Candidates who want to hold position in the journalism and mass communications department held interviews with faculty and students to give their views and spoke on how they would be a great fit as the new chair. 

On April 12, a small group of students met with a potential candidate to replace Interim Chair of the Journalism and Mass Communications Department, Dr. Dewayne Wickham. Dr. Cindy Killion presented her ideas to improve the department if selected for the position and answered questions from inquiring students.

Killion is currently the Mass Communications Department Chair at Winona State University in Winona, MN. She has a background in photojournalism and received her PhD in 2004. She is Cherokee Indian and wrote her dissertation on mainstream news coverage of Indian repatriation.

During the informal and intimate interview with students, Killion spoke of plans to develop closer relationships with local media outlets in order to help students find more internships and land more jobs.

With major budget cuts at A&T, students have seen some department amenities disappear. An important role of the chairperson is to act as an advocate for the department. “I can be very diplomatic and I can do it without using the ‘F’ word,” said Killion. “Plus the JOMC department is the second largest on the campus, so that would give me a lot more leverage.”

A search committee is assigned to the task of finding a suitable department chair. Killion is the first of three candidates that will be screened in the interview process. The process involves an interview with Goldie Byrd, the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, meetings with students and faculty, an interview with the search committee and a final presentation open to everyone.

Allen Byers, a junior JOMC student said, “I think that it’s a great idea to have student input in the process because the decision will definitely affect us.”

Dr. Wickham’s contract expires at the end of this year, after serving as the interim chair for almost two years. “I’ve been here since 2005, and it’s been fun. I’m a journalist, that’s my passion. It’s been a great opportunity for me to show students what I’m doing, while I’m doing it.”

On Thursday, Dr. Jerry Crawford of Kentucky University, will arrive on campus for his interviews. On Thursday, April 26th Dr. David Coulson of the University of Nevada, Reno will show for his interviews. Based on a report from the search committee, Dean Byrd will make the final hiring decision by August.

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• Katherine Witt, Contributor