About

Our Mission and Values

As a school grounded in the Liberal Arts, we seek to equip learners with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to think critically, to make decisions independently, and to adapt to an increasingly diverse world. Our mission is to observe, interpret, and evaluate communication behaviors and processes, with particular interests in the construction of messages and meanings. At both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and across various contexts—interpersonal, organizational, and public—we strive to understand how communication affects identities, communities, and cultures, and to develop communicators who are effective and ethical.

As a community of scholars, the School of Communication Studies values inclusivity, mutual respect, curiosity, and responsibility. We are committed to breadth and inclusiveness in the courageous pursuit of ideas. We honor diverse knowers and ways of knowing. We enact these values as we engage with each other in the development, examination, dissemination, and application of ideas about communication theory, research, and practice.