Welcome!
I love my department. Every day when I come to work, I am among seasoned educators
with a passion and commitment to excellence, colleagues who are deeply invested in
students and preparing them for life after ETSU. In my classes, I have the pleasure
of engaging with undergraduate and graduate students who care deeply about our society
and world and want to leave it better than they found it. My job is a dream come true.
The Department of Communication Studies and Storytelling is more than a collection of people: it is the embodiment of a belief that if we can understand others better and reflect on how we engage with our friends, family, employers, neighbors, and strangers we can empower ourselves and them for change.
Every year I see our students graduate and launch into exciting careers. The training offered in our department has been proven to prepare students for a variety of careers from web marketing to pharmaceutical sales, to corporate learning & development, to graduate degrees in law and counselling. In the community you will see our alumni working as attorneys, bank officers, therapists, storytellers, and community-healthcare liaisons.
When I hear from our former students, they all tell me the same thing: their degree in either Communication Studies (BA/BS) or Communication & Storytelling Studies (MA), prepared them for their successes today.
Look around and be in touch. Like me, I think you’ll find that we have something pretty special here.
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Vision, Mission, Goals, & Values
VISION:
To offer high demand, high impact communication and storytelling training that is recognized on campus and throughout the region as vital to improving the human condition and creating fulfilling career paths.
MISSION:
The Department of Communication and Performance advances the understanding of communication by focusing on the ways people communicate with each other personally and professionally, embracing the complexity of human diversity, and examining the ways in which identity and meaning are created through the stories we tell and the stories we are told.
We engage our mission by pursuing the goals and upholding the values below.
GOALS:
- To ready students for a variety of careers by enhancing their practical communication skills, including both oral and written communication, and by equipping students with the experience, knowledge, craft, and competence of working professionals and leaders.
- To facilitate intellectual growth, research training and discovery, critical thinking acumen, and performance craft for students and faculty.
- To explore human performance in its many forms and utilize it as a way of understanding and knowing.
- To promote civic engagement, social responsibility, and civil dialogue in local, national, and global arenas.
- To make vital contributions to liberal arts education at ETSU by offering an exceptional General Education program in oral communication through skilled training provided by recognized experts from the communication discipline.
- To support the professional aspirations of our graduates and maintain ongoing relationships with them, while seeking out opportunities to connect our current students with our alumni.
- To foster a work environment that values each individual’s contributions, inspires good humor and creative problem-solving, promotes personal and professional growth, and recognizes each person as a member of families and communities beyond work.
VALUES:
- Relationships—that are healthy, respectful, and mutually beneficial for all members of our department community.
- Excellence—in critical thinking, academic endeavor, creative exploration, and artistic expression.
- Inclusiveness—that fosters respectful, ethical engagements and dialogues across populations and communities, and that advocates for free and open exchange of ideas, sustained democratic values, and working for the public good.
- Scholarship—that is pragmatic, critical, theoretical, and creative, and that is a product of passionate engagement with important social and research questions.
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Sample Careers for our majors and minors
Sample Careers for Communication and Storytelling students:
- Non-profit leadership
- Professional Storytelling
- Project Management
- Teaching
- University Admissions or Student Affairs
- Event Planning
- Client Services
- Community Relations
- Human Resources
- Communication Director
- Project Management
- Ministry
- Sales
- Health Administration
- Teaching
- Marketing
- Social Media Management
- Public Advocacy
- Health Education
