McKinley Building Renovated School of Communication

The School of Communication (SOC) at

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was char ...

is accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. The school offers six undergraduate majors:

communication studies Communication studies or communication science is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in different ...

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (prof ...

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...

and

strategic communication Strategic communication can mean either communicating a concept, a process, or data that satisfies a long-term strategic goal of an organization by allowing facilitation of advanced planning, or communicating over long distances usually using inte ...

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed i ...

, and communication, language, and culture (the last two jointly administered with the College of Arts and Sciences) along with a minor in communication. In addition, interdisciplinary degrees such as communications, law, economics and government (CLEG, which is housed in the School of Public Affairs), take classes within SOC. SOC offers four graduate programs in film and media arts, public communication, journalism and game design, and a post-graduate program in communication studies. Undergraduates an any major at AU are given the opportunity to complete a combined bachelor's/master's within SOC. The School of Communication is headquartered in the McKinley Building, which was built in 1907 and named after President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

. It was completely renovated in 2012 and reopened in 2014. McKinley houses specialized classrooms, multi-purpose learning spaces, computer labs supporting digital imaging, online content creation, motion graphics, multichannel audio, and full HD video editing.

Divisions

*Journalism *Film and media arts *Public Communication *Communication Studies

Centers within SOC

* Center for Environmental Filmmaking * Investigative Reporting Workshop * Center for Media and Social Impact * AU Game Lab * Current Media * Internet Governance Lab

Notable alumni

* Jarrett Bellini, American writer and humorist * Jim Brady, editor-in-chief,

Digital First Media MNG Enterprises, Inc., doing business as Digital First Media and MediaNews Group, is a Denver, Colorado-based newspaper publisher owned by Alden Global Capital. The company has been growing its portfolio and as of May 2021, owns over 100 newsp ...

Alisyn Camerota Alisyn Lane Camerota (born June 21, 1966) is an American broadcast journalist and political commentator. She currently co-hosts CNN Newsroom from 2-4 pm with Victor Blackwell. She formerly was anchor of CNN's morning show '' New Day'' and a pr ...

, anchor and correspondent,

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is own ...

Jamie Erdahl Jamie Erdahl (December 3, 1988) is an American reporter for NFL Network and CBS Sports. She currently serves as one of the hosts of Good Morning Football on NFL Network. She was formerly the lead sideline reporter for the '' SEC on CBS'', teamin ...

, reporter and host,

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W 5 ...

* Barry Josephson, president, Josephson Entertainment * Michael Kempner, president and chief executive officer, The MWW Group * Rick Leventhal, senior correspondent, Fox News *

Barry Levinson Barry Lee Levinson (born April 6, 1942) is an American filmmaker, comedian and actor. Levinson's best-known works are mid-budget comedy drama and drama films such as ''Diner'' (1982); '' The Natural'' (1984); ''Good Morning, Vietnam'' (1987); ' ...

, writer, director, and Producer,

Baltimore Pictures Barry Lee Levinson (born April 6, 1942) is an American filmmaker, comedian and actor. Levinson's best-known works are mid-budget comedy drama and drama films such as ''Diner'' (1982); ''The Natural'' (1984); ''Good Morning, Vietnam'' (1987); '' ...

* Giuliana Rancic, host,

E! News ''E! News'', previously known as ''E! News Daily'' and ''E! News Live'', is the infotainment, entertainment news operation for the cable network E! in the United States. Its former on-air weekday newscast debuted on September 1, 1991, and prima ...

* Cecilia Vega, correspondent and anchor,

ABC News ABC News is the journalism, news division of the American broadcast network American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other progra ...

* Susan Zirinsky, president,

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', '' CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 ...

Notable faculty

* Sanford J. Ungar, former Dean of American University School of Communication and President of Goucher College * Sophie Williams II, American production sound mixer, two-time

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

winner for Best Sound * Patricia Aufderheide, scholar and public intellectual on media and social change, expert on

fair use Fair use is a doctrine in United States law that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to balance the interests ...

in media creation and scholarship. * Chris Palmer (film producer), world-renowned environmental and wildlife producer, director of the Center for Environmental Filmmaking at

. * Laura DeNardis, American author and globally recognized scholar of

Internet governance Internet governance consists of a system of laws, rules, policies and practices that dictate how its board members manage and oversee the affairs of any internet related- regulatory body. This article describes how the Internet was and is current ...

and technical infrastructure, tenured Professor and Associate Dean at American University School of Communication. * Charles Lewis, investigative journalist based in D.C., founder of The Center for Public Integrity, and current executive editor of the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University School of Communication.

References

External links

American University School of Communication
{{authority control American University Film schools in the United States Journalism schools in the United States