The Roy H. Park School of Communications, internationally recognized as a leading undergraduate communications school, is one of five schools at Ithaca College, in Ithaca, New York. The school is named after legendary media executive Roy H. Park, who lived in Ithaca and who served on the Board of Trustees at Ithaca College for many years.
Graduates have gone on to positions at major media outlets such as Disney, ESPN, CNN, NBC News, CBS, ABC, The New York Times, NPR as well as to careers in advertising, photography, new media, corporate training, and consulting. It is known for its blend of theory and practice, with immediate hands-on access to production equipment and instruction, contemporary courses in media analysis, economics, and management, and liberal arts education drawn from more than 50 majors across the College. As one of the first schools of communications in the US, it runs the first and longest-running student-operated TV cable channel (ICTV) and offers students access to studios and more than three million dollars of portable and lab equipment. It has been named a top school for film, journalism, media and entertainment by Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, The Princeton Review and more.
In addition to its extensive campus facilities in Ithaca, it runs the Pendleton Center in Los Angeles where students can study and engage in internships for a semester. Students also may study away at the College's center in London and through a newly established New York City program.
Diane Gayeski, an alumna of the school and a faculty member since 1979, currently serves as its Dean.
Ithaca College first began offering courses in radio in the 1930s and a degree program in 1947. With the advent of mass media, the focus began shifting to television and film. The Bachelor of Science in Cinema Studies and Photography was established in the late 1960s. In 1969, the communications programs were formally organized into a division within the college before becoming the present-day School of Communications in the 1973-74 academic year. It was renamed after Roy H. Park in 1989. Timeline
The Roy H. Park School offers the following academic programs:
Cinema and Photography (B.S), with concentrations in Cinema Production, Still Photography, and ScreenwritingCommunication Management and Design (B.S.), with concentrations in Corporate Communication and Communication DesignDocumentary Studies and Production (B.A.)Film, Photography, and Visual Arts (B.F.A.)Emerging Media (B.S.)Integrated Marketing Communications (B.S.)Journalism (B.A.)Television-Radio (B.S.), with concentrations in Media Production, Audio Production, International Communications, and ScriptwritingCommunications Innovation (M.S.)Image Text (M.F.A.)In 2008, the Park School launched the Park Center for Independent Media, directed by Jeff Cohen, founder of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. It has been designated as a national center for the study of media outlets that create and distribute content outside traditional corporate systems and news organizations.
The center's mission is to engage media makers and students in conversation about career paths in independent media, and financially viable ways to create news and information for various kinds of geographic or issue-based communities. The center will assess the impact of independent media institutions on journalism, democracy and a participatory culture.
Rory Kennedy, award-winning documentary filmmaker, was the Center's inaugural speaker in January 2008. Kennedy is the co-founder/president of Moxie Firecracker Films, Inc. The Park Center for Independent Media also offers the Independent Media Internship Awards, which provides a $2,500 grant to each students who work as summer interns at specific independent media outlets.
The first annual Izzy Award for "special achievement in independent media" was presented on March 31, 2009, to blogger Glenn Greenwald and Democracy Now! host and executive producer Amy Goodman. Roughly 800 people attended the award ceremony at Ithaca’s State Theatre – including I.F. "Izzy" Stone’s son Jeremy Stone. Subsequent winners of the award have include Jeremy Scahill, Naomi Klein, Mother Jones, and the Center for Media and Democracy.
Programs and Events
The Park School offers a wide range of programs and events each year, including:
Jessica Savitch Award for Distinguished Achievement in Journalsim, which in 2015 honors David Muir '95 and Diane Sawyer. Previously the funds used for this award brought prominent broadcast journalists to campus for a major public address.Park Distinguished Visitor Series. Each year Ithaca College hosts an individual representing one or more of the significant professions associated with the communications industry who gives a public presentation. Leading figures in print and broadcast journalism are the primary focus. Past visitors have included Chad Hurley, Randi Zuckerberg, Bill Moyers, Ken Burns, Robert Fisk, author Tom Wolfe ('08), and Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington (Nov., '09).Skip Landen Professional in Residence Program, which focuses on bringing successful alumni of the communications program to campusMedia for Social Responsibility. A one credit mini-course open to all students at the college, this class focuses on ways that media can better address a particular contemporary issue of significance to society. Acclaimed professionals give a public address and students in the course have follow-up sessions featuring case studies, research, and commentary by leading academics and communicators and then develop their innovative solutions. Recent topics and speakers have included Seth Meyers (political satire), Sam Champion (global climate change), and Carl Quintinilla the social media revolution in news.New York City Network Days. Each year, about 15 students participate in this unique learning experience and meet working professionals over winter break in New York City. This is a one-credit opportunity for senior & junior Park majors to explore careers with alumni professionals.Rod Serling Conference, a biennial event that provides awards to scriptwriters and media professionals who exemplify the kinds of bold and creative work that Serling created, many of which highlighted significant and sensitive topics of social injustice. The Twilight Zone creator Serling taught creative writing at Ithaca for many years.The Park Scholar Award is a four-year, full scholarship to Ithaca College given each year to a small number of students in the Roy H. Park School of Communications. The award, provided by the Park Foundation, recognizes students who excel in academics, leadership, and community service, and intend to use their careers in communications for social good.
