BU College of Communication case statement by Boston University DevCom

TO BUILD

UNDERSTANDING Supporting the Boston University COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION

TO BUILD UNDERSTANDING

At BU’s College of Communication, we build understanding through communication education, practice, and discovery. prepare

We students to lead, to adapt, and to share their voices in a transformational media world.

nurture

We a culture that is rich in diversity, critical thinking, and creative expression.

integrate

We professional and academic experiences across the broad spectrum of communication disciplines.

generate

And we knowledge through research and theory-building.

At our best, we successfully champion communication that is grounded in truth, authenticity, effectiveness, and purpose.

COM’S WORK HAS NEVER BEEN

MORE IMPORTANT

TO BUILD UNDERSTANDING

We live in a world of misinformation, disinformation, and “information disorder”—compounded by a fragmented media landscape. Concurrently, the sweeping digital transformation has reshaped business models in all communication industries. As traditional publications have retrenched or disappeared, “news deserts” have sprung up. The consequences are many and profound, including reducing civic participation. Underrepresented groups suffer from deep inequities in media coverage. The professions that support and rely on journalism—public relations and advertising among them—are also challenged by these profound changes. In the absence of trust, the arts of persuasion decline and atrophy. In the worlds of film and TV—worlds that entertain and inform us all—the ongoing digital disruption has created a content explosion, delivered across a plethora of new formats and platforms. The global pandemic has also accelerated the shift to animation, virtual effects, and other technology solutions in these fast-changing industries. Through it all, our Emerging Media Studies researchers delve into why and how media affect us and society at large—and give us insights about how we can improve things in the future. We count on mutual understanding to underpin a functioning society. That’s where COM has a vital role to play.

Again, COM’s work has never been more important.

89% 97%

of bachelor’s graduates are currently working in jobs related to their COM degrees.

TO BUILD UNDERSTANDING

of master’s graduates are currently working in jobs related to their COM degrees.

WHY INVEST IN

COM? Why is COM the right place to take up these challenges—and why can we hope to earn your support?

COM graduates and faculty have won Pulitzer Prizes in journalism.

First, COM covers all of the relevant arts, sciences, and disciplines. We conduct research and teach in all of the critical communication fields: advertising, emerging media, film and television, journalism, mass communication, public relations, and media science. We bring together practitioners and researchers in one place. Our practice-oriented faculty address real-world issues and impart real-world skills. Our researchers make new discoveries about how to improve communication—and share them in our classrooms, and also with the world. We are part of a great university in a great international city, which offers a living laboratory for our students and faculty. Those students challenge us constantly with their savvy and their passion, teaching us as they learn from us. And our alumni—an amazing group—influence thought and lead practice. For all of these reasons and more, COM is prepared, and eager, to take up the pressing issues of the day.

With your support, we can go deeper, broader, faster.

THE

BLUEPRINT

COM recently embarked on a journey of discovery. Our goal was to define our path going forward—a plan that would build on proven strengths and also open new doors. Working in small and large groups, and in coordination with outside advisors and senior University officials, COM developed a blueprint for our next decade that is closely tied to the larger BU strategic plan.

THE COM STRATEGY:

A vibrant academic experience • Update our curricula to embrace diverse perspectives as well as leading-edge media technologies • Enhance our writing offerings—critical for communicators in every field • Develop new master’s programs—both online and residential—and certificate programs • Provide new student research opportunities

2 3

Research that matters • Address communication challenges such as misinformation, polarization, and news deserts • Explore how we might create a CENTER FOR CIVIC SCIENCE, to be focused on both developing new insights and disseminating those insights to a broad range of constituencies Global engagement • Explore how we might create a CENTER FOR SOCIAL IMPACT COMMUNICATION, aimed at ensuring that our research findings can inform decision-making for policy and business leaders • Launch thought-leadership activities such as conferences, polling, and publications • Grow Study Abroad and sister college opportunities

TO BUILD UNDERSTANDING

90% of 2020 graduates found employment within the first 6 months of graduation.

A COM culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion • Support challenged students—international and domestic—with coaching and mentoring • Improve our recruitment of a diverse faculty and staff • Ensure equitable operations Community: big, yet small

• Engage alumni networks for prospective students, current students, and alumni • Enhance staff efficiency and retention by developing a culture of continuous improvement • Expand and enhance internal communication

Ambitious? Yes. But given the challenges that confront society today, COM needs to be ambitious. Collectively, these initiatives will help COM move into its future—and make its contribution to building understanding.

STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION

THE

In each of our areas of activity, we know where we are today—and where we want to be tomorrow.

JOURNALISM

FILM & TV

Our current and planned initiatives include:

• Justice Media Co-Lab, with BU Sparik! and the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, addressing inequalities through reporting

• Seeking to add instruction and tech capability in visual effects, or VFX, since CGI (computer-generated imagery) is now pervasive in all forms of media content

• Statehouse Program providing coverage by students for local publications • BU News Service, WTBU, BUTV10, COM Lab, and other student media addressing news deserts

TO BUILD UNDERSTANDING

• Social Purpose Media project for socially purposeful narrative films • Hothouse Productions students helping nonprofit clients

6 7 PhD

Undergraduate degrees offered at COM

Master’s programs offered at COM

MASS COMMUNICATION, ADVERTISING & PUBLIC RELATIONS Our current and planned initiatives include: • Addressing societal challenges such as polarization through strategic programs harnessing “communication for good,” perhaps including the creation of a Center for Social Impact Communication • Expanding student-based, career-oriented programs such as Creative Café, ProBono, New York advertising and PR trips • Supporting socially purposeful efforts through AdLab and PRLab student work for nonprofit clients

in Emerging Media Studies

RESEARCH THAT MATTERS Our current and planned initiatives include: • The Emerging Media Studies division’s insights and instruction on developments and effects related to new media systems and technologies • The Communication Research Center, founded in 1959, which today has a renewed focus on addressing mediated communication dysfunction and identifying opportunities to improve civic engagement, media literacy, and the positive impacts of media • Exploring the creation of a Center for Civic Science

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Are you an alumnus or other friend of COM who wants to help the college move into its future? There are many ways to do so.

2,000 500 undergraduates

TO BUILD UNDERSTANDING

graduate students

You can contribute financially, or through your time and expertise. For example, you can be part of our alumni mentoring program through BU Connects (buconnects.com). You can also donate unrestricted gifts to help our students. A contribution to the COM Fund can help students who are struggling financially. You can underwrite student memberships in professional organizations, their participation in conferences, and their entries to awards shows. With a gift of $100,000 or more, you can create an endowed scholarship that will help deserving COM students for generations to come. Do you want to help shape COM’s future agenda? To bring VFX to COM students, you can help provide a 25-seat remotely accessible computer lab. You can support student internships and our Career Services offerings. You can provide seed money to investigate the feasibility of the proposed Center for Impact Communication or the proposed Center for Civic Science. Or you can fund a new Writer in Residence Fellowship Program, either on a time-limited basis or permanently. An endowed lectureship in your name would ensure a steady flow of new ideas into COM in perpetuity. The professor of the practice whose position you endow might first undertake the launch of The Emancipator—an emerging collaboration between Boston University and the Boston Globe Opinion team that will increase coverage of underrepresented groups and address news deserts. A professor of civic science could lead a new center to improve public understanding of important research areas.

Philanthropy at COM is donor-driven. Tell us what intrigues you, and then join us in an exciting discussion.

LEADING THOUGHT, BUILDING UNDERSTANDING Because the world is dynamic, the profession of communication is dynamic. Technologies keep evolving. Business models keep changing. And the rate of change continues to accelerate. What’s needed, in response, is thought leadership. Only better ideas—and more effective communication of those ideas—can help society address its mounting challenges. COM is ideally positioned to provide that leadership. Our researchers advance the state of the communication arts. Our graduates join the world of practice with a solid foundation in the arts and sciences, communication skills, critical thinking, and real-world experience. In other words, they are ready to lead. COM is a college of great accomplishments, but even greater potential. Now is the time to realize that potential.

We invite you to join us in building understanding.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Mariette DiChristina Dean, College of Communication 617-353-3488 mdichris@bu.edu

Kirsten Durocher Assistant Dean, College of Communication 617-358-6322 kduroche@bu.edu

BU.EDU/COM

TO BUILD UNDERSTANDING