Communication, Film, and Theatre

Chair: Steven A. Raucher, Ph.D.

Professors: Jerry L. Allen, Ph.D., Southern Illinois University at Carbondale; Marilou McLaughlin, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin; Steven A. Raucher, Ph.D., Wayne State University, J.D., Bridgeport School of Law at Quinnipiac College; Donald C. Smith, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts at Amherst

Assistant Professor: Eun-A Park, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University

Instructor: Paul C. Falcone, M.B.A., University of New Haven

Lecturers: Robert C. Boles, M.F.A., Sarah Lawrence College; Karen Isaacs, M.A., Fairfield University; Brian Lane, M.S., St. Joseph’s College of Maine

Students in this program develop a comprehensive understanding of interpersonal communication as well as organizational communication, public relations, advertising, and mass communication (journalism, radio, television, and film). The program blends theoretical concepts and skills, academic rigor, and hands-on experience to prepare students for careers in business, the public sector, or the media, or for additional studies at the graduate level.

An active internship is a valuable complement to the student’s classroom studies. The Department offers internships with regional and national businesses, public service organizations, and print and electronic media. Communication majors can gain additional experience through writing for The Charger Bulletin (the student newspaper), working at WNHU-FM (the campus radio station), doing programming for local television, or producing specialized film and video programs.

Department faculty have served as editors or associate editors of more than a half dozen of the top-tier scholarly journals in the communication field and have received national and international recognition. All faculty members do research, publish, and have practical experience in their communication specialties. Faculty and students belong to professional organizations such as the International Communication Association; the Public Relations Society of America; the Eastern Communication Association; the National Association of College Broadcasters; the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences; the National Academy of Cable Programming; the National Federation of Local Cable Programming; the American Film Institute; the Broadcast Educators’ Association; the National Communication Association; the Association for Educational Journalism and Mass Communication; the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language, and Gender; the World Communication Association; and the International Listening Association.

In the interest of maximizing students’ communication experiences as well as encouraging professional contacts and advancement, the Department urges students to enter regional and national competitions in public relations, advertising, radio, television, and film.

Lambda Pi Eta

The Department sponsors the Beta Kappa Chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, the national communication honor society. To receive honorary membership in this prestigious organization, students must have at least 45 University credits and at least nine credits in communication courses. Students must have a 3.0 cumulative G.P.A. and a 3.25 G.P.A. in communication courses. Members become part of a national network of communication majors and may showcase their work at regional and national conferences.

The Co-op Program

The Department participates in the cooperative education program (co-op), which enables students to combine their education with practical, paid work experience in their career field. For further details see the “Office of Internships and Employer Relations ” earlier in the catalog, or contact the Department chair.

Productions

The University community may take part in all departmental productions. Volunteers may act in productions as well as help with lighting, set, and costume design; set construction; publicity; and stage management. Participants need not be enrolled in theatre classes.

Theatre Arts

Coordinator: Robert C. Boles, M.F.A.

The program seeks both students who wish to pursue careers in the theatre, as well as students who have a more general interest in the theatre and desire a strong undergraduate liberal arts education, which at the same time provides them with practical and marketable skills. Graduates of the program will be prepared to pursue careers and/or graduate school in a wide variety of theatre-related areas, but will also find the creative and practical skills required of a theatre major useful in many other careers including, but not limited to, law, business, political science, communication, and education.

The objectives of the program are to provide students with the opportunity to experience a high quality, well-rounded interdisciplinary education in the craft, art, and business of the theatre. Each student will be exposed to the various components that make up the theatre, and will be given the opportunity, in their junior and senior years, to concentrate on one or more of these areas. These areas include performance, design, and arts administration.

The theatre program participates in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, providing students with many scholarship opportunities as well as workshops and master classes taught by theatre professionals in their areas of expertise. The festival is held annually in the New England region, and the national festival is held in Washington, D.C. The University has been cited by the Kennedy Center as having one of the best emerging new programs in New England.

The theatre is a reflection, an evaluation, and a celebration of life in all of its aspects. Diversity is what makes the theatre vibrant and alive. The theatre thrives on people who bring as many diverse areas of thought and life experience to the process as possible. The more resources students can bring to the theatre, the richer the theatre they create becomes. With that spirit and philosophy in mind, the University seeks to develop well-rounded and informed theatre students, prepared and ready to make positive contributions to the theatre of the twenty-first century by learning the lessons of the past, challenging the perceptions of the present, and embracing the possibilities of the future.