To the editor:

As a long-time faculty member in journalism and printing and as a former faculty senate president, I am more than saddened by the termination of the multimedia journalism program at Arkansas State University.

I understand the dynamics that led to the unfortunate but inevitable decision. You can’t support a program when there are few students. It didn’t have to be that way. Reorganization, attrition and just plain neglect put the department on life-support, so pulling the proverbial plug was understandable.

But as Rahm Emmanuel, a protégé of Arkansas’ own Bill Clinton once said, “Don’t let a good crisis go to waste.” 

The alumni, community leaders and members, along with many media leaders have shown concern and support for the best-respected journalism program in the region. There is a great deal of support for A-State journalism well beyond state and regional borders.

There’s an opportunity to take the legacy of Tex Plunkett and Joel Gambill, two legendary A-State journalism professors, and hundreds of others, who, like me, have gone on to remarkable careers due to the very special dedication, professionalism and care the program presented.

We need to preserve that legacy to present it as a gift to future generations. But the internal and external circumstances that led A-State to this point continue to bedevil it. However, there are ways to move forward. 

Make a strategic plan. Look at your opportunities and the demands of the journalism market. Look at the needs and aspirations of potential students. Look at the needs of the employment market. It exists in a more entrepreneurial and digital form than in the past, so create a new plan to meet those needs.

Find donors, foundations, public and private grants and funds, as well as individual contributions, to develop an endowment to grow the program and supplement salaries, purchase equipment, etc.

Look at new models, such as developing interdisciplinary programs like media literacy, a much-needed niche in our current society. Partner with businesses to develop entrepreneurial programs that empower people to grow their digital presence into a sustainable career. 

Revive former associations with faculty in public relations, advertising and broadcasting and do so while ignoring as much as possible interpersonal issues that plagued such partnerships in the past.

I suggest forming a committee or task force dedicated to drawing up a strategic plan to revive and reconstitute the journalism program at A-State. I would certainly volunteer to be involved.

I realize it’s tempting to do something cosmetic and call it journalism, but the alumni, the state, region and the potential future students deserve better.

Categories: Opinion