We enjoy sharing our school's "oomph" with you in this way several times a year and are always delighted when you can get back to campus.
President Lambert recently invited the School of Communications faculty and staff to Maynard House to talk about the future of the university. He began by complimenting the school as "absolutely on fire" and "truly extraordinary." We then talked about The Elon Commitment, the university's strategic plan, which includes a new and nationally premier School of Communications building to enhance student learning.
Best wishes,
Paul Parsons, Dean
Team praises school's quality,
recommends national reaccreditation A team representing the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) recommended full reaccreditation for the School of Communications in October. The report refers to the growth in the school's quality and quantity as "nothing short of spectacular," citing talented faculty, enthusiastic students and an innovative leadership team as keys to building "a positive educational environment ... with an exemplary culture of collegiality." In the photo, Doug Anderson of Penn State hands the team's report to Dean Paul Parsons.
Click here to read more about the accreditation team's visit. Click here to view the school's accreditation self-study.
Gerald Gibson links up
with communications alumni The school has named Assistant Professor Gerald Gibson to be its first coordinator of alumni affairs, a position designed to keep communications alumni in touch with the school. Gibson, who's been with Elon for 20 years, says he's excited to reconnect with alumni and begin organizing events for them.
Click here to read more about Gibson's new role.
School names first recipients of its
Distinguished Alumni Award Jo Craven McGinty '85, projects editor at The New York Times, and Doug Finberg '94, executive vice president of marketing for MGM Studios in Los Angeles, are the inaugural recipients of the School of Communications' Distinguished Alumni Award.
McGinty has been on two Pulitzer Prize-winning teams - at The Washington Post, where her team won the Pulitzer Prize Gold Award for Public Service in 1999, and at The New York Times, where her team won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting in 2005. Finberg served as senior vice president for international marketing at Paramount Pictures, executive vice president at Marvel Studios and owner of Finberg Worldwide before joining MGM last year.
Both alumni will return to campus in April to be honored. Click here to read more about the award recipients.
Lumen Scholar's film explores Zambian life after land reform Senior Daniel Koehler is producing a documentary focusing on the interaction of race, politics and economics in Zambia. He spent seven months in the African nation, interviewing workers, local experts and George Botha, one of many farmers who was forced off his land in 2000 because of Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe's land reform policy.
Koehler, a media arts and entertainment major, received mentorship from Associate Professor Brooke Barnett. Click here to read more about Koehler's film.
Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist
offers advice to students Humor columnist Dave Barry met with students in the School of Communications a day after delivering the Fall Convocation address to offer advice as they prepare for their own careers. He told students to "be patient" in their search for jobs post-graduation. Barry won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary and retired from full-time writing in 2005.
Click here to read about his visit with communications students. Click here to read about his address at Fall Convocation. | 
