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April 6, 2004
SMPA Sets Plan for the Future
Task Force of Experts Outline Blueprint for Success
By Greg
Licamele
The School of Media and Public Affairs (SMPA) will undergo a reorganization
following a blueprint for academic excellence recommended by a task force
of media executives, prominent journalists, political experts and GW faculty.
This plan calls for an integrated curriculum, increased use of digital
media and a re-evaluation of graduate programs, all centered around Washington,
DC, resources.
According to the task force report “SMPA can and should be the preeminent
center for learning and research about the creation, dissemination, processing
and effects of news and information and their relationship to public affairs.
Drawing on its key locational advantage, SMPA can offer its students a
unique educational experience grounded in constructive engagement in Washington’s
political and media institutions.”
A primary recommendation of the task force report is to restructure the
three separate undergraduate degrees that currently exist: electronic
media, journalism and political communication. In its report, the task
force cited how the programs are separately administered with different
curricula. The goal is to combine the programs into one or two undergraduate
degrees and centralize administration of the units.
In addition, the report suggests further development of SMPA’s digital
media assets, including a proposed “Digital Media and Research Center”
to support more student television news and multimedia productions.
“The communications industry is driven by converging media forces,”
said Albert L. May, interim director of SMPA. “We have courses in
new media, but this is an area we really need to do more in. As we develop
the broadcast facilities, we need to do that in tandem with multiple platforms
so that journalistic and research content finds a way to be repurposed
for the Web. The Web becomes a central platform, as it is in the industry.”
May was quick to point out, however, that SMPA’s focus needs to be
about more than just skill training, but also finding ways to work within
a new media environment. “It’s not just about how to push buttons,”
May said.
Other goals of the task force report include revisiting the graduate curriculum
to ensure its national competitiveness and reassessing faculty resources
and future hirings.
“For the lion’s share of the faculty, life is not going to change
very much,” May said. “A few faculty members will have to make
some adjustments, but I don’t think there’s any faculty member
here who cannot be a full, challenged partner.”
Donald R. Lehman, executive vice president for academic affairs, has appointed
a faculty implementation committee to embark on making this plan a reality
by mid-September. Elliot Hirshman, professor and chair of the psychology
department, will lead this group that includes six SMPA faculty members
and two Columbian College of Arts and Sciences representatives.
May said this implementation committee will provide the framework to move
forward, including a job description for a new SMPA director. He anticipates
a national search next year, with an appointment in time for the 2005–06
academic year.
The original task force, selected by Lehman in October, met five times
and solicited input from faculty, staff, students and administrators about
the school. Lee Sigelman, professor of political science, chaired the
committee. He applauded the efforts of his task force colleagues.
“This was a fascinating and extremely enjoyable group — thoughtful
and yet task-oriented, with a truly impressive command of what is going
on in the media world combined with a strong sense of the goals of a liberal
arts-based education in media and public affairs,” Sigelman said.
“The group was assigned an impossible task to complete in an impossibly
short period, but because of their energy, enthusiasm and dedication,
members managed to complete their work successfully and consensually.”
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu
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Related Links
SMPA
Task Force Report
GW-TV
Takes Off
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