From the Chair

As the new department chair, I'd like to personally welcome you to a special double issue of Compendium, our semi-annual alumni publication for the Communications Department here at CSUDH. In these pages, we try to maintain a sense of community and connection with our alumni by compiling student-produced articles about new developments regarding our department, programs, students, faculty and alumni.

So far, we have a lot to show for a very productive, rewarding and successful year. Despite decreasing enrollment throughout the CSU system, the Communications Department here at CSUDH continues to thrive and evolve. In fact, one of my primary goals as a first-time department chair has been to work diligently this year to actually expand our departmental footprint.

This includes developing collaborative partnerships with campus organizations like the Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) to increase our access to the university radio station, KDHR, both for COM majors to use their recording studio for producing professional-caliber podcasts and getting hands-on experience through a variety of internship opportunities.

We have also developed a strategic collaboration with the DHTV studio in Welch Hall that has allowed us to access their television studio to bring back and reboot our former Bulletin TV offered as an independent study project, where students have been working this spring on creating a broadcast news series called "Voices," which focuses on telling the stories of underrepresented and underreported communities on campus and beyond.

Additionally, after a year of reconstruction, our refurbished Bulletin newsroom was finally re-opened so that our student-run newspaper once again has a designated home where Journalism majors can cultivate a close-knit news culture by working collectively as a team in a professional newsroom setting. We have also refurbished another room on the third floor of the library, just down the hall from the Bulletin newsroom, where we hope to develop a practice studio space for students to be able to record and produce broadcast and other multimedia content.

These developments are particularly important because the Communications Department recently completed a successful academic search and hired the newest member of the COM faculty, Adam Elrashidi, who will serve as the newspaper advisor and bring a host of broadcast news experience to the Journalism Program starting this fall.

An award-winning producer, reporter, showrunner and cartoonist, Elrashidi is a former Media Center Fellow at USC Annenberg and has worked for NBC, Al-Jazeera and the EW Scripps Company, Newsy. His contributions to the program will allow us to offer a broader menu of digital and broadcast news offerings for our Journalism majors, including the "Voices" series, as well as provide continuing leadership for the Bulletin newspaper.

Another significant change to the Communications Department this year has been the loss of the Field House computer and production lab, as the university will soon be demolishing the building for the construction of a new Health, Wellness and Recreation Center. As a result, the Communications Department computer lab and its equipment were moved to a refurbished space in Welch Hall over the winter break. In terms of continuity, however, we have maintained a steady record of success with our PRSSA and SISJ clubs, Hollywood by the Horns program, as well as with our popular events like Story Slam and World Press Freedom Day, with the ongoing support of grants and fellowships from the Golden Globe Foundation, formerly the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Two of our major programs, FTVM and Journalism, were also recognized as "highlighted programs" by the university.

So, looking back, this year has indeed been one of expanding our departmental footprint with new collaborations, facilities and faculty. However, looking forward, we expect even bigger developments and announcements in the coming years that will showcase our ongoing commitment to keeping up with and preparing our students for the rapidly evolving media landscape and its transforming industries. That is why I recommend you keep a close eye on this space to see just what the future holds for our evolving department and what is yet to come for our AD/PR, Journalism and FTVM programs.

In the meantime, in this issue, you can read a variety of feature profiles on some of our accomplished students, faculty and alumni. These include stories about Journalism alum and sports announcer Daniel Tom, as well as COM faculty like Emmy Award-winning television writer Brad Pope, assistant professor Miriam Hernandez and computer lab coordinator and production instructor Paul Fornelli.

Other important stories to read in this issue include the return of Bulletin TV, the future of broadcasting in the department, award-winning students, grants from the Golden Globe Foundation, the challenges of being a re-entry student, and more.

So please enjoy reading this issue of Compendium and, in the continuing spirit of connection and community, we would love to hear from you too! If you have any successes or accomplishments you'd like to share or would like to be featured in the next edition of Compendium, please send me a note at bburkey@csudh.edu.

This fall, we also plan on sending out an alumni survey and hope to bring back our popular alumni gatherings, so keep an eye out for those and reach out to me if you'd like to join, participate, share your experience in our classrooms or just visit campus again. I look forward to welcoming you back to campus and reconnecting with you.

Until then, upwards and onwards…

Best Regards,

Dr. Brant Burkey

Communications Department Chair