Department of Speech Communication

Minnesota State University Mankato

Annual Report

Covering the Academic Year July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2003

The Department of Speech Communication experienced a good year this past academic year, planning for growth and progress in the Department, developing new courses and programs for graduate students, undergraduate majors and students outside the major, continuing assessment, and continuing to serve a significant role in the general education of all university students.

Department of Speech Communication Goals

In order to realize its Vision & Mission Statement, the Department of Speech Communication has set the following goals:

1. To offer quality undergraduate and graduate programs that require students to master the basic concepts and practices of the field, to begin to explore the many areas of study within the field, and to master a specialized area of study.

Activities Undertaken:

The department continued to offer educational opportunities for undergraduate speech communication majors and minors, and graduate students. This year saw a maturing of our senior capstone course, SPEE 485. This course, part of a sequence with SPEE 190 (Introduction to Communication Studies) and SPEE 385 (Communication Theory and Research), offers a capstone experience for non-teaching speech communication majors. This course requires students to demonstrate the knowledge and skills they have developed through their course of study in Speech Communication. Additionally, tied to the 190/385/485 sequence, as well as interwoven throughout the curriculum, the Department continued to require speech communication majors to compile and maintain a portfolio of student work. This portfolio is at the same time an assessment tool, a learning experience for the students, and a means by which students can see the "big picture" of their speech communication education, realizing how the concepts and skills from separate courses really do fit together.

This year saw the continuing implementation of the redesigned SPEE 190 course, with its new emphasis on professional writing, disciplinary identity and introduction to the history of the field. The department also acted to reintroduce SPEE 4/510, Group Performance of Literature. This course had been taught the last two years as a special topics course, after being dropped from the regular course rotation during semester conversion. This course was offered as part of the regular course rotation starting in spring 2003.

Dr. Warren Sandmann and Dr. Nan Johnson-Curiskis continued to work on the development of online offerings in the Speech Communication Department. We currently make available as on-line options the following courses: SPEE 4/504 (Methods of Teaching Speech) and SPEE 4/530 (Directing Forensic Activities). This summer we will offer a section of SPEE 101 (Interpersonal Communication) as an online option.

At the graduate level, MnSCU has given final approval to our new MFA in Forensics. This new option, the first in the nation we believe, will add to our graduate program, garner additional acclaim for the Department and the University, and fill a need in the discipline. The department also saw another increase in graduate student enrollment for the 2002-03academic year. With approval of the MFA program, we anticipate continued growth in our graduate program.

As part of a streamlining process, the department has acted to eliminate the MS in Speech Communication Education. This degree option had low enrollment for a number of years. All courses available in this degree option remain available for students. The department is also looking at either eliminating the BA option at the undergraduate level, or refining the current program to make it distinct from the BS option.

2. To offer general education courses that provide students with the knowledge and skills to be critical thinkers and effective communicators in both professional careers and advanced study.

Activities Undertaken:

Serving the needs of General Education students continued to be a priority with the Speech Communication Department. The redesigned SPEE 100 Fundamentals of Communication continues to be a mainstay of general education. Utilizing a combination of large lecture and smaller recitation sections, this course served approximately 1500 students this year. The course requires students to demonstrate communication skills through public speaking, group presentation, and interpersonal activities. In addition to this course, the department also offered 28 sections of SPEE 102, significantly up from 17 sections in 2001-2002 and 14 sections of SPEE 101(Interpersonal Communication—a general education course under the old system, and a service course under the new system), again a significant increase from 2001-02, all of which filled to capacity (approximately 1000 students). The department also offered 2 sections of SPEE 203 Intercultural Communication (a Category 7 and 8 general education course--approximately 80 students), 1 section of SPEE 310 Performance of Literature (a category 6 and 11 general education course--approximately 30 students), SPEE 220 Forensics (a Category 11 general education course, approximately 15 students), and SPEE 233 (Public Speaking to Technical Professionals) a general education course (Category 1b) for a total of approximately 2655 general education students (again, a significant increase from 2001-2002). Additionally, the department offered a number of extended campus general education courses, serving approximately 220 students, and 9 summer 2003 general education courses, serving approximately 300 students. Total general education students served in 2002-2003 approximately equaled 3155 students. With these significant increases in students served in general education, specifically in Category 1b courses, the Department has for the moment stayed ahead of any potential backlogs. Maintaining the current level of funding for serving general education students will be necessary to combat any possible backlog.

3. To promote the performance of communication in both creative and scholarly venues.

Activities Undertaken:

The Department continued to promote communication performance in the 2002-2003 school year. Eleven speech communication students took part in the fifth annual undergraduate research conference at Minnesota State University, Mankato, Additionally, the department continued to both financially and personally support the Maverick Forensic Program. This program allows and encourages students to engage in communication performance of both scholarly and creative varieties. Over 30 students took part in some forensic-related activity this past year, cumulatively totaling over 2400 student presentations, and culminating in another trip by the team to the National Individual Events Tournament. The Maverick Forensics program staged a Forensic Showcase March 26, preceding the National Individual Events Tournament. Competitors who were scheduled to compete at the national tournament took part in a public performance attended by over 200. The department also had three faculty members and five undergraduate students present at the spring 2003 Iteach conference, sponsored by MnSCU. The department also had one student present at the St. Thomas Undergraduate Communication Research Conference, and that same student received a research award from the Women’s Studies Department. The department also encouraged students to take part in scholarly communication, with eight graduate students and one undergraduate student presenting research results at the National Communication Association convention, November 2002 in New Orleans. The department also maintained a regularly scheduled Departmental Colloquium, with faculty and graduate students presenting research and scholarship. Graduate and undergraduate students were also kept informed about and encouraged to submit material to other professional communication outlets.

