It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve as director of the School of Communication over the past four years. It has been a particular delight to get to know Sandy Hermanoff, founder and chair of our School of Communication Advancement Board, and the members of our board. They are a remarkably dedicated and caring group of professionals from journalism, strategic communication, and corporate management—over 20 distinguished alums in all. Their commitment has gone a long way to helping secure the future of the Lantern, realizing the potential of our strategic communication program, and providing exceptional mentorship opportunities for many of our students.
The Alumni Engagement Committee and the Advancement Board plan to offer a mentorship program to students in the School. Those students who are interested in having a professional mentor will be required to complete an application and write a short essay.
If you have professional experience and the ability to provide mentorship to a young journalist or a strategic communicator, contacts that might make possible internship opportunities, or other mentorship resources, please contact Professor Osei Appiah, chair of the Alumni Engagement Committee, at Appiah.2@osu.edu.
The Alumni Engagement Committee and the Advancement Board organized the first reunion of Lantern editors. The Virtual Lantern Editors’ Reunion was a big success with over 80 participants! Plans are in the works to hold an in-person Lantern Reunion in ’22. If you are a former Lantern staffer, please stay in touch to learn details.
I continue to be amazed by the extraordinary way our faculty, staff, and student body have risen to the challenges of the past year. Instructors spent endless hours converting courses to be taught online; staff administered the school and provided hundreds of hours of advising largely from their home offices. Students faced a unique test: having to cope with relative isolation at a time of their lives when community is essential, turning their online world from a source of recreation to the center of their education, and discovering in the process their own capacity for perseverance and resilience in the face of exceptional difficulties.
Mike Slater
Director, School of Communication
