Updates regarding the development of the new journalism curriculum were presented to members of the multimedia journalism (MMJ) and creative media production (CMP) faculty April 3. 

Provost Calvin White, Ph.D., along with William McLean, Ph.D., senior vice provost for academic affairs, told attending faculty the MMJ and CMP programs could be merged, or a new journalism program be created, provided it is different from the deleted MMJ program.

The program was considered non-viable by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE) in April 2023. Per the ADHE, the last people to graduate from the program will be May 2027. 

It is currently unclear which route the faculty will take, however, each program must provide two representatives by Wednesday to meet to discuss further changes to the program.

“The provost was very adamant in saying, ‘Hey, we’re hands off. We’re going to let you guys do it. We’re not going to intervene. We’ll get you the resources you need and support you. But it does have to get through ADHE, and ADHE will be checking,’” said Terrance Armstard, MMJ instructor and adviser to Delta Digital News Service.

McLean said there is no time frame for when a completed program must be presented to the ADHE. 

MMJ program coordinator Lillie Fears, Ph.D., said regardless of which direction the faculty takes, this new program will need to focus on recruitment and retention. 

“We don’t want to put old wine in new bottles. In other words, don’t bring back the same thing you’ve been doing,” Fears said. “We need to do a better job of getting our message out about what we really do in multimedia journalism. People keep saying ‘You’re just doing print,’ because they see The Herald, but we teach other skills.” 

In previous Faculty Senate meetings discussing the status of the MMJ program, Chancellor Todd Shields, Ph.D., said if the MMJ and CMP programs could not work together, the program could be placed under receivership, which would place control of the curriculum under a third party. 

However, during the meeting, White said Arkansas State University does not want to place the program under receivership.

“What happens is it creates ill feelings toward everybody. It turns folks off,” Fears said. “(White) said he’s seen situations where folks get so mad, that they won’t come back to the university for anything. He said (the administrators) don’t want to do that.”

Whatever the faculty decides for the program, both MMJ and CMP members said they wanted to create the best possible option for students.

“The big takeaway is that we want to do what is really best for the students, whatever career that they pursue, whether it’s a creative media career or journalistic career,” said Michael Bowman, Ph.D., associate professor of creative media production. “That’s the primary focus that we’re trying to achieve.”

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