4. To encourage students to explore and take part in the vocational and scholarly practice of communication.

Activities Undertaken:

As noted above, the department continued to encourage students to take part in a variety of communication activities. In addition to those noted above, more than 40 students took part in communication-related internships during the 2002-2003 school year, ranging from off-campus internships to on-campus teaching internships. Qualified students were also encouraged to become a member of Lambda Pi Eta, the national communication honor society, of which the MSU, M speech communication department is an affiliated member. This organization continued its growth this year under the faculty sponsorship of Nan Johnson-Curiskis. Students also continued a speech communication club to complement the offerings of the honor society. The members of both organizations have done some fundraising and will hold a reception this spring for graduating speech communication majors.

5. To encourage students, graduate students, and faculty to take part in scholarship, research, and creative activity that will contribute to the personal and professional development of all involved.

Activities Undertaken:

As noted above, a number of speech communication undergraduate and graduate students were encouraged to take part in research activities, and took advantage of that encouragement to engage in and present scholarship. Speech Communication faculty were also active in scholarly and professional activity. Eight faculty members attended the National Communication Association annual convention in New Orleans in November of 2002. Four faculty members attended the 2002 Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota convention, and one faculty member attended the International Listening Association convention. Faculty also took part in faculty development activities both on- and off-campus, with faculty members taking part in workshops offered by the Secondary Education Coalition, the Center for Faculty Development, and Computer Training through ITS and the Academic Computer Center. Faculty members also remained engaged in other professional activities, as the department remained home to a national (Speaker and Gavel) communication journal. Faculty members also submitted material for publication, presented at national and regional conferences, and submitted proposals for future conference presentations.

6. To work with speech communication majors, minors and other interested students in developing an academic program that will lead to vocational and academic success.

Activities Undertaken:

Faculty members continued their work advising speech communication majors and minors, and other students interested in speech courses. Students worked with faculty to develop programs of study that will prepare the students for work or additional study. Students were also informed concerning the new required courses in the Speech Communication major.

7. To encourage students to view education as a lifelong process and to remain aware of the relationship between communication, technology and society.

Activities Undertaken:

The department continued its efforts to remind students that education is not solely a vocational endeavor, and that much of their education will take place off-campus and after they graduate from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Students were made aware of the many resources, both electronic and other, that are available both during and after an MSU, M education. The introduction of the electronic portfolio requirement for both teaching and non-teaching majors made it essential that students begin to comprehend the technological element of communication. The continuing development of assessment practices, especially the continuation of the Senior Seminar capstone course, requires that students demonstrate their knowledge and ability to use communication in the larger society as well as the academic society. Dr. Martine Harvey organized an educational tour of the United States' northern French neighbor, Québec, in May 2003. A total of nine undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty members participated in the field trip to experience the life, history and culture of the Canadian province. And as always, students in all communication courses are either introduced or reminded of the principle that people understand and make sense of the world through the symbols that they use, and that symbol-making and symbol-interpretation is at the heart of the communication process.

Challenges for the 2003-2004 academic year:

The general education program will continue to be a major challenge for the 2003-2004 academic year. The department will continue to face difficulties staffing all the sections needed for general education courses and still serving majors, minors, and other MSU, M students requiring specific speech communication programs. The department will be responding to its program review, including the comments of the outside reviewer. Curricular and programmatic changes may be in the offing. The department will also continue to struggle with ongoing changes to the teacher licensure component of our course offerings. MnSCU has approved a redesigned licensure program, and approval from the Minnesota Board of Teaching has also been granted, but continuing uncertainty with the legislature and the Profiles of Learning means that the BST program will require much additional supervision and refinement. The department will also need to be an active player in the upcoming NCATE accreditation visit. An additional continuing challenge for the next academic year will be the need to institute and utilize a more comprehensive assessment program for all students. The new course arrangements, both for major and general education, should allow the department to continue to develop a better assessment plan. The department will also be challenged to humanely and adequately staff TAs and adjuncts. Currently, the department jams 21 TAs, GAs and adjuncts in one office—one is reminded of the conditions on immigrant passenger ships of the 18^th century.

A happy challenge for the 2002-2003 academic year involves the integration and welcoming of two “new” faculty members, Leah White and Nan Johnson-Curiskis. Leah will be taking over as Director of Forensics, and Nan, while not exactly new, will be in a new role as a tenure-track faculty member with emphasis in Communication Education. The department is also involved in a search for an additional fixed-term faculty member, who will join our current fixed-term faculty, Brian Klosa and Jim Dimock. Finally, the department will see a change in the chair’s office, as Warren Sandmann will be replaced by Dan Cronn-Mills. Warren will be on a three-year administrative leave beginning July 2003, leaving the department in capable hands.