiration, the diesel of discourse.

“When I started, we used stone tablets,” joked Professor Bob White, remembering the machinery that would seem downright primitive to today’s de-sign students. “It started in the 1980s with film and video. We had a cart with one black and white video camera and a reel-to-reel video recorder.”

In the early 1970s, there were no computers for the writers or designers. In the mid 1980s, a typing room was installed, complete with carbon-copy pa-per typewriters. Graphic designers were much more familiar with X-Acto knives than computer mice, and they had a book binding machine to string together pages printed on a movable type printing press.

While some aspects of the department have changed drastically, like the tools the students use, others have stayed largely the same.

When White started teaching Communications Media, he was in a room with only a screen and a projector. Now, four decades later, he still uses a screen and projector, but has easy access to all kinds of other media.

“The stuff is kind of similar, but the technology you use to make it keeps getting newer," he said.

It’s the

That MatterIDEASThat MatterIt’s the

Maria Costigan

COMMTRACKS

White’s course material has changed, while also staying the same on a fundamental level. He has had the opportunity, he said, to learn new skills along with his students, while keeping the fundamental concepts of communications at the foundation of his courses.

“If I had stayed in English, I’d still be teaching Hamlet and Macbeth, which haven’t changed at all,” he said.

Neither the old ways nor the new ways are bet-ter, he said. “There is something very basic about doing communication. It’s too rich and too wonderful to pigeonhole.”

When digital video editing software became avail-able, only one computer station had it. Since then, each professor has had to learn various versions of editing software, computer operating systems, cam-era operations, and recording media.

New TooLs, New sKiLLsIn order to stay competitive, the department’s devic-es and software are upgraded every five years, said Communications Department chair, Professor James Corcoran. As a result of this growth, students have been able to produce higher quality, more profes-sional projects.

“This is where the field is heading,” said Corcoran. “Plus, it’s good for students to get an idea of what they’ll be using when they get jobs.”

But ultimately, he said, “Technology is just a tool. Computers don’t make us smarter.”

The internet is great for journalists, he said. They can do research that they weren’t able to do before. It’s easier to take risks and experiment because the fix is only a few keystrokes away. Web comics, blogs, web series, and all of the so-called “new media” have emerged due to the somewhat flippant nature of the internet. The good ideas survive, the bad ones

They need to have confidence, first, in themselves and second, in their ideas.... Think critically, have a sense of wonder. A computer doesn’t give you that.

— James Corcoran

fade to the deepest depths of cyberspace. It’s a sort of digital natural selection. Survival of the most entertaining.

“It allows you to experiment with your style of writing. In the old days you’d have to retype the whole thing all over again,” said Corcoran.

But he warns students not to take this ease for granted. Not everything that comes out of the Comm Lab printers is gold.

“Technology has made communications easier, but it might be too easy at times,” he said. “I think sometimes throwing things down just for the sake of throwing things down can get you all befuddled rather than offer clarity.”

iT’s sTiLL The peopLeBut these cast-off ideas are part of the creative process, one that allows students to develop and grow as communicators. Corcoran’s solution to the problem of technical simplicity is to depend on what has proven reliable for all successful com-municators: their ideas.

“Where the problem arises is when people think that the newest toy is going to make them smarter. They need to have confidence, first in themselves and second in their ideas,” said Corcoran. “That is something that comes from within, it doesn’t come from the latest computer software. Think critically, have a sense of wonder. A computer doesn't give you that.”

Students of the present might have a different take on that argument. In an era where so often success and gadgetry are inseparable, and access to information raises expectations of knowledge, it is easy to rely on technology to create ideas.

Professor White agrees. It’s not the tools. It’s the people. “The invention of the typewriter didn’t make more good literature.”

Ultimately, what these Communications Depart-ment stalwarts are trying to get across is this; don’t forget to use your brains.