The Ithaca College Los Angeles Program, an extension of the Roy H. Park School of Communications, is an internship-based program that provides juniors and seniors with a major or minor in communications an opportunity to gain professional experience in their chosen fields while taking industry-related courses. Classes are taught by Los Angeles-based faculty and industry professionals at the James B. Pendleton Center, located minutes from Burbank and Hollywood. Internships are available in the fields of cinema, television, radio, new media, music, communication/management/design, advertising, public relations, and print/broadcast journalism.
The Ithacan is Ithaca College's official newspaper. The paper is written, edited and published by students. The Ithacan is available in print every Thursday morning and online. The Ithacan and its staff have won many major collegiate journalism awards, most notably, the Associated Collegiate Press' National Pacemaker Awards (widely considered the Pulitzer Prize of collegiate journalism) and many New York State Press Association awards.
See main entry Ithaca College Television
Ithaca College is also home to two student-operated radio stations.
92 WICB is an FCC-licensed station that operates at 4100 Watts at 91.7 FM. Programming is also streamed live on its website www.wicb.org, through the iHeartRadio app, and WICB's iOS app. The majority of its programming falls under the modern rock category, with a variety of specialty programming also available. While broadcasting modern rock, the station is run similarly to a commercial modern rock station, with the inclusion of playlists planned by the programming and music departments that include leeway for listener requests and DJ choices. The station was honored with the MTVU Woodie Award for Best College Radio Station. They were also named the Top Collegiate Radio Station by The Princeton Review.
VIC Radio, once known as 106-VIC, is an Internet radio station. The majority of VIC's programming falls under the indie pop, alternapop, and power pop genres. The playlists are planned by the Programming Department, with leeway for on-air talent favorites and listener requests. The station also hosts an annual 50 Hour Marathon, where two DJs stay awake for fifty hours straight to raise money for a local charity. The marathon, which is simulcast on 92 WICB and ICTV 16, typically involves events such as concerts, scavenger hunts, and remote broadcasts around Ithaca.
Robert Allen Iger (B.S. 1974), Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney CompanyBob Kur, NBC News Television JournalistJessica Savitch (born 1947- died 1983) (B.S. 1968), Network News AnchorDavid Muir (B.A. 1995), ABC World News Anchor and Managing Editor (September 2014)Robin Young, Host, National Public Radio, Here and NowKarl Ravech (B.S. 1987), ESPN SportscasterMark Romanek, Director of One Hour Photo and music videosDavid Boreanaz (B.S. 1991), Actor, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and BonesMark Mahoney (B.S. 1985), Pulitzer Prize winner for Editorial Writing, The Post-StarDavid Guy Levy (B.S. 2001), Film Producer, Terri, AugustKevin Connors (B.S. 1997), ESPN SportscasterBrian Herzlinger, Film Producer, My Date with Drew, Special Correspondent on The Tonight ShowDaniel Heffner, Film Producer, White Fang, Three Men and a Baby, Saw 1-7Benjamin Kasulke, Cinematographer, Brand Upon the Brain!Michael Nathanson, Film Producer, LA Confidential, Former Head of Production, Columbia PicturesIn 2014, for the 40th Anniversary, the Park School created a list of 40 Alumni Who Shape the Communications Industry.
