## Motion: Tenure Track Corporate Communication Faculty Hire

Motion The Curricular Affairs Committee moves that the Penn State York Campus Senate support the search for a tenure line faculty member in corporate communication. Pending administrative approval, this search would be conducted during the second half of academic year 2019-20, with a successful candidate beginning academic year 2020-21.

Rationale The new tenure line faculty member will teach both communication arts and sciences (CAS) and corporate communication courses, specifically Digital Media courses centered around digital design, social media (both creating content and management), mass communication, and data analytics. Thus, the course list includes:

- • Media for Corporate Communication (CC 406) • Media for Corporate Communication (CC 406)
- • Design for Communication (COM 241) • Design for Communication (COM 241)
- • Communication (CC 401) • Communication (CC 401)
- • in Corporate Communication (CC 495A), and • in Corporate Communication (CC 495A), and
- • Communication (CAS 100A or CAS 100B). • Communication (CAS 100A or CAS 100B).

Corporate communication is increasingly reliant on the design aspect, which calls for a specialist in how design informs the broader organizational goals. The ideal candidate would have design experience and expertise across different organizational settings (for example, for-profit, nonprofit, or NGOs). Qualifications should include an MFA in design or a Ph.D. in communication with a focus on digital media production design. Additionally, the new hire would integrate applications in the Adobe Suite into the broader corporate communication curriculum. This, in turn, will give students who graduate with a degree in corporate communication an edge in a competitive marketplace. Fusing this resource into the degree program accelerates the abilities of students to build portfolios, achieve internships and entry- level positions, create start-ups, and expand digital literacy across the York campus.

A successful candidate will also help the transition to corporate communication, giving coverage across the available courses. The social media for corporate communication (CC 406) course should be a draw for students—emphasizing current theory and trends in this critical area—as well as potentially serving as a capstone for our majors. CC 406 would introduce various platforms used in social media campaigns while allowing students to gain a certification in analytics (e.g., Google Analytics). Graphic Design for Communication (COMM 241) would emphasize Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, and the principles of design across various contexts. CAS 100A/B could use Adobe Spark or virtual reality (VR)/augmented reality (AR) platforms to create video speeches or engage in historical debates. Similarly, Internal Communication (CC 401) could focus on design functions for employees, from streamlining Human Resource or Customer Relationship Management (CRM) portals in Adobe Dreamweaver to building communication campaigns aimed at employee wellness or health. While maintaining three different curriculums, ideally the candidate could teach CAS courses as well, if needed.

Ideally, a new hire would also be able to bring in aspects of AR/VR or a specialty in some form of industry techniques to the classroom experience while performing excellent departmental, university, community, and professional service.