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The School
of Communications Advisory Board welcomed five new members at its
fall gathering Sept. 29 and 30. New additions to the board are Kelly
Carlton, creative director for Intralink Film Graphic Design in
Los Angeles; Mary Beth Marklein, higher education reporter for USA
Today; Mary Straub, Elon University trustee and alumnus and former
Pendulum editor; James L. Winston, executive director and general
counsel for the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters
in Washington, D.C.; and H. Graham Woodlief, vice president of Media
General Inc. and president of its publishing division.
The meeting
was strategically scheduled so board members could enjoy hearing
New York Times foreign affairs columnist Thomas Friedman deliver
the Baird Pulitzer Lecture at Fall Convocation. Special guests were
Frank Daniels Jr., retired president and publisher of The News &
Observer Publishing Co. in Raleigh, and Rebecca Clark, director
of the Piedmont Triad Film Commission in Greensboro.
 Board
members shared a luncheon with Student Advisory Board and faculty
members. They were joined by Elon President Leo Lambert. He gave
them a briefing on new developments at the university. School of
Communications Dean Paul Parsons later met with the group to discuss
accreditation, development of program and scholarship support and
the school's curriculum.
Faculty members
presented a rapid-fire look at the new curriculum in an afternoon
session titled "Quick Curric." They spent two to four
minutes on each of 22 key and core courses, explaining content and
goals for each, so board members could later give input on strengths
and weaknesses.
Board members
were in the audience for an afternoon question-and-answer session
with Friedman, attended Friedman's Baird Pulitzer Lecture and also
took part in a post-speech reception in Friedman's honor.
Each year,
the visiting professionals are asked to interact directly with large
groups of Elon students, sharing their knowledge. This year, each
participant spoke on the topic "At Work Yesterday, I ..."
Students heard about the typical day in the life of these career
communicators.
The School
of Communications was a host of College Coffee during the board's
visit. Representatives from student media organizations manned tables
at Fonville Fountain and answered questions about their groups.
 Board
members shared input in several sessions. Many said they are pleased
with the university's core requirement that each student take a
statistics course. Several remarked that the logical progression
of courses that build upon one another is a strength of the new
curriculum. They also said ongoing attention to ethics and media
convergence throughout the curriculum are of great value for future
professionals.
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