A Major Idea DEAN MAYES DEBUTS THE MODERN MEDIA STUDIES DEPARTMENT by Megan Kelly graphic by Brett Lider When someone mentions "The University of Virginia," what's the first thing that comes to mind? Is it Thomas Jefferson and the Lawn? Or perhaps high academic ranking and prestige? Or possibly even Rugby Road and the Greek system? Undoubtedly, one of the most fundamental aspects of almost every facet of the university is the great importance placed on tradition. Although U.Va. prides itself on a long and illustrious history, it seems as though certain traditions have received more emphasis than others. While browsing through a course catalog, one particular tradition is conspicuously under-represented in its pages: the field of media studies. "U.Va. has a tradition involving the mass media?" you may ask. Well, I'm glad you did. U.Va.'s involvement in mass media goes even further back than Dean Bernard Mayes of the English Department, who was the first chairman of National Public Radio (NPR), or his colleague, Professor John Sullivan, who played an integral role in marketing C-SPAN for educational use. Edwin Alderman, the first President of the university, set an outstanding precedent for innovation within the field of mass media. In 1927 Alderman was appointed by the newly established National Broadcasting Company (NBC) as the first chairman for the Subcommittee on Education. He felt tremendously enthusiastic about the recent invention of the radio, believing it would completely revolutionize our educational system. With the advent of radio, Alderman saw possibilities for a "university of the air," in which lectures could be heard outside the confines of the classroom. In a report to the National Advisory Council dating from January, 1930, Alderman praised radio's limitless applications: "There was no precedent to guide it ... It was only clear that there was something new in communication. Never before had artist, speaker, entertainer dreamed of such an audience. Only the coldest imagination failed to kindle at the prospect." So with such long standing exploits and innovations within the modern media, it seems curious that there is currently no major available in this field. Luckily, that is about to change. First years and second years undecided about a major are fortunate to have an exciting new opportunity starting next fall: the Modern Media Studies Program. Establishing a program in modern media studies has been in the works for five years now. Back in 1992, plans were made to terminate the Rhetoric and Communications Studies Department [RCS] in order to conserve academic funding and reorganize the program, which had been criticized for being too bifurcated. The idea for an interdisciplinary program rather than an entire department was brought before the Development Office. Timothy B. Robertson, a 1977 U.Va. alumnus, donated $1.2 million for a Media Center which will consist of some of the most advanced technology available. Dean Mayes clarifies the difference between RCS and the new program as follows: "Departments are full-fledged, fully-peopled organizations, while interdisciplinary programs are much more like Women's Studies. Women's Studies is not a department; Political and Social Thought is not a department. The courses are scattered amongst existing departments and must be organized in terms of a program of study to be authorized by the Faculty Committee on Curriculum and Educational Policy. The Committee must meet and recommend to the entire faculty the existence of this program. We haven't gotten to this stage yet." The university currently offers around 25 courses in the English, History, Sociology, and Drama departments that analyze the modern media and its impact on society. These courses must now be organized into an acceptable curriculum of study. While a librarian has been hired to gather the research materials for this still largely undeveloped field of study (over half of the donation will go to the Timothy B. and Lisa Nelson Robertson Media Center that will be housed on the third floor of Clemons), no new faculty members are expected to be recruited. According to Dean Mayes, "$1.2 million isn't really enough to hire anybody except a chair and a director or someone like that. We need more money, and I hope we can raise another million to match it." In an interview, Dean Mayes shared his thoughts on the university and the new Modern Media Studies Program: "To some extent, this university -- specifically the alumni and the Board of Visitors -- is conservative, and therefore has largely developed with the brakes on. Although there are historic reasons for that, it has inhibited a lot of growth which otherwise would have taken place in newer fields, including the modern media. While it's true that the modern media is only 100 years old, it's time we got into it. Other universities have had great trouble with getting into it too soon, so I think we are right on the cutting edge. But we need to put our shoulders into it and devote ourselves to developing a good, solid program, not something that is just superficial -- not doing it for the sake of keeping up with the fashion, but because we believe in it. "The modern media has become an increasingly viable, intellectual field. It's slow; it's small, but it's there, and it's not going to go away. Critics dismiss it as too new a field, but look at historians who study the Cold War. It is perfectly justified to study something that is modern using theoretical research. Other universities and trade schools wouldn't go back into the past to study it; they would simply teach you how to write news stories, which is not U.Va.'s intention. We need to examine what's happening in the media; we don't need to train people to make more television commercials. "I've taught at several universities, and of them all, I prefer U.Va. because Jefferson's approach to knowledge and education was almost omnivorous. He believed in the importance of all studies, not just particular ones. Unfortunately, I feel this university could do more in that direction than it has done. The conservative nature of the university is a bit frustrating, and I don't know why it still persists. I think it is largely because of alumni who thought of the university as a small backwater and were not particularly interested in getting into the modern world." This sentiment is not without precedent among the university's elite. As Alderman stated in his report, "A death blow has been dealt to isolation and exclusiveness, whether geographical, cultural or social. Only education has lagged behind ... the greatest medium in communication ever offered for awakening and stimulating the people's interest in the arts and sciences is still largely unused." The same can also be said about the field of modern media studies. For U.Va., a university steeped in tradition, I can only echo the words of Dean Mayes: the time has come.

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