Dean's Outlook
Communication dean reshapes program
Blending traditions with innovations
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| Amiable and inquisitive, Diederich College of Communication Dean John Pauly believes that Catholic and Ignatian principles go a long way in helping students develop their communication skills. |
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When Diederich College of Communication Dean John Pauly was hired early this year, he saw an unprecedented opportunity. Not only was he now a dean — having come from St. Louis University where he was a renowned professor — but he became responsible for implementation of a $28 million gift from college namesakes J. William and Mary Diederich.
“A lot of faculty go through their whole careers and never have an opportunity to really shape a program the way they would like,” he says. “Because of the Diederich gift, we now have that opportunity — and that responsibility.”
Pauly plans to leverage his knowledge of the communication field and its historical trends. “We want to keep the best traditions,” he says. “In journalism, for example, that means a commitment to writing skills, interpretive abilities, research and fairness.” Additionally, disciplines within the college that used to operate autonomously will now establish critical partnerships. “Journalists need to learn how to work with people in public relations, and so they need to understand that discipline. The opposite is true for PR students,” he explains.
Amiable and inquisitive, Pauly believes that Catholic and Ignatian principles go a long way in helping students develop their communication skills. “Jesuits talk about the value of discernment, by which they mean a kind of ethical self-consciousness and reflection,” he says. “That’s a core talent for communication people to possess.”
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