University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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. story by lessica 1 foyout emma cartwrujfit ' Dramatic changes occurred in the Department of Communication Studies during 1996. CcwfaM idy asi de as the University undertook a comprehensive review of the Communica- tions Department and its programs. An LSA Faculty Advisory Committee, with members representing a variety of disciplines including communications, found the department -- although small by college standards -- was attempting to do too many things insufficiently related to one another, with too few tenure-track faculty to be successful in all of its programs, said Department Head Vincent Price. The University felt tkz d patitme it4 on p -pM eMJanal and esi l a ifo miMum oLJ}A. They believed that the Communications Department was doing too much to prepare students to get a job, and not enough to educate them in the liberal arts tradition. The committee found that the undergraduate canceMJsitfii M, w-aA- liswctu iedl p du,. Stu- dents were not able to develop and refine their knowledge by building upon skills in each course. The faculty contained more lecturers and adjunct teachers then tenure-track faculty and its division of purpose placed it at a significant disadvantage; lib- eral arts education, and doctoral education are gener- ally linked very tightly, added Price. The University is definitely based upon hierar- chy. The mo4i jMu ii ' oile a ie the, he spirit driving the University is interested in theory. They don ' t believe theory, history and practice can be integrated. Their vision is looking backwards, instead of forwards. The University is saying you can ' t combine a hands-on theory with contemporary theory which is a joke. Richard Campbell former professor of communications Students and faculty are at the bottom of the ladder. Even though the University claims to have spoken with the students, the students are not included in reports used to make decisions, said Richard Campbell, a former communica- tions professor who lost his job due to these changes. Following, Campbell taught courses in the School of Art. Gabriel M. Correa The University recognized thzvu uy ( Im UOHCe of communication studies and decided that the program should be continued, but that its position in the field should be strengthened. Thus, the Communications Department became the Department of Communica- tion Studies, as it underwent many changes. Communications courses focused more on the study of mass communication as a social phenomenon, and were instructed by a tenure-track faculty. All journalism based classes were eliminated. Due to this change of focus, seven lecturers who taught applied classes were fired. Faculty members who worked within the Department of Communication Studies were upset with the change. According to these faculty members, the communications program looked more like a political science or psychology department. The spirit driving the University is interested in theory. They don ' t believe Ut C u , wAJ Uj, atul psiactice can be integrated. Their vision is looking backwards, instead of forwards. The University is saying you can ' t combine a hands- on theory with contemporary theory which is a joke, concluded Campbell. Department of Communication Studies 61

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teaching assistant in the Department of Communications Studies helps Jennifer Genovese and Evan Gallinson with a computer program. After being reviewed by an LSA faculty committee, it was decided that there needed to be major changes in the curriculum. While some students and professors thought the changes were beneficial, others, especially those faculty members who lost their jobs, thought the changes undermined a solid and successful program. )Q + Department of Communication Studies

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awd w-iik TAYIN story by qeorge (ayout By emmrca, What would have happened to University students if tke-JriteSwet were to disintegrate? I wouldn ' t have a job, answered LSA junior computing consultant Sireen Reddy. Others, such as senior Jose Bartolomei felt differently. I ' d simply roll over and get an extra 15 minutes of sleep, said Bartolomei. The answers to this question varied depending on whom one talked to. One thing was certain however the presence of the Internet at the University grew steadily in the number of users and applications over the last few years. The most popular Internet device was PINE, the University ' s -mail processing system. Nineteen-hundred and ninety-six was the first year that all students were given access to PINE. What used to be an engineers only club quickly became a universal message system when the Information Technology Division (ITD) decided to dissolve its other message system, MTS, in 1995. Access to the Wide- gave students the power to obtain information on an unlimited number of top- ics. LSA senior Steve Antone ex- plained, I have relied on elec- tronic mail for years now to communicate with many people at once. It would be much more difficult, and probably more expensive to contact everyone involved. It is much amvetuerit to- le ea ion topics on the Internet; it saves time and is more current, With all of these virtues, it was unlikely that anyone could find fault with Internet use at the University. However, there were problems. Very few high schools had Internet services as complex as the University ' s which was often overwhelming for first-year students. They are given instant access, and the transition can be tricky, said ITD consultant and LSA junior Josh Henschell. Confidentiality issues also arose with regard to Internet access. In mid-September, it was revealed that the UMMfruetiameA, and p d4w wU Qfr masuf liudt k ts dfd The incident caused alarm for many students because they no longer felt that their Internet access was safe. Now I am worried that someone will find out my password and be able to get a lot of information about me, said sophomore engineering student Rachel Teall. Instant access gave students a new way to contact their professors. However, problems occurred when professors either didn ' t check their e-mail, or were bombarded with messages from their students. Michael Sharkey, a senior math and economics major, said, One of my professors told my class not to e-mail him because he got too many messages. 62 The Internet iefertari Thomas uses a computer located at the Angell Hall computing site. Due to the popularity of all 16 campus computing sites, students were often forced to wait in long lines before gaining access to a computer. The main server at the School of Engineering was the most heavily used mail server in the country. Joshua Grcenberi;