Welcome from Jessica Jameson, Department Head

We are very excited to welcome our new communication majors and welcome back our returning majors this (somewhat unusual) Fall 2020! They say that “necessity is the mother of invention,” and we have certainly learned new ways to connect in this time of social and physical distancing.

I really enjoyed meeting many incoming students at the summer orientations held on Zoom, which is a great example of how traditionally face-to-face interactions can be successfully held in online spaces! Our faculty have been working diligently to develop new ways to deliver course material online or in hybrid spaces so that in some cases we can see you in our classrooms. While our staff will have a limited presence in 201 Winston Hall (our main office), we are here to support you and can be reached at the phone numbers and email addresses listed on our website faculty and staff page. Our director of advising, Cynthia Zuckerman Hyman, says more about how to reach our advising team in her welcome column below.

We have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic that communication is more important than ever–whether it is how we communicate complex scientific information, persuading people to adopt safe health practices, managing virtual meetings and classes, connecting with family, friends and clients and examining the disproportional impact of a health crisis and mediation communication on social groups — our faculty are studying communication phenomena that should make for very interesting, timely and engaging conversations in our classes.

We hope you are as enthusiastic as we are about joining the conversations. Have a fabulous fall semester and please reach out if I can help you in any way!