by Brant Burkey, MS '97

When Sally McMillan received her Ph.D. on June 14, 1997, she ensured herself a promising future. She also made history as the first graduate of the School's doctoral program in communication studies.

McMillan, a member of the original class of Ph.D. candidates that includes Raul Reis, Macy Guppy and Bill Kunz, became the first graduate of the program at the School's commencement ceremony in June. Her dissertation, "Who Pays for Content in Cyberspace: The Role of Interactivity, Property Values of Content Creators, and Audience Size in Predicting Funding of Internet Sites," received the School's award for best dissertation.

"It still feels unreal," McMillan says. "It feels good to be done. I feel a little bit of responsibility to get out there and show people it's a good program. I'd like to see it continue to draw good students, and I'd like to do so well that people have a positive perception of an Oregon Ph.D."

After completing her undergraduate degree in English at Southern Adventist University, McMillan taught high school English and later received a master's degree in journalism from the University of Maryland. She freelanced for several major metro dailies, worked in public relations, and as a book editor before becoming the president of a software development company in Eau Claire, Wisc. She had been working as the director of marketing for Supra, a modem manufacturer in Vancouver, Wash., when she began to realize that she needed a career change.

Having been involved in the modem market when it was relatively new -- the "14.4" had just been invented, and America OnLine had just been launched -- she realized that there was a real public awakening to the internet and began to look for new research possibilities. But the research she was able to do in her job was mostly "bottom-line" oriented, and McMillan was more interested in studying the social impacts -- not something a company typically pays for.

"I've always loved research," McMillan says. "I did get to do some in other jobs. But I was tired of focusing all my energies on one thing. I wanted to sit back and think about things. Consciously, for me, it's largely about having more control over my life. Before I came to the UO I was working 70 hours a week, traveling so that I would be home on average of two weeks out of the month."

She heard about the new Ph.D. program at the UO and didn't bother to apply anywhere else. "I figured, if I get into Oregon, I'll do my Ph.D.," she said. That the program was brand new added to her enthusiasm.

"It was a little scary, but exciting," McMillan admits. "I liked the idea of going into a new program because it gave me a lot of control over what I did. By and large, it was a good experience. I had a lot to say in how my program was designed."

Her graduate advisor, Professor Charles Frazer, is quick to point out that coming into that type of situation has both its benefits and its restrictions. "It's difficult to be one of the first people in a program," he says. "After a while things become more concrete, but at the beginning there's a lot of ambiguity. In Sally's case, there'll be this sort of history for later students to model their work by."

"She worked independently," Frazer continued. "I'd like to think we provided an environment that supported and nurtured her, but it is her work. She came into it with her own ideas."

And though McMillan has gotten most of the accolades for her efforts, she attributes much of her success to the support she received here at the SOJC. "It's been great working with Charlie [Frazer]," she says. "In addition to being my academic advisor, I felt we had a real mentoring relationship. He's been a big help. He treated me like a colleague and helped me to feel like I wasn't some lowly graduate student."

Frazer reciprocates his admiration. "She's a joy to work with," he says. "She's energetic, imaginative, creative, and industrious. I couldn't ask for a more effective colleague. All who worked with her respect her abilities."

Frazer also believes that her research and dissertation are important because it addresses a contemporary issue. "It's a fine piece of work," he says. "Commercial web sites are a new technology. But the issue is who is willing to pay for it and how? Corporate advertising? Sally tested it effectively and came up with some innovative ideas about funding mechanisms."

Frazer is confident that McMillan's skills will take her anywhere she wants to go. "I'm sure that she'll be busy and visible in the academic community," he says. "She'll be just as productive and will continue to reflect favorably on us. She'll be an inspiration and I'm happy to see her out there."

McMillan began teaching both graduate and undergraduate courses at Boston University this fall as an assistant professor in the College of Communication's Department of Advertising, Public Relations, and Mass Communications.