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Numbers say a lot about the communication program’s 50 years at Boston College: three full-time faculty in 1961, eight in 1991, 18 in 2011; a handful of undergraduate majors in 1961, 80 in 1973, 916 in 2011.
For Communication Department faculty, students and alumni, however, numbers are only part of the story.
The program’s 50 years has coincided with enormous changes in news, broadcast and entertainment media, with corresponding complex, inter-related effects on society, including higher education. But even as BC’s communication program has adapted to these changes, it has stayed true to the enduring artistic, humanistic and scientific principles of communication — and the time-honored aspects of the classic Jesuit, Catholic liberal arts tradition are the central pillars.
Along the way it’s become one of BC’s most popular undergraduate majors, the number of enrollees at or near the top every year, including 2011 [see separate story]. “We’ve kept our emphasis on elements that are central to the liberal arts mission of BC: writing, analysis, theory,” says Professor Lisa Cuklanz, a 20-year faculty member who is the Communication chairwoman. “We want to graduate students who can apply broader academic skills to a wide range of fields, whether in journalism, public relations, the entertainment industry, law, or wherever they may go.”
A small sampling of communication graduates includes former Massachusetts Lt. Governor Thomas P. O’Neill III ’68, New York State Supreme Court Justice Darcel Clark ’83, First Amendment lawyer Patrick Carome ’80, actress-comedian Amy Poehler ’93, WHDH-TV reporter Nicole Oliverio ’03 and Christine Caswell ’89, a former broadcast journalist who is now the Communication Department’s director of undergraduate studies. Earlier this month, the department welcomed guest speaker Ceci Connolly ’85, a highly acclaimed Washington Post reporter and now a public policy researcher, as a commemoration of the program’s 50-year anniversary; a social event is planned for next semester.
The 50-year milestone also has been an opportunity for members of the BC community to reflect on the program’s history, tradition and character, and the legacy of its first full-time faculty: John H. Lawton, Joseph Larkin, SJ, and Mary Kinnane.
Oratory, debate and public speaking have long been a part of Boston College, whether in the curriculum or the prestigious Fulton Debating Society. In 1961, the University introduced a formal, comprehensive program pulling together courses in speech, theater and speech pathology, later incorporating mass communication and interpersonal communication; the School of Education took on the speech pathology program in 1982. Known as the Department of Speech, Communication and Theater for many years, the department assumed its present name and form in 1993 when theatre became an independent program.
Associate Professor Donald Fishman, the assistant department chairman and a veteran of almost four decades in the program, says the word “communication” did not begin to enter the academic lexicon until well after World War II.
“‘Rhetoric’ was the word when I first came here,” he says. “The students you would most commonly see had been orators or yearbook editors in high school, who came to feel the program was the best fit for them. But now many students in the program, even before they come to BC, know they want to be communication majors.” Even students who don’t fit that profile, adds Fishman, have been able to find a place within the program through guidance and inspiration — direct or indirect — from the department faculty.
Junior Victoria Greco certainly did. After exploring several possible majors as a freshman, in sophomore year she took Rhetorical Tradition from Associate Professor Bonnie Jefferson and, within a week, knew she wanted to choose communication (she also majors in psychology): “[Jefferson] doesn’t know me by name, but she’s the reason I’m a communication major.” A summer study abroad opportunity with Cuklanz in France affirmed Greco’s choice.
Senior Eric Strobel, a communication and English major, also cites his classroom experiences with Jefferson as formational. “She's a great lecturer, and created an engaging, ongoing discussion in American Public Address in regards to the different methods and levels of discourse throughout American people,” says Strobel, who is considering law school after graduation.
“I'd say that the entire major program has given me a strong base in all areas of the field, whether it's PR, broadcasting, or advertising, to name just a few. I'm confident that that base will serve me well in whatever field I ultimately choose to be a part of.”
Darren Schwiebert, a 1992 communication alumnus who is now a trial lawyer in Minneapolis, credits Associate Professor Dale Herbeck for getting him involved in the Fulton Debating Society — of which Herbeck, who also has served as department chair, was director at the time — and thus putting him on track for his eventual profession.
“The Fulton experience was very important in helping me learn about rhetoric, argument and persuasion, which of course are integral to the practice of law,” says Schwiebert, who has been a guest judge for Fulton debates. “I think the historical roots of BC as a Jesuit, Catholic institution play a big role in how communication is taught at BC. The foundation it provides you will continually sustain and encourage you.”
Cuklanz is likewise quick to praise her colleagues. “Our faculty publications have increased exponentially over the past decade, and research honors from Broadcast Education Association National Communication Association and International Radio & Television Society Foundation have established us as a top department in the discipline.”
Teaching, however, is where the Communication Department ultimately succeeds, she adds. “As the number of communication majors has grown, it’s important to realize that the quality of students who come to BC has also risen. It’s incumbent on our faculty — and this is true across BC — to challenge these sharp, well-prepared students academically while offering guidance for their post-BC choices.
“From what we’ve seen and heard, our faculty does that very well.”