Communications Division

The mission of the Communications Department is to develop in students a desire for excellence in scholarship, an ability to communicate effectively and an appreciation for the humanities. The department endorses the college's Mission Statement and strives to uphold its commitment to learning. The department strives to:

• meet students' needs by providing a variety of learning activities to address diverse learning styles.
• provide access to instruction through distance learning as well as traditional modes of delivery.
• prepare students to continue their education at four-year institutions or to enter the workforce.
• offer courses that allow students to upgrade communication skills and knowledge for personal enrichment or for job advancement.
• maintain an informed and professional faculty.

Degree Information

University parallel programs in the Communications Division include Communication Studies; English Language Arts Education: Middle/High School; Foreign Language; Journalism; Public Relations; Speech; Speech Pathology; and Telecommunication and Film or Broadcasting. These programs give students an opportunity to earn an associates degree before transferring to a four-year institution. Students whose majors are undecided or not listed may also complete courses from Jefferson State's General Studies Committee Approved Course Listing to transfer to four-year institutions. Students may also wish to obtain an AS in Liberal Studies while taking courses to transfer.

Highlights

• The Communications Division offers several English and speech courses via the Internet. Contact instructors listed in Class Schedule for more information.
• The Jefferson State Speech Team has been doing very well in competition. They are currently developing their own homepage. Students will soon be able to link to the homepage to see announcements, events, scholarship information, and more.
• The Speech Team also brought home awards from the Phi Rho Pi Nationals in Portland, Oregon where approximately 750 students from 73 different schools competed. Lawayne Childrey won the Bronze Award in Prose and the Bronze Award in Program Oral Interpretation; Lora Baker won the Bronze Award in Poetry. We are very proud of all members of the speech team.
• As participants in the Partners in Education program of Birmingham City Schools, Communications faculty members have tutored students at Jefferson State's partner school, Banks Middle School.
• Communications faculty member Christie Woods represented Jefferson State at a presentation on distance learning held at Troy State University. With over 44 colleges from across the state in attendance, Woods served as a panelist in a discussion on "Increasing the Interactivity of the Internet Classroom."

Recognitions of Excellence

• Liesl Ward Harris was honored among the Class of 2009 Chancellor’s Awards for Outstanding Faculty.
• Christie Woods was honored among the Class of 1998, 2003, 2005, and 2008 Chancellor’s Awards for Outstanding Faculty.
• Connie Caskey was honored among the Class of 2007 Chancellor’s Awards for Outstanding Faculty.
• Liesl Ward Harris received the Outstanding Faculty Member Award at Jefferson State in 2009.
• Mary Kaiser received the Outstanding Faculty Member Award at Jefferson State in 2006.
• Bob Renshaw received the Outstanding Faculty Member Award at Jefferson State in 2005.
• Natalie Dudchock received the Outstanding Faculty Member Award at Jefferson State in 2002.
• Christie Woods received the Outstanding Faculty Member Award at Jefferson State in 1998.
• Guyanne Baker received the Outstanding Faculty Member Award at Jefferson State in 1997.
• Kristin Henderson has been selected to serve on the New Media Consortium's Campus Leaders Advisory Board.
• Mary Kaiser has received an Individual Artist Fellowship in Poetry from the Alabama State Council on the Arts for 2009-10.
• Christie Woods was inducted into Delta Kappa Gamma Society International for Key Women Educators in 2008.
• Christie Woods was a David R. Pierce Faculty Technology Award Nominee in 2005.
• Liesl Ward Harris was named to Phi Theta Kappa’s Honors Committee.
• Liesl Ward Harris is a Phi Theta Kappa Faculty Scholar for 2010. She was also a Phi Theta Kappa Faculty Scholar for 2006, 2007, and 2009.
• Liesl Ward Harris served as advisor for Phi Theta Kappa’s International Most Distinguished Chapter (Out of over 1,250 Chapters) in 2008 and 2009.
• Liesl Ward Harris was named a Distinguished Advisor by Phi Theta Kappa.

Activities

• Red Mountain Reading Series 2010
• The Jefferson State Thespians (THR 120 class) was proud to present a free "Night of Theatre" on the Jefferson Campus in the Fitzgerald Student Center.

• Wingspan is the literary and arts magazine published each year by Jefferson State Community College, usually appearing in the Fall semester. Our mission is to bring together a range of poetry, prose, art and photography to produce a magazine that reflects the work and interests of both our college community and the communities we serve. We accept submissions from students, faculty, staff, and community members all year long.  Written work should be sent in MS Word, and art/photography should be sent as jpeg files, to the editor at lovinguth@jeffstateonline.com.  We encourage everyone who has an interest in literature and the arts to send us his or her work.  Each person whose work is chosen to appear in the magazine is given two free copies of the bound, printed version and invited to read at the Spring semester reading, following the publication. Hard copies are available at campus libraries, and an electronic version is also available here. (All copy and publication rights remain with the author/artist.)