Dear Graduate Students,

As the end of a very busy winter semester approaches, the School of Communication is moving forward with several important initiatives. We are in the midst of planning and preparing the proposal for a Ph.D. program. We hope to move that proposal through various university level committees in the next academic year. We also have revised our admission requirements for the Master's program (see article in this newsletter) and are in the process of reviewing a proposal for the initiation of a capstone experience for our graduate students. As you can see the next few years will see significant changes to our program that will strengthen the intellectual rigor of the program. These changes should create many opportunities for research for our students and should provide increased opportunities for working with a variety of persons, organizations, and communities. The School of Communication at Western Michigan University has long had a reputation among our campus, regional, and national colleagues for a fine graduate program. These changes should only enhance that reputation.

In this newsletter you will find reports about many persons, events, and activities in the department. In particular, I want to call your attention to two events. First, the week of April 1-5 is Graduate Student Appreciation Week on WMU's campus. Several activities are planned to celebrate graduate student accomplishments. Second, at the end of May the seventh annual National Communication Ethics Conference will be held on the campus of WMU. This conference draws communication ethics scholars from all parts of the country yet is small enough that participants are able to engage in dialogue readily. The conference sponsors have granted the graduate students in the School of Communication an extraordinary opportunity to attend this event as all conference fees have been waived for our students. I strongly encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity. This newsletter also contains information regarding advising, spring, summer, and fall registration, and commencement.

As always, I am happy to hear from you about your concerns with your graduate program. I will be advising during spring term and will also be available during summer on an appointment basis. I hope the last weeks of this semester go well for you all.

Leigh Arden Ford, Ph.D.
Director of Graduate Studies