WAJC

Dean Valenzano’s 2024 CCOM Top 10

Dean Valenzano’s 2024 CCOM Top 10

From popular music to the top sports plays of any given day or season, Top 10 lists are synonymous with excellence. I witnessed accolades worthy of applause during my first full school year at Butler University as Dean of the College of Communication. There was a whirlwind of excitement, accomplishment, partnership, growing pains, and most importantly learning experiences and enhanced relationships for students, faculty, alumni, staff, and the entire Butler community.

These 10 highlights from the 2023-2024 school year are not in any order of significance but are impactful in my eyes. I’d love to hear about your favorite memories and experiences that didn’t make my list (I know there will be some that I curse myself about not including) but here we go. So imagine your favorite voice actor, as you see the transition frame with a huge one and zero on it. I’ve got the voice of Amy Dichter ‘98 in my head starting us off with an energetic and powerful, “NUMBER 10!” vocalization.

#10 – COMMENCEMENT CELEBRATION WEEKEND

Graduation is the most significant moment of any college student’s career. On Saturday, May 11, 2024, we celebrated 138 CCOM graduates from our undergraduate programs. They were accompanied by another dozen or so students from our Strategic Communication graduate program. In CCOM we like to have fun so we expanded a memorable event into a full Commencement Celebration Weekend. Thursday night kicked-off with the inaugural CCOM Senior Dinner, where about 80% of our seniors, approximately 60 parents, 25 faculty and staff, and six alumni from our Dean’s Advisory Board came to celebrate this year’s graduating class.  Experiencing families getting to meet the faculty who shepherded their loved ones to the precipice of graduation was special for everyone and a reminder of why we work so hard for student success! On Friday, our very own Scott Bridge gave a moving and inspirational speech as this year’s University Commencement Faculty Speaker. Finally, on Saturday, students received their well-earned diplomas in Clowes Hall after hearing reflections and advice from senior Micah Horne ‘24, and Professor Amanda Stevenson-Holmes. This was a graduation weekend I will never forget!

#9 – AWARD WINNING STUDENT GROUPS

The Intercollegiate Speech and Debate Team earned 153 different awards throughout the ‘23-’24 season. These awards include a first place overall debate ranking at State, senior Abby Kom’s All-American award, and our overall 8th ranking in the nation in combined speech and debate at Pi Kappa Delta. The Collegian student-run newspaper brought home 32 awards from the Indiana Collegiate Journalism Association, while also taking home more hardware in the form of Mark of Excellence awards from the Society of Professional Journalism. 

#8 – RESEARCH, SCHOLARSHIP, AND A TED TALK

The trophies and medals do not even begin to capture all the cool things our students accomplished this past year.  Six students (Eva Hallman, Arie Lihktman, Lauren Browning, Sarah Mahnesmith, Elaine Stribley & Abigail Dame) attended four different major academic conferences this year to both learn about and deliver research. Abby Kom, previously mentioned and now on her way to the graduate program at the University of Tennessee, also delivered a TED Talk entitled “So You’ve Been Called Aggressive.” These students continue to amaze me with their drive to make meaningful contributions to a wide array of fields.

#7 – ELITE ALUMNI

Our current students are not alone in the recognition department.  This past Homecoming we celebrated two CCOM alumni who have made significant contributions to their professions, our communities, and Butler. Jacqueline Eckhardt ‘13 was presented the Joseph Irwin Sweeney Alumni Service Award, while John Doyle ‘74 exhibited grace and humility in accepting the Butler Medal, the university’s highest honor. I can’t wait to see this year’s graduates take home these awards in the future.

#6 – THE FAIRWAYS AT FAIRBANKS

It was a moment of pride and joy when CCOM again led the academic pack on the Day of Giving this past February. We didn’t just receive the most gifts among the colleges, nor simply raise the most money among that group. As we strive to do, we led the way in fun too. We turned our classroom building into a miniature golf course with eight unique putt-putt holes created by faculty and student organizations within the college. The bar has been raised for next year.

