Not long ago, Steve Norman, an SOJC magazine major, interviewed me for a story he is writing about the School’s response to the digital age. One of his working assumptions was that digital technology is fundamentally changing the nature of our work. His questions, although quite good, revealed his serious doubt about our response to the issue at hand: Are we doing enough to prepare students for this new world?

Several days later, while meeting with about 400 prospective students and parents during a “Duck Preview” session, I was once again faced with questions about new technology. Parents and students asked of the future what Norman explored in our present: Will students entering the J-School in 2001 get the education they need to be successful in a world of wireless, instant communication?

While the simple answer to both questions is yes, the reality is much more complex and one that we are addressing every day in the SOJC.

We are preparing students for a world that does not yet exist. We don’t know what the communication landscape will look like in five years, let alone ten. It was only a few years ago that many thought that movies-on-demand would be the “killer application” for the Internet and predictions about the “death” of newspapers and the promise of new technology have been with us for at least the past century.

So while we can assume that delivery systems will continue to evolve, we know that the set of core skills or literacies needed to be a successful communicator in the new media environment will remain the same. It is for this reason that we integrate new technology into the curriculum while continuing to focus on our core curriculum.

This core teaches skills including nonfiction writing, visual literacy, information gathering and analysis, critical thinking, creativity and problem solving.

“We are preparing students for a world that does not yet exist. We don’t know what the communication landscape will look like in five years, let alone ten.” —Tim Gleason

There are two other fundamental assumptions about our curriculum that have not changed. The first is that a solid grounding in the liberal arts and sciences is the foundation for professional education in journalism and mass communication. All SOJC students take at least 94-credits in arts and sciences and many are completing double majors or minors in the College of Arts and Sciences and in other UO professional schools and colleges.

The second is a recognition of the enduring value and importance of the traditional professional fields of practice. New media are having a profound impact in newspapers, magazines, broadcasting, public relations and advertising, but we believe that the industries represented in each of our undergraduate professional majors and our professional master’s programs (news editorial, magazine, advertising and literary nonfiction) remain vital and vibrant. Here too our curriculum reflects a philosophy of integrating new technology into the majors, rather than letting technology drive our thinking.

Integrating new media into the curriculum requires a major investment in technology. Beginning in the early 1990s, when a major gift from Paul Brainerd made it possible to build a computing infrastucture in Allen Hall, we have aggressively invested in technology. Allen Hall now has four computer labs: The Wesley Sullivan Reporting Lab, the Bernard Mainwaring Editing Lab, the Connie Snyder Ballmer Graphics Lab and the Paul Brainerd Student Lab. In addition, we are completing the conversion to digital video in the Chambers Electronic Media Center, and the Willis S. Duniway Journalism Resource Center provides students with computers for Web use as well as laptop hookups. Soon to come online will be the Patricia B. and William D. Smullin Digital Media Lab and a conversion of our “wet” darkroom to a digital photography lab.

All of the labs, as well as all of the computers on faculty and staff desks and in our classrooms, are plugged into the School’s network and into the Internet.

Our investment is paying off because our faculty and students are using this digital infrastructure to effectively communicate in the public interest—which remains our ultimate education goal.

Many of you will be pleased to learn that Duncan McDonald will be returning to the classroom in Allen Hall in fall 2001 after too long an absence. For the past three years, Duncan has served as the University’s vice president for public affairs and development. From 1994-1997, he was the dean of the School. From 1992 to 1994 he was the chief operating officer and deputy director of the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center at Columbia University.

Duncan had many successes in his years outside the classroom, but he remains a teacher at heart. We look forward to seeing him lecturing in Allen 221 in September.