NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – The Board of Governors of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, today approved a resolution changing the name of the university’s School of Communication, Information and Library Studies to the School of Communication and Information. The change is effective July 1. The school’s faculty had earlier approved the name change.
“Communication and information are part of every academic discipline in the school,” said Dean Jorge Reina Schement. “They weave through all our academic programs and faculty research – including our library studies programs. Librarians, in fact, are at the forefront of all the current debates about information and how it should be communicated.”
Known as the School of Communication, Information and Library Studies since 1982, the School of Communication and Information will continue to house three of Rutgers’ academic departments: communication, journalism and media studies, and library and information science.
The names of the school’s academic programs remain unchanged. The school offers three undergraduate programs in journalism and media studies; communication; and information technology and informatics. There are also three graduate programs: a Ph.D. in communication, information and library studies; a master of communication and information studies; and a master of library and information science. The school also offers continuing education to working professionals through its Professional Development Studies program.
“This change will help the residents of New Jersey and the nation’s academic community better understand the strengths at Rutgers’ School of Communication and Information,” said Rutgers President Richard L. McCormick. “The new name also communicates the school’s mission and values at the very broadest level of scholarship and inquiry. This clarity is pivotal at a time when the fields of communication and information are central to societal changes occurring as we speak.”
The school’s faculty voted in favor of the name change Feb. 4 at a regularly scheduled faculty meeting. The tally was 30-10, with one abstention. The vote followed months of discussions within the school and among members of the Rutgers University community dating back to the summer of 2008.
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