#5 – BELL RINGS TRUE

The Butler Early Language Literacy program (BELL), spearheaded by Associate Dean Dr. Suzanne Reading and the faculty and students of the Speech Language and Hearing Sciences department received a huge boost this year. Their program received a major leading gift to establish an endowment, ensuring this vitally important, community-facing, clinical opportunity for our students will be a part of CCOM and Butler forever. Additionally, the SLHS students continued their trend of attaining 50-60% more graduate placements for seniors than the national average.  

#4 – FAIRBANKS “FOMO”

Fairbanks Center, the home of CCOM, proved that even though we are on the edge of campus, we are a huge part of its heartbeat. From our first “Dogs with the Dean” event to the aforementioned Fairways at Fairbanks, we produced successful events all year. We’ll only grow from this year’s inaugural Chili Cook-Off (who puts peanut butter in Chili, anyway?!), a March Madness viewing party, and even an appearance by the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Dean himself during our Halloween office decorating party. The word is out, and people have a fear of missing out on the fun that is Fairbanks. 

#3 – WAJC RADIO REUNION

WAJC Radio was THE experiential learning lab for students in communication for a long time at Butler. The university sold the station in 1993 and unfortunately the station and the students who staffed it seemed to float away like lost radio waves. This year, however, we invited these trailblazers of experiential learning back for a very special reunion in April. I like to think it proved their legacy is a critical piece of CCOM and that the spirit of WAJC lives on today in the DNA of the college. Sharing time with these alumni, from seven different decades, who returned to campus from as far away as California, Texas, and Minnesota to celebrate and reminisce was special. We’ll work on more ways to keep the band back together.

#2 – DOWNTOWN BIKE TOUR (AKA: GOLF CART OFF-ROADING)

No year is complete without something that makes you laugh every time you think about it.  For me, it was in Professor Bob Schultz’s Fall Hospitality and Tourism Promotion class. He regularly hosts a bike tour of downtown Indy but had two students who could not bike due to injury. So I stepped up to drive them around the route on a golf cart. What could go wrong? Well, near Centennial Park there were metal pylons that the bikes could get through, but the golf cart? Not so much. It got stuck, and everyone had to push the golf cart back out—a memory that will always make me smile.

#1 – BUTLER ALL STARS WITH THE NBA

CCOM is nimble and hungry to provide unique opportunities for our students. This was epitomized by the same Bob Schultz who got me stuck in the golf cart. 😉  Bob spearheaded an effort to offer 100 students a one-credit experience where they served as hospitality ambassadors for the city of Indianapolis while hosting the 2024 NBA All-Star Game. The weekend was frigid, but these students gave a warm embrace to visitors and finished with stories that will last them a lifetime. This is just the tip of the iceberg for what is possible for students in CCOM going forward.

As I reflect on the year and these wonderful accomplishments, I am so humbled by the hard work, dedication, and care our students, faculty and staff bring every day. CCOM continues to build momentum, and I am eager to see where things go next academic year.  But for now, we all can take a short breather. Have a great summer! 😊

WAJC’s Reunion Tour Launch

WAJC’s Reunion Tour Launch

It just feels right when a formal gathering of friends, peers, and mentors evolves into more of a family reunion than a general get together. Everyone doesn’t necessarily know everyone else, but at some point they have shared experiences: they waved the same flag, performed the same duties, learned from the same professor and can reflect upon it fondly.

My good friend and colleague, Ross Hollebon, reminded me recently that a central theme of the Star Wars franchise is “found family,” (yes, we shared “May the 4th Be With You” texts over the weekend) and that is the type of connections that were rekindled during that special evening on Saturday, April 27, 2024 at Robertson Hall.       

Generally speaking, a found family refers to a group of unrelated people coming together to establish their own definition of a family unit or close-knit community. In what is now CCOM (many of the attendees graduated from “Radio & Television” and other degree names of the mass communication degree program) there is no more appropriate way to refer to the alumni who graduated after having found themselves during activities for Butler’s former FM radio station, 104.5 WAJC.

How do I know?  Easy, they fit the definition.  

The 120+ alumni and guests who attended this first reunion in over thirty years were (largely) not related, but they are the WAJC family. The number of hugs, laughs, jokes, and stories told when they arrived at Robertson Hall were as warm as the sound of the crackling vinyl albums they used to spin on live broadcasts. 

