The Pilot
Wednesday, March 3,1999
Page 3
Comm Studies to offer PR in fall
Michelle Wood
Pilot staff
Take a walk through
Communication Studies Hall
and it won’t be long before you
see and hear the signs of a mas
sive construction project.
But the building is not the
only thing that is changing. The
program has also undergone
changes, with the addition of
some long-awaited academic
tracks.
This fall the department
will oifer a Public Relations
concentration within the
Communication Studies major.
This is a step that the depart
ment has been pursuing for sev
eral years.
Department chair Ted
Vaughn said, "We’re excited. It
will be a real growth for the
department and the university.
Public Relations represents one
of the fastest growing fields
today. It will i'ound out our pro
gram and make for a strong
academic curriculum."
Vaughn said there will ini
tially be no new personnel in
the department, but he expects
the number of students in the
major to triple over the next
five years. This would require
the addition of three new facul
ty members.
New courses to be offered
this fall include PR
Copywriting, Principles of PR,
and PR Techniques.
Vaughan said that the
opportunities in Public
Relations are endless. “PR is
active in almost every govern
ment, institution, corporation
and organization.”
The other major change in
the department is the addition
of two new majors, Journalism
and Theater. Until now, both
have only been offered as con
centrations within the
Communications Studies
major. Starting in the fall, they
will be seperate degree pro
grams.
“The Journalism major will
allow students to leave
Gardner-Webb with a more
impressive and solid back
ground that will help them get
jobs at newspapers, magazines
and in new media.” said profes
sor Bob Carey,
The new Theater degree
will also add some clout to
those students interested in the
ater. “The addition of a theater
major will give legitimacy to
our students. In the past, a
degree in Communication
Studies wouldn’t help a student
who wanted to continue their
work in theater. The Theater
major will do that,” said profes
sor Keith Cassidy, who over
sees the major.
Television is not new to the
department, but professor Vic
Costello is excited about
improvements being made in
the facilities
There is a new state-of-the-
art digital television studio,
which will be located in
Communication Studies Hall.
The TV studio is currently
located on the backside of Bost
Gym. Costello said that the new
30 X 40-foot studio will make
Gardner-Webb’s program more
competitive with other schools
in the southeast.
100 Books holds discussions for students
Mary Jones
Pilot copy editor
The YOTS 100 Books
Committee has invited all
Gardner-Webb family to three
upcoming book discussions.
The committee works to pro
mote books from their list of
“100 Book Worth Reading.”
The first discussion, led by
Dr. Barbara Burkett, Professor
of Natural Science, will be of
Darwin’s The Origin of Species
on Tuesday, March 16 at 5:30
p.m. On Tuesday, March 23 at
5:30, Dr. Charles Moore,
Professor of Spanish, will lead
a discussion of Cervantes’ Don
Quixote. And, on Thursday,
April 8 at 5:30, Professor of
Gardner-Webb
University
Free Tutoring on Any Concept or Problem Related to Writing
Qualified student consultants on duty
Various manuals and samptes available
for consultation In the Writing Center
1999 Spring Semester Hours
1:00-10:00 p.m. Monday-Thursday
1:00-3:00 p.m. Friday
7:00-9:00 p.m. Sunday
434-4393
Craig Hall, Room 110
We are not a proofreading service, but we can help you learn
to identify and correct your own errors.
English, Dr. David Parker, will
lead the discussion of T.S.
Eliot’s The Waste Land.
Copies of the works to be
discussed are being ordered by
the bookstore for purchase.
They’re also available in the
library and online.
Groups will meet at 5:30 in
the Bailey Dining Room to eat
supper and then the discussion
will begin at 6:00.
Dr. Hobbs, chair of the
YOTS 100 Books Committee
explained, “If you don’t have
time to read a book that inter
ests you, you might skim it,
reading some bits and pieces
that look interesting in more
detail and then come and talk
over some provocative ideas.”
The YOTS 100 Books
Committee website at
http://www.gardner-
webb.edu/GWU/NaturalSci/ph
ysics/phy 104/100books.htm
contains the complete list of
books and links to their online
texts and their record at GWU
Library’s online catalog.
WGWG uses Web survey
for listener preferences
Suzanna Saadi
Pilot staff
A listenership survey by
WGWG radio was recently
posted on the Internet to better
determine the listener’s prefer
ences.
Assistant Director of
Public Relations, Noel
Manning, hopes this new sur
vey will allow the public a bet
ter look at WGWG. “I wanted
to go to the public and say,
‘Hey, what do you want in a
radio station,”’ said Manning.
The survey asked 15 ques
tions and took less than five
minutes to answer. Additional
opinions on the components
and times of radio programs in
the comment section of the sur
vey were encouraged.
“Simple answers can help
solve complex questions,” said
Manning.
Anticipating the taking of a
survey since early last fall,
WGWG is looking for new
options to improve the station.
Manning compared the
survey to “looking at a road
map and trying to decide which
direction to go in.”
The studio is currently
being redesigned and reconfig
ured. The changes should begin
to be recognized by the public
in the next several months, said
Manning.
“The station is in the
process of refitting itself with
new' technology,” said
Manning. Planned improve
ments for the station include
semi-automated programing.
Located on the GWU
Communication Studies web
page, the survey ran until the
end of February. The surveys
are being examined and the
results will impact plans for the
station.