Welcome Message
August 19, 2024
Friends,
The beginning of the academic year always feels like a fresh start. I treat it in much the same way as I do the New Year, reflecting on what has been and imagining what might be. Here in the A.Q. Miller School of Media and Communication, we are preparing for another incredible year of learning, teaching, exploring, researching, making and doing. Our students are returning to us — some from incredible summer internships, others from co-curricular experiences and professional development activities. Our faculty and staff are busy preparing to welcome our students to this new year, this fresh start.
Not that the A.Q. Miller School ever sleeps.
Even during summer, our students, faculty and staff, alumni and friends have been advancing the school's mission of “cultivating communication, inspiring stories and elevating voices for the common good.” Our award-winning faculty have been researching the most pressing issues in communication and media or offering summer courses so students can graduate on time. Our co-curricular teams and organizations hosted workshops and retreats for high school students. Our professional advisors met with Media & Communication students, readying them for what’s next, whether that’s graduation or their very first class in the School. We are always moving, always innovating, always imagining what is next. When it doesn’t exist, we work with our community partners to build it.
I like to say that the School of Media and Communication prepares students for a world that does not yet exist. That means it is our responsibility to speak, think and be ahead of the curve. And since the merging of two historic units — The A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications and the Department of Communication Studies — we have made innovation our mission.
By honoring our august past, we have built or reinvigorated four outstanding undergraduate programs, updated our graduate offerings, developed new certificates and microcredentials, and challenged ourselves to keep imagining a better world for ourselves and others. We know that the future of learning (and working!) is collective, agile and hands-on; so in the School of Media and Communication we challenge our students and ourselves to take what we learn in the classroom and apply it towards the greater good. Our students don’t have to wait until they graduate to get the experience they need. They can start day one in our award-winning student media organizations; competitive speech, debate and mock-trial teams; clubs and (honor)societies; and more.
Whether you’re a prospective student, a community or industry partner, an alumnus or friend, we invite you to learn more about the school. Schedule a visit or drop us a line. We look forward to building the future with you.
Heather Suzanne Woods, Ph.D.
Director, A.Q. Miller School of Media and Communication