Dear colleagues,
I hope the summer is treating you well and that you have found time for rest and rejuvenation.
I wanted to take a moment to formally appreciate Jack Bratich for his service as interim chair over the past six months.
Thank you, Jack, for your commitment to JMS and for your hard work during the spring semester (and summer!) of 2023.
I am looking forward to advancing the many JMS initiatives that are underway in the coming year. Unfortunately, we don't yet have word on whether our proposed new hires have been approved, but as you saw from Jack's earlier email, we will be ready to move quickly if and when we get those approvals.
Also, we are awaiting final decisions on many of the doctoral students' requests for funding extensions. If you have a student who has been asking about teaching or TA assignments, please know that these discussions are underway but can't be finalized until we have more clarity.
You might recall that we voted to change the time of our 2023-2024 department meetings so that more faculty can attend Wednesday colloquia. JMS meetings will now run from 10:30-noon (vs. 11-1, in previous years). I will be following the model that Jack set of requesting committee and area reports prior to the meetings so that folks can do pre-reads and ask questions if needed. That seemed to streamline things and leave room for more discussion about focused topics. Meetings will remain virtual.
Since we will not be gathering for in-person meetings, what do you think about having a social gathering this fall? Regina and I have been talking through different options and wanted to get your input. I understand there have been gatherings at parks (this was before my time). We could also see what options there might be on campus. And I'm happy to host a gathering at my house in Philadelphia (it's about an hour by car from New Brunswick, or a 70 train ride from NYC). (If you want to map it out my address is 524 Christian Street, Philadelphia, 19147). The two weekends that I have my eye on are October 21/22 and October 28/29.
Let me know if you have thoughts!
Amy
Amy B. Jordan, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Department of Journalism and Media Studies
School of Communication & Information
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Phone 848-932-8789 Cell 610-721-4195
Email a.jordan(a)rutgers.edu
Address
4 Huntington Street
Room 307
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
