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The end of a school year always brings a mix of emotions as we celebrate the many accomplishments over the past year, but say goodbye to the students as they move into new beginnings or return in the fall.
On May 13, the School of Communication welcomed 198 Hokies into the alumni family. This number included 191 undergraduates with 52 from our communication major, 38 in multimedia journalism, 81 in public relations, and 20 in sports media and analytics. Seven graduate students graduated this spring. They all successfully defended their theses or completed their project reports to earn an M.A. in Communication.
The 2022 College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences commencement ceremony featured one of our own as the commencement speaker! Liz Hart, a 2007 communication graduate, spurred the students on with her speech. You can learn more about Liz’s journey en route to becoming the deputy White House social secretary.
Our fall admissions’ decisions are right on pace with what we expected. In all, 154 students are projected to join the School of Communication family in the fall after a record-breaking 1,010 applications this cycle. There continues to be such exciting growth surrounding the school!
We were thrilled for the return of "Comm Week" in April after putting it on hold for the past two years due to COVID-19. Comm Week is a weeklong professional development program for our students. Over the course of the week, we recorded 400+ attendees across eight events. The highlight of the week was “Commpass,” our networking event with communication professionals and alumni. Twenty-three professionals attended and connected with nearly 100 of our students to help develop the next wave of talented practitioners from the School of Communication.
Giving Day 2022 was a smashing success! The 164 donors and $12,622 raised were both new records for the School of Communication. Thank you for your many contributions.
Our graduating students aren’t the only ones saying goodbye. My time at Virginia Tech has officially ended with retirement. Douglas Cannon is now serving as the interim director until July 1 at which point our new director will assume the position.
The last 34 years in Blacksburg and 21 leading the Department/School of Communication have been humbling and rewarding, to say the least. I appreciate your kindness and support every step of the journey. I’ve always said I’m a Demon Deacon and Boilermaker by pedigree, but I’ve become a Hokie by choice. Thank you, again, and all the best in all of your endeavors ahead.
Robert E. Denton, Jr.
Director, School of Communication
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