Communication department to broaden curriculum
The USC Aiken Communication Department hopes to entice undecided students with new classes.
The department recently hired a new professor to teach media and other digital-related courses. In addition to hiring a new professor, Dr. David Morris, the department also plans to reshape the curriculum in the coming months.
The addition of a new professor was intended to offer a wider range of media and digital arts classes, something that the department has been wanting to do for some time according to department officials.
“Next term I am actually going to be teaching visual comm 2, which is not something that we have taught in a while,” said Morris. “I’m also looking at the possibility of getting more equipment into the communication department.”
Morris graduated from the University of Oregon with a Ph.D. in media studies. He hopes to use his knowledge to inspire a new generation of communication majors at USCA.
In addition to Visual Communication 2, Morris will also be teaching sections of Digital Storytelling as well as other media-related classes. These classes are intended to help communication students find jobs in diverse backgrounds and fields, which is why they are required to take some of them in order to graduate.
“There are so many jobs that you are qualified for with a communication degree, because you get such a large-scale education,” said Morris.
The restructuring of the communication department’s curriculum would come as the department celebrates its 20-year anniversary. Morris was hired as a replacement for Professor Peggy Elliott, who retired last summer.
Dr. Benjamin Triana, a member of the department, shared his optimism on the new changes around the department. Triana said he was excited to see what the future has in store for the communication department. He also looked forward to welcoming a new department official and reworking the curriculum.
“If you want a growing area where there's going to be jobs and there's going to opportunity, it’s communication,” said Triana.
The communication department also hopes to revamp the Media Club as well as USCA's chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, which is the communication department’s honor society.
Dr. Jason Munsell became faculty advisor of USCA’s Lambda Pi Eta chapter last fall.
Lambda Pi Eta inducted 29 new students in the spring which is a trend Munsell hopes to continue into next year. He began teaching at USCA last year and was excited to help better the program and the students.
“We are always working hard to make sure we have the best possible program,” said Munsell. “We have really created a rather robust program so that we can proudly say that this semester is better than last semester and this year is better than last year.”
Students who are interested in the communication department should contact Dr. Charmaine Wilson via email CharW@usca.edu for more information.
