Note from the Chair
With your support, we are growing and innovating
Department Chair
I have terrific news on several fronts. Too much good news, in fact, for me to do it all justice in this Chair’s Note. So let me just hint for the moment about some things coming down the pike in future months: we are going to grow (some more) and we are going to innovate (some more). It’s been a tough several years financially for higher education, but we have not taken a single step backward in our program. This is only possible because of the support — in all kinds of ways — of many of you receiving this newsletter. Thank you.
OK, on to three big items for this newsletter.
First, the Department of Communication is pleased to announce our Alumni Hall of Fame class of 2012: Ann Darling, Lorraine Howell, Katie King, Elaine Ikoma Ko, Doug Ramsey. I encourage you to read our story in this newsletter about these five; they are remarkable individuals. They will be inducted on October 16 at the UW Club on campus. Please join us.
We created the Alumni Hall of Fame in 2004 because we have so many quality, impactful alumni. From the beginning, we decided that having a superb career was not the most important characteristic in our consideration of potential inductees. Rather, we seek to honor people who have changed lives by being pioneers, mentors, innovators, servants, idealists, and so much more.
Every year I am challenged and humbled by our Hall of Fame entering class. To a person, they have made vital, lasting, and significant impacts on our public good. And to a person, they have experienced challenges, difficult moments, and fallen down. Fortunately for all of us, they picked themselves up and tried again. That’s the message we deliver every day to our students: you are certain to encounter challenges; how you respond is what will set you apart.
Pat Cranston is a vibrant example of making her way (and this is my second big item). She taught in the former School of Communications for 36 years, with a focus on broadcasting, film, and TV production. She was the first female faculty member to gain tenure in the School of Communications, and her positive impact on students is legendary. If there is an alum working in visual communication who graduated from the School in the 1960s, 1970s, or 1980s, there is a high likelihood that the individual counted Professor Cranston as a forging influence. She believed in students, and when she challenged them they strove for her high standards.
One of the students shaped by Pat is Manjunath Pendakur, who has gone on to be a very successful professor and academic administrator. Manju and his wife established a fund in 2010 to honor Professor Cranston, and I am pleased to announce that we have now named it the Pat Cranston Student Creativity Endowed Fund. The goal is to make available small amounts of funding to support students who have creative ideas and just need a modest amount of money to give something a try. Examples include the purchase of certain technology or software, airfare to pitch an idea in Hollywood, registration for a student competition, or something in this vein. The key is creativity.
I have had the chance to get to know Pat a bit in recent years, and she is a strong, kind woman. We have a story about her in this newsletter, and I encourage you to pay it forward in honor of a mentor in your life by contributing to the new fund. All support will go to students.
And for my final news in this Chair’s Note, I am very pleased to welcome a new Assistant Professor into our ranks this autumn. Katy Pearce is an expert in mobile technologies and social media, with a particular focus on Central Europe. She worked at the U.S. State Department as a public opinion analyst, holds degrees from the University of Michigan (B.A.), the University of London (M.A.), and University of California at Santa Barbara (Ph.D.). She has taught most recently at Georgetown University.
Katy will contribute her expertise to our emphases in Communication Technology and Society, Global Communication, and Communication and Culture. She will also teach our core Research Methods course in our Master program in Digital Media. She is wicked smart, has a relentless work ethic (this is manifestly apparent already), and is well on her way to building an international research record of renown. She was selected from an applicant pool of 225+ applicants — the most we’ve ever had for a faculty position. We are a very good program now, and Katy will make us better.
That’s it for now. Thank you for all of your support. It’s a privilege to be a Department of Communication in a time of massive social change and public interest in all things communication. Onward.