Rod Serling, Creator and Host of "The Twilight Zone"Jeff Cohen, founder of Fairness and Accuracy in ReportingDr. Patricia Zimmermann noted Screen Studies Researcher and Co-director of the Finger Lakes Film Festival www.fleff.org Currently, serves on the editorial boards of the journals Wide Angle, The Journal of Film and Video, The Sixties and The Moving Image: The Journal of the Association of Moving Image Archivists. She has served as a trustee of International Film Seminars, the home of the Robert Flaherty Film Seminar. She also has served on the national boards of Women Make Movies, Northeast Historic Film Archive (Maine), Konscious.Com, and Search for a Common Ground Film Festival (an international non-governmental organization dedicated to conflict resolution).Marlena Grzaslewicz is an Emmy-winning (Outstanding Sound Editing for Nonfiction Programming for: The War, 2007) sound editor and graduate of the Lodz Film School of Poland. Her editing credits include: Baseball, dir. Ken Burns; Jefferson, dir. Ken Burns; Lewis and Clark, dir. Ken Burns; Jazz, dir. Ken Burns; New York, dir. Ric Burns; The Donner Party, dir. Ric Burns; The Way West, dir. Ric Burns; Warhol, dir. Ric Burns; Celebrity, Woody Allen; The People vs. Larry Flynt, dir. Milos Forman; The Smartest Guys in the Room, dir. Alex Gibney and othersDr. Stephen Tropiano Director of the Los Angeles program, Editor of the Journal of Film and Video, and Author of several books on television and culture.Megan Roberts is a Media Artist and Composer, working collaboratively with Raymond Ghirardo in video, sound sculpture, installation and performance for over 30 years. They have received sgrants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, the New York State Council for the Arts, the Experimental Television Center, the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Western States Regional Arts Fellowship, the Southwest Independent Production Fund and others. Awards include the James D. Phelan Award in Video and Grand Prize at the Tokyo Video Festival.Steve Gordon teaches television production, development and digital distribution, following 20 years in the television industry in Hollywood and New York as Executive Vice President of Creative Affairs for Viacom Productions. There, he was in charge of prime time programming where over 2000 hours of programming were produced including the series Sabrina The Teenage Witch for ABC, The Chris Issak Show for Showtime, Ed for NBC and the Emmy nominated 4400 for the USA Network. His creating/producing work in television continues with two projects for 2014: an independent feature film, "Santa Con," reuniting with "Sabrina", Executive Producer Paula Hart and Star/Director Melissa Joan Hart and the third in a four-part series, "Creating Television, From Pitch to Production" for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation. Recently, he co-produced and co-directed a six-part comedy series for Rocky Mountain PBS, "Good Grief".Dr. Matt Mogekwu currently chairs the Journalism Department, and is internationally recognized for his research and advocacy in capacity-building for journalists in developing countries and in peace journalism.Nick Muellner is a photo-based Artist, Writer, and Curator. He teaches Photography and Critical Studies.Ahrlene Flowers, Associate Professor of Public Relations, he has held senior management positions at leading New York City agencies, including Ruder Finn, Hill and Knowlton and Middleton & Gendron representing airlines, destination travel locations, hospitality companies, and art organizations all over the world.Cathy Lee Crane is the recipient of the 2013 Guggenheim Fellowship in Film-Video. She had previously received a 2009 New York Foundation for the Arts Artist Fellowship for Film and a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts. Her work has been invited to screen at the National Gallery of Art in 2015 as part of their new series American Originals Now.Changhee Chun has completed collaborative productions on several feature films for major Korean production companies. His works have been selected for screening at CINESTUD at the International Film Festival, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Film Fan Awards, Richmond, VA.; Rochester International Film Festival; St. Louis International Film Festival; Blue Sky International Film Festival; James River Festival of Moving Image; Telluride Film Festival; Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival; DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival; Independents' Film Festival; da Vinci Film Festival; The East Lansing Film Festival; Muskegon Film Festival, Tacoma Film Festival, The 32nd Asian American International Film Festival, Urban Suburban Film Festival and so on. In addition, his film Creation was featured on the season premiere episode of "North Carolina Visions" at PBS in North Carolina.Jason Harrington works in range of animation techniques. His most recent film, The Tree with the Lights in It, received multiple awards, including Best Animation (SNOB Film Festival), Best Animation (DIGit Film Festival), and the Aglet Award (Red Rock Film Festival). Other films have included Origin, which showed at the Cork International film festival, Changing Light Series, and Discrepancies.Ron Jude has been exhibited at venues such as The Photographers’ Gallery (London), Daugeu Cultural Center (Daugeu, South Korea), Proekt_Fabrika (Moscow) and Roth/Horowitz Gallery (New York). Jude is the co-founder of A-Jump Books and the author of Alpine Star, Postcards, Other Nature and emmett. Lick Creek Line was published by MACK in April of 2012 and was named one of the best books of the year by FOAM, PDN, Gerry Badger, Alec Soth and John Gossage, among many others.
