Olivia Fortner
Clifton Puckett, Extracurricular and Transitions Coordinator, works in what will become the Center for Creative Media Studies.
The student life service on all campuses has been included in the budget cuts imposed by the USG this summer. What students call “student life” is being dissolved, but something new is happening.
Faculty and staff work to provide students with a fun yet valuable experience. The new student engagement department will not only engage students in university life, it will provide ways to connect student interests with what they are learning in the classroom.
“The goal is to have a fun activity, but incorporate more extracurricular activities,” said Jennifer Hicks, director of academic success.
It can help create educational value, but be relevant to what students are learning. The activities will focus more on individual routes.
Hicks said, “Where we are heading as an institution is towards a student success model.”
Former Cartersville Campus Director of Student Life, Clifton Puckett, was hired as the Extracurricular and Transitions Coordinator to lead this new venture.
Student Engagement sponsored Floyd’s 50th anniversary celebration on campus. Virtual workshops and other online resources are being made available to students and more to come when everyone is back on campus.
Physical changes are underway at the Floyd campus in what is formerly known as the Student Life Office suite. This area is currently being renovated to make way for a new Center for Creative Media Studies, a program that is expected to launch in spring 2021.
The Center for Creative Media Studies grew out of an idea that assistant professor of journalism and communications Allison Hattaway originally pitched to dean of humanities Jon Hershey earlier this fall. As part of an ongoing collaboration with Seth Ingram, Director of the Film Studies Department, Hattaway and Ingram proposed the Center for Creative Media Studies as a way to provide GHC students with access and exposure to collaborate in creative way in a learning environment that will better prepare them for careers. in a global media industry.
“We have received overwhelming support from the administration and are now working with our partners in Student Engagement and the School of Humanities to organize technology resources and media art training with a focus on film, television, theater, art and journalism,” Hattaway said.
“Fundamentally, we want CCMS to be a place where students can come together to be part of something bigger than themselves and have the opportunity to implement what they learn in the classroom – this will encourage a convenient work environment for film editing, production, writing, layout and design, podcast production and more.We plan to engage community partners in local areas so that students have networking opportunities, can participate in mock interviews and begin building a professional portfolio of work samples while at GHC,” said Hattaway.
Allen Dutch, president of the humanities division, has a background in media and mass communication.
“I’m really excited about getting students to do things like podcasts and filmmaking. The theory is good, but you have to get your hands on the programs. Being able to do and create media is the most important part,” Dutch said. “I hope this will provide us with a place where students interested in media production can gather and have an experience.
Dutch expects this center to help students after college.
Dutch said: “When they get a job, they have to have experience. You must be able to express yourself in different technologies and on several platforms.
This is called media convergence in the world of communications. Whether it’s podcasts, movies, or other communication mediums, this CCMS can be used to gain that media convergence experience.
The Six Mile Post and its sister production, “The Student Spin,” will relocate their offices to the lobby of what was once known as the Student Life office suite. Hattaway will move into John Spranza’s former office and Ingram will move into Hattaway’s former office while taking over the former Six Mile Post office for film studies classroom space.
“For a while it’s going to look a bit like an ‘apple cart turnover’ as we all move in and the space is modernized,” Hattaway said, “However, when it does, we hopefully it will be a campus highlight and an engaging program for current and future GHC students.
In times of budget cuts, campus renovations and new programs might raise some eyebrows.
“We’re trying to do as much as we can with the space and resources we already have,” Hattaway said, “Essentially, we’re going to see what a new coat of paint, carpet, and moveable furniture can do. first. Ultimately, we hope to seek grants and outside sources of funding to continue to grow the program.”