Human communication has existed for millenia, roughly since we began walking upright, but the academic study of how people connect with one another through language, signs, symbols and texts is a more recent phenomenon. At Juniata, the communications program began in 1990 with a single faculty member, three students and a curriculum based on public speaking and presentation skills. Since than, it has morphed into a thriving department that has assumed a "Matrix"-like ability to incorporate its teachings into programs such as business, information technology and health professions.

     "Juniata has a long tradition of excellence in public speaking and persuasion, so our curriculum focused on that," explains Donna Weimer, Thornbury Professor of Communication. "To have the freedom and flexibility to design an entire department was just a delicious opportunity."

     Weimer's vision for the department proved just as delectable to students who soon flocked to the program. By 1995-1996, 17 students received degrees in communication. In the 2002-2003 academic year, 33 students, about 11 percent of the 282-person graduating class, graduated with communications POEs. In 1990, 12 students were enrolled in communication POEs. Today there are more than 100.

     Grace Fala, associate professor of communication and a specialist in intrapersonal and intercultural communication joined the faculty a few years after Weimer. Lynn Cockett, an assistant professor of communications who specializes in organizational communication, came on board in 2002.

     "Juniata is really ahead of the curve in building an interdisciplinary program," says Suzy Atkins '93, director of communications for the Pennsylvania Cable and Telecommunications Association. "Many institutions are trying to smoothly incorporate communications into programs and Juniata has already done that. Communications isn't just standing up and giving a speech. Juniata has really made sure that communication extends through every POE."

     Weimer says the curriculum still is rooted in rhetoric, in which students were taught to think and write critically. The department branched out into interpersonal communication, intercultural communication, technological communication and organizational communication.

     "Communication is central to our everyday lives and all of us are very interested in studying how that works," Cockett says.

     While each communications faculty member is a generalist, each person's specialized interests have allowed the program to develop strong courses in three areas of study that are highly marketable in the workplace. "It frees us up to do what we do best and it strengthens our curriculum," says Weimer.

     Cockett's expertise in organizational communication as well as Weimer's research interest in the effects of technology on media and culture dovetails neatly with the College's expanding enrollments in information technology and business. In addition, the creation of a Health Communication POE in 1999, a program overseen by Fala, gives Juniata a unique window into the nation's top emerging career field: health services. In 2000, three students graduated in this particular specialty. In 2002-2003, there are 19 students studying health communications.

     "Typically, this area attracts high caliber students who may have come to Juniata interested in the sciences," Fala says. "If their talents are more in line with liberal arts this area gives them a chance to remain in the health field."

     The communications faculty also tries to ensure that every student leaves Juniata with a healthy serving of experiential learning. More than 60 communications students participate in service learning projects each year. Recent projects include student-taught workshops on PowerPoint to local businesses, creating reading lessons on healthy eating for local schools and a workshop on interpersonal communication to the nursing staff at J.C. Blair Hospital in Huntingdon.

     In addition to the advanced curriculum changes and increasing opportunities in experiential learning, the faculty has introduced several significant research courses. Cockett, who teaches Qualitative Research Methods, says increased research opportunities give commuication students a chance to hone their analytical and writing skills.

     "I had always thought of research as working with numbers," says Johanna Holtan '04, a senior from Fargo, N.D. whose research focused on how female athletes perceive pain and injury. "After this project I decided to add women's studies into my POE because I became so interested in how people interact with each other."

     Research in all aspects of communication has been re-emphasized as well. Ten communication students presented their research at the 2003 Juniata Research Symposium and 16 students presented papers at the annual conference of the Pennsylvania Communication Association. Nine of those students went on to present their research projects at the 2003 National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Salt Lake City, Utah. Cockett also will collaborate with Holtan on a research project that expands on Holtan's original research. Weimer also offers a major research component in her course Media Analysis. "In the near future we hope to have a senior-level course that is a capstone experience where the students can focus on a single research project," Fala says.

     All three faculty regularly present papers and lectures at professional conferences. Cockett, whose research focuses on how people form a professional identity, has published papers in several professional journals.

     "I do my professional research primarily through my students by working on projects with them," Weimer says. "That research eventually is used for curriculum development." Fala is working on a book about teaching, saying, "I want my research to inform my teaching and teaching has been the strength of our department since the beginning."