The University of Colorado Board of Regents today voted 8-0 with one Regent absent to approve the new College of Media, Communication and Information at the Regents鈥� monthly meeting, held at the Tivoli Center at the University of Colorado Denver. The college will open in fall 2015.
鈥淭he new college will deliver groundbreaking teaching and research that will ensure our students鈥� success by providing them with the expertise and versatility they need to thrive in a rapidly evolving communication landscape,鈥� said University of Colorado Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano. 听
鈥淭his marks a transformative period for media education across the nation, and CU-Boulder鈥檚 College of Media, Communication and Information places the campus at the vital center of these exciting changes,鈥� he said. 听
The vote marks the first creation of a new college at CU-Boulder in more than 50 years. It moves forward the reorganization of the Department of Communication and the Program in Journalism and Mass Communication into one college.
The next step in development of the college will come in September when the Regents will be asked to formally approve departments of advertising, public relations and media design; communication; critical media practices; journalism; information science; and media studies.
Plans for the new college have been underway since the Board of Regents鈥� charge in 2011 to create a journalism program with innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to propel CU-Boulder to national leadership in media education. The process has included input from faculty, students and staff, as well as alumni and industry.
Industry professionals who attended the meeting praised the design of the new college and said it would be a vital feeder for their professions.
Tim Wieland, news director at Denver television station KCNC, member of CU-Boulder鈥檚 Journalism Advisory Board and a CU alumnus, told the board that the new college would be an investment in a successful future for CU broadcast students and other graduates of the college.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 happening in our business is game changing; just because it鈥檚 changing, doesn鈥檛 mean it鈥檚 dying . . . it鈥檚 thriving,鈥� Wieland said. 鈥淭he students at CU-Boulder can look forward to a bright future, and they鈥檒l be well prepared for it thanks to this new college.鈥�
Daniel Junge, an Academy Award-winning filmmaker from Colorado, said the new college鈥檚 documentary filmmaking courses are an innovation occurring at exactly the right time.
鈥淎t this year鈥檚 Tribeca film festival, there were four films by Colorado filmmakers,鈥� Junge said. 鈥淚 challenge you to find another state outside of New York and California represented that way. We鈥檙e in a golden age of documentary right now, and I would like to advocate for the creation of this program.鈥�
CU journalism student Halley Terleski, a junior who serves on the J-Board 鈥� a journalism board composed of CU students, said she and her fellow journalism students thought 鈥淐MCI will be an amazing addition to CU,鈥� and that it 鈥渨ill strengthen a CU-Boulder degree.鈥�
At the meeting, CU-Boulder Provost Russell L. Moore, Vice Provost Jeff Cox and Journalism Director Chris Braider presented the vision of the college to the Board.
The vision for the college was praised by a number of the Regents.
Regent Sue Sharkey, who opposed the vote to discontinue the School of Journalism and Mass Communication in 2010, said she was won over 鈥�100 percent鈥� and that she wished the program had been in place when her daughter was a CU journalism student several years ago.
鈥淭here was an incredible amount of thought and talent and ideas that went into this,鈥� Sharkey said.
Regent Joe Neguse, who also opposed the 2010 discontinuance vote, was impressed at how CU leaders had brought an outside-in approach to conceiving and designing the college.
鈥淵ou all have done exceptional work and it鈥檚 clear that you have engaged the industry in a way that has been difficult for the university in the past. I鈥檓 proud to support it,鈥� Neguse said.
Outgoing CU Regents Chair Michael Carrigan put it even more simply.
鈥淚t shows the kind of innovation this university is capable of,鈥� he said.
The college is projected to open with about 1,750 students and will be funded from existing resources.
More information about the new college is available at .
