{"id":716,"date":"2025-05-14T16:26:34","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T16:26:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/butlerccom\/?p=716"},"modified":"2025-05-14T16:33:18","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T16:33:18","slug":"dean-valenzanos-2025-ccom-top-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/butlerccom\/2025\/05\/14\/dean-valenzanos-2025-ccom-top-10\/","title":{"rendered":"Dean Valenzano’s 2025 CCOM Top 10"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The academic year can be intense for faculty, staff and students, and so it\u2019s reasonable that there is a lot of pent up energy and emotion this time of year.  Honestly, its what makes things like commencement, our annual Senior Dinner, and the start of summer so hopeful. But an event that has become something people look forward to in a way that surpasses even commencement is\u2026\u2026my annual CCOM Top Ten List! <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without further ado, let\u2019s get started on what is a difficult-to-determine tip of the excellence iceberg from this year in CCOM!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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#10 – THE FIRST-EVER CCOM CARNIVAL:<\/strong> From the Elixir de Beans to a \u201cKiss(ing)\u201d Booth, this year\u2019s Day of Giving celebration in Fairbanks had something fun for everyone. It also continued CCOM\u2019s recent record of leading the way in giving totals and giving by faculty and staff among all of Butler’s colleges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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#9 – MORE AND MORE STUDENT AWARDS:<\/strong> Our students continue to bring home the hardware. The Butler Collegian<\/a> received Division II Newspaper of the Year for the second straight year from the Collegiate Press Association, as well as numerous other awards for stories and photos. Not to be outdone, our Speech and Debate Team also continued to win tournaments and once again placed at least one student at Nationals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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#8 – BLUE ROLL(ING):<\/strong> The student film production team, BlueRoll Media, took the campus by storm this year under the leadership of Dr. Eric Hahn, doing projects for the College of Liberal Arts, Indiana Sports Corps and more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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#7 – JUST TREKKING ALONG:<\/strong> In addition to another year of successful CCOM treks to Chicago and New York this spring, we also sent 17 students to the Music City, Nashville, TN, in the Fall under the watchful eye of Cutler Armstrong. This new trek served students from Strategic Communication and Music Industry Studies, among other majors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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#6 – A SWIFT EXPERIENCE:<\/strong> 70 students helped bring the North American leg of the historic Taylor Swift Eras Tour to a close here in Indianapolis back in November. This pop-up immersive industry experience saw our students helping thousands of visitors experience some Hoosier Hospitality through a class experience led by Professor Bob Schultz, whom the students affectionately call P.B.S. It was also great to see Butler with 70 students against\u2026\u202613 for a much larger institutional neighbor of ours. \ud83d\ude0a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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#5 – CCOM GOES CRUISIN\u2019 WITH PBS:<\/strong> Professor Bob Schultz was back at it again in the Spring semester with CCOM\u2019s very first Study Abroad Cruise. 23 students accompanied him on an MSC cruise of the Western Mediterranean, with stops in France, Italy, and Tunisia where students not only learned about hospitality in a variety of different settings, but organized tourism itineraries for each port they visited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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#4 – A NEW MASTER\u2019S DEGREE:<\/strong> This Spring we announced the launch of a new graduate program, in collaboration with the Lacy School of Business and the Department of Athletics\u2014an MS in Sports Management<\/a>. This unique program builds on the strengths of Indianapolis (aka Sports Town, USA) and our faculty.  It also is the first program at Butler where alumni receive a 20% discount on tuition\u2014talk about a commitment to lifelong learning!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image from MA in Deaf Education page for Fontbonne University.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

#3 – MASTER\u2019S DEGREE PART DEUX:<\/strong>  CCOM also received initial approval to build another new Master\u2019s degree, an MA in Deaf Education, modeled after the founding program at Fontbonne University which is closing this summer.  More details are coming on this program as it is built, but it will be a graduate offering in our amazing SLHS Department when all is said and done.  The best part? Fontbonne alumni, the deaf education community, and Butler friends and alumni all contributed to make this happen in just a seven week period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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#2 – FAIRBANK\u2019S FANTASTIC FACULTY: <\/strong> Recently, I wrote about four faculty who received promotions this year, but that\u2019s just a small sampling of the amazing work our faculty accomplished this academic year.  In fact, to call out individual faculty, or list all the achievements, would not be possible without much more space than we have.  It\u2019s important to note, though, that in addition to their research, teaching, committee work, and curricular innovations, they also are responsible for being dedicated advisors to our roughly 500 students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Family and friends of Bill Ney joined students, faculty, and staff in April to share stories about Mr. Ney and celebrate this anonymous gift.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

#1 – AN HONOR LIKE NO OTHER:<\/strong>  This year saw the largest gift in CCOM\u2019s history, in honor of a faculty member\u2014William \u201cBill\u201d Ney\u2014who had such a monumental impact on Butler and CCOM as the founder of what is now the Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences Department. This gift will establish the William Ney Endowed Professorship in SLHS, while also creating an endowed scholarship for students in that field. This is also the very first endowed professorship in CCOM’s 15 years at Butler. Bill Ney\u2019s legacy will never be forgotten, and will always be cherished by faculty and students alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is much more we could celebrate, like the 80 for 80 campaign, our redesign of Butler Bound into a Game Show, or student scholarship on display throughout both semesters, which made this list so hard to create. But don’t just take my word for it. Listen to four of our students\u2014including two May graduates\u2014share their thoughts about CCOM and their Bulldog experience (listen on Apple Podcasts<\/a> or Spotify<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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