By Tracy F. Harris
The Department of Communication at the University of Louisville has to keep up with the ever-evolving media — and that means continuous adaptation on the department’s part.
Increasingly, people read the news online — just another step in media evolution. Before that it was television, and before that, radio.
According to John Ferre, a professor in the department since its creation in the mid-1980s, the department has two purposes to fulfill: preparing pre-professional students, and preparing the “generalist” students. Pre-professional students are the ones headed into the media after graduation; generalists are the ones who plan on using the degree outside the field.
The department gives all its students, regardless of their career plans, a well-rounded education. There are liberal requirements, as well as a variety of communication courses. Those communication courses cover a wide spectrum of the field, from journalism to public speaking.
The department has an interesting and spotted history. Even members of the department’s faculty who have been there from the beginning are fuzzy on the details. Al Futrell, department chair, was one of the first six faculty members hired in the department. Those first hirings were for the 1984-85 school year; Charles Willard had been appointed department chair the year before. Ferre and Shirley Willihnganz, now the university’s provost, were also hired that first year; the other three faculty members have since left the university.
The department, still young compared to the age of the university, was founded after the University College shut down. University College was part of U of L’s “urban mission,” which it was given when it entered the state system in 1970. The program consisted mainly of night courses and catered to working professionals who wanted to further their education. Instead of departments, University College had programs — one of which was a strong communication curriculum with a heavy emphasis in journalism.
When University College was closed, university President John Swain wanted to create a Communication Department in the College of Arts and Sciences. As part of A&S, the Communication Department had to round out its program with more liberal arts courses and other communication fields. That included transferring speech classes over from the Theater Arts program. “They really belonged more over in Communication,” Futrell said.
However, when the Communication Department was created, the journalism emphasis tapered off. “Students get more of a liberal arts degree with a flavor of journalism,” Futrell said.
The University of Kentucky and Western Kentucky University both offer journalism degrees, unlike U of L, but members of the Communication Department’s faculty don’t think that hurts the department.
“Students come in all the time and say they want to do journalism,” Futrell said, and the department is always honest in stating there isn’t a journalism program at U of L. However, the university does tout the number of media outlets in the city as evening out the difference.
Ferre pointed out that, after all, Communication is one of the largest majors in A&S.
But to compete with other schools and to prepare students for a career after college, the Communication Department must constantly update the curriculum. There are several changes in the works, faculty said. Futrell is working on creating a master’s program in the department, but he said he has no control over when that might be offered. The department is still writing the proposal for the program, and it has yet to be submitted.
New course offerings reflect on changes in the workforce and in student interest. According to professor Stuart Esrock, a new Video Communication class has been offered as a special topic for a couple years, but faculty are hoping to petition next year to permanently add the course.
Esrock said he would like to see the department add more broadcast courses in the future as well.
Another proposed step is to create a special topic course called Advanced News Writing, which would be taught at the 300 level. The course would be open only to students with professional experience, according to Futrell and professor Margaret D’Silva.
“Students taking this course will have some newspaper writing experience, either with the local newspapers or The Cardinal,” D’Silva said. Course topics will include news judgment, professional standards, ethical issues and effective story reporting, she said.
Futrell said a similar course had been offered in the past but was eliminated due to poor enrollment. He hopes, however, that students will take the course and gain some “practical experience in more controversial issues,” he said.