“It’s important to emphasize to our students that what they’ve got upstairs is their brains. That is the tool. That’s what’s really going to take them someplace,” said Corcoran. •

34 • Then & Now • 2012

ThatFilmsFilms

Tammy Ford

SPEAKFilmsSPEAKJudith Richland is working on presenting so-cially responsible films. Simmons students are the audience.

With the money Richland received from the Simmons College Presidential Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council (PDIAC), she locates filmmakers who deal with diversity and social issues plaguing the world. Then she screens their films at Simmons.

The proposal, which took Richland two months to design, was a joint effort with other faculty members.

Richland’s request to screen five films as part of the grant proposal for the Com-munications Department's Diversity in Films Genres is ending this year. The class of 2012 is fortunate to be a part of this project.

Richland, known to everyone as Judy, is also the adviser to the newly formed Sim-mons Cinematic Society.

COMMTRACKS

That

Then & Now • 2012 • 33

Starting in 2010, Richland has brought numerous films to the Simmons community.

Front Runner: The Afghan Woman Who Ran for President, Ted Kennedy, The Last Brother, Night Catches Us, The Best of Youth, and OKA!. These films have been inspiring social commentaries of various worldwide pro-social concerns.

The films that Richland brings to the Sim-mons community are unlike the films that typ-ically come out of Hollywood. The female filmmakers who screen and discuss their films with students have important messages to convey and poignant stories to tell. The sto-ries these films portray help us to look outside of our narcissistic American value system.

“If we are going to be citizens of the world we need to know what’s going on,” Richland said.

Richland shows films which try to illustrate a pro-social issue and demonstrate a human struggle. The Simmons Cinematic Society members have been working on the project as well, locating filmmakers and doing data entry as part of the research effort. Rich-land says it is all about student engagement.

Because the PDIAC grant requires a mea-surable result, students take a survey after watching the films. The surveys measure the films' impact on students, whether students are understanding and learning about the issues presented, and if student attitudes about the issues have changed.

Dr. Ed Vieira, who has a background in statistical analytics, is conducting the analysis of the data collected from the surveys.

After the spring semester, Richland will be writing up the results from her PDIAC grant and answering the question, “Do the movies that students are viewing help them to see and empathize with the issues being pre-sented?”

Stay tuned for further details. •

In the fall, the Communications Department will imple-ment a new curriculum, which will allow the department to continue to innovate while preparing students for fu-ture jobs, according to James Corcoran.

There will be several significant changes made to the curriculum, including adding new courses and changing the core requirements for the communications major.

The core requirements will decrease from five courses to four courses. “This new core emphasizes the theoreti-cal underpinnings needed by all good communicators,” said Corcoran.

Media, Messages, and Society, Visual Communica-tions, and Writing and Editing Across the Media will still be a part of the core. The fourth core course will be a senior seminar called Storytelling.

The purpose of the seminar will be to give students an opportunity to read in depth about a current issue in communications and to develop an independent re-search project about that issue, according to Corcoran.

“It will continue our commitment to combining theory and practice in the curriculum, and allow us to add a required 300-level course to the major.”

With a decrease in core requirements, students will have the chance to explore their areas of concentration more in depth.

The addition of three new courses, including the seminar, will help the exploration process. Media Convergence (Backpack Journalism), a 200-level course, will teach communications students theories of aural and visual aesthetics.

Digital Cultures: Communication and Social Media, a 300-level course, will focus on the growth of social media. “It’s important to note that particular sites like Twitter may come and go in this fast-changing environ-ment,” said Corcoran. “This course will help students learn how to apply the core values of communication practices to media forms in a variety of ways.”

Two of the concentrations, formerly known as tracks, are being renamed. The writing track will become the journalism concentration and the integrated media track will become the Media Arts concentration.

Additionally, a minor will be available in each of the concentration areas.

“We are staying ahead of the curve to give our stu-dents what they need to succeed,” said Corcoran. •

CurriculumCHANGEmeGaN wiNsLow

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