Recognized for classes centered around civic engagement and community development

The Communication Studies Department has been awarded the 2012 Rex Mix Program of Excellence Award from the National Communication Association (NCA), the country’s largest organization in the communication studies field. The department will officially receive the award at the NCA’s annual convention in Orlando, Florida, Nov. 15-18. The award generally commends the innovation and dedication of undergraduate Communications Studies programs.

“About seven years ago, we wanted to make a change in the traditional courses offered to make them more about civic life and to make it more useful for preparing students to make arguments. We wanted the students to apply skills in public arguments and to engage them meaningfully in their community,” Communication Studies and Gender, Women and Sexuality Professor Leila Brammer, a central figure in the department’s changes, said.

The public discourse class has been an integral part of the communications studies programs. The course allows for students to practice the public argument skills by applying what they’ve learned into a semester long civic engagement project. Students typically address a problem in their hometown communities, research on the issues facing the community, and work towards implementing an action plan to remedy problems. Issues addressed have ranged from bullying to loss of arts programs to adult obesity.

“Students come away with educational and public skills, empowering themselves as strong citizens. It really is a transformational education experience,” Brammer said.

“The award reflects the efforts of the department. It’s a movement towards issues of civic engagement and civic advocacy. And the Public Discourse class has become a national model adopted by different universities,” Brammer said.

Senior Communication Studies and French Major Anna Morton, who took the course two year ago, decided to conduct her Public Discourse project on child sponsorship, based on an upcoming trip to Rwanda.

“I emailed back and forth with different orphanages in Kenya and Berundi and got to see which had the best practices and got to know what was happening there. I compiled this big sheet of info and saw what worked best. My final action step was presenting the information to the organization. The director was very appreciative of the work that I had done. My work hasn’t been implemented, but I actually got to work with another non-profit and give input about communications processes.

“I think it’s great for Gustavus to be recognized as having one of the best communication studies departments in the nation. The professors have put so much into planning, and their passion in to making this an outstanding program,” Morton said.

“I appreciate all the projects. The variety and structure of the communications courses has been a great way for me to shape what I want to learn. You can really get breadth and depth in how you choose classes,” Morton said.

The Public Discourse class has been one innovation that represents the kind of work we do in the department.

“The award has a strong history in the communications discipline and at the same time is on the cutting edge of communications studies. Moving those ideas forward and seeing them in a variety of contexts such as the media, in performance, in interpersonal communications red,” Professor in Communication Studies Pamela Conners said.

“There are two reasons as to why we were able to do such significant work and focus on teaching. The professors in the department are phenomenal. We all work together, share the load, and work hard to give the students the best experiences. The second reason is the students. Our majors and other students outside the department give us feedback to provide changes and innovations. We have a great group of students who are easy to care about,” Brammer said.

“Since I became a faculty member last year, I’ve been thrilled to work with students who are thoughtful and engaged. They are able to form the responsibilities as citizens in multiple contexts: at home, on campus, in their workplaces,” Conners said.

“The faculty across the department is top notch. Our different research interests and ideas about communication studies both allow us to challenge each other as professors. I think that is what leads to innovation and creativity in the courses we teach and the relationships we have with our students and the research we do,” Conners said.

Brammer hopes the award will project great things to come.

“I expect that we will keep moving forward, reevaluating how to best give the students the greatest experiences we can. We are not going to rest on our laurels. You can rest assured,” Brammer said.