Since meeting Dave Arland ‘85, the first alum I encountered after joining Butler, it became a goal of mine to get this storied group of Bulldogs back together on campus. Dave educated me on the importance, as well as the somewhat challenging history, of WAJC over dinner in my first week on the job. There was passion, the affinity, and the care with which he and others held WAJC and its legendary faculty, including for a number of alumni, Mr. Jim Phillipe and Mrs. Ann Harper.  

The radio station, founded in the 1950s, was sold in the early 1990s, leaving many of the WAJC alumni stunned and upset after more than four decades of being part of the Butler DNA, especially for students studying areas of communication. 

The station helped launch so many notable careers in radio and television, that I wanted them to know that their work, and the legacy of their station, was not only too important to forget, but was also alive and well in CCOM today. With the help of Corey McPherrin ‘77, Chelsea Hennessey ‘12 MS ‘23, and the aforementioned Jedi Hollebon, we set out to welcome the WAJC community back to campus. We would show them they remain part of our foundation and still have a place in CCOM and at Butler. 

We sent a “Save the Date” and were blown away with the response. Numerous alumni with graduation years ranging from 1956 to 2015, RSVP’d “Yes.” Others that couldn’t make it emailed, called, posted on the WAJC Facebook group, or shared positive notes through friends that they couldn’t attend this time around but were thrilled to know it was happening. 

The 2024 WAJC Reunion

Notable moments from the evening as we honored these alumni and what they accomplished together, as found family, started with my welcome remarks explaining that “WAJC was experiential learning before experiential learning was even a thing.”

We honored two very special people by presenting them with inaugural awards named for key WAJC figures.

Norman “Norm” Wilkens WAJC Lifetime Achievement Award  

Named after a WAJC lifer whom we lost last summer, this award represents someone, who like Norm Wilkens ‘57, demonstrated tremendous work ethic and professional achievement, but similarly personified commitment to Butler and CCOM.  

Barry Hohlfelder ‘66 was recognized as the inaugural recipient of this award. What made this even more special is that Barry and Norm were indeed “found family.” He was unable to attend the reunion, so, accepting the award on Barry’s behalf was Norm Wilkens’ daughter, Lauren O’Brien. What made this even more cool—Lauren’s daughter, Norm’s granddaughter, will be a Bulldog this Fall!

James R. “Jim” Phillipe Service to CCOM Award  

Mr. Jim Phillippe came to Butler in 1946 to teach drama but ended up building a college and evolving a radio station. Some people know him from his work as public address announcer at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, while others still hear his echoes off the walls of Hinkle where he announced basketball games for over 30 years. The people at this reunion, however, remember him as the manager of WAJC.  

The winner of this award was retiring professor, Scott “Mr. CCOM” Bridge ’82 MS ’91. I can confidently say that, like Jim Phillippe, CCOM would not be what it is without Scott, though his humility would force him to disagree. Like Jim as well, he is someone students never forget working with. Whether it is teaching broadcasting or journalism, advising students in all things academic, career, and personal, or giving countless tours to prospective students Scott has led a life of service to Butler and its students unparalleled by anyone. 

I was honored and privileged to recognize Mr. Wilkens, Mr. Phillippe, Barry and Scott, along with all of WAJC.

WAJC VIDEO HOMAGE

Then came the showstopper. That designation was reserved for an 8 minute video celebrating the memories and legacy of all things and all people WAJC related. The video, created by Corey McPherrin, was a tour de force, filled with reminiscences, pictures, and even music spun by the WAJC disc jockeys over the years. It was truly a labor of love about a labor he loved, and one everyone in the room adored. Whether it was smiles, tears, laughter, or general warmth, emotions were plucked like the strings of an acoustic guitar.

After the formal program, and a group photo of most of the attendees, the reception commenced with impersonations, stories, hugs and good feelings, even as the bar and food were packed up. These alumni created a special place within the buildings and on the airwaves when they forged 104.5FM as a destination on the radio dial. It’s also, as I pointed out that day, a legacy we continue through our work in podcasts and audio production.  

Moving forward, I want WAJC alumni to be an integral part in these efforts, helping not only to guide and shape its direction, but to share their experiences and passions with the students of today. That’s what reunions are about—reconnecting with the past, and connecting with the future. That day could not have been better if we tried and I hope the WAJC alumni are willing to adopt some more members into their found family.