The Department of Communication's Curriculum at Wright State University
COM Department to revise
curriculum in Fall 2006
Dr. Henry Ruminski, Chairman of the Department
Curriculum Committee discusses the changes that are being made and the
effect it will have on students in the different types of COM majors
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Gender differences and
interpersonal communication needs to be stressed among COM majors
With a heavy background in mass media studies
including advertising and interpersonal communication, Dr. Carol Morgan
discusses how students need to be able to critically analyze mass media
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Diverse background in various types of writing is key
to success
In her COM 256 class, Ann Biswas requires her
students to write for a non-profit company to gain experience outside of
class -more-
Internet classes take away from learning experience
Retired professor Lew Shupe comments on
internet courses in Communication and how they take away 'performance'
from the classroom
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Communication enrollment at Wright State University
throughout the years
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COM Department to revise curriculum in Fall 2006
by Angela Carnes
Wright State University’s Department of Communication has revised the
entire class curriculum, effective in the Fall quarter of 2006.
Students will notice the fewest changes in the Mass
Communications major and the most dramatic changes in the Communications
Studies major. “Our Communications Studies program before had very few
requirements and students were basically taking which
ever classes fit their schedules. Those students would graduate with a
group of courses that had no real relationship to them. We’ve designed the new curriculum so they must choose their electives from a range of
courses that we think relate,” said Dr. Henry Ruminski, the current chairman of the Department of Communication curriculum committee.
“We haven’t done a major change in curriculum for
years. It’s the second one since I’ve been here in 18 years. We went
through all the majors, all the courses, and tried to figure out how to
better serve the students,” said Ruminski, an associate
professor in the Department of Communication.
The Curriculum Committee is made up of
faculty members who take input from Wright State graduates, potential
employers, other schools and conventions. The committee began this
process more than a year ago, said Ruminski. They finalized most of the
changes this Spring and then sent it to the College Committee. From
there it was sent to the University Committee for final approval.
The new curriculum will reduce the
flexibility for the students because they can not take courses totally
unrelated to their major, on the other hand; it will improve the
likelihood of them having a body of knowledge when they leave that’s
related to what they might want to do, said Ruminski.
“Our goal was to make the Comm. Studies Degree
more rigorous in a sense that students would be better prepared when
they left,” said Ruminski.
Students can look for the new curriculum
requirements in the Fall 2006 Course Catalog. The Communications
Department currently has approximately 450 students. These students
will have the opportunity to choose whether they want to switch to the
new curriculum or stay with the old curriculum.
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An interview with Dr. Carol Morgan
by Ben Stewart
According to Dr. Carol Morgan, an associate professor at Wright
State, interpersonal communication and gender differences should be
stressed among communication majors.
Dr. Morgan has taught in universities all across
Ohio. She has a heavy background in mass media studies, advertising and
interpersonal communication. She has been at Wright State since 1999 and
currently teaches a gender and communication course.
Dr. Morgan explained that we deal with gender biases
and personal communication on a day to day basis. She said, “It is very
important for students to be able to look at the mass media and
critically analyze it.” She suggested that good interpersonal
communication could open peoples’ minds to what they see in the media.
Within the past year, Dr Morgan has turned a version of
her dissertation into a book. We’re Not That Different: Two Sisters
Religious and Spiritual Journey’s is her first book and she is
currently working on another which is tentatively titled Radical
Relationship Repair. Both of her works deal with gender differences
and interpersonal communication in the mass media.
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An interview with Ann Biswas
by Levi Widget
Ann Biswas, a Wright State communication lecturer, has an extensive background with media writing. Biswas has been at Wright State, where she teaches various communication classes, for two years.
Biswas said she relates
more to Communication 256 Basic Media Writing, since this is her primary
focus. Biswas owns her own business where she does script writing,
public relations writing, and press releases.
“Students need to actively pursue outside experiences to be
successful,” Biswas said. She requires her students to write for a non-profit
company during one communication class, and said she believes this allows students to
get an experience outside of class.
“With the diverse backgrounds Wright
State enables students to get a broad overview,” Biswas said. She said she enjoys working at
Wright State and added that she is looking forward to the advances the
department will make in the near future.
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Lew Shupe Interview
by Misty Spaulding
Thirteen years after retirement, Lew Shupe has some comments about
Internet courses in communication at Wright State.
As a professor, Shupe admitted that he lacked knowledge
of technology. “One of my biggest problems was not adapting to the
technology. I could have probably been a little more receptive to this
whole electronic type of teaching,” said Shupe.
But even if he became familiar with it, Shupe still
said Internet classes take away from the learning experience and do not
give those students ample practice for what they are learning. “You need
more than a shoeshine and smile. You need to communicate in order to
learn to communicate,” said Shupe.
To Shupe, all communication is inevitably a performance
at some level no matter its context or technological sophistication. He
called the lack of performance classes disappointing and said they
should be a focus for students. Shupe would like to see more classes
emphasizing speech performance, voice and diction and distance
communication, among others.
Urging the faculty to maintain interaction with students, Shupe said he felt the Internet classes do not allow for the teacher-student relationship and learning benefits that classroom learning provides. "We wouldn't be here if it weren't for the students," said Shupe. -return-
