Strategic Communication

Degree Type Bachelor of Arts

Department Journalism and Mass Communications

Academic Division The College

Offerings Major

Students who study Strategic Communication at Washington and Lee benefit from a liberal arts education provided through a professional prism. By offering students the best of both, we prepare them to participate in a democratic society by teaching them to think critically, to communicate clearly, and to fully recognize the role of news, public relations and other forms of media in a free society.

About the Department

As the only accredited journalism and mass communications department in a small, highly selective, nationally ranked liberal arts college, we are committed not only to broadening minds, but also to inculcating habits of honor, careful analysis, reasoned discourse and excellent writing in an increasingly diverse and pluralistic culture.

Through our signature Knight Program in Media Ethics, we ensure that students understand the ethical dimensions of the decisions they will make.

The department’s demanding professional courses are taught by faculty with extensive academic and professional experience and achievement in newsrooms and public relations. Reid Hall, which houses the department, provides students with an up-to-date technological environment that prepares them for working in multimedia communications. The heart and soul of the building is its third floor, home to a newsroom, TV studio and control room. There, students in several classes work together to produce The Rockbridge Report, a newscast and website that are regularly recognized for excellence by professional journalism organizations.

To make sure students are well grounded in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, they must take more courses outside the department than within. We offer two professionally oriented majors, Journalism and Strategic Communication, and a minor in Mass Communications.

Why Study Strategic Communication at W&L?

The Strategic Communication major prepares students to craft messages for corporations, nonprofit organizations or governmental agencies.

The Mass Communications minor provides students in other disciplines with the opportunity to learn about the professional values, theory and practice of media, while honing their information-gathering, analytical and writing skills.

Opportunities for Students

Our students are stars, in their summer internships and the jobs they land after they graduate and leave W&L. Both Journalism and Strategic Communication majors are required to complete summer internships, opportunities that have taken students from Austin and Boston to Seattle and Shanghai.

Our graduates are running PR and marketing campaigns for clients at the Grey Group, Edelman and Ruder Finn in New York. They devise communications strategies for nonprofit organizations such as a philanthropic foundation in Oklahoma and the Woodberry Forest School in Virginia. And they serve as top executives at firms from coast to coast, from Zillow in Seattle to FleishmanHillard in New York.

Adedayo 'Dayo' Abah

Department Head

P: 540-458-8077

E: abahd@wlu.edu

Melissa Cox

Administrative Assistant

P: 540-458-8432

E: coxm@wlu.edu

Sample Courses

At W&L, we believe education and experience go hand-in-hand. You'll be encouraged to dive in, explore and discover connections that will broaden your perspective.

JOUR 201

Public Relations Writing

A writing course to teach the many forms of persuasive writing used by public relations practitioners to reach diverse audiences. Through frequent writing assignments and revisions, students master the art of press releases, media pitches, media alerts, features, public service announcements, newsletters, press kits, backgrounders and coverage memos for appropriate media outlets. Students are exposed to social media and video skills as well as writing.

JOUR 190

Beyond Google & Wikipedia

An introduction to information sources that academic researchers, journalists, public relations and advertising professionals rely on increasingly in the digital age to conduct scholarly research, report and write news stories, and to find, analyze and present research on trends in mass communications. Students learn how to evaluate sources of information for credibility and quality, while they strengthen their basic research skills to go beyond Google and dig below the surface of today's high-tech world.

JOUR 220

Social Media: Principles & Practice

In this course, students dive deep into social media, learning how to use it as thoughtful and ethical professionals, and examining its growing roles in society, politics, identity and relationships. Students get hands-on experience in producing news for social media by running a multi-platform social news service. They also learn how to plan a strategic social media campaign, how to use metrics to analyze social media effectiveness, and how to use social media in reporting.

JOUR 371

Reporting in Business

This course enables students to explore ethical challenges that arise within the various communication practices of contemporary media: journalism, public relations, advertising, documentary film, blogging and fictional programming. The course offers a grounding in moral reasoning and an understanding of professional ethics as an evolving response to changing social and industrial conditions in the media industries.

JOUR 345

Media Ethics

JOUR 362

Producing for Print & Online Media

Preparation for leadership roles in electronic media. Extensive work in decision-making and management in the newsroom through television news producing and Internet content construction.

Meet the Faculty

At W&L, students enjoy small classes and close relationships with professors who educate and nurture.

Adedayo 'Dayo' Abah Department Head and Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications

Abah teaches courses in law and communications, strategic communication, and global communication. Her research interests include First Amendment law, international speech rights, online regulations, and media, politics and gender in Africa.

Claudette Artwick Associate Professor of Journalism & Mass Communications

Dr. Artwick teaches courses on digital storytelling for news and strategic communication. She explores the impact of live video on society in her recent book, "Social Media Livestreaming: Design for Disruption?"

Nandini Bhalla Assistant Professor of Journalism & Mass Communications

P: 540-458-8240 E: nbhalla@wlu.edu

Nandini teaches courses in strategic communication, global public relations, media representation of minorities and yoga. Her research areas include global public relations, corporate social responsibility, and media representation of yoga. Her research has been published in top-tier journals including Public Relations Review, Corporate Communication: an International Journal, and International Journal of Strategic Communication.

Mark Coddington Assistant Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications

Coddington teaches courses on digital journalism, media bias, social media and reporting. His research interests include media sociology, online news production, networked and participatory journalism, and social media.

Aly Colón John S. and James L. Knight Professor of Media Ethics

P: 540-458-8433 E: colona@wlu.edu

Colón teaches courses on the ethics of journalism, poverty in the media, media ethics, and race and ethnicity in media. Previously, he worked for a news service, daily newspapers, public radio and a journalism institute.

Douglas Cumming Associate Professor of Journalism & Mass Communications

Cumming teaches courses on news and beat reporting, the magazine, the literature of journalism, and a multimedia international course in Urbino, Italy. His research interests include literary journalism and American history.

Kevin Finch Assistant Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications

Finch teaches broadcast producing, announcing and documentaries. He was a large market TV news director who also covered 9/11 in Washington, the Senate post-impeachment vote on President Clinton and the Atlanta Olympics bombing.

Toni Locy Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications

Locy teaches courses on covering the courts and law, news writing, in-depth reporting, multimedia storytelling design and sports journalism. She was previously a journalist for 25 years, covering primarily the federal court system.

Pam Luecke Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications

Luecke is the department’s intern coordinator, helping both Journalism and Strategic Communication majors find summer jobs. Previously, she was a journalist for 25 years and worked as editor of the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader.

Alecia Swasy Donald W. Reynolds Professor of Business Journalism

Swasy teaches courses on business and economic reporting, media management and entrepreneurship. She previously worked as a reporter and editor for the Wall Street Journal and Tampa Bay Times. She is the author of three books.