It feels like my social media feed was full of nothing except talk of Coach Greg Schiano returning, and then not returning, and then returning as the head football coach at Rutgers for a second time. Leadership is challenging, and Coach Schiano’s most difficult task will be meeting expectations of the Rutgers fans and supporters. I wish him the very best of luck! 

We are fortunate at SC&I to have many examples of leadership. For example, Distinguished Professor of Communication Brent Ruben, the Executive Director of Rutgers Center for Organizational Leadership, is well known both across the university and through his many publications. Most significantly, he has played a major role in the increasingly meaningful relationship with Botswana and was the driving force behind the recent Botswana-Rutgers Leadership Summit .

SC&I is proud to be a founding member of the Alliance of Schools and Colleges of Communication and Journalism (ASCCJ).  The ASCCJ is an organization for research-intensive schools that include both communication and journalism at the undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. levels. Our recent meeting, at the Moody College in UT Austin, provided a stimulating forum for engaging in-depth discussions of topics such as enhancing diversity, improving the effectiveness of development, and the future evolution of our disciplines. Our status in the alliance is unusual in that SC&I combines both communication and journalism with a third discipline: library and information science. This combination of disciplines comprehensively equips us for addressing the grand challenges of supporting healthy behaviors, reimagining local journalism and political participation, and designing new forms of social organization. 

Leadership is changing across Rutgers, too. In my time here I have worked with three different New Brunswick Chancellors, each with their own style and vision. And now, with President Barchi stepping down in the summer, we are looking for a new candidate to fill this crucial role. We need someone who can manage the complexities of the four chancellery units and their relationship to one another. Someone who will oversee the successful implementation of systems that coordinate money, research, timetabling, and student systems, and someone who can build on the potential of the merger with RWJBarnabus Health. It is a challenging role!

Dean Jonathan Potter

Good intentions are not enough …

Diversity, inclusion, and equity have been centerpieces of the mission of SC&I for a long time. Yet, the leadership of the school has recommitted itself to these goals by assigning responsibility for spearheading initiatives to me, as part of my role as Associate Dean for Programs in the school. Together with the newly reconfigured Diversity Committee, we have decided to approach these challenges with renewed energy, particularly given the current divisive cultural climate in the U.S. and beyond. Members of the committee – Alexa Hepburn (COM); Amy Jordan (JMS); Rebecca Reynolds (LIS); Khadijah White (JMS); and Taylor White Welchen (Ph.D. student) – have been brainstorming ideas, consulting with the extensive resources in this area, and enthusiastically looking forward to collaborating with Rutgers University- New Brunswick's new Vice-Chancellor for Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement (DICE) – Enobong Anna Branch.

A kickoff event in this spirit was an implicit bias workshop held on Nov. 20 by a professional coach and trainer Amanda Shaffer, member of HERC (Higher Education Recruitment Consortium). A full house of some 50 faculty, staff, and Ph.D. students discussed hiring and promotion practices that can decrease implicit bias and provide fair and equal opportunities to all candidates. Problematic interpersonal communication practices and microaggressions were noted and analyzed. It all boiled down to a central lesson – good intentions are not enough, they need to be translated into appropriate action in order to make a difference, employing practices that reduce bias, offering honest and constructive feedback to each other, being open to listening and learning. This workshop signifies just one building block in the much-needed persistent effort to continue to improve our school’s climate and to model to our students and to each other a socially diverse and inclusive community.

Associate Dean for Programs Dafna Lemish

The Professionalism of SC&I Staff

One challenge for staff is to balance serving the daily needs of the school, its faculty, students, and administration, with taking the time to investigate and plan new initiatives.  Through the year the staff conduct tens of thousands of service transactions with faculty, students, and administrators.

 

Behind the daily churn, there are many infrastructure projects being explored and adopted. A few such initiatives are SC&I’s adoption of a sophisticated constituent relationship management tool for recruiting and retaining students; migration of financial record keeping and reporting; and planning for an upgraded web presence. In addition, staff are deeply involved in Rutgers’ ambitious systems projects during this decade following the merger of Rutgers with the former UMDNJ.

 

A hidden component of our staff’s professionalism is their involvement with peer groups in a variety of venues. Across campus, there are functional groups in the areas of instructional design and technology, finance and HR, communications, development, IT, admissions and advising, continuing education, and others. Some of these groups meet with chancellor- and vice-president level administrators to provide input into future university plans.  Some SC&I staff have been instrumental in creating peer groups so that people with common responsibilities across New Brunswick can share best practices.  

 

Regionally and nationally, many staff are active in their professional associations, attending and presenting at conferences and serving in leadership roles.  Meghan Ingstrup , Maureen Newman , Sharon Stoerger , and Regina Efimchik are just some of the staff who have presented at conferences in the past year.

 

Staying current is strategically important for each staff member as an individual professional and for SC&I as an organization. While there is a great deal of free content available in every field, each year SC&I budgets funding to allow staff members to participate in classes, conferences, and other learning opportunities. In each annual performance review, supervisors and staff discuss not only the past year’s accomplishments and next year’s goals but also the development focus for the coming year to assure each person has a positive career trajectory and is in a position to contribute well to the success of the school.

Our staff have a strongly positive reputation on campus for effectiveness and professionalism, which should be a tremendous source of pride for everyone at SC&I.

Associate Dean for Administration Karen Hundert Novick

NJCA 25th Annual Conference, Vision 2020: Communicating Clarity and Transparency

Hosted by Rutgers, SC&I, t he New Jersey Communication Association (NJCA) annual conference will be held on March 28, 2020 and is now accepting early papers. Read more

Peter Ruiz '20 Named Forbes Under 30 Scholar

Forbes selected SC&I’s Peter Ruiz ’20 as a Forbes Under 30 Scholar, one of only 1,000 students chosen in the United States for this honor. Read more

The New Community Design for Health and Wellness Interdisciplinary Research Group Funds 14 Innovative Projects at Rutgers

SC&I’s Mark Aakhus and Sarah Allred of the Walter Rand Institute at Rutgers Camden, co-PIs of CDHW-IRG, have been awarded seed grants to help launch innovative projects aimed at improving human health. Read more

Platforms Can't Settle on "Appropriate" Engagement-Boosting Practices

Researchers analyze how Google, Facebook, and Instagram repeatedly change boundaries between smart visibility strategies and ‘cheating the system.’

Guest writer, Megan Schumann, Rutgers University Office of Communications

Read more

NSF Funded Project Aims to Contribute Toward a More Truthful and Fair ICT ECO-System

Lauren Feldman and Vivek Singh will study algorithms that assess the quality of online information. Read more

Our faculty are media experts and have been cited both nationally and internally.

For more citations, please see our "In the Headlines" page.

4 Huntington Street

New Brunswick, NJ 08901

 848.932.7500

sci-info@comminfo.rutgers.edu

comminfo.rutgers.edu