Chair’s Letter

WHERE TO BEGIN? How about this time last year, when I was writing the chair’s letter for the last issue of the newsletter? We had left the office only three months before, and we were just beginning to settle into the uncertainty of what was to come. A summer of meetings to plan for an “unprecedented” fall led to a semester that quickly came to feel somewhat routine. And now we’re preparing to return to the office. Despite the many challenges—remote, hybrid, asynchronous teaching across multiple time zones; technological glitches; and Zoom fatigue, to name a few—faculty persevered. They taught most of their classes online, but several taught in person—one taught in virtual reality. (They also learned more than they thought possible about ADA compliance and Panopto.) They were immensely creative in developing engaged courses, diligent in connecting with students, and in a difficult year to conduct research, they developed unique and innovative methods. They also maintained a sense of humor, as you will see. Our staff likewise adapted, and they too took on additional responsibilities. Irina Bovt assumed the administrative duties for a second department. Joanna Alario and Kelli Carr became ADA remediation assistants to assist CALS faculty. Heather Crespin devoted both summer and fall to managing an enormously complicated course roster and advising students across the country and world. And Rebecca Tucker continued to support the Botanic Gardens, along with her duties to the Communication and American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program. The students were amazing. They rose to the technological, pedagogical, and emotional challenges of an education unlike most had ever experienced. We were incredibly proud to graduate 83 undergraduate Communication and six interdisciplinary students. Despite many obstacles, graduate students continued their progress toward their degrees. They published, presented conference papers, won grants and awards, gave media interviews, and in a very competitive market, they got jobs. In other news, we are conducting a search for a tenure-track assistant professor, with interviews taking place in the fall. Historically, we have targeted scholars in specific communication areas, but for this search, we are casting our net wide with a general search. Dawn Schrader is ably chairing the search committee, consisting of Neil Lewis, Jr., Katherine Sender, Chelsea Butkowski, and Lori Leonard. I have one more announcement. As of June 30, I will be stepping down from the position of chair, so let me take this opportunity to thank the many people who helped make this job both rewarding and possible. To the extraordinary faculty and staff, our engaged alumni, our devoted Communication Advisory Board, and our remarkable students, I am deeply grateful to all of you. Finally, I am delighted to introduce our incoming chair, Professor Lee Humphreys. Lee is a global expert in media studies. Her exceptional research has garnered her the CALS Alumni Association’s Rising Star Faculty Award, a Cornell Center for the Social Sciences Fellowship, and multiple grants totaling nearly $1.9 million. In recent years, she served as Director of Undergraduate Studies and Inaugural Director of the COMM-Unity Peer Mentorship Program. She is the Founding Director of Cornell’s Qualitative and Interpretive Research Institute and a member of the Provost’s Advisory Board on Critical Inquiry into Values, Imagination & Culture. She helped shape our field, serving as co-chair of the International Communication Association’s Ethics Task Force and lead author on its Code of Ethics. Lee is also a multiple award-winning teacher. Most importantly—she’s a Cornell Department of Communication alumna! Lee is incredibly visionary about the bright future of our department. Please join me in welcoming her to the Chair’s office.

Wishing you a lovely